Carmine

The long red dress was fettered by a wide belt of black feathers in the center and with the outer bands a golden colored twine. It gave off a striking appearance. I leaned over and gazed at myself in this attire which I did think was weird, while Guzton orbited around me.

He was the dressmaker and he was a meticulous one at that. It was like he was making a masterpiece and it was for me.

Corona stood there quite untroubled by this long bid through the corner of my eye. She smiled at me with a knowing glare.

I froze.

Did she notice my glance at her?

Her lips tilted higher. She clasped her hand. “You look beautiful darling.” Yes, I was and it was provided by the temple. Corona was the one dressing me for this occasion, yet she was well-dressed herself.

I was about to say something to that, but I decided to look away and nod my agreement. My courage bubbled up with more power after that shy instance. “I suppose—it is early I did not expect to be dragged out of bed so quick before the sun rises," I said.

Corona moved somewhere behind me. “Sorry about that, but the King has requested your presence quite swiftly as soon as he heard. You will be led into the palace of the city by his escort.”

That was good. If I was going to meet the King, that meant, I could see Para. My old friend from the only good days.

Seeing her again would lift so much dispair off my shoulders.

“I love it sooo. She is scrumptious, the King is sure to devour her up,” Guzton said.

The two Judgments in the room turned their heads towards Guzton.

Corona’s words summed up the mood. “Guzton please refrain from such repulsive talk in the house of her patron.”

“You say that and yet all the men have fornicated many times. The young noble girls enjoy the blessed steel the most.” Not a soul uttered a word. Gustin continued, “I guess when your bodies are blessed by Erot your vitality is truly—godly.”

The judgments gotten ridged. I turned and noted Corona’s shocked expression. I decided to change the subject. “I wonder how soon they will be here?”

Corona recovered with a cut of her eyes at Guzton and her confident smile. “Shoul—"

“My lady!” a hoarse feminine voice called.

Corona whipped her head upward as did I. I gave her a weary smile.

“Guess it won’t be long.” The knock on the door was loud. Corona called out, “Come!”

The servant marched in and curtsied. Corona motioned for her to raise. They talked in hushed whispers before Corona called over the judgments.

I tried straining my ears to listen when a powerful tug on the left side of my dress destabilized me. Guzton’s face was close to me, very close.

He said, “Do not trust anyone."

What?

Guzton pushed me up, but I almost tumbled backward. My mind and body steadied from the shock. I stared down, but Guzton already turned and walked away.

I reached after Guzton.

“Lady Carmine, they are ready.”

My body flinched to hear Corona. I looked back at Carmine’s dull gaze then Guzton’s back, for she was already walked through the door.

What? What was that? What did that mean?

This was confusingly infuriating. I advanced towards the servant and with that we went downstairs.

We walked into that man wearing the golden robes. I learned he was the archbishop. A few Judgments I did not knew were there.

The only one I knew was Xallion and he wore the same armor, but I saw a clearer example of their fighting prowess in their long bows.

But those were not my only ones I would walk with.

It was two men who were sent to get me. We greeted them outside. They looked respectable in their embellished clothing and they carried pretty refined weapons.

They should be able to protect me, right?

Don't trust anyone.

If he gave me that advice in good faith, I would be alone. My eyes narrowed in disgust at the idea.

Why did I have to be alone? How could I an important person not find an ally? Such a thing was a tragedy.

"My lady?" One of the King's guards called to me.

It was time to go.

I inhaled and gathered my courage. "Yes, lead the way."

It was five of us, so two judgments and two royal guards. Our travel to the palace was in the dead of morning.

The district we came from was a residential one and barely anyone was on the cobblestone streets. Was there a strategem to this?

Maybe they were they trying to limit my exposure around regular people. The night caused me to shake with its tight atmosphere.

We moved into a bigger street in between the tall storage towers and small business quarters, yet there were a few people around.

They did not seem too random, for one was carrying a box. It was food produce I wagered. Another was a man in a long black cloak speaking to a portly woman who was counting gold pieces at the entrance of a tall building.

I saw a few other people moving around jars of food, garments, while some set up stalls. A soldier walked through this market district on the creeping horizon. He waved at my escorts, but the men barely gave him a glance.

I surmised they were under instructions to not be sidetracked. We came into a clearing where a fountain sat dry and cracked. Two people existed in this space, one was a well-dressed woman who ran across from the path before us and down a tight alley, the next was my father, on the fountain’s edge?

My father was sitting on the fountain's edge.

A strike of pain cut through my chest as my legs got heavier.

Why was my father here?

He was dressed in a dark blue cloak that straddled over his thick plate armor. A great sword leaned on his shoulder like the mountain in my memories. His chiseled expression and the squarely-cut beard reminded me of that strength I used to trust.

A strength that put me in a prison. Was it truly strong if it feared my debut upon this Earth?

I couldn't even be angry when I gazed into his eyes. He looked so sad, for his eyes were half-closed and directed at the birds by his feet. The crumbs he dropped from his hand became the food they picked at. I drifted back with my heart pinched in pain. My back bashed against something. I looked back at the judgments behind me.

They stared at me like I was mad. I looked back at the fountain, nothing. Did I see him, no, wait, I wavered my eyes. The crumbs were still there, the birds picked them up, crushed and chewed heartily. My heartbeat was loud.

