Untitled Fantasy Story

Chapter 2

Each step Eyori took was calculated. Each new sensation she made note of; each breath felt different--tasted different, almost--than it had back home. The faint sea breeze was saltier, and much colder. The air bit at her, harsh against her skin without the soft cushion of the heat and humidity of her home city of Marui.

Each step she took in Ecos felt more foreign than the last. The stone under her feet somehow felt heavier than the sandstone lining the streets of Augoria. She glanced down at her dark hands, her fingers clasped together over her abdomen in a tight pattern of fingers and sparkling golden rings. 

Grandpoint castle was... not quite what she had been expecting, she thought as she gazed beyond the gardens to the structure that protruded from the earth like a sharp jewel. The morning sunlight danced off the green glass like the golden fireflies of warm Augorian evenings.

How strange Ecos was. At least, in comparison to the books she had read of it. It had seemed so much smaller in her mind, and far less green, she speculated, as she absorbed the various shades of the gardens she stood in and the castle beyond. She had assumed the country was not nicknamed the "Green Kingdom" for such literal reasons, but it would not be the first false assumption she had made since she arrived in the country only a few weeks ago.

Perhaps she was being harsh on her new home. But when she thought back on her golden city, Marui, and her country...

She clutched at the fine blue silk adorning her chest as she forced her composure to remain. She would not crack now, certainly. Not in front of her future husband, nor the two expressionless guards that followed ten paces behind on their stroll through the gardens.

Prince Leif of Ecos was also not quite what she had been expecting. Sure, she had been apprehensive about extending her hand in marriage to a complete stranger, but she had still hoped for a little more. Men and women of the Augorian court alike, and others from much farther reaches fought for even the chance of gaining her hand in marriage. And why wouldn't they? Beautiful, educated to the highest degree, and heir to the throne one of the richest countries on the planet... and yet she was sworn to marry a man who could hardly even look at her.

He was handsome enough, she supposed, with shimmering black hair that fell about his shoulders, framing a well-constructed face with warm skin and thin, dark eyes. His frame was small, and his height was little more than hers. His smooth navy coat fit him snugly, the silver embellishments glistening in the sunlight. A little too stiff and covered for her liking, but she supposed it was more suited for the weather than her thin dress that seemed to catch every breeze under its drapes.

Leif walked beside her, close enough for conversation, but far enough for... well, for not being close to her. He glanced around, observing the garden life intently, as if he, who had lived in this castle all his life, had not seen its abundant greenery a mere thousand times before.

"The new minister arrived this morning," the Prince announced rather suddenly, his eyes not even turning to meet hers as he said it.

Eyori nodded politely. "He is visiting from another province?" she asked, although she already posed the question in conversation with the Queen just that morning.

Leif cleared his throat, his eyes falling to his perfectly shined boots. "Not quite. He is taking place of the Minister of Praetora, who recently, er...  fell quite horribly ill, I believe," there was an uncertainty in his tone that implied he didn't quite believe himself as he said it.

"Are the other provinces as green as Praetora is?" she wondered aloud, turning her gaze away from the Prince to peer through the shrubbery on the other side of the path, catching a glimpse of movement beneath one of the five towers surrounding the main castle.

"Well, it is called the Green Kingdom, not the Green Province, Princess," Leif retorted, the snideness in his tone evident.

It took great strength for Eyori to bite back a smart remark. Instead, she turned to him with a forced smile plastered on tight. 

She pointed over the bushes to the tower beyond, the fine jewelry lining her arms clinking delicately together as she did so. "What is that tower over there for?"

Leif regarded it with a consistent disinterest. "That's the Northwest tower. The healers and their apprentices work there, some of them even live there, I think." He thinks! A miracle, it seemed. "And up ahead by the lake is the Southwest, which is the general's headquarters. The guards are likely out training now, and--"

A loud rustling cut him off. Eyori tensed, reaching a hand to grab Leif's arm as she stepped away from the bushes, where the sound seemed to dispense from.

"Not to worry, Princess, it's probably just a fallen bird--"

There was a small, barely audible hissssssss, followed suit by the violent snap of twigs.

"Do birds here normally make such frightening sounds?" It was more of a correction than a question, but Leif answered nonetheless.

"No. Not usually."

Eyori glanced back at the two guards behind them in a cry for help, but the two seemed wholly unfazed by their future Queen's clear state of distress.

The broad shouldered one offered her a stoic expression and said, "it's likely a garden dragon, your highness.

"A what--"

A shriek filled her lungs before her mind had a chance to even catch up as she felt the coolness of scales against her leg. She stumbled away from Leif, shaking her legs violently, and watched in pure horror as the tiny green creature darted out from under her skirts with a hiss of hot breath.

Eyori pressed her hands to her chest, her heart hammering into her palms, her breath escaping her. She stared at Leif, waiting for him to do something.

Leif sighed. "I thought that apprentice witch dealt with these damned dragon pests already," he growled, and turned to look at the guards as he said it. 

The taller one with broad shoulders looked to the other with a raised brow. Both seemed to reach a decision, and shrugged. The Prince rubbed his temples, his brows scrunched. "Someone fetch her to deal with them. These gardens are getting rather wily."