The next few days passed quickly. Esther had a lot of fun, racing the stable boys across plains and moors, teasing Makas and Tina as their friendship grew, and running through the trees as she tried to escape the ten guards–which she'd thought was an excessive amount, but she had no say in the matter–that had been assigned to keep an eye on her. She kept herself busy during the day, but at night her mind returned to her dreams. She saw the boy falling over and over again, a look of longing and pain and contentment on his face as he looked at her. She kept wanting to know his name, but whenever she caught herself with it, she would shake herself. Esther, you have to find Dinanatha and warn her, she would tell herself, and her determination to protect this strange woman would spike again. Esther knew that she was probably perfectly capable of protecting herself, but she couldn't help it. It was her older sister instinct.
"You seem occupied," Hoshea commented one day as their journey drew to a close.
Esther jumped. "Oh, yeah. Just thinking..." she trailed off. She'd been trying to figure out how she could find Dinanatha. From what she knew, Dinanatha had been lost for years. No one could find her, not even the most skilled hunters. There had to be something the hunters had missed. Some clue that'd been overlooked...
"Well I can think of one thing for you to think about," Hoshea said, breaking into her thoughts once more. "Just over this hill is Artha, the capital city of Aarav."
An Hour Later
An hour later, they were approaching a pair of deadly looking gates, made of polished silver. The wall that surrounded the city, which was the same height as a three-story tall house, twisted around and out of sight. It was made of white marble with gold veins flowing through it, and looked to be more than five feet thick, making it impossible to break through if you were unfortunate enough to not be welcome. The city itself seemed to glow with wealth and power. It was built around a grassy hill, providing protection for the magnificent palace that sat on top of the hill. The palace was huge, and shone with a light of its own that could be seen for miles in every direction. The radiance somehow pushed through the walls from the very heart of the castle, and even from afar, Esther could tell it was a place of safety, even for the common people of Artha.
When they entered through the gates, Esther saw that even the houses and store-fronts were carefully crafted out of precious jewels. She saw emerald door frames, sapphire roofs, ruby windows, and so much more. Some of the shops even shone as if they themselves were a single crystal in this chandelier of a city. Hoshea explained that they were made of a metal even more precious than gold. It lit up because of some kind of chemical that mixed inside it, like a glowstick, except much more powerful. The mettle was almost impossible to break or bend, which was what made it so precious. It was called lumièr, and apparently they had mixed it with the gold in the city walls so that nothing would be able to get through it without being let through the gate. It was also what made the city shine, literally.
They walked through the cobblestone streets, people turning to stare at them. Esther shifted uncomfortably under the weight of so many eyes boring into her. Hoshea had gone off on some great adventure. Maybe they hadn't expected him to return, and now here he was, a strange girl riding along beside him. Naturally, people stopped what they were doing to get a good look at her.
The city quickly became background sights and sounds when the palace came back into view. Up close it was even more impressive. There were at least fifty towers and turrets sticking out the top, reaching for the sky which was just beginning to turn pink with sunset. The walls were maybe half as high as the city walls, but they were made of diamond and fortified with lumièr. Guards dressed in creamy white tunics and gold leggings with high-top, black leather boots stood at hundred meter intervals all around the outside of the wall, which was miles and miles long–the palace grounds were enormous. The guards wore blood red capes that fell to the back of their knees, and each held a solid lumièr, wickedly sharp spear with a barb at the tip. Esther shuddered to think what it would feel like to have those horrible things rip through her body.
As the caravan approached, one of the guards stepped forward and addressed Hoshea. "Please state your name and your reasons for entering the grand palace of their majesties, King Joachim and Queen Aurora, and their daughter, Princess Fiona," he ordered in a formal voice, but Esther noticed that he and Hoshea exchanged a friendly glance. They were obviously good friends.
"My name is Hoshea and I set out on a...quest...a few months back. I am returning to present to the queen what I set out to find." Hoshea answered slowly and carefully, as if choosing what to reveal and what to keep hidden.
The guard looked a little bored as he looked Hoshea up and down. Suddenly, he shouted, "Ryder!"
A small boy, no older than five or six, came rushing out from a clump of trees. He was young, no older than five or six, and he wore a simple brown tunic that was much too big for him. "Yes?" he asked eagerly.
"Take a message up to the queen. Tell her Hoshea has returned and has brought Di–I mean, the girl back," the guard ordered and the boy ran through the gates, happy to have something to do.
Hoshea looked after him with a small wrinkle between his brows. "Why'd you ask someone to take a message to her majesty?" he asked, confused.
