Leif allowed the men and women to swim for another half hour before he announced it was time to leave and soon everyone was back on their mounts.
They travelled at a fast pace leaving no time for chatting as they did before. But just as dusk fell, the large white palace came into view.
Rowan gasped as the tales she heard as a child rang true. She was told the palace the High Kings and Queens resided in was white as snow and taller than any tree, even the mammoth red woods in the Venetian forest. Lights twinkled in every window, looking like the stars above her and with each step her mare took she became more mesmerized.
As the caravan reached the gates, she sat up in her horse and looked straight ahead as if she were about to ride into battle. Not only did she want to make a good impression, but she wanted to bring the Glade and the High Kings and Queens the respect they deserved. She considered it an honor to even be this close to the palace, and the thoughts of meeting the infamous High Kings and Queens made her feel giddy. Of course, they are not the original Royals who designed the treaty and conjured the Skabelse, but every fifty years a young ward is chosen from a tribe and highly trained to take their place. Rowan was even told that a little over four hundred years ago a Daughter of the Glade was even chosen.
At the gates stood two dozen guards. They were covered in silver and gold armor, with intricate ivy leaves and vines delicately decorating their breastplates. They stood in a single file line and had their right hands on the hilt of their swords. Even though they were covered from head to toe, she could easily tell they were men from their statures.
"My name is Leif, we a-" he started, before a guard cut him off in a thick accent, "We know why you are here. Follow the brick road to the main palace doors." Rowan struggled not to raise an eye brow at the man. Guess they have been expecting us then.
The large gates groaned as they were opened, and the caravan fell into a single file as they entered.
Bjorn's jaw dropped open as he took in the sight before him. All around him were shops and small houses. Blacksmiths, bakeries, seamstresses, carts loaded with food, and tavern named The Bannered Lion. It looked very similar to his home Rorik as the smell of stew and freshly baked bread filled his nostrils. But what shocked him more was that he could see men and women in the shops laughing as children balanced on their knees. What in Gods name is going on here!? He too had heard the tales of the alabaster palace and that it could reach the clouds, but never was she told that both genders had homestead here. It angered him that such a secret was kept from not only him, but the entire continent of North America. Were all High Kings and Queens living this way? That was a question he needed answered.
He looked to his right at Leif as he wondered if he too had learned of the palace's secret, and by the way Leif's eyes were wide he knew that he had. Bjorn quickly turned around and spotted the silver-haired woman a few horses back. When he met her eyes, he slightly nudged his head to the left, telling her to look.
Rowan slowly did as he instructed and ever so slightly moved her eyes to the tavern. On the wooden porch sat a man and a women enjoying supper together, each had a young toddler squirming on their knee. She almost fell from her horse and had to tightly grasp the horn of her saddle. Xenia gave her an odd look but carried on.
Rowan couldn't help but to wonder what it would be like to share such a life with Bjorn, but even more so she couldn't help but to wonder why the High Kings and Queens allowed such a life. Were they not the ones that ordered men and women to stay apart?
As they grew closer to the white oak gate, she spotted more and more obscure scenes of men and women living and working together. She strained her eyes onto the back of Bjorn's head in order to keep her eyes from lingering any longer. It was none of her business how the High Royals wished to live, it was only her duty to serve and obey them, not to question their personal lifestyles.
Reaching the palace doors, they were met by a small woman with dark hair and thin lips. She was pale and timid looking, and draped in a navy blue robe. By the way she acted, Bjorn wondered if this was the first time she had met an outsider.
"P-please follow me," she instructed, turning on heal. The young prince and Leif shared a looked before dismounting. The others mirrored their movements, and together the men and women followed the small women inside.
Soft music played, echoing down the halls, and Rowan could smell a hint of lemon as she walked through the large corridor. Paintings hung on the walls every few yards, and she even recognized some from her textbooks. There was the portrait of the woman with dark hair and pale skin, her hands were crossed and she hand the faintest smile on her face. There was another that looked like a man was screaming obscurely as well as one with melted objects draped over a bench. She remembered learning that they were called clocks and people used them to keep track of time. Her teacher had said these paintings were once kept in buildings called museums and people from all over the world would travel just to see them, thought she didn't understand why, for they looked dirty and fragile to her.
Unlike the last fortress she was brought to, this one was pristine and inviting and gave the sense of security.
On and on they walked, passing statues and assembled warriors in armor that stood atop of small podiums and platforms and she wondered if they were really people inside or if it was just for show. Considering everything else on display, I assume it is the latter. It was not until they passed a statue of a naked man that Rowan instantly stopped. The woman shrieked and Keira, the youngest Gladeswomen in their party who was not yet sixteen, fainted. The men belted out in laughter at the women's reactions, not able to contain themselves. Kestrel quickly caught the young woman and laid her on the marble floor, fanning her hand across her face.
Rowan blushed and whipped around to avert her eyes and looked at her feet.
"Have you never seen photographs of the Statue of David?" The robbed woman asked, slightly smiling. She too found it funny how the Gladeswoman reacted.
All of the women quickly shook their heads no but flared at the Rorikmen for laughing at them. "Oh shut up. I bet you too would faint at the sight of our nether regions," Meliana spat, helping up Keira. The men laughed again and Hvitserk grinned, "You are quite right Gladeswomen, but it wouldn't be out of embarrassment," he retorted with a wink.
It took her and the other women a moment to realize what he meant, and when they did he received many obscenities from them.
Rowan looked up from her feet and met Bjorn's eyes. He was smiling at her and wagged his eye brows, causing her blush to deepen. "Shall we meet our High Kings and Queens?" she asked out loud, moving in from the embarrassing situation. After a few more death threats to Hvitserk, the women collected themselves and followed the small dark haired woman into the throne room.