Drink Deep

Ch8: Chamber Pot

Nadia bawled herself into a stupor the night before, as she was sure that her daughter would never return. Her brother laughed and ruffled her hair for getting engaged before him. The king silently placed The Cup of Madness in his girl's tapestry bag. It was accompanied by a writ of proclamation declaring her status, rights, and all the things needed for legal authority that he could muster within the boundaries of his nation. It allowed little room for her personal effects.

But unless Andrik went to war, there would be no way for it to be enforced amongst the various nobles.

Andrej wished he had carried on in his father's vein, executing nobles and the women they foisted on him. It might have instilled enough fear of crossing him. Perhaps Leena wouldn't be running head-first into the adult world with only a decade of life to her name. It wouldn't be long for the nobles to push him into open warfare with his own vassals. They came close with the way they pushed their king.

At least Andrik was an upright man. The whole situation reeked of him having taken his daughter captive with the king's consent. If the young duke wanted to rule the kingdom, he had the means in his own hands.

In the back of the king's mind, it felt like just punishment for having stolen his brother's children and made them his own.

But Leena didn't hear her father's worries. She had anxiety over whether she could repeat what she did with that demon cup. Would it take more of her to end the blight and hopefully the unrest as well? She thought she understood her role as the princess, to sacrifice for her nation. She didn't know that her father sent her out to trim the national claws for his girl.

It was supposed to be a 2-year tour, so she could come home and participate in her first rite of adulthood. It wasn't much, but it was the youngest she could go into the temple for training as a saint.

She didn't think that power from the cup counted as the type of powers wielded to become one of those women. Would anyone question her father? Even Mama avoided that one, and he was mad when she kept her own counsel.

They left the city in more militaristic fanfare than was ever done for the twins' birthdays. It was still a parade. The carriage was built for display, but the chances of disgruntled viewers starting a fight were next to nil. Andrik didn't put up with commoners any more than he did nobles. Her betrothed seemed to glare at anyone who stared at her for too long. But she waved dutifully at the faces that were trying to smile despite being pinched with worry.

Leena thought it was reasonable for a peasant to worry when the man glared so much. She fought shuddering, having to learn to petition her future husband like Mama did Papa. The king loved his wife and wasn't near as stern as the man who rode beside her. She wasn't sure she could go through such a ritualized discourse, just to speak to him.

Outside the city walls, amongst his own men, the young duke barked orders. A squire a bit closer to her age helped her down, then moved her tapestry bag into a closed carriage before helping her. It had soft, padded seats. The downside came in the form of a dour old maid she had never seen. That lady took up the bench facing backwards. Still, to Leena, this carriage was built to be sturdier than the fancy one she rode out in. She supposed she would sleep better in it, as she expected little in conversation.

She sat across from the woman and greeted her, "Good day, ma'am."

The old woman grimaced. "You aren't supposed to speak to me so casually, Princess Leena. I am but a vessel of your care for this ride north. If you treat people as your equals, they will take advantage of you."

"So I should be mean?"

The woman softened her expression. "No. There is a world of difference between cruelty and culture forcing separation. Perhaps take on more of the King's behavior and not the Queen? She is very soft and ignores her status all too often."

Leena was a precocious child, always had been. She pursed her lips into a moue. Something about this lady made the interaction feel off. "I understand you are with me to play maid on the road north, but who exactly are you?"

A flash of pain crossed her face before she spoke gruffly. "I am the mother of a soldier who died in childbirth. I was also the one who gifted you with the doll you carried with you in the earliest parades through the city. I am honored to move my travels to coincide with yours, Princess Leena."

Despite how off-put they had started, Leena found the older woman engaging. She had a whole world of stories about her daughter and her work as a midwife, which made the time fly.

It was also the first time the child used a chamber pot in a carriage, with much help from the older woman. As it was just fluids, she used the slop-line built into a centered drawer into the back bench to dispose of the contents. Even here, the woman was knowledgeable. She explained that human excrement couldn't be tossed out this way, as it would likely get entangled with the rider's hooves. That, they would halt for long enough to dispose of the contents further afield than their path through the countryside.

The princess stayed trapped in the carriage all day, without a soul she knew. She was grateful that the old servant was kindly, so it wasn't the worst day of her life. The idea of enduring rides without a companion or outside sight ate at Leena's joy.

She didn't look forward to being ignored by the man she might spend the rest of her life with. The girl wasn't stupid; she was just a child. If he had a use for her, she couldn't fathom what it would be.

And Leena didn't believe she should pull out the scary cup in front of the old servant. She might have a heart attack over looking at it.