Tayla was by far the friendlier of the two of them. One of the friendliest in their entire family, but even she wasn't having much luck getting through whatever walls Ran Orlo had built in his short life.
"Where are you from?"
He pointed beyond the Camelia.
"Are you traveling alone?"
Shrug.
"Why are you visiting the Camelia?"
Another shrug.
"Do you have family here?"
Head shake.
"Friends?"
Shake.
"How long have you been travelling?"
Shrug. Mela wanted to reach over and smack him off his horse, but Tayla sent her a quelling glance before she could even lift her hand.
The gates of the Camelia were crawling closer, and the sun was almost completely hidden beyond the horizon.
It was a stunning sunset, brilliant orange, pale pink, and fading gold against the black of a burnt land. Someone in their family would spend years trying to capture its beauty in pigment and probably die before they succeeded.
"Do you have any family, Ran?" Tayla sounded so sweet and gentle, but the teenager looked at her with mistrust and disdain.
"Why do you want to know?"
Mela sighed. "Kid, why are you being suspicious now? After you already told us you're travelling alone?"
"Mela." Tayla frowned at her, but the boy scowled.
Mela could practically see him working it out, realizing he had, in fact, told them that, and then berating himself silently as they rode onto the bridge and approached the gate.
It was kind of funny.
The sound of their horses changed as they stepped onto the stone. The gate was halfway across the bridge, and its placement didn't make sense to Mela, but it looked old. Probably too old to move now.
Like a lot of the Camelia. You could see the defensive choices, some that still worked, and some that the estate itself had grown out of as it expanded. Its location alone meant it was nearly impossible to attack, so they could get away with it.
The guards at the gate looked up as the three of them approached. Neither Tayla nor Mela wore their family crest anywhere visible. It would have been suicide on the road by themselves. Bandits were common in the mountains, though they avoided anyone or anything connected to the Imperial Forces.
Mela and Tayla had their identification as members of the Imperial Guard, and it was unlikely the guards would turn the boy away this late at night, but getting in front of Lord Ye would require someone to verify their identities.
Was there anyone in the Camelia that could do that? Neither of them had stopped to think about that when they'd left the capital. Mela figured they would just have to deal with it as it happened.
"Good evening," Tayla smiled at the guards and handed over their papers. The boy hovered behind them, watching the guards with sharp eyes. One hand was fiddling with something, but she couldn't see what. It was too small to be a weapon of any kind, so she wasn't worried.
The guard eyed him, but Tayla leaned forward and amped up her smile. "He's with us for safety. Poor thing was travelling on his own."
The guards pulled back in surprise, and Ran scowled at her back. Unfortunately, it only made her more convincing.
"That's dangerous, boy. Especially going into winter." The other guard shook his head.
It just made Ran sink even deeper into his sulk, but he didn't hesitate when the guards opened the gate.
Mela waited until it was closed behind them before turning to him. "Who are you here to see?"
He glanced away, hesitating.
"Just spit it out, kid. Unless you know how to get around this place yourself?" Oh, based on that glare, he definitely did not. "Just come with us. We're meeting Lord Ye; he's in command of this place. He can get you where you need to go."
Something flickered in his eyes at the name, and he gave them a small nod.
"Good, at least that's settled." Mela nudgedher horse forward. The main castle of the Camelia loomed huge ahead of them, and there were guards at posts dotted along the way. It was still early, so there was a good crowd of people out and about, and the restaurants and pubs were probably open.
Mela's stomach growled, but Lord Ye would feed them as soon as he knew they were there, so there was no point in stopping to eat.
She didn't want to delay her chance to demand to know what the hell had happened.
They made good time despite the crowd, and a helpful soldier pointed them to the stables, where three young squires took their horses and sent them through the side entrance into the main castle.
Another set of guards peeled away to escort them further in, though they looked doubtful about Mela's claims of who they were, and they left them in a small side room with another set of guards who refused to let them leave and kept eyeing the boy like they wanted to question him.
The whole process took nearly an hour, and Mela was rather fed up by the time someone finally came to see them.
She was ready to snap, but ended up snapping her mouth shut instead, because she may never have met Princess Soliel in person, but she recognized their distinctive coloring. Princess Soliel looked like the definition of their bloodline with her pale, moonfire hair and bright, bright green eyes.
They were so bright they were almost inhuman, and Mela forgot what she'd meant to say entirely.
Princess Soliel seemed surprised, not as much, but enough that it assuaged Mela's pride a bit. She glanced between the sisters a few times and then glanced at the boy and seemed equally disturbed by him as she was by the Vermeers. "You're Finn's sisters." She stated it bluntly. She had a reputation for that in the capital.
Any other time, Mela would have appreciated it, but before she could even respond, Princess Soliel turned the boy, and he froze, eyes wide in fright. Tayla immediately moved between them, but Princess Soliel didn't seem to notice or mind.
She was too focused on him. "You…you're from the Bandri."
He swallowed.
"You look like Kai Low."
Mela and Tayla shared a look. Who the hell was Kai Low?
~ tbc