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Chapter 37 - Bloom
Luella
She laughed.
Shocked. Amused. Hurt. Titillated.
Francilia and I saw many emotions play on Cora’s face. We had propositioned her. I would give her as many clothes and jewelry as she wanted as long as she flirted with Ari for information.
“You know that Ari does not like dark-skinned women?” she asked, tears in her eyes from laughing.
“How do you know that?” I demanded. Suddenly, Ari was beginning to look worse in my eyes, if that was even still possible.
“That is not true,” Francilia muttered, head bowed. She did not seem to notice that we heard.
“What do you know of it, Francilia?” I asked, my voice rising another pitch.
“It is nothing. I heard some rumors about Ari and his family.”
“Well, tell us.”
“Yes. They said that Ari’s mother was Metheus’ father’s lover before he met Queen Erani.”
Cora coughed. I looked at her curiously.
“So, you knew about it? Do you think Ari would have held a grudge against King Doro and Metheus?”
“Nobody would think that, Your Majesty. However, Ari is not a good man. Not at all. I have indeed seen Ari with women of all colors. All ages. All kinds: witches, humans, and more,” Cora amended. “So, maybe Francilia is right. But Ari had never been with someone from Rama. It may be because Queen Erani is from Rama.”
“It is Rama that he must be against,” Francilia said. “We must ask Razuku. He seems to know everything.”
“Yes, he does,” nodded Cora.
We called on Razuku and Eli to join us in the maze. We sat down on the grass, all five of us, like equals. I wanted to ask Rowali to join us, but I did not know if she should hear about what would be said. I vowed to spend more time with her.
“Ari?” Razuku laughed.
I frowned. Nobody seemed to take Ari seriously. Was my imagination at fault here? Did I see a deeper conflict when I was merely dealing with a seducer?
“So, do I have anything to worry about Ari?”
“His Majesty King Metheus and I had been friends since childhood. He also had connections with His Grace, Duke Ari,” twinkled Razuku, reminding everyone of Ari’s title. Why was it so easy to forget? Why was it so easy to underestimate this Prozeus duke? Perhaps it was the same way people dismissed me because of my outward vanity that made them forget who Ari was.
It was why he was able to insinuate himself here. It seemed that my mother accepted his reason – that he wanted to see if I was fine. If he were harmless, he was probably here to save himself. Either way, it was unpalatable. He was either a snake or a coward. Or both.
“Do we have anything to worry about the duke? Yes, he is a pompous ass, for one,” Razuku said, shaking his head. “He likes women and wine too much. Could he have held a grudge against King Metheus’s family? It is possible. I would not trust him.”
So, Razuku agreed with me. Beyond the pampered surface, there was something about Ari, just like there was more to me than what people would readily accept.
“Are you willing to find out more about him, Cora?”
Cora looked like a trapped animal, eyes large with surprise and anxiety.
“Your Majesty, I do not know how to begin.”
“Imagine he is -,” Razuku began but paled under my narrowed gaze.
I knew what he was about to say. He wanted Cora to imagine she would be flirting with Metheus. Of course, I understood. I could not imagine being in love with a man for so many years, and then another woman would just come along to snatch him up.
