Would you dance with me my lord?

Early mornings in Monterobis were cozy. Although it was winter and there was snow everywhere, it was very different from Skara.

Ashite realized that every time she woke up. She could not go to sleep easily. Unlike the palace that she used to stay in, Lotte Bishel, the room was so warm yet strange to her still. She kicked the comforter off of her. It was snowing last night, too. She walked to the window.

It was early morning and she could barely even see the sun, but Ashite was standing still by the window. Her finger touched the frosty window. Warm silence. She drew two meaningless lines on the window. All of a sudden, she freaked out and turned her head around.

There was the scream of a woman.

She was scared. Goosebumps were covering her skin. She let her finger slide down with a squeaky noise. Ashite walked fast all the way to the door then stopped. <> she thought.

The scream was heard once again. Ashite swung open her door. She tiptoed her way out then stood next to the wall. Then she peeked down the hallway. She could see a head of dark hair. The woman was spitting words out of order. The words are coming out of her mouth one by one, slowly, as the woman was hyperventilating.

“Please, your majesty. Let me, your maj— Don’t, no, please—”

The words tangled up with a sharp scream and crying to the point where she could not tell if what she heard was from the present or the past.

<>

It happened a long time ago, yet she could hear every single word like it was happening just in front of her. It was still left in her. She wanted to forget but she couldn’t. it echoed in her head. Ashite shook her head.

There was a woman screaming in the palace, which should have been the safest and peaceful place in the land, but all she could do was stay in her room. She had been living with her eyes and ears closed.

But the scream from the woman sounded so familiar.

Suddenly, the scream stopped. There was no sound. Ashite stepped away from the wall and again looked down the hallway. From far away, a woman was being dragged out barefoot. Her black hair was tangled and her clothes were barely covering her. Two knights wearing black and red uniforms were dragging the woman who fainted as if they were taking care of something dirty.

She may not have realized, but Ashite was not breathing. It was almost as if she forgot how to.

Hearing the woman’s scream get cut off suddenly, she assumed that the woman was dragged out after she fainted — she appeared at the end of the stairs leading to the upper floor. Ashite was staying on was the third floor, and the fourth floor contained the king’s bedroom. Looking at her outfit, it seemed like that was where she came out from.

They disappeared from the hallway. They went downstairs. Ashite walked back to her room. She locked the door and breathed out. She was out of breath. It was rare to hear a scream early in the morning, especially in the royal palace. No matter how much they tried to cover it up, there would be people talking about it in the capital and maybe even further into the region.

Ashite went back by the windows again. She quickly wiped them. She could not feel any coldness. Looking down through the window, she could see the knights still dragging the woman. One of the knights pushed the woman roughly into a carriage, then he put himself in it, too. The other knight talked to the horseman for a bit then went back into the palace. The black carriage disappeared into the snow as if nothing ever happened.

Ashite’s body dropped to the floor. The anxiety came in like a wave. She could only guess what just happened, but she didn’t know for sure. She started to worry more as she did not even know who the woman was. She kept biting her lips.

Ever since she heard that scream, she could not think clearly. The calmness that people from Skara were known for had disappeared. She could not even imagine how much her face was distorted. <> she tried to tell herself million times. Then she could finally breathe again. She could finally think again, as if her frozen thoughts were melting down.

If that woman was not a sex worker or if she was in a position to be respected, how disrespectful and rude would the owner of this palace have to be? What if this was not the first time this sort of thing happened? What if there were many other women before her?

Ashite felt like something was suffocating her. The room was warm, but she was shivering. Soon she hugged her own body. She curled up her body like a child and breathed quietly.

<> She believed in the king’s cruelty and the bloodshed that he often made, but she also believed in the promise of the king. The two conflicted with each other, but it was true. Karbala witnessed his promise and Etutu was commanded to escort her. There was nothing more certain than that.

But the king made a mess this early morning. That woman was definitely dragged out of the king’s bedroom, and the two royal knights must have gotten that order from the king. <>

Knock, knock—

Ashite raised her head. There were no steps she could hear. Her face turned white.

“Your highness, it’s time to wake up.”

It was just the servant. She was a royal servant, so there was no wonder why her steps were so quiet. The sun rays were coming into the room one by one. It was already time for everyone to wake up.

She wondered how long she had been sitting down like that. Ashite took a deep breath and stepped towards the bed.

“Okay.”

“May we come in?”

“Come in.”

About six servants came in and greeted her. They brought a bowl with water, scented oils, and makeup and put them down by the bed and vanity table. As they were getting ready, the oldest servant asked Ashite a question.

“Your highness, how would you like your breakfast?”

