Her King Of Shadows

Chapter XIX.

She was thrown inside a big stone hall that was almost empty. She landed on her hands and knees protecting her head. She carefully looked around. There were light white curtains on the open windows flowing in the breeze. The hall smelled of candles burning and old books. She noticed Rishon sitting in the main chair waiting for her. His blue eyes were still deciding. It didn’t happen every day that they had a member of his world come strolling in the desert. He waived the guards to leave them and they did so happily, finishing their shift. Now there was only silence. Shana slowly raised herself up, not looking at him this time. She knew how to act in front of leaders. They all demanded respect. She looked at the floor in front of her, trying to make herself the smallest target possible.

-Alexandra,-he repeated her name. It was an invitation to look at him. She obeyed. Blue eyes were calm as the mountain lakes. And she wondered if he really did everything Jonathan told her about. Did he really kill the person he loved so much? Now that she was seeing him she couldn’t decide for herself yet. To fear him or to pity him.

-Tell me what brings you here.-he demanded. She even had a couple of hours to think she didn’t have a story to give him. Leaders didn’t believe stories. They had a way of knowing when you are not being honest. So she used a different tactic. More dangerous for herself but the only one she had.

-Your guards.-she answered in a low voice. But there was mocking in her voice. He noticed it. As she had expected, he stood up in less than a second. She stood in his house. Insulting him. Mocking him. Making him angry so he would care less about her truth and care more about his revenge. A hand grabbed her by the neck. But this time it squeezed. Much harder than she expected. Rishon lifted her from the ground, blue eyes not hiding the rage.

-I will personally feed you to my dogs if you talk to me like that again!-he whispered, dropping her to the ground. She refused to fall in front of him again. It was the last of her strength to stay standing. She put a hand on her neck, feeling pain.

-I have lost my way in the desert. I was running away.-she said, closing her eyes for a moment. He didn’t believe a word she said. Something told him that she was not an innocent little girl everyone saw.

-Tell me all!-he demanded. Shana took a deep breath. Ready to give him the only story she had.

-My father gave me to a warrior from the north. We were on our way there with his guards to leave the port. I didn’t want to go. I run away. They had chased me in the desert and I had lost my way.=she gave a little more detail. He still didn’t believe.

-Who is this warrior?-he wanted to know standