“It’s only another day,” Aida whispered, sinking to the floor to huddle tighter around the jagged ice lodged within her ribs where a heart once beat.
“Pah! Another day.” Immari offered no kindness as she grabbed Aida’s arm with pinching fingers. Pulling Aida up to her feet and pushing her hard towards the adjoining seating area.
Shuffling ahead of the angry maid, the only one allowed to touch and see her aside from Otaso himself, Aida’s dark eyes burned with tears. Not so much for what was to come. She understood this would happen since the moment she understood what the look in her guardian’s eyes meant. That the heat of anger and something far darker, while similar, were not the same.
Now she mourned for a life that would never be. If he controlled her every move now, it would be worse when he claimed her. She understood that, too. Gone would be the moments of reprieve, however short they might be, where she could sneak out into the lush gardens he kept for his herbs and plants. No more racing through the trees, feeling the sun tangling in her hair, scalding the life back into her frigid skin.
With Immari’s palm heavy on her shoulder, she took the smaller, daintier chair at the table situated before a grand mural of forest scenery. Somber gaze drifting towards the sturdy bulk of the seat opposite kept for Otaso’s far larger weight, Aida’s brows scrunched over the bridge of her nose, the faint lines of confusion joining the pursing of her lips. It was far too early for their daily luncheon. That was how Otaso caught her. He should have had his nose buried in dusty texts and the growling rumbles of his advisors for hours yet, but he’d come sooner to tell her he wouldn’t be joining her. Something that never happened. Immari was the one to ferry messages back and forth whenever Otaso sent word.
A faint knock on the door answered Aida’s question before she could voice her concerns to Immari. Bustling towards the small antechamber shielding Aida’s suite from the outside world, Immari made certain the thick curtain closed tight behind her before opening the door. She knew better than to sneak close to the curtain to eavesdrop, had earned a switch across her palms more than once for the act. Instead she turned her head, straining to listen for the rise and fall of the voice that spoke over Immari’s hisses.
Eyes going wide, Aida realized it was a male’s voice. Seeping inside the suite, it swaggered through the air to tease at her ear. A low rumble, intent and edging into furious as Immari continued her chastisement. Hand drifting to her chest, Aida pushed hard on the wild creature thrashing about inside of her chest, willing her heart to calm as it raced in chaotic circles. Banging around the cage of her ribs, it threatened to burst free as the male’s voice became clear for an instant before the door slammed shut.
Her name. A simple word, and yet on his lips it tripped down her spine on a charged bolt of lightning. The hysterical flutter of her heartbeat dropped, plunging headlong into her stomach where it pulsed and swam. Growing warmer with every breath as the hint of something astringent and spicy met her senses on a trickling draft.
“Aida,” Immari snapped, slamming her armload of goods upon the table.
Silvered domes resonated an angry hum as they jostled across the intricate tray. The sharp smack of wood coming together made Aida jump. Jarring her from her reverie as that warmth sputtered and died. A frigid pool laden with icy rocks set to break her apart.
“Remove your hand at once.” Immari’s umber gaze was as unyielding as the craggy ranges surrounding the castle and twice as foreboding.
Aida gasped, snatching her hand back and slapping it to the table where it trembled. A frightened bird left vulnerable and alone on the expanse of dark, rich wood. Fingers blushing the same pained crimson that stained her cheeks from where the tight line of her bodice had cut into the flesh. Thick welts marring the soft skin from where she dug them under the stiff silk.
“I…” Aida swallowed hard, the dry click of her throat loud. Shoving her spine flat to the chair back from where she’d leaned with such intent focus towards the lingering scent of the male. Tears brimming in her gaze, she sought and abandoned Immari’s eyes, their judgment licking over her skin in fiery bursts.
Lashes fluttering to clear them of their salty burden, Aida folded her hands into demure repose upon her lap. Slow, calming breaths did little to ease the tension rattling through her bones, but she strived for at least the appearance of it while Immari set out the small plates. Delicate porcelain with fanciful decoration, flowers and vines tangled and winding in shades of amber. Yet another gift from her guardian. A deep breath strained the tight bodice of her gown as she focused on the palm sized bird trussed and roasted. The thick currant red glaze gleamed in the weak sunlight, a drizzle of the syrup thick concoction over a selection of root vegetables giving the simple fare an elegant feel.
“Is it not early for this,” Aida asked in a tone that approached something normal, much to her surprise.
“You’ll eat now so you might dine with the Imperial Majesty this evening.” Immari paid her not a single ounce of attention, bustling around the table as if her incessant buzzing would make Aida hurry.
“They take their dinner much later than I do. Why on earth must I eat so—”
“You will need time to prepare, Aida.” With a flip of her wrists, Immari unlocked the large wooden case that arrived with Aida’s tray. Her dark lashes flew wide, lips drifting to gape before she lifted something from the case with reverent fingers. “His Imperial Majesty sent this for you to wear.”
A snap of her hands unfolded the gown. Bedecked with lace and shimmering jewels, layers upon layers of iridescent silk in shades of deepest crimson and rich purple billowed and flowed. A river of heart blood and magic bursting into the sunlight as if it would drive every fragment of brightness from the room.
“There’s a new hairnet and jewelry to match, Aida! Oh, it’s all so very fine,” Immari said in breathless wonder, turning the gown this way and that for it to steal the sun’s warmth and light.
“Why?”
“Why what, Aida?”
“He never gives me things like that. Why now?”
“Don’t be a fool.” Immari huffed a hard breath through her nose, eyebrows slamming to a hard line as she slid a murky glance at Aida. “Hurry and eat or you’ll go without. There’s much to do before dusk.”
Exhaling in a hard rush, Aida picked up the heavy silver and picked at the meal. She didn’t taste the crispy skin or the decadent sauce, chewing with mechanical determination while Immari flitted about the room. Sinking deeper into the murky void of her thoughts, her movements slowed until she set the fork and knife down to stare at the mangled remains scattered across the fragile plate. Too close to where her thoughts traversed, it felt ominous, a harbinger of what would happen to her.
“By the Abyss, Aida! Can you do nothing as I tell you to? Up with you, we might as well begin if you will do nothing but brood.”
Chair dragged away from the table, Aida had no choice but to rise and follow Immari through the suite to the adjoining bathing room. Once the door shut hard, just shy of slamming, Aida stood before the expansive tub. Suffering in silence as Immari peeled away the simple faded blue gown with cruel hands, Aida stared without seeing at the rippling waters strewn with lily petals. It was an inordinate luxury, her bathing chamber. Flickering candles in the windowless room wafted pungent flowery scents into the steamy air, the water warmed by a bank of coals glowing red hot at all hours by some trick of Otaso’s power.