AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sitting up, I found myself on one of the standard low-lying beds of Praldia. Most natives made their beds on the floor, but the city folk, including my family, used slightly raised platforms to put the mattresses on.
The bedroom was decorated for a man, but it was sparsely furnished. The décor held a certain elegance. Getting up, I moved to the sliding doors in the far wall. Pushing them open, I stepped into the sitting room.
"Lady Zira."
My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of that voice. Hartwin was a Cyran guard I knew well, just barely an adult, and one of the youngest to ever make elite. He was one of the Prince's personal guards, and he was also Commander Stark's only son. Setting aside a book, he stood from one of the white sofas. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I hyperventilated and passed out."
Hartwin nodded. "The Commander carried you in and directed me to stay until the prince comes back." Moving to a small side table, Hartwin lifted the lid from a steaming plate of food. "He also instructed that you eat something. Apparently, you have not eaten since breakfast. We all know that Avalonians must eat regularly, that your metabolisms burn through everything too quickly."
Swallowing hard, I nodded and sat at the table. Of all the people to leave in a room with me, this was the worst. Thankfully, Hartwin stepped away once I started eating, moving to the window, and watching the sky outside.
"This will be a beautiful view to wake up to every day," he offered.
Pausing, I considered that I couldn't see much beyond the sky from where I sat. Placing my fork down, I went to see what Hartwin meant. The window looked out over the ocean. From how high up we were, I concluded this was the upper level of the prince's residence.
"The view from the other side is of the city," Hartwin informed me, watching me take in the beauty of it. "Saboa designed his palats to give views of the city and the ocean from every window, but only his residence gets to see it all."
Going back into the bedroom, I could see the south side of the city in the distance from here. I was sure other rooms would offer views of every part of the city or ocean, but the south end was the beautiful part of the town. Full of parks, its skyline was the glinting glass of the buildings and the green and mauve canopy of trees.
The palats was built on an inaccessible cliff over eighteen hundred meters above sea level. The only way in or out of the palats was through the teleportation channels. There was nothing but forest from the cliff's base to the city fringes—several hundred kilometers from the palats - where the city sprawled in a large arc from coast to coast. The view was mind-blowing.
A large, strong hand cupped my elbow. When I looked up at Hartwin's dark blue gaze, he dropped his focus to my lips. "You need to eat, Zira."
Growing up, he'd been my friend. His father's property was not far from our own. When I was only fourteen, I caught him trespassing, just a youth out for an adventure. I'd attacked him. He'd thrown me from him, and I'd landed in the river. Guilt-ridden, he waded in to pull me to safety, not realizing that water gave me the advantage.
By the end, we were laughing as we fought, and we soon dragged our cold, exhausted bodies up the riverbank and collapsed. It was the start of a good friendship. Even when Hartwin was accepted to the royal guard a year later, we stayed friends. But we hadn't spoken in two years now, not since he became elite and took the man I loved from me.
"Did the Commander tell you what's to come of me?" I asked as he guided me back to the table. Picking up the fork, I started eating.
"Yes. Even if he didn't, that you are here in the prince's private quarters would have told me anyway."
Stopping with the fork half-way to my mouth, my eyes focused on the bed on which I woke. "That's Saboa's bed?"
Hartwin took the seat opposite me. "Your bed as well now, Princess."
Hartwin was the only person who could get away using my birth title, possibly because when it slipped through his lips, it was anything but official. However, tomorrow, I would again be known by that title for good.
He took my hand, pulling my gaze to his. "He will be a good companion and a good father to your offspring, Zira. I can vouch for him. He will treat you well."
"He's forcing me to join with him—"
"I know." Hartwin cut me off, dropping my hand and standing. "I know everything that has taken place since your parents’ treacherous intentions first came to the Prince's attention, Zira. My father practically raised the prince. When his father sent him here to seize control, my father volunteered to command his army. Prince Saboa has been like an older brother to me my whole life, and we confide in each other about everything."
My head snapped up. "You didn't tell me. You could have at least warned me."
"I am one of the Prince's personal guard and am honor-bound." Hartwin shook his head. "Despite that, Luther is family in my heart. I would never betray him."
A tear escaped down my cheek. "I've lost everything, haven't I?"
Dropping the fork, I rose to go back to the bedroom to be by myself, but Hartwin caught me and hugged me to him. "You have your life," he whispered in my ear. "You have a good man as your companion. I will always be your friend, Zira, but do not ask me to forego my honor."
Stepping away from me so quickly that I stumbled, Hartwin went back to the window, keeping his back to me. "Your life as you have known it may be over, Zira, but you have the opportunity now to forge a new life. How much easier will it be to serve your cause as Princess of Praldia rather than a runaway Princess of Avalonia?"
"You prey on my empathy and ignore that I am a woman being forced to marry a man she doesn't love. You expect me to be willing because it comes with a title?" Hartwin didn't answer.
The door at the end of the sitting room opened. A Praldian woman, her blonde hair wrapped tightly in a bun, wearing the Prince's stone-grey livery, entered carrying several garment bags. Assessing her, Hartwin nodded. Walking around the sunken lounge, the woman went into the bedroom, where she laid the garment bags on the bed.
