AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eventually I go out to see what is happening. The day is almost over anyway, so I’ll need to help my father bring our wares into the smithy and close up for the night.
I’ll finish the swords tomorrow morning,I think to myself as I take off my apron.The hilts will go quickly.
My father, when I see him, is ashen.
“Father?” My voice is soft, hesitant. I don’t miss the dread in his eyes. “What is it?”
Sierra comes running over to us then.
“I suppose you’ve heard?” She puffs the words out in the direction of my father.
He nods.
She turns to me and speaks quickly. Her black eyes are sharp and beady.
“A naga army is approaching the village. Right now.”
2
ZALITH
Ican see all of Lodra from where I stand in my chambers.
This section of the castle, the west wing I inhabit, was built by my naga ancestors centuries ago. A curved window spans this entire section of the castle, giving me a view of my entire kingdom.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”I think outloud to myself and let out a slow, steady breath.
I do not know when I started referring to Lodra as ‘she’. I do know, however, that the beauty of this kingdom could only be possessed by a woman.
While Lodra as a kingdom is lush, fertile, and beautiful, the buildings we naga erected years ago are quite plain.
“Wealth in Nagaland, unlike in the rest of Protheka, is not determined by the intricacy of architecture,”I murmur.
Right now, I stand completely still as I look out at my kingdom, while my attendants hurry around me. They are preparing me for my engagement ceremony, and I cannot help the irritation that swells inside me at their flurried behavior.
I have learned, a long time ago, that showing panic or worry is a waste of time.
Then let us not think about last week when you nearly snapped one of your attendants in half because they were taking too long bringing up your dinner.
I dismiss the memory quickly. For the most part, I am in control of everything I do, think, and feel.
I am going to be the King of Lodra one day. It will do me no good to show any kind of emotion.
The naga of Lodra expect a ruler, not an emotional child.
“What do you think, Your Majesty?” my attendant asks me breathlessly between a mouthful of pins between their lips. I am not sure how they haven’t swallowed one yet.
How are you talking while doing that?I think with some fascination.
I turn to the mirror that is behind me and examine the finery I have been clothed in.
I am tall and leanly muscled, so I am usually easy to dress. But this is an engagement ceremony, and my personal designer and tailor have gone the extra mile.
“I look…” I pause and frown at myself. “I look fine, I suppose.”
I know that right then, everyone in the room is suppressing a sigh of relief.
I am wearing a black and gold ensemble, which perfectly matches the shade of my scales. I am also wearing new leather boots with shiny gold buckles. My tailor has outdone himself, and I’ll have to send him a box of mead, imported from Oshta, in thanks.
