He guided her throughout the castle but, as they got closer to the location of the second banquet, Cessilia noticed he was frowning, lost in his thoughts.
“Ashen?”
“I’m just thinking... Next time, I have to be more careful. I might really get killed before I get to meet our child, you know.”
“W-why are you saying that now?!”
Ashen sighed and shook his head.
“I’m being rational. ...I’m pretty sure your dad and brothers will take my head the minute they find out.”
After a second, Cessilia laughed, unable to hold it. This part, at least, sounded like a reasonable concern of his...
Chapter 19
“They won’t be late, right?” muttered Nana, while pacing back and forth in the corridor.
“They will definitely make it,” sighed Tessa. “They are probably just acting all lovey-dovey who-knows-where...”
She crossed her arms again, leaning against the wall. They had only been waiting for a few minutes, but the atmosphere was tense, as expected. It wasn’t just because her cousin and the King were a bit late. That guy was the King, he could probably be late all he wanted. No, Tessandra had an odd feeling since seeing the Lords from the different clans walk by earlier. The two girls had bathed, changed into new clothes, and even grabbed dinner with Sabael. Thankfully, the young soldier had apparently decided to stop teasing her each chance he got, so she had been able to eat comfortably. Probably because things were getting more serious in the castle. Tessandra glanced at a duo of Royal Soldiers walking by again.
“...Familiar faces?” she asked Sabael without looking at him.
“Not really.”
He had an odd feeling too. All of the Royal Guards they had seen so far seemed to be strangers to him. Although he was usually posted to the Inner Wall, Sabael should have had at least some sense of familiarity, but there was none. Tessa caressed the handle of her sword, frowning a bit. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing that she had chosen a more practical outfit rather than a ceremonial one...
“Do you think the clans are plotting something?” she muttered.
“Definitely. The Yekara and Pangoja Leaders are not happy with the King choosing Lady Cessilia over their candidates... I heard the last Royal Council caused quite an uproar after she made an appearance too. If they know they might lose, they might act before they really lose everything...”
“That can’t be good,” muttered Nana, nervous. “They own so many military forces! Their private militia was estimated to be over three hundred soldiers in the Capital alone just two years ago, and it’s been growing since then...”
Tessa turned to her.
“What else do you know, Nana? About the Yekara and Pangoja?”
“They are two of the oldest and most established clans, and among the largest ones,” she immediately began reciting. “The Yekara grew from an ancient military family after they recruited a lot of the forces that had turned their back on the ancient King, and they heavily invested in combat training and weapons. The Pangoja have money. Lots and lots of money, but their military power is only about a fourth of the Yekara; they mostly use their money to hire mercenaries. They both have at least three residences within the Capital and many more properties.”
“So if those two began to cooperate...”
“A catastrophe,” sighed Naptunie. “That would be a catastrophe!”
“It’s highly unlikely, though,” said Sabael. “The two clans don’t see eye-to-eye...”
“You can never know for sure,” Tessa grumbled. “People with common enemies become friends surprisingly quickly...”
Just as she finished her sentence, Cessilia and Ashen appeared at the end of the corridor, holding hands. Tessandra smiled. Although she wasn’t fond of the King himself, she had rarely seen her usually shy cousin looking so happy.
“...No need to mention all that to those two,” she muttered to Naptunie and Sabael.
“Why?”
“They probably already know,” she said, moving from the wall.
The five of them met up in the corridor, Cessilia smiling at them, although there was a dash of pink on her cheeks. Both she and the King had changed clothes too.
“Lady Cessilia, your hair is so pretty like that! But you don’t have any hair ornaments, will that be fine?”
“I th-think it will,” chuckled Cessilia. “I d-don’t think this c-competition is really about looks...”
Tessandra glanced at the King but didn’t say anything. She shrugged.
“Let’s go,” she sighed. “I have a feeling this new banquet won’t be relaxing at all, anyway.”
She walked ahead, while the two siblings, a bit more self-conscious about the King’s presence, politely let him and Cessilia through first. Their little group made their way downstairs in silence. The closer they got to the cave where the banquet was being held, the heavier the tension got.
While going down the stairs, though, Cessilia couldn’t help but admire how their surroundings became less handcrafted but more natural. The walls were now irregular, designed by the waves that once reached this place. The windows were rarer too and were the last things men had put in there. Even the stairs got less and less equal, more uneven and forcing them to watch their steps. The path was narrow, forcing them to come down two at a time. Had everyone come down this narrow path? It didn’t leave much room for a proper evacuation in case something happened... It would be easy to block the way out too. Her cousin probably had the same thoughts, as Tessandra kept nervously glancing all around.
Finally, they reached a much more open area. It wasn’t a room per se, more like a very large cave that had been designed to look like a hall. The ceiling was entirely made of stone, some stalactites even coming down from the ceiling. There were only a handful of windows, all too small to brighten the whole cave without the help of a few well-placed mirrors, some torches lit up against the walls, and at the other end of the cave, a small lake. Just like the one she had been to with Ashen before, this water was crystal clear, almost turquoise, and reflected the light like a large mirror. There had been a conscious effort made by the human craftsmen too. Unlike the roof of the cave, all of the walls up to a certain height had been decorated with gorgeous mosaics, most made of stained glass, shaped gems, or polished stones, to represent scenes or beautiful designs. A portion of the cave’s floor had been dug to an even level and had a clean floor of stained glass and polished stones. It was as if the lower half of the cave had been made into a large hall, while the top was still very natural, where no man’s tool could reach. It was a truly unique place, beautiful both by the efforts men had made and the natural talents of nature.
The cave was large, but most of it was used as an arena, just like Naptunie had described. A large circle had been dug below the natural cave’s floor, while stairs had been carved all around, three levels for the guests to sit around it. Outside of this arena, the cave was mostly left to its natural state, with only three entries like the one Cessilia’s group had just walked out of, small holes on the other side, probably dead ends to smaller caves, and the little lake. As they finally reached the last step into the cave, Cessilia was surprised by the sand color of the stones around, much clearer than the ones from outside. Perhaps the lack of seawater and sunlight reaching them had preserved the stone’s natural color...
“It’s so beautiful!” exclaimed Naptunie, saying out loud what Cessi was also thinking.
Her voice echoed in the cave, attracting all eyes to their little group. Although the cave was very large, the echo was equally as impressive, and thus, the smallest sound could be heard everywhere. Moreover, the people already seated on the steps of the arena had been rather quiet, or only whispering, thus their entrance was not discreet at all.