“Lady Carmine."

I drew back instantly from the voice. The royal guard looked shocked, and held up his palm.

“My apologies, my Lady, I did not mean to stand in your path.” He even curtsied. I looked back at the fountain and then at the two royal guards. Their eyes were rife with concern.

“Are you ok, my Lady?” He looked at the fountain and then me. This guard must have noticed that I saw something. “Is there something bothering you, my Lady?”

I looked back and noted his hand on his sword. The others were making cautionary glances around them.

My skin crawled with the possibility that I was not safe anywhere. I said, “I am fine, I thought that woman looked familiar. I must be mistaken. Please do carry on.”

The royal guards nodded at each other and continued onward. Rubbing it out from my mind, I focused on what was ahead.

The birds cried out and that shook me for a second. High in the sky were two towers with baristas situated on top of the wall below it. The wall curved leaving restricted straits in between the lower wall that enclosed the other bounds on which the city sat on.

This palace sat on a higher plane with a wide channel, a huge depth and the resulting gate lowered for our convenience.

It descended at the end of this suffocating path. The buildings were higher here. They dominated with their cold metal aesthetic for no wood was present in this place. It was nauseating or was it my life that was revolting to my senses?

The light of the torches that led out from this path hung on square wooden planks that were struck into the ground. It looked like a tunnel, but I was not enclosed even with the stale air.

Now on the drawbridge, I kept my back straight even though I was likely to die soon. The top of the smooth rising stone wall hid the forest of a garden nestled inside the inner walls, while the large pond of water held no warmth.

It was cold, dark and dead, not even a ripple. We reached and a large number of guards presented themselves at the open gateway. They nodded as we passed.

Stepping into the courtyard, I looked into the ever-lightened blue hue of the morning. The walls still held desperately onto the shadows.

We ambled from the courtyard into a small passage and found ourselves looking down a long stairway. This path was poorly lit and gave the shadows new life, for so many claws and jaws shifted along the width of it.

A round room revealed itself at it's end and the lights within blazed too bright. It cast the alabaster-stained room into an eerie atmosphere as we stopped.

The guard before me whispered something, while the other one nodded.

He looked beyond me.

I turned to see Bishop Kello.

He walked from a passage opposite us and beside him was Valor. A short and majestic woman followed behind them and she batted her eyes at us with her red glowing hair.

That smile she gave me swept up a reverie of emotions.

I knew her.

But I didn't recognize her.

Was she a friend of Para?

She wore a bell sleeveless dress with a drawn waist, while on the chest was the imprinted figure of a lion illustrated with yellow glows of the mane. The golden bangles that covered her wrists extended all the way to her elbow.

We all made our way into a much darker room and it was a huge one. On each side of us, stands, rows of stone benches, the columns in between swirled snake heads. There were a lot of snake statues.

I fidgeted at the sight of them. Before me were banners, behind the throne chair. Each banner represented a different nation.

Elam’s banner of wings grew on either side of a gripped sword with feathers layered off one side. Eathen’s symbol had its kite shield, with a fist on the top right, an open book on the top left, a snake on the bottom left and a bear on the bottom right.

My home’s banner was flaunted with the image of a fire encased within palms. Tiam, well, it was a simple one. A literal square with the inscriptions reading, ‘live for life’.

There were others. But I switched my gaze to follow the sharp tapping sound as the figure that appeared before me. He came from the side. His presence was sweeping as was his large entourage.

At least ten or so people, all were greatly dressed. The amount of jewelry they had on, I should be ashamed wearing only this. Voices, I turned, for people were coming in from behind us as well.

This once quiet room was lively with murmurs and whispers. He stepped up on the platform, so I knew he was the leader.

The King stared down with dense piercing eyes.

The fur of his robe that covered his partially hidden armor was thick enough to hide his whole body, but not the imaginary beat of his soul. I wagered it was a mountain bear hide. A stronger animal dead in honor covered this fragile creature that sat on this throne.

A loud thud preceded the pain that bolted up the back of my leg. I jumped and swerved to the side. My hand pressed against my chest in fright and the boom of my heart kept me sated.

A frightened servant girl hobbled before me. I caught sight of the brand on her arm and knew she was a slave.

The warm moisture dripped from the fabric as the dwindling burn on my leg dissipated. I shook off drips of water from the now rolling basin of water. The rag slipped out half-way as that basin's echoing grind on the floor made many people grimace. The guard shot a dire look at the servant and advanced.

The red haired woman shouted, “Take up the saucer and stop wasting time fool, before I throw you off the palace walls!” That guard froze. The woman walked close to me, while the servant girl scooped up the saucer and ran pass the guards.

I looked at this red haired woman, but she instantly averted my gaze.

The King washed his hands. He muttered something with a nasty scowl towards the servant girl. Her legs shook and she stared at the ground without fail.

A gut-wrenching wraith of pity ripped through my stomach.

I curtsied, lifting my head.

“Lady Carmine?” The King spoke. We all stood at attention and stared upward in respect as he took his seat on the throne. He said, “It is good to meet you. Your half-brother sends his regards.”

I sighed, for I hated this. “Which one?”