“Bring it into the bedroom.”

“Yes, your highness. Your plan for today is—”

Plan? There was such a thing? Ashite gently stopped the servant from speaking.

“Is there anything special going on?”

“Yes, your highness. The king has invited you to lunch.”

She felt like she could not stand anymore. Ashite fell on her bed as if someone pushed her. She felt like she was right by the end of the cliff.

***

<>

That memory again. She thought for a moment. It felt like she was falling into the cold, deep darkness in her head. Ashite closed her eyes.

“Your highness?”

“The… the breakfast. I don’t want it anymore.”

“Yes, your highness. We will start getting you ready.”

Her dark waves of thoughts were continuing. By the time she stopped and looked into the mirror, she once again found herself in the white, see-through, off the shoulder dress. Maybe there was a reason why the servants kept making her wearing such things. Although she knew this was traditional clothing in Monterobis, she wanted to request to wear something else.

Ashite could not show it on the outside, but her anxiety was getting worse and worse on the inside. But then when she thought about the pact with the king and escort from Karbala, then she calmed down. Then again, she could not stop thinking about the king’s knife. She thought maybe it was the dress she was wearing or the mess that happened in the early morning. Her feelings were going high and low like a crazy person.

However, she had no options. There was no reason for the king to murder her when he promised her peace. It was the only reason she had to live and she wanted to take care of that matter safely. She knew her resolution wouldn’t break that easily. Although she knew this, her steps towards the king were heavy.

“Princess.”

By the time she got to the door, the servant gently greeted her. It was only to get the awkwardness out of the room. She almost made a funny face. Usually, she would tell herself to have better behavior, but Ashite could not stop zoning out to her deep thoughts. She simply took a few steps back.

The servant announced the presence of the princess to the king, then opened the door. A light brighter than sunlight filled her sight. Ashite grabbed her dress as if it were the only thing she could hold onto, then started to walk into the dining table. Lu Habre, who was already there and sitting down, stood up to greet her.

Ashite greeted him with the slow bow, in the manner of Skara.

“Greetings to your majesty, from the third princess of Skara, Al—”

“Stop it.”

The voiced echoed quietly. Ashite was surprised, like a person who had been slapped by a stranger. She swallowed her greetings, but she could not hide her surprised face. She looked up as she got cut off mid-greeting. With her knees awkwardly bent, she looked at the king. She was not aware of her impolite manner of looking at the king, asking why he stopped her. Technically, it was impolite of the king to cut off her greeting like that in the first place.

“There is no need to do such a greeting from now on.”

With this simple gesture, Ashite knew that the king cared about her.

Thinking like that, she felt better. She calmed down, perhaps a bit too much. She was able to tame her facial expression. Then she could face him with proper behavior.

While she stayed here, she would have to meet the king numerous times, and having the long greetings every single time would be a bit odd. However, she also realized that it was just a habit of hers. That was how she acted in Skara.

In Skara, it was only proper manners to greet a person with a long introduction if they were royal or someone important. Whichever country someone was from, they usually had more than three names and the higher their class was, the longer the name was. That was why it took a long time just to do the greetings in Skara compared to other countries. Some foreigners were not in favor of this, as they always included the name that people do not use in the introduction.

Lu Habre was one of those foreigners. It’s such a tiresome manner, he thought. He was not used to it, and he did not want to get used to it. Just a simple greeting would be enough for him. Although the manners and attitudes required in Monterobis were strict, simple greetings and a bow were enough to show respect.

“Are you aware of the greetings people do in Monterobis?”

Ashite thought of the occasion. She remembered the way Karbala greeted the king, and she followed that. All she needed was simple respect for the king of the country. She bowed down to her waist then closed her eyes gently. Then she drew the shape of a dragon’s wing on her forehead with her finger. After that, she could say something like, “It is nice to see you.” When she left a meeting with the king, she would say, “Ou Otoi Monvixo Le-Hoshuchoihre.”

Lu Habre nodded. He seemed to be very satisfied with it. The hand movement was not awkward, and her accent for the language of Monvixo wasn’t too bad either.

“You are very well aware of it.”

“Thank you, your majesty. I tried to bring back the memory of what I observed before.”

Her anxiety and nervousness already melted down like snow. She was able to relax a little when she looked at him.

“Thank you for all the kindness you have arranged for me, your majesty.”

“Sit down. Let’s eat.”

Lu Habre waved to show that it is his pleasure and offered her to eat. It was the second time they were having a meal together. Unlike the first time, Ashite’s mouth was watering. Steamy cooked fish and various foods with different sauces and spices caught her eyes. Ashite smiled then held her spoon.