KDBookOnline
Share Us
Did my father rape my mother? Did he love her? Are alfar even capable of love? I had so many questions that I would never have answers to. My mother never left any trace of my father for me to find. Did she run, to protect herself and her unborn child? I would have if I were her.
Chapter 7
After three weeks, I was nowhere closer to escaping. There were guards everywhere during the day and at night I slept in the same room as the future king, who just happened to have hearing like a bat. I couldn’t even get up to use the restroom without waking him. Levos was a surprising distraction. His efforts to befriend me continued, but I remained uncertain of his motives.
Levos made the days go by quicker. He made me laugh and kept me on my toes. From a safe distance, I studied the alfar. Magic was still foreign to me. Our Christian teachings declared that their gifts were of the devil. The Christians believed that Satan wielded the alfar’s magic, using it to destroy our world. But the more I saw, the more in awe I was of their talents. They were connected with nature in every sense of the meaning, including the animals that called the forests their home. The alfar could do menial tasks with their magic that made their everyday lives a little easier. How I wished I could snap my fingers and have the day's chores done in an instant.
Though the light alfar had these amazing gifts, they seemed a lazy sort of people. The members of the high houses, whom I catered to daily, relied on their human servants more than their own abilities. Even though they could run their own bathwater with a snap of their fingers, they expected their slaves to do it for them.
None of the members of the high houses fought in the military with Gaelin. The alfar of the lower classes made the sacrifices, as the nobility sat inside of the castle acting as if the world outside wasn’t moving and changing. I guess they felt they were too important to get their hands dirty.
Gaelin commanded what they called the Chamber of Defense. A member from each of the high houses designated a representative to the chamber. Gaelin would inform them on pest problems or any other run-ins with creatures of different races that he encountered. They would decide on the best ways to manage the conflicts and how to best serve their kingdom.
In my short few weeks in the light court, I had begun to learn how to read basic words. The challenge was exciting and fulfilling. At night, I would stay up with a single candle, practicing my penmanship. During the day I tended to my work, making sure Gaelin’s needs were satisfied. I was his slave in every way except in his bed.
After a busy day of cleaning and learning a little about the light courts political structure, I returned to the room, ready to dive under the covers and escape in between the pages of a good book. Gaelin, to my surprise, was waiting in the sitting area in front of the fireplace. On the table in front of him, lay and arrangement of food and wine. He stood, looking a bit nervous as a smile dared to creep across his face.
“I… I figured you hadn’t eaten dinner. I was hoping we could share a meal together, before we retired,” said Gaelin, gesturing to the table.
I placed the basket of laundry down by the door and returned his uncertain smile. “Sure,” I said, trying to seem excited at the opportunity to spend time with him. “I skipped dinner anyways.” I made my way over to the sofa, taking a seat beside him.
He poured me a glass of wine and filled a plate full of fresh fruit and vegetables with a variety of cheeses. I nodded in thanks, unsure of how to begin this awkward encounter.
“How are you adjusting to Urial?” He finally asked.
“It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined,” I replied, placing a grape into my mouth.
“Is everyone treating you well?”
“Yes,” I replied shortly.
He smiled back and nodded his approval. He shifted his eyes down to the platter of food.
I stole a glance at him from underneath my eyelashes, noticing in that moment, he was just as nervous and unsure as I was. It was the most human emotion I had seen any of them express since I had been here. I felt my heart soften.
“Can you… tell me about your duties at court?” I asked, leaning in closer to him.
His eyes lit up at my effort to make conversation and I watched as the tension from his shoulder lessened. “I am general of our military units for the light court,” he said. “I train them, address any security concerns, or military advancements towards other courts.”
I smiled, curling my feet underneath me as I got comfortable on the coach. For the next two hours we got to know each other. He asked questions about my life back in The Frey. I told him about my family and what I had to do to survive.
I learned that his father commanded the military of the light before he was appointed the position. The match between Gaelin and Princess Daealla, King Lysanthier’s daughter, was arranged by their fathers. He did not have feelings for the princess, but that didn’t change the duty he now was expected to carry out. I found it hard to believe a male couldn’t look at Daealla and not have an interest, but I didn’t question him on the matter.
As the hours passed, I found myself feeling more relaxed around Gaelin. He was easy to talk to and seemed to be actually listening when I spoke. I told him about my siblings, spending a few minutes on each of them as I described their personalities and shared stories about our life together. My heart swelled in pain at the thought of them. I missed my family.
I was in the middle of recalling an incident when Connor and Jordan physically got into an altercation in the middle of morning mass over God’s knew what when I let out a laugh, a real laugh. I could see the two boys rolling around in between the aisles as Sister Ester chased after them with embarrassment. Gaelin let out a laugh as well. I took a deep breath, wiping the tears from my eyes as our laughter tapered off.
“Sounds like you had your hands full back at home,” said Gaelin, now only inches from me.
“You have no clue. If I am being honest, this is more like a vacation compared to the havoc some of my siblings would cause back in the Frey. Conner especially,” I said. My face hurt from all the smiling and laughing. I stared down at the cup of wine in my hand, remembering each of their faces as clearly as I could. I furrowed my brow, trying to will the pain of missing them away.
Gently, I felt a small tug on the end of my hair. My attention shifted to where Gaelin now spun a curl of mine around his finger slowly. I brought my eyes up to his, holding his gaze. Silently, we stared at one another as he continued to twirl my hair through his fingers. His eyes seemed to glisten in the candlelight. His face appeared so smooth and soft. It took everything I had not to reach out and brush my fingers across it just to satisfy my curiosity, but I refrained, not sure of what action to take next. A small smile that didn’t reach his eyes sprawled across his face.
“Thank you,” he whispered, “for appeasing me tonight. I am sure this is not the evening you had planned, but I hope I was at least equally as interesting as those characters in your books.”
I chuckled under my breath, bringing my hand up to cover my face. Smiling now seemed foreign to me, but tonight, it came too naturally. “I was not disappointed,” I responded.
Gaelin let go of my hair, standing slowly from the couch. “Good night, Genevieve. I hope to do this again,” he said.