Лия Арден – Mara and Morok (страница 11)
I take a look around and see that the hall is indeed enormous and spacious, I guess it is where all royal balls and events are normally held. The walls are flickering with gold, a line of sculptures stretching along each of them. The ceiling is covered in frescos, which I can see even at this dark time of the evening due to hundreds of candles lighting the room. There are a lot of windows, too, and by day the hall must be dazzling, with all the gold reflecting the sunlight. But now the windows are dark and I can’t even guess what is beyond them.
I spot a table to the right, laden with dishes for the evening meal. On the left, there’s a throne, elevated on a platform and towering over the hall. In the throne sits the current King of Araken, Dmitry Rakhmanov. One glance at the king is enough to see that the demanding task of ruling the country has taken its toll on his health and hasn’t left him many years to walk the earth. His hair must have been the color of gold before, but now it is almost completely silver, and his thinning beard and mustache too are peppered with grey. I can spot a few bald patches on his head despite the servants’ best efforts to hide them by brushing the hair to one side. He must have lost a lot of weight, too, because his red and gold caftan is too baggy, making the king look even older. His hazel eyes are clouded and his whole body speaks of his fatigue. He’s resting his head on a hand, propped on the armrest. Next to the king’s throne, there are three smaller ones, probably for his heirs. One of them is occupied by a pretty, young woman in a powder-pink gown. Her golden hair falls in a thick braid down her left shoulder and loose locks frame her face, making it even more charming. Behind the throne, I can make out Daniel, absorbed in conversation with a dark-haired man. The prince is wearing a spotless crimson doublet, he has clearly had a bit of time in which to clean himself up too. The dark-haired man is dressed in a simple, black caftan. Though they are of more or less the same height, in every other sense they look like complete opposites.
“Brother!” The woman calls to Daniel and rises from the throne as I approach.
The prince is so absorbed, he hasn’t noticed me come in, but now he and the other man turn their eyes towards me. The dark-haired stranger looks me up and down with his brilliant green eyes, claps Daniel on the shoulder and vanishes somewhere behind the thrones. The prince pays him no attention now as his eyes are fixed on my dress. I hope he is not looking at my cleavage.
I face the king, who stares absently in the distance, but then blinks a few times and finally turns his attention to me. When he realizes who I am, he stands up from the throne with his head held high and his eyes adopt a proud expression. I’m relieved to see he still has some strength left in him. It would be more challenging to try to negotiate with a feeble old man. The only absent member of the Royal family is the elder son and the heir to the throne, Nikolay.
Daniel steps down and sets off in my direction but I raise a hand motioning him to return back to his place. Maras might have lived out in the wilderness but we have been taught the ceremony of court. I curtsy, not taking my eyes off the king, and he nods approvingly. Daniel glances at me in surprise, then grins and goes back to stand to the right of his father’s throne. Now they are all looking at me, I can clearly see their resemblance, all three have light hair and hazel eyes.
“Welcome to Yarat, Mara,” the king starts.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“I must admit, when my son suggested this idea, my first impulse was to refuse. I was skeptical and didn’t truly believe it even vaguely possible. But, when all the others have failed so gloriously, I had to resort to this plan in the end.”
The king and his children sit back down on their thrones and I am left standing at the foot of the platform. I’m still in the dark as to why they resorted to this plan. Why raise me from the dead? Getting rid of a few ghouls is hardly worth so much trouble. So, when the king pauses and looks at me expectantly, I keep my silence.
“Well,” he is forced to continue, “you already know my son Daniel. And this,” he points to the left where the golden-haired woman is sitting, “is my daughter Elena.”
“Your Highness.” I turn to the princess and bow my head.
“Welcome, Mara. Your name is Agatha, is that right?” She has a pleasant soft voice. “Brother has told me so much about you. I should say, I’m impressed and glad to have you here. You look wonderful.”
“Did you expect to see a half-rotten corpse, Your Highness?”
“I don’t know… I mean of course not but…”
“I was expecting to see some signs of decay myself when I first saw my own reflection. And I was no less surprised that Your Highness when I didn’t see any.”
Princess nods in response, a little embarrassed. I glance back at the king, who looks even more exhausted now, and decide to cut the courtesies short so that we can finish our conversation before he nods off. Besides, I feel tired myself, it’s been a long day.
“Your Majesty, let us cut to the chase. Your son has not yet explained to me why I am here.”
The king gives Daniel a quizzical look and turns back to me.
“About a month ago, my elder son Nikolay was poisoned.”
“Did he die?” I prompt as the king doesn’t continue.
“No, thank gods. Nikolay is my heir. I have been raising him to be a king. I wanted, when my time comes, to pass the country on to a strong and competent ruler. I wanted someone who would put an end to this long-running and fruitless conflict with Serat and would help return Araken to its former glory. If he dies, it’s all been in vain.”
“Are you planning to sign a truce with Serat?”
“What was that?” the king seems to have zoned out again.
“Peace. Do you want to make peace with Serat?” I repeat slowly trying not to let my irritation show.
“There will be no peace now!” The king throws up his arms. “But gods know, I tried! We had an agreement with Aleksey Lasnetsov that his son would marry Elena. But Aleksey is dead and the other one, Severin, just went and married another, throwing the whole deal out the window!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Elena pursing her lips.
“You tell me, Mara, haven’t I done EVERYTHING? Haven’t I been kind and FORGIVEN him?” the king raises his voice and bangs his fist on the armrest.
I try to stay calm telling myself it’s not me he is angry with. The king stares somewhere above my head, probably not even seeing me.
“I’m sure you were terribly kind, Your Majesty.”
“I still offered him a truce! If he had just gotten rid of his fiancée,” the king spits the word out with obvious distaste, “and taken Elena as his true wife. I gave him a second chance, but he THREW IT IN MY FACE! Do you know what pitiful excuse this suckling gave me?!”
“He said he’d fallen in LOVE!” the king pounds his fist again and almost yells the last word, so that Elena starts and seems to shrink in her seat.
I just stand there watching all of them, watching their reactions. I see now that Daniel only pretends to be disinterested and distracted but he’s listening to his father, his eyes are cold and his lips have become a thin line. Then a slight movement behind the royal family catches my eye. It’s that dark-haired man again. Daniel must really trust him if he’s allowed him to stay during such a delicate conversation.
“I’d say good riddance, Your Majesty,” I say.
“What was that?”
“I’m saying you’re probably better off without this marriage. The Lasnetsovs have traitor blood, I learned that the hard way.” I raise my head higher and look the king in the eye. “You shouldn’t have even promised the princess to them. Their word is worth nothing, as you’ve seen for yourself. You hoped that after the truce Nikolay’s throne would be safe. But why did you think marriage bonds would stop Severin from attacking Araken? I say it would have been worse had the wedding taken place. Elena would be their lever of pressure on you.”
“He wouldn’t have dared,” king Dmitry says more quietly and with less certainty.
I cock my head and give him a cold smile.
“I remember thinking the same about the Prince of Serat. And now I see where I am and remember why I died.”
“So, the rumors are true… He did that?”
“Yes, and I heard it from the victim herself, while she was bleeding to death in my arms.”
“Horrible, horrible,” Dmitry repeats even more quietly, stroking his beard pensively.
“I told you, father, that they are behind the poisoning! Isn’t all the evidence pretty conclusive? They know I’m not a rival for them,” Daniel cuts in.
“So, you believe Nikolay has been poisoned by Serat?”