33
That night Jza fought her dreams intensely. She woke thrice in her uncle's abandoned bed and found herself surprised to be all alone each time. She refused to entertain the throught that she knew who she was missing.
"I do not know when I drowned in your brown eyes."
Jza closed her eyes to dispell his voice from her head which was a mistake because now snippets of her dreams tormented her instead. Some started with her father overseeing her execution, some with Tarquin dragging her on the floor with chains binding her hands together, some where she being stoned to death by her own people. Her mind was filled to the brim with death and destruction as if peace had not been achieved.
The Princess was relieved to have been woken at dawn to see her father's departure. She dressed herself in a rush and ran out with her brown hair flowing behind her. Her old governess would have been appalled by her recklessness but those days of brutal criticism were over. The underused herald announced her presence but she was in her father's arms before he could complete her designation.
"I shall miss you," Jza said, containing her emotions. There was much left unsaid.
"As will I," King Samuel replied before climbing atop his heavily decked horse. While it seemed imprudent to show off the King, making him an easy target, the man had elected to use the procession as a means of raising the morale of his people. The word had been spread the war was over but to see him with ones eyes would get people out of hiding faster.
The King had many pending errands to run and could not give the farm more time even if he wished most dearly to stay. While his daughter needed him his country could not survive without his presence. Jza's calm gaze as she had bade farewell gave him a sense of peace he had lost before the war had even begun. His daughter had proven she could take care of herself and she would continue to do so. He had nothing to worry about.
For Jza the sight of her father's horsemen exiting the farm's dirt road was agonising but the absence of the gold chain around her neck made her feel like she was floating above air. Her sisters were now her father's responsibility and he could do whatever he wished with them. She was rid of them and their wretchedness with a profound sense of gratitude.
Instead of taking advantage of her elevated position among the new farm hands left behind by her father the Princess chose to forgoe sleep. She knew she could not escape her nightmares even with the sun rising steadily behind the copse of the orchard. She instead chose to inspect how the work continued which had begun even before dawn had broken through the horizon.
As she exited the barn that needed the most repairs she found herself confronted with the vision of Lord Tarquin sat in the middle of the courtyard next to the well. She watched as he brought a red apple, fresh from their orchard, upto his mouth and took a solid bite.
He was accompanied by Bertram's son who was gesturing wildly as he spoke. It never failed to surprise Jza to see the Lord wearing ordinary garb just like all the other workers. His borrowed clothes fit him remarkably well but they were a far cry from the clothing he used to wear in the castle. Over the months it had become obvious he was particularly fond of bold colour and nothing at the farm could provide the richness of the fabrics that he adorned himself with when he was in power.
"You need to take the string firmly else it falls too fast," The twin informed his captive audience as Jza took a detour to the pair. She never even realised her feet had changed paths until she abruptly paused at her destination.
"I haven't a clue how it should stay up in the first place," Tarquin replied, looking engrossed in the conversation.
"They say it's all the wind but I say it's the twist of the hand. You need to keep tugging because if it falls, it goes to the enemy," James, explained while his twin watched from the kitchen door where Hyacinth was making bread. The young girl had not adapted as well to the new comers as her brother but Jza could see how much the little girl wanted to join them.
"Oh, we would not want that," Jza injected herself in the conversation.
"I'll show you how it's done," The boy nodded with enthusiasm at both of them before he ran off to get his toy, "Do not go anywhere!"
Tarquin raised the apple back to his mouth and Jza was compelled to keep staring while his attention was away from her. She could not break her gaze from his profile. It was not the foreigness of his looks. No, inspite of his assertions about the way Goridians had treated the Barbarian people they were still cities full of people mixed with the former ruling race. It was something else. A quality she could not define.
Tarquin handed the Princess his half eaten apple which she promptly took a bite of unthinkingly. She was in the middle of her second bite when she realised what she had done. Tarquin's eyes twinkled at her from where he was seated. She swallowed the remnents of her body's betrayal quickly.
"Old habits are hard to break," Jza replied with a pinched expression. She handed the apple back with an embarassed air. Tarquin did not hesitate to continue his meal with an intent look in her direction.
"Just like your propensity for missing meals," He stated which she ignored. It was none of his concern what she did with her appetite.
"How was it?" Jza cleared her throat as she clarified, "The inside of that door."
She had asked about his mother as soon as he had reappeared but never thought to query what was inside. How could someone spend hours much less months trapped inside a vessel. Could magic be so profound to create an endless landscape capable of keeping a human being content.
