26
"..bonnie and blythe their angelic smiles.."
Tarquin hummed softly under his breath but Jza heard him all the same which she was certain was his intention. His accent stood out more prominently now. Hearing Goridans after so long made her realise how different he sounded from them. The Somerlian language was a harsh one with gutteral and sharp sounds but ironically when Tarquin spoke Goridian his accent was very melodious. It was a wonder she hadn't noticed earlier although being in captivity did allow her the leeway not to be enamoured by her enemy's voice.
Jza placed her parchment on the desk with fraying patience at the infernal noise he was making. She belatedly noted the room had emptied while she had been engrossed in her fervent letter writing. The rundown desk in the corner of the prison room proved a good place as any to keep her father abreast of the new developments. In the middle of the room were weapons the men had collected for the journey. The mission was for every man to have at least one weapon on their person.
"Are you truly singing that abomination at a time like this?" The Princess asked incredulously, unable to contain herself. Tarquin sat on a tatty chair in his corner looking particularly smug.
"It's not the only song I know about the twelve famous beauties. The bards were rather popular in my court. I wonder why they never mentioned the thirteenth princess?"
"When I say I look nothing like them I truly mean it. They are ethereal and deserve many songs written about them while I do not," Jza informed him plainly and tried to divert her attention away from him but failed miserably.
"Liar!" Tarquin said with a callous grin although she could not understand what prompted his exclaimation. He continued, with his gaze fixed on her face, "You have your father's eyes. I knew I could see him in you but I did not know the relationship was that close. My mistake. He cannot have hid you just because of your looks since you favour him tremendously. Was it because of your mother?"
"No, he never differentiated between his children and was quite surprised by my decision to keep away from court affairs. He married my mother after all even if it was in secret leaving no taint on my existence. It was my grandmother that hid every trace of my mother and her repeated attempts at communication after my father returned to the castle. Perhaps there would have been more kindness shown if I were a son or had noble blood..." Jza trailed off speculatively. She was glad her old bat of a grandmother was dead and buried long ago. What she had done to her parents was unforgivable.
"Would not having a secret third wife and an unexpected child make a scandal?" The injured man asked curiously.
"No, not in our country especially with his marital history. His first two weddings were arranged at a very young age. He had his first child at fifteen. No one would begrudge him happiness except his own mother," Jza paused and gave him wry smile, "That is why Cassandra at thirty two is still unwed which is almost unheard of in both your kingdom and in mine. He would not force his daughters into marriages they did not want and certainly not at the age he was."
"It was good of him to give you the respectability of his name. I had to bloody my hands to attain mine." Tarquin gazed at the floor, pensively, "Maybe you are correct that King Samuel is the worthier king. His actions certainly show why his people are devoted to his cause."
"It took him a while to uphold the true virtues of the king he was vowed to be. Maybe if you could hone your social skills you could regain your position..." Jza wondered almost to herself. It was turning into a habit to solve other people's problems even if that person was her enemy.
"Are you trying to coax me back to my throne? Surely you do not consider me such a burden you would want a tyrant back in power," Tarquin laughed, harshly at her naive nature. She has cursed his very existence since the day they had met and now when he had rid himself of the troubled weight upon his head she was trying to fix his fallen fate.
"You are not a burden," Jza said defensively with a flush on her face. She looked down at her tidy lettering, informing the king of the situation.
"Why not? I know I am the reason why you cannot meet your father. You would have been on your way to him this very second if not for my presence," The brown haired man gave his companion a pointed look.
"Not quite," The girl mumbled, despondently, "How can I meet my father's eyes? What he must think of me I wonder? I am a tarnish on his good name."
"Cease your foolishness! I will ensure your father sees reason. He will know nothing untoward happened in our time together. You showed no sign of weakness and neither did you lose your loyalty despite my best efforts," Tarquin's hissed words did not assuage her. Her dark thoughts flitted across her face.
"My stepmothers will not care. My name and reputation will be dragged through the muck for their pleasure," Jza lips twisted bitterly.
"Those women bore traitors. They will not wish for you to retaliate by sullying their daughters' names. Your stepmothers will be too craven to spread rumours once you threaten them with the right choice words."
"I couldn't ruin their reputation like that," Jza was adamant. She rolled up her parchments and placed a seal on the ends. Finding no other means but the enemies mark she had decided to press her pendant on the wax. It was the symbol of her resistance although she was still not unloading her burden on the survivors. She trusted no one to hand over her sisters to her father but herself.
