Act 1 Chapter 76
JAYLAH
It was broken to the public that Jaylah was engaged to Adrik Morokov. Though it was all by Ermalai's design, she stood alone before the people in her palace as she told them. It would be better to appeal to them herself rather than with the Czar at her side, because nothing would make the situation look like a power maneuver more than him standing too close, making sure with a smile on his face that she spoke all the words they rehearsed.
It seemed his schemes paid off. When Jaylah told her people of the engagement, gushing to them of her longtime love for Adrik with a rare smile, they bought it. Granted, their acceptance of the news was not as fervent as the announcement of any normal wedding would be; they were not pleased at all with her choice of lovers. But because it would make Oceana more powerful, and since it was bound to be the biggest trove of gossip of the year, Jaylah watched as they feigned merriment. She suspected they were simply glad she had not chosen the worst option: a Kalingi Prince.
She knew the oldest courtiers remembered the time her father had announced his marriage to a daughter of a Southern Isles chieftain, her mother. It had not been for love, so it had never been framed as such. They grew to have a strange and unstable emotional bond over time, of course. Then again, the Southern Isles and Oceana were never locked in a rivalry. This made Jaylah sure that merely proclaiming her love for Navrika's Adrik Morokov would not hold as believable for long.
They would need to be seen together, the picture of premarital bliss.
That was why Ermalai left two days after the news broke. He was set for the City of Gold to take care of some matters, because he would have to rule from Oceana for as long as the engagement dragged on. And when he returned, he would be accompanied by an entire traveling party, including Adrik himself.
It was odd that Jaylah had not been in contact with him since the ball earlier in the year. Even then, it was one night. She knew he was a friendly boy when they were younger, if a bit impish. But she did not know him now. She prayed he would be a compromising husband.
Husband. The idea remained strange. Jaylah always expected to die a spinster, with the ability to get lovers but never keep them. It worked well; she never wished to be tied down to anyone incapable of understanding her. And no one seemed to care to.
The ninth day after the announcement, a letter from Ition arrived. Lorenzo Çenturion had been delivered the news of Jaylah's engagement sooner than she expected. And she had not expected him to have written at all.
Dearest Jaylah, he wrote in his messy scrawl. I am writing to congratulate you on your engagement to our good friend Adrik Morokov, though it seems you two were more than friends for some time, having kept it hidden from us all. Love is intricate, I know. I only wish I saw it sooner. Or that someone told me so I would not make a fool of myself openly fancying you both when we were children.
I know he will be good to you. And I am glad the both of you have found happiness in each other.
Do you recall when we tore through your mother's gardens as our fathers deliberated politics in your palace? It had just rained, so the grass was damp and muddy. Adrik slipped first—I know you will try to convince me that it was I who slipped, but unfortunately for you, I am the one telling the story. When I laughed at him, he threw the first handful of mud at me, though it accidentally hit you instead. I will never forget the inferno in your eyes. I thought you might actually kill him. But soon we were cheerful once more, throwing handfuls of mud onto each other, doing our best to dodge the throws. Our parents were more irate than I'd ever seen them. But we were grinning like the little heathens we were, covered from head to toe in muck.
That is the kind of joy I wish for you—the unbridled kind that does not dim even when outside events threaten it. I know you do not let yourself feel such things. But you should start, for you deserve it.
Until we meet again,
Your friend, Lorenzo Çenturion
♕ ♕ ♕ ♕ ♕
Jaylah could feel the stable workers' eyes on her as she strode through the front entrance, flanked by her guards.
The smell hit her before she could even get far into the building. Even in a stable as clean and maintained as this one, it still carried on the breeze, the woody smell of hay that always accompanied horses wherever they dwelt. Though she knew many of the other women and men raised in the aristocracy would nearly faint at the strong odor, it never seemed to bother her much.
When Jaylah strode over the cleanly-swept floor, horses in a plethora of breeds and colors stuck their heads through their stall doors to watch her pass. A few even had the windswept mane and sweat that told her they just arrived from carrying their masters from great distances. But her eyes only scanned over the other beasts. Jaylah was looking for one in particular. As she passed stall after stall with no sign of him, her displeasure grew. She had not visited him since before the massacre. Had they gotten rid of him, thinking she was dead all those months ago?
Before she could get any farther, a stable hand appeared in her vision, bowing before her. "Your Majesty," he said in surprise. "Are you looking for any steed in particular?"
Jaylah brushed by with no response, thinking of the wrath she would rain down if they had put him down in her absence.
