Chapter 7 Guests

After the King left, Ayla paced around her for a while, thinking about what she said to him. She knew it wasn´t his fault that the ice wolves attacked Miton and her, or that she got sick, but she was angry at everything. At her brother, for trading his life with hers, and for King Rhobart for accepting.

Ayla took a deep breath and sat on a chair. She should apologize when she would see him the next time.

Around noon a maid came to bring her lunch.

“You are not allowed out of the room until the King summons you,” the maid informed her.

Ayla could not believe her ears. He was locking her up in the room? She tried to breathe but no air entered her lungs. She needed to get outside and look at trees and flowers, hear birds singing and the bees buzzing. She couldn’t and wouldn’t be locked up again. She refused.

Ayla opened the door and was greeted by two guards.

“You can’t leave your room. King’s order,” one of them said.

Ayla had to try.

”I want to speak to the King! He can’t do this to me! He can’t…” A sob escaped her lips.

She counted to ten and breathe. She refused to cry. She would not cry.

“I need to get out. Only for five minutes,” Ayla said, once she was in control of her emotions. “Please.”

The guards looked at each other and one of them shook his head.

“We are sorry and but orders are orders,” one of them said.

She would wait. She would be patient and wait for the King to summon her. After all, how long will he keep in here?

Ayla took a book and started reading and waited. Evening came and still nothing. When dinner was served, Ayla asked the maid about the King. Still no news.

Evening transformed into night, and then morning followed. By the time afternoon came, Ayla was livid. She paced around the room, saying all kinds of foul things about the King. He was going to make her wait. This was his punishment for the way she spoke to him. Very well, a few days being locked in the room meant nothing to her. She only needed a garden to feel the wind running through her hair and the Sun on her skin.

Her eyes fell on the windows and she smiled. At least she would have some fresh air.

Ayla moved in front of the window but no matter how hard she tried, it would not open. She tried pulling and then pushing, but nothing worked. In the end, Ayla gave up. She closed her eyes, inhaled, and put her forehead against the window. And exhaled.

She stood like that for a few moments, and when she opened her eyes and looked out the window and saw the courtyard. In the middle of it stood proud a winter oak.

People were in the courtyard working, laughing, talking, and children playing while she was in her room alone and angry. So very angry.

Ayla was tired of people looking her up. The moment the King would summon her, he would listen to her. Even if it killed her, she will tell the King exactly what she thinks about him.

Her eyes tracked the movements of a man that was working in a smithy. Ayla looked at how he was working on what appeared to be a blade. She kept looking at him until she got distracted by five children playing with a ball. A girl, perhaps eight years old kicked the ball so hard it landed in the shop of a butcher. When an angry woman emerged from the shop with a big knife, the children screamed and ran away. What they didn’t see was that the woman had the ball in the other hand.

Ayla laughed.

Her gaze fell on a lone figure that was standing next to the oak – King Rhobart. She could swear he wasn’t there when she started looking out the window. But she couldn’t be sure.

Even if outside was freezing, he was wearing only black trousers. His back was facing her and he was standing very still. A sword was hanging from his left hip.

Not an ounce of fat, he was pure muscle. No wonder he was so strong.

Wait. Wasn’t he cold? And what was he doing outside wearing almost nothing?

Ayla couldn’t believe she was worried about him. She did not care if the King was cold or not. She would not care.

‘I hope you freeze to death!’ she thought.

Ayla kept watching him for a few more minutes. He stood still like a statue.

The King inhaled deeply, unsheathed his sword, gripped it with both hands, raised his arms above his head, and started training – strike, block, counter-attack, strike, strike, block. His movements were precise like he was fighting an invisible enemy.

On his back, he had some tattoos, some runes, but he was too far for Ayla to see them well.

Ayla kept staring at him, until the King finished his training, sheathed his sword, turned, and looked straight at her, his eyes full of fury – fury directed at her.

She got away from the window, as fast as she could. She could not believe he caught her staring at him like she was some kind of a Peeping Tom.

The next day, when the maid brought her breakfast she also brought a book.