"Ethereal," The man answered, "I would not begrudge anyone who refused to leave. My mother thought she was dead. She thought it a blessed plane our people are destined for after death. I did not have the heart to correct her."
"How poorly must she have been treated to find solace away from the real world," The brown haired girl wondered.
"I am occasionally disappointed Ivan is dead. I feel this frenzy of blood lust where I wish to dismember him all over again," The words were spoken idly but there was a fire in his eyes he could not hide from her. The fury did not intimidate or frighten her. She could in fact feel the same sort of flame burning in her heart. She understood what it meant to feel the need to extinguish a life beneath her hands when it threatened the ones you hold most dear.
"If you had laid a hand on my family you would have had the same fate. I would not have forgiven you much less let you live," Jza replied, firmly.
"I know," Tarquin replied as if she had not needed to vocalise this fact.
"You have blood of innocent on your hands," The Princess exclaimed, redundantly.
"I know," The man's gaze was now at his feet.
"Then why do you think I would have you. Do you think me some weak sort of imbecile to fall for a pretty face. I am not like my sisters. Why do you expect me to-to-" The girl lost the words to vocalise the situation between them. No matter how she tried to separate his presence from the expectations in his eyes she could not. It was as if the world was waiting for an answer. The unfortunate truth was even she did not know how the limbo would end.
"Of which I am glad since you were not rendered silly because of a painting," Tarquin replied, "I wish to repent for my sins. I will make myself worthy. Whatever you want I will place at your feet. If you want my severed head then it shall be yours-"
"No, no! Do not let your... Partiality for me do the talking," The girl could feel the tendrils of embarrassment blossom in her chest, "What material items you could win me over with even I do not know."
"Alas, I would have fallen in love with an unconventional woman.".
"I am not so unconventional," Jza replied primly, "I am like all the other women who loves a ball and a pretty dress. I was just raised so frugally that I do not need more than I deserve."
"You deserve everything on this earthly realm and beyond; the sun that is not brighter then the light in your eyes, the softness of the moonlight that is not as gentle as your nature."
Her ears were so red she felt the burn radiating over her face. The girl could not look at him. She felt like she would ignite and burn down to coal if she did. She hid her trembling fists behind herself, her fingers biting into her skin.
James ran upto them bearing the kite and string, releasing Jza from the promise of a reply, with trail of dust flying all around them. The child handed Tarquin his red kite who examined it carefully.
"Are you trying to teach him how to fly a kite? Surely he does not need it. It's a simple task," The Princess said trying to sound indifferent.
"It's simple because you've flown one many times. I have not had the pleasure," Tarquin replied with smug sort of smile.
"You don't know how to fly a kite at all?" James was now wide eyed and mouthed.
"My father didn't believe in toys."
"It's never too late to learn. After all playing with marbles and sticks is the only other thing I'll allow you to do," Jza said, magnanimously.
"Allow me?" Tarquin's eyebrow raised as if hearing foreign words.
"I'm in charge of this farm and what I say goes. Did you miss what my father announced at dinner?"
"Oh I heard everything your father said especially about me," His voice dipped very low before raising itself to an audible pitch, "Ah, the Princess is showing her true colours. She's very bossy, isn't she?"
"Not as much as Hyacinth," The boy replied back.
"I'll get there the older I get," Jza winked and began walking to her destination, "The dry river bed is the place for this sort of an endeavour. I shall be joining you after I finish my chores."
The Princess was accosted by the stable boy who informed her of a pregnant heifer in their stables. The way the cow was finding places to retire to meant the baby was on its way soon. Jza added the new task to her mental list and found Hyacinth in the kitchen sorting herbs for the bread.
"You may have all of them fooled by your youth but you haven't fooled me," Hyacinth's words were as bitter as she remembered them. Jza leaned against the counter trying to see what she could grab for a quick meal.
"If there's anyone fooled it's me. I didn't realise I was trying to fool anyone," Jza laughed before picking up another fresh apple just for herself. She would not be sharing this one.
"I can see you're behaving like a tart with that Somerlian nobody," The girl was reprimanded with a hiss. Young Rose watched their interaction intently as she separated the mint leaves from the stem.
"Well, I'm certainly not hiding anything. The king knows and approves," The Princess answered smugly. This was the one time she would use her father's words to her advantage. There would be no tattling to the King if he had already given his seal of approval.
