Ascension (12 page)

"After you,Fara."

Chapter
12

"Your highness," Croxley bowed
before the King, and I followed suit. We remained kneeled for what
seemed like an unnecessary long time, until the King told us we
could rise. I surveyed the room before once agin resting my eyes on
the King, who was sitting on a large throne made of dark wood,
embellished with a deep red cushion. He wore a white, stiff
collared shirt under a dark blue vest with embellished patterns
threaded in silver. Across his chest lay a sash adorned with badges
and medals. His cloak was heavy and thick, lined in white fur,
contrasting the dark blue color of the fabric itself. I fleetingly
thought how drab my travel-worn, tattered brown frock must appear
to him. His face seemed ageless. His dark brown eyes bore the
knowledge of a lifetime, but his skin was smooth and unwrinkled,
save for the deep frown in his forehead. He was unquestionably
handsome, in a frightening, intimidating way. When those dark,
endless eyes met mine, I quickly looked away to focus on those
sitting beside him in the room.

On one side stood a woman, old but
graceful, holding herself up with dignity. I wondered who she was,
knowing that the Queen had passed away many years ago. I noticed
she wore a stern look upon her face as she ran her eyes up and down
my appearance. On the other side of the King sat a young man around
Croxley's age, dressed in a fine blue shirt that made his green
eyes shine. He had a strong, handsome face, with eyes that held all
the energy of a child's. He was slightly tanned, and his thick
auburn hair was streaked with highlights, suggesting time spent in
the sun. To my surprise, his eyes went directly to Croxley, who
returned the look with a nod, but it was so slight that I thought I
wondered if I had imagined the whole thing.

Shocking me into awareness, the King
spoke for the first time. His voice reverberated through the room,
bouncing off the marble. "You wish to be evaluated? Well then, step
up closer. Don't worry, I won't bite," he joked, although his tone
suggested otherwise. The King grinned, but the smile never reached
his eyes. I knew right then and there that he would never try and
help my people. I would have to find another way.

I took a few steps towards him, and
he leaned forward in his throne. Standing here presenting myself, I
couldn't help but think about Croxley's evaluation, and the
humiliation and hatred I felt towards him. Looking at Croxley now,
I wondered if I had began to trust him, as the only person I knew
up here, to take care of me. His eyes met mine, but quickly looked
away.

"Turn around," the King demanded.
Keeping my eyes on Croxley, confused at his response, I spun around
slowly, holding my stomach in and slightly lifting my chest in the
way I had seen the women in the city do, hoping that I was
satisfying whatever requirements the King had. After I completed my
circle, I searched his face for a reaction, but i had no luck. His
face appeared as if it was made out of stone, not a single crack in
his calm, serious demeanor, as if he knew that he had complete and
absolute control of the situation. Instead, I looked to the woman
for any hints. She still had a stern expression on her face, but
her folded arms had finally been released and were now relaxed at
her sides. If I was correct, her eyebrows were turned up slightly
in interest.

Sliding my eyes over to the man
seated next to the King, I felt a rush of heat as he ran his eyes
up and down my person, apparently just now noticing me.

When his eyes reached mine, I
couldn't seem to drop my stare. He held my gaze for what seemed
like minutes, and the entire time I held my breath. I sunk into his
deep green eyes, glimmering with a hint of mischief, as well as
something else. I tried to peer in further, to figure out what I
saw. Next to me, I heard Croxley clear his throat, jolting me out
of my trance. I quickly lowered my gaze, cheeks flaming. I stood
there for a few more minutes, looking towards the ground, the
silence agonizing. My palms had grown sweaty, and I had to stop
myself from rubbing them on my frock. Finally, the King leaned back
in his throne. "What do you think, Headmistress Mathelda?" The
stern woman, Mathelda, gave me another appraisal. Without warning,
she rose from her chair, approached me, and grabbed my
wrists.

“
Hmmm .... " She
turned them over In her hands, which were cold and bony. "Her hands
are soft. It looks like she hasn't done any hard work in her life.
Unusual for a Nether. Her hair is long and glossy, and her skin is
unblemished." She took hold of my chin, and pulled my face down.
"Her eyes are quite unique. I think she will fit in with my girls
just fine. Oh, but this will never do.
”
Mathelda pulled my knife from my boot, smirking and holding
it up for all to see.
“
There will be no
weapons for you.
”
She handed it to
Croxley, who held it from himself at a distance as if it carried
some disease or curse. The King caught my eyes, tsking his tongue,
and I looked down, my stomach in a wirl.

"What say you,
Prince Erik,
”
the King asked after a few
moments of painful silence. My already-frazzled mind stumbled over
the word " Prince". In Cethin, we don't hear much news about
Ahrenia, or any of the other nations, for that matter, only able to
pick up a few snips from the guard's conversations. I had only
heard them mention a Prince briefly, and it was always in tandem
with discussions of palace balls and parties.

"I find
her
…interesting.”
Prince Erik's voice had
the same nasally pitch that seemed to be shared by all Ahrenians,
but rather than making his voice sound obnoxious, as it did with
Croxley's, it created a musical undertone. "I say we let her stay.
Have you a name?"

Before I could answer, the King
laughed mockingly and declared "Of course she doesn't have a name.
She is from the pits of the earth. What is your number,
girl?"

"923" I responded
automatically.

"Your highness, if I may," Croxley
spoke up for the first time since entering the room. "I have taken
the liberty of naming her myself, just to make the journey with
this scum more bearable. I call her Fara, and it might be less
confusing to the poor dullard if we keep her name the
same."

Scum? The power of his words sent me
reeling. Did I hear him correctly?