"It's an extra security measure that her majesty put in place shortly after she recieved your messege. She's been getting increasingly paranoid. She is afraid that her daughter is in danger yet again. The king is currently in Ghusun, and isn't due to return for some months."
"I see..." Hoshea trailed off and didn't speak again till the boy returned.
"She said to let them in immediately. She said to escort the girl to the room she will be staying in," the boy said, his chest puffed out importantly even as he panted for breath.
The guard nodded and stepped aside to let the caravan pass. One of the other guards followed.
A few minutes later, Esther found herself inside a huge entrance hall. The walls looked as if they were made of diamond. The guard took hold of her elbow and pulled her away from the rest of the group and through a large golden door on the other side of the room, Denisha following closely.
The guard took her up a long winding staircase that twisted and turned so many times that Esther lost all sense of direction, and through hall after identical marble hall. Esther wondered if the queen had put her room so far from the door deliberately. She doubted she would ever be able to find her way out again. Finally, the guard stopped and gestured to a set of large double doors that were made of solid gold and stamped with the seal of Aarav. Denisha opened it and beckoned Esther into the large room beyond, talking the whole time.
"...of course, I assume you'll get to choose your own room eventually but I'm sure this one will do for now. Come along, we have to get you ready. Now that the queen knows you're here she'll want to see you as soon as possible..."
Esther stepped through the doors and looked around, speechless. The room was huge! The floor was covered with a pale blue carpet, and matching curtains hung over the windows, of which there were many, and each one was as tall as she was and at least five times as wide. There was a large four poster bed in the corner with bright blue hangings and a sky blue comforter. The white pillows were feather-soft and they looked like fluffy clouds floating across a clear sky. On one wall, there was bookshelf after bookshelf–all of which were painted black–full of what seemed like hundreds of books. Esther hadn't realized there were so many books in the world, let alone in one bedroom. On the wall facing it, there was a fancy desk with so much makeup and pots of lip gloss on it that Esther's face felt itchy just looking at it. Their was also a mirror that took up half the room on one wall. The ceiling itself was made of a series of high arches, and detailed murals decorated it from wall to wall, like in one of those old Roman churches. There was a soft window seat on the far wall, along with a pair of glass doors that led to a large balcony that looked out over an open field.
Denisha opened a second set of golden doors and went into a large and beautifully furnished bathroom. Esther heard the sound of running water and Denisha came back out. She bustled around laying out a teal silk dress that had a sweetheart top and a slit up to the thigh. Esther had to fight off a groan when she saw that it had a corset.
"Your hi–miss Esther, your bath is ready. I would make it quick if I were you," Denisha commented lightly.
All too soon, Esther was standing in front of the large mirror, looking at herself with a feeling of dread like a hot coal in the pit of her stomach.
"You look lovely dear," Denisha assured her, misinterpreting the look of complete terror on Esther's face.
"May I come in?" a gruff voice called through the door. Denisha opened it to an annoyed looking guard. "I'm supposed to take you immediately to the throne room." The guard sounded extremely irritated and impatient, like he had much more important things to be doing.
Fifteen minutes later, Esther stood outside a pair of double doors, much like the doors to her own room, but bigger and there were little gems embedded in the gold. Esther's stomach was now so knotted up with nerves she wasn't sure she'd be able to eat anything for at least a week. She looked at the doors apprehensively. In just a few seconds she would be facing an actual real live queen who actually had the power to execute her or something. She knew she should swallow her fear and knock on the door, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Esther took a deep breath and, trying to force all the horrifying possibilities out of her brain, she pushed the doors open. She'd barely gotten a glimpse of a sunlight room that was even bigger than her room before something threw itself at her, latching onto her neck. Esther got the impression of a large bird. All she could see were pale gray feathers.
"Wha–" Esther exclaimed, more than a little shaken.
Suddenly whatever was hanging on her neck let go to hold her at arm's length and she saw that it was a woman. She had pale blue eyes that were heavily lined with makeup. Her hair was a shade lighter than Esther's, and she seemed older, but other than that she looked a lot like the younger girl. Similar powerful build but beautiful figure, similar coloring, and similar eye shape.
They also seemed to have the same "style". The woman wore a dress that was simple compared to the other dresses Denisha had tried to fit Esther into. It was pale gray and the sleeves were made of a delicate lace. The bodice, which was tight but not a corset, was diamond encrusted, and around her waist there was a silver belt that glinted and shone in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. She wore a gold ring that had the same seal as the one on the door to Esther's room. She wore a gold crown with a blue diamond set in the center, but her most stunning feature was the pair of soft gray wings that sprouted out of her back from between her shoulder blades. They were a shade lighter than her gown.
Esther stared at her in wonder. The woman from her dream had many of the same features.