Ayla picked it up, excited to read something new until her eyes fell on the title – “Manners and Etiquette: A guide for proper ladies.”

‘How dare he? Bastard!’ Ayla thought before throwing the book across the room.

Later, when the King was in the courtyard, Ayla looked at him from her window. Like yesterday he was wearing only trousers and sat alone, next to the oak for some time. No one approached him, no one disturbed him, no one looked at him. It was as if he was invisible. A lonely King.

He kept standing there, looking towards South, like he was waiting for something or someone. But no matter how much he waited, no one came.

Ayla refused to care about him, but she felt an ache in her heart.

Bastard!

When Ayla thought that she was looking at a statue, the King started his training movements.

She kept watching him, mesmerized by his routine.

As soon as he finished his training, the King turned and looked straight at her and grinned.

‘May the Darkness shallow you!’ Ayla thought and showed him the finger.

He started laughing. She went and picked the book from where she threw it earlier and returned to the window. The King was still outside, laughing. People were looking at him like he had gone crazy, and he still kept laughing.

She lifted the book, made sure he saw it, and started ripping the pages apart. The King laughed even harder.

‘Arrogant bastard! Just you wait!’

Once Ayla destroyed the book, she picked up each piece of paper and feed them to the fire.

It was during the evening of the fourth day when a maid entered her room.

“King Rhobart wants to speak to you. I am to bring you to him.”

Ayla was so happy to be out of the room. Even if she had to see the King.

‘Too bad he didn’t freeze to death,’ Ayla thought before leaving her room.

The maid took Ayla to the dining hall.

“Wait here. I will go and let the King know you arrived,” the maid told her, pointing to a spot next to a butler.

King Rhobart, Milton, Tizgar, Droyn, and three men that Ayla haven’t seen before were seated at the table, eating and talking.

The men did not notice the two women, but something told Ayla that the King was aware of her presence.

The maid went to the King, whispered something to his ear. He nodded and said something back to the woman, in a low tone.

Returning to Ayla, the maid said, “The King will speak to you once the dinner is over. You are to wait here.”

Ayla clenched her teeth. It wasn’t enough that he had her locked up in her room for four days, now he was going to make her wait until he finished his dinner?

She sighed. At least she was outside her room.

Never again, she promised herself. Never again will she let someone lock her up in a room.

While she waited, Ayla decided to listen to what they were talking about. Servants and slaves did it all the time and knew all kinds of secrets.

And Ayla was starving to hear some news about anything.

She focused on their words but unfortunately, the men talked in low tones and she only heard parts of what they were saying.

“…. this past month… came from Myrthana… attacked and killed…,” a bald man said. He was sitting with his face towards her.

Ayla stopped breathing for a second. They were talking about Myrthana but she didn’t hear everything. She wanted to hear more.

It was hard to hear their conversation, so Ayla moved two steps forward. Behind her, the butler coughed but she ignored him.

“The attacks almost ….in Auxaria. … relocate villages that …closer to the Black ….,” a man with short black curly said. He sat next to the bald man.

Ayla frowned, ‘What attacks? Is my brother responsible?’ She needed to hear them better. She took another step.

The buttle coughed again and she missed something that the bald man said. Something about shamans. She frowned. What shamans?

Ayla took another step forward and the butler coughed again. She wished he would stop doing that.

“…. about Kummeral?” King Rhobart asked.

Ayla took several more steps.

“Even in Kummeral, we … attacks. They came …. Drara and …. six villages, killing everyone ….process before … reached them,” a man with long white hair, that had was sitting across from Milton.

When the butler coughed again and Ayla wanted to hush him. He was distracting her.

“Are you feeling alright, Abert?” the King asked.

Before Ayla had the chance to wonder who Abert was, the butler said, “I am fine. It’s just that….”

“Don’t worry about it,” the King’s reply came fast.

Did the King just call her ‘it’? Bastard!

Milton finally saw her. His face became serious made her a sign showing her return next to the butler.

The bald man looked at Ayla, “Girl! We need more wine.”

Author's note - If anyone is reading this, please let me know. This app does not let me see if anyone is reading it, as I can see on other apps. And I don't want to upload the story here for nothing.