"So you gave her
a pet name? Fara, is it? How cute,
”
the
King repeated, rolling the name around in his mouth. Hearing my
name in this man
’
s intimidating voice made my insides squirm, and I had to
fight to keep my trembling hands hidden from his sight.
”It
’
ll do. Mathelda,
if I am correct, I would say this girl belongs in the royal
brothel."

"That was exactly what I was
thinking," Mathelda concurred. I wracked my brain for the meaning
of the word brothel, and with a sudden understanding I knew that I
wanted more than anything to be placed somewhere else.

"Pardon me,
sire," Croxley waited for the King's gesture before he continued
on, "this girl has experience with horses. I think she would fit in
much better surrounded by beasts than she would with the wealthy
lords who visit the brothel. I know from firsthand experience that
she makes for lousy company. Not to mention the fact that the
guards told me that she is equally lacking in bed. If you were to
put her in a brothel, you would more likely end up losing money and
angering guests that making any profit.
”
He waved at me dismissively. "Really, she would be a waste
of time to try and clean up, and a waste of money for any nobles
who want to get to know her a bit better."

Hurt as I was by Croxley's complete
betrayal, I was distracted by the King's reaction. A flash of
skepticism leaped across his face, and then his eyes widened with a
knowing smile. All of this happened within the course of a few
seconds, and once again, I wondered if the stress of the whole
thing was causing my imagination to run rampant.

"Is that right," he finally
conceded. He drummed his fingers against the armrest of his throne.
Leaning back, he concluded, "it seems as though we have a new
stable hand. Mathelda, she is yours to take. I myself have better
things to do. Come along, Erik." We all kneeled as the King and
Prince stood and left the room, and before I could fully straighten
and stand up, Mathelda yanked me by the wrist

"Come on, up with
you. I haven't got all day." She dragged me towards the door, and I
walked passed Croxley. I caught a whisper, I
’
m sorry, as I walked out the
door.

Chapter
13

"This is where
you will eat. Breakfast is at sunrise, dinner at sundown. You are
in charge of keeping your own time, as nobody will bother to wake
you up. If you miss a meal, it is nobody
’
s fault but your own, and you
will just have to make due. In addition, you must check in every
day before you leave and when you return from work. And I will warn
you, should you miss check in, I will be most displeased." From the
tone of her voice, I knew that the last thing I wanted to do was
see Mathelda displeased.

After we left the evaluation room,
Mathelda dragged me down a series of corridors and a flight of
stairs, at the end of which we found ourselves below the castle in
the servant's chambers. Once again, I was underground. A few
servants whisked past us carrying trays, pillows, letters, always
in a hurry. I wondered how many of them were from Cethin, and how
many of them were Ahrenians, forced to work out of punishment for a
crime, debt, or deformity. When we made it to the main room, there
wasn't a soul in sight. It seemed like everyone was too busy to
rest. Without a doubt, I would soon join them.

The room itself was walled with
dirt, with only a few lamps casting light in the center of the
room. Despite the dread rooted deep in my belly, I felt a sense of
comfort at being underground, protected by the earth, no longer out
in the open, vulnerable to the seasons, the forest, and the
creatures that inhabit it. However, I knew that there was much more
danger for me here than there was out in the forest.

The center of the room contained
five long tables, each with a pair of benches that could easily
seat 20 bodies. In the back was a tall stack of bowls and plates,
with a cluster of spoons pilled nearby.

Having had only eaten one of the
small, stale loaves of bread for breakfast, I was in desperate need
for something to eat, but I didn't dare ask.

"Hurry up, no
dawdling!" Mathelda called over her shoulder as she exited the main
room though a narrow corridor. I ran to catch up to her, and as
soon as I fell in behind her, she resumed her orientation.
”
As Headmistress, I have a lot of business to
attend to, which doesn't include worrying about the servants. So
don't call any attention to yourself, and make sure that you stay
out of trouble."

This hallway forked into many
smaller tunnels, and we followed it all the way to the last branch,
which took us to a small room, furnished with two cots and a small
chamber pot in the back-right corner. At the foot of one of the
cots was a light blue dress and a thin pair of slippers. There was
a small opening in the opposite wall, where thin beams of light
shone through to light up the room. "This is where you will sleep.
Change into your uniform and report back to the dining room, and
I'll take you to the horse stalls." She turned around to leave the
room, but on her way out she paused and added over her shoulder,
"On second thought, leave your boots on. I don't want you to dirty
up the slippers. I might have you use them for another job later,"
and then left the room.

I set my bag on the cot and gingerly
pulled off my shift. The sweat from the day had mixed with the
absurd amounts of dirt already in the crude fabric from my days in
Cethin and the week spent trekking through the forest, making it
even more of an effort to get off. Peeling it off my skin, I had
actually begun to pant a little by the time I was finally able to
get free. As I was shaking it out, hoping to rid it of at least
some of the filth it had collected during the journey, something
fell out and bounced behind my cot. Curious, I set my shift down on
the cot and crouched to look behind it. Along with an intimidating
amount of spiders and dust, I found the seed that I had
absentmindedly taken from the storage room.

A twinge of guilt ran through me for
forgetting the seed and letting it go without light or water for
the entire duration of our journey. In a way, I felt like this seed
was a direct connection to home, and in abandoning the seed, I had
abandoned my people. With this realization came a wave of doubt
that I had come not as a voice for my people, but in an attempt to
escape from the dull routine of my life in Cethin. Was I really
that selfish? My mother had though so. Tenderly, I set the seed on
the ledge of the small gap in the wall, deciding at that moment
that I was going to do all that I can to help my people, to put
them before me, and to prove my mother wrong. My first step, albeit
small, was to care for this seed.

Realizing I was wasting time, I
hurriedly pulled the dress on and left the room. I ran through the
tunnel, hoping that I was going to correct way.