Following the king through the halls, he led her out of the back of the castle and into a room that was almost entirely made of glass, coming to a stop as she did. She could only stare around in wonder.
The room was so warm she felt as though she had stepped from one reality into a tropical one.
Sweeping past him, she found the room entirely filled with strange and beautiful plants.
"What is this?" she asked as she moved deeper into the room.
"It is called a green house. A room that is kept warm and allows plants to be grown all year long," he said quietly as he followed her into the room.
"Your eyes are different," he said after a pause.
"It's a long story," she replied, crouching down to lift one flower up and inhale the scent. It smelt wonderful; the entire room was beautiful.
"I will listen if you will talk," he said and she realised he was right behind her.
Standing, she turned to him and looked up into his face.
"I don't feel I am ready to discuss the events just yet," she said gently and turned her eyes from him.
He nodded once and let her explore.
She wasn't foolish to believe this man was going to be any different from Epharis. But while Epharis had a cold, dark evil to him, Alaric was more likely to simply hit her if she displeased him.
She had to suppose it was a choice between physical and mental abuse when it came to those men.
Picking her a dark violet rose, he offered it to her, and she took it, smiling warmly at the pretty, perfect flower.
***
They spent an hour in the garden room, simply exploring and talking only when needed.
"I have a task of you," he said finally as they were planning to leave the garden.
She looked around to see he had been watching her closely, his eyes lingering on her throat and the dark marks that still showed vivid on her pale skin.
"We are having trouble with the Weoreneian king after the incident. You were close to the princess; I was hoping you would… consent to a visit to Weorene and speak with Nayishma's father."
The words hung in the air between them, the name of her best friend stinging her.
But she knew she had agreed to work for him and to refuse would put her and Epharis at risk.
"Alright, I will go," she said, knowing she had very little real choice in the matter.
Leading her back out of the room, he guided her to where her new rooms would be, in the royal quarters and near to Alaric's. She thanked him, but inwardly she preferred her much smaller rooms away from the king.
The rooms were enormous, and she didn't much like the empty space, nor did she like hideous, pastel colouring of the rooms.
***
She had been given two days to prepare for the trip and she used it well, packing everything she would need and handing everything to the guard who loaded it all outside her room for collection.
She would be spending a week there and had prepared for a lot of reading time.
When the time came, she had been dressed in a black fluffy dress and a veil, as was befitting a royal emissary into Weorene. She knew why Nayishma had hated the veil so much, it was impossible to see through.
Helped up onto the carriage, she turned and was stunned to see Izziah climbing in after her, sitting across from her and looking flustered.
Before the door had shut, and in full view of everyone, she punched the drow right on the nose.
From the stairs, she heard Alaric burst into laughter.
His nose bled profusely, and she spent the entire two day trip glaring at him and refusing to speak when he tried to start a conversation, getting out of the carriage in the swampy city and still refusing to talk to the drow male.
"Welcome to Weorene, princess," a voice said and she turned to squint through the fabric at a man whose body ended at the waist and formed a long, snake-like tail.
"Naga…" Izziah whispered in wonder and Etani had to agree with his fascination. They weren't the most common species, and they were extremely dangerous if you went against them. Most could kill with a single bite, and they were incredibly strong.
"Thank you," she replied politely, accepting the naga's proffered arm.
"Dinner is in a few hours, until then we will show you to your suite. I'm afraid you and your companion will have to share a double suite, as we are full up with representatives paying their respects. They feel they need to stick around to help." The poor man sounded put upon and she couldn't help but smile, leaving the drow to follow after them.
The city was a series of long strips of buildings and houses intersected with swampy water that moved sluggishly. But oddly, it didn't smell as bad as she thought it would. She quickly found out that her veil was also very effective at keeping bugs off her face, though the sight of them still made her skin crawl.
Izziah was having issues with them, something she took a great deal of pleasure in, as a series of small boats guided them to a large island that held the castle.
It was huge and a rich, muddy brown colour. Squat and square, looking as though it was built to last, not to look pretty.
Accepting their guide's hand once more, he led her up the stone steps to the door. But rather than a wooden door, they found layer upon layer of that frothy fabric that had made up their gowns at the ball.
As they passed, each layer parted and fell back down behind them, keeping the vast majority of the bugs from being able to get into the castle and looking like a magical portal.
The inside of the castle was large and square, the front door leading directly onto the throne room with a series of doors around the room leading off to the rest of the building, with a second storey above them having a wide balcony and more doors.