"Ah, being good and boring is such a tedious chore," Tarquin sneered as he adjusted the bandage across his brows, "If you wish to the survive the royal court you need to flourish the ruthless aspects of your nature. They will chew you up and spit you out with nary a thought if you insist on staying on the straight and narrow. I suggest an alliance with the morally ambiguous if you do not wish to dirty your own hands."
"Why would I even need any help of such sort? I am now firm in my decision to retire from public life. This life is not meant for me and I have no wish to return to it," Jza told him bleakly, not realising how much her decision mirrored his," They all despise my existence anway. You think it is only the harem that has tampered with my food. Fear not because my own sisters were enjoying their torment of me. It is only an actual war that curbed their increasing vendetta against me."
"Maybe the older you got the more you were diverting attention from them," The injured man suggested.
"Perhaps. I did gain attention from the archery competition. The painting you had of me, remember? I won against the commander that day. My father was so proud he celebrated it in full form. I will miss the sheer joy on his face most out of all that I will lose."
"You would let them win? Let those foul traitors take free reign of the castle? You belong there much more than those green eyed monsters," Tarquin pressed his lips in displeasure. The injustice of it all seemed to offend him greatly.
"Meet them first then declare them as such. You are just a man and I will not tease you much if you cannot over look their external appearance," Jza's laugh contained no pleasure. She had had the unpleasant experience of having the crimes against her ignored by the court persons at large because their imaginations could not concieve such otherworldly beauties could act with feral intent.
"I have spent my entire life surrounded by beautiful women. A pretty face creates negligible impact on my heart or body. I have seen their images. They have very few charms to divert me," The man rolled his eyes but Jza non-verbally dismissed his claims. She could not fathom a man who did not fall for her sisters.
They were sitting in tense silence when the room was quickly filled with the hard working Goridoners.
"We have found many loaves of bread and alongside them were jars of preserves and dry meat to our luck," A very bulky, sandy haired man sat a sack next to the weapons after they all bowed in the Princess' direction who remained seated.
"If there is an excess then it would best if you could regain your strength and partake an early morning supper now. Your imprisonment was a long one," Jza's words sounded too kind to be the order they were.
"We were well fed and well rested, your highness. Out of all our complaints against our enemy food was not one of them," The giant like man answered with a brief smile. His companions started sorting the meals with rations for all the men. It seemed like there was enough to last them for days.
"Good. And the horses?"
"We had a skirmish in the stables but we managed to free thirteen horses. We have sent more resources to free those out on active duty but we might need to ride in tandem. There simply would not be enough for all of us," A red headed man with a newly acquired bruise informed her.
"Take care not to tire out the horses. It's perfectly possible to ride to Goridian castle in two days through the forest but my estimate for five was to give the horses rest. There will no chance to refresh your rides. Do you know how to take care of a horse?" Jza asked.
"Not all of us are soldiers. We have three stable boys and four footmen among us," The man with gigantic proportions nodded with a pleased look.
"And other survivors?" The Princess asked with an optimism she knew was useless. Tarquin had been too thorough in his search of the castle grounds to leave a trace of the enemy not in his grasp.
"We were the unlucky few who survived. I know my fellow gardeners were able to escape into the tunnel. I believe we are only ones left behind," The larger man informed her surpising by his admission of occupation. As the largest it was expected he would have a different talent but appearances were deceiving as always.
"We have found many abandoned carriages. Apparently the Somerlians were having a gathering," The redhead told her as he packed the last sack of food and weapons.
"Carriage? What would I do with one. It will only slow us down," Jza dismissed his suggestion with a graceful wave of her hand.
"Your Highness, it will be a harsh journey. The sun will be unpleasant along with the dust. You might find greater comfort being transported in such a fashion."
"Absolutely not. I might as well paint a target on my forehead," The Princesss shook her head with a frown, "I know my way around horses. I can even ride one without a saddle if need be. Do not concern yourself by my nonexistent needs."
"I will need a sword," Tarquin intruded on the pointless argument before it could go any further. His voice sounded so foreign once again.
"Not on this earth, I vow it! Your Highness, I cannot in good conscience allow him means to hurt you!" The large man's face turned red with evident fury. Jza sent a pleading look at her prisoner's way but he ignored her wishes.
"I shall be riding with her and surely you would not want your Princess without an armed guard."
