Seven Stories

Chapter 3: Princes and Royalty

Lii put down her staff. She got up from the bed, grinning from ear to ear, and walked up to Karen. The young girl was standing in front of her ridiculously large mirror, holding her large golden ribbon around her waist, trying to make a knot in her back. She had managed to before, but it had looked so sloppy Lii had laughed for a good minute.

"Why did you untie it in the first place, Kay?" she asked, taking the ribbon from the hands of her friend.

"Reedy had fastened it too tight" the girl complained, thankfully letting go of the fabric. "I could hardly breathe. T'was a matter of life and death."

Lii shook her head and swiftly executed a knot that was not closely as perfect as Karen's maid Reedy, but that would do. The little Queen turned around and looked over her shoulder so as to see the reflection in the mirror. She smiled widely. Karen was quite easily satisfied, especially when it came to Lii.

"What would I do without you, Pemen".

"You would probably get in less trouble with your mother?"

"Wait till I tell her that in Light warrior training, they actually teach you how to help Queens dress."

"They teach us more than that, once I also helped a prince clean his room."

"What? Why? When? And you still won't help me with mine?" As evidence, she made a wide motion with her hand to indicate the pile of clothes on the bed and the mountains of books on the floor. "What did they do, did they threaten you?"

Lii burst out laughing. Karen frowned.

"You're pulling my leg, right. You actually have never met that idiot of a Prince, have you."

"Aaaah, so many things I will one day need to tell you about my days in the Territory of Light. Not all stories are lame."

"I'm sure you haven't. You would have punched that Iken's face after a few seconds."

"His name is Ikan and you've never seen him."

"I heard about him, that's enough thank you very much."

Lii sighed and shook her head again, this time without any trace of amusement. She kept her mouth shut though she deplored the way her young friend's mind, though open and kind, was filled with shortcuts and hatred by the elders of her Territory.

There was a knock on the door. A young man came through. Dark skinned with short black hair, it was nonetheless easy to spot his resemblance with Karen. The shape of the eyes and that of the hands, they had inherited from their mother, and judging from the portraits around the palace, they both had the nose of their deceased father.

Leremptah, Karen's older brother, was wearing ceremony clothes too. Being the fancied up clothes of a warrior, they matched both his muscular silhouette and his royal lineage. The large sword that rested against his hip was not a prop and, having trained with him on occasion, Lii knew for a fact the boy knew how to use it.

Lii bowed her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Karen look down at her own gown. It was fashioned it the traditionnel way of public speaking suits. Its darkness, the deepest shade of black you could find in all the continent, made for an amazing contrast on the little Queen's ice pale skin. Though plain in color, however, the fabric was a rich silk impossible to mistake for anything the commoners would wear, and the way the dress fitted every burgeoning curve of Karen's body spoke of the talented craftsmen behind it. The monarch, traditionally, was supposed to look humble, yet elegant, and most importantly, above everyone else.

Though that was perfectly achieved, Karen could not help but think she looked exactly like the empty-headed, shallow, unskilled princess everyone thought she was, especially near her warrior of an elder brother in his shiny blue armor. Leremptah took a look at his sister and smiled lightly. He opened his arms, and the young girl rushed into them, putting her worry aside.