Finally, she saw a large stall in a different area. There was only one massive animal in this part, seen through the slatted paneling. Of course they had to keep him apart from the others. As she stood still for a moment to survey him, the stableboy took it as her wish for him to ready her steed. Jaylah watched with dark anticipation as he warily reached for the padlock, keeping wide eyes on the horse inside.
Without warning, the powerful stallion rammed his skull against the metal gate, using brunt strength to force the boy back. Behind Jaylah, the guards started. The stableboy gave her a side look, as if to ask whether this was truly the steed she desired.
Taking things into her own hands, Jaylah stepped forward and unlatched the gate, no matter how below her it was. This was the one place she would not apply her etiquette training to.
The gate opened with a metallic scratching sound, revealing the beast inside. Jaylah could hear the sharp intake of breath from the frightened stableboy. Whether it was his colorless, pupil-less eyes or his massive build, her steed always seemed to strike fear into those he came across.
Jaylah gave a cold smile. Thyros.
She took another step toward the beast, to which the stableboy followed, wishing to stop her from this possibly-suicidal madness. Only when he advanced did Thyros react, rearing back and giving a whinny that sounded more like a shriek. Could the fool not see the beast wanted his mistress, and his mistress only?
The guards drew closer, readying themselves to protect her from the wild animal if need be. "Thyros," Jaylah demanded in a low voice, and his front two hooves hit the ground again. Knowing this had the capacity to go very wrong very quickly, Jaylah extended her hand to his pitch black nose.
There was a moment in which her onlookers stood deathly still, and the beast did not move. Then, gradually, he lowered his nose for a split second to rest against Jaylah's open palm. As she looked into his eerie eyes, she felt more at home than she had for days at the palace. A small slice of her childhood was staring right back at her.
When he recoiled again, put off by the presence of the other men, Jaylah retrieved the saddle and reins from the stableboy's callused hands. For a moment, it felt like the old days. But nothing was unchanged.
With the stableboy and guards at an acceptable distance, Thyros did not balk as she hoisted herself atop his back. From their collective gazes, Jaylah saw they still believed the beast would buck her off. But she knew better. Soon, she was far from the stables, with Thyros's heavy hooves thundering through the estate's wide western gardens. She would inspect every inch of the western barrier to be sure everything was to her standards. No assassins could enter this time. Her guards followed on steeds of their own, but at a safe distance. The absence of courtiers, with the beautiful array of manicured grounds surrounding them, gave her a sense of freedom that felt like flying.
Thyros seemed to feel it also. His breed was renown for its strength and speed, but he galloped faster than she remembered him having the capacity to do. Jaylah closed her eyes, letting the bright sun hit her face. Given her newfound duties, she had not gone outside since she returned. The breeze blew her hood back and made stray hairs fall over her forehead from her braids, but Jaylah did not mind. There, she was not anything to anyone.
Jaylah opened her eyes to gaze down at Thyros's back and neck, which was littered with dark scars through his dark dappled coat. She remembered his arrival as if it were yesterday. When he was offered to the King as a present from Etharia, he had been especially pleased because the yearling was a Ravian—a rare, massive breed. The colt would bring him even more prestige and power when he rode him into battle with the Navrikans.
But the horse the King got was not the one he had expected. Instead of a well-behaved steed that would obey even the lightest flick of the reins, he got an aggressive beast that struck fear into even his own handlers. Their arms were littered with bleeding bite marks. One was even knocked unconscious by a mighty strike of the beast's heavy hooves.
Where the King only saw his rage and difficulty, Jaylah saw the beast's fighting spirit. She took ownership of the horse when her father deemed him a lost cause to be put down.
It took months for her to gain his trust, for men had taught him to fear them for their whips and fists rather than to love and obey them. But those long days in the stables with him, ducking away from her tutors and parents were some of the best moments she knew.
In the end, she was the only one he trusted enough to even touch him. Apparently, in her absence he had become even more ornery and wild than every before.
The Queen never liked Jaylah being involved with such a beast. Horsemanship was not a typically female skill, and she had to put up with the other court ladies hinting at her lack of parenting skills because Jaylah continued to excel in it with callused hands and dirty nails. Besides, she always feared Jaylah would injure herself. Her father had no qualms against her taming the beast, and though he was sometimes disgruntled when he realized how much time she was spending away from her duties of being groomed into the next ruler, not once did he discourage her.
But, as good things had a tendency to, it always came to an end. After noting the perimeter's security was exactly as she wanted, Jaylah knew my duty was to meet with Antinoch and join her in their weekly meeting with the advisors. Brushing her sleek riding pants off, Jaylah regrettably shut Thyros back in his stall and left him behind to be prepared for her impending engagement procession.
Perhaps she could make this instance different. If she forced it to, she could make the good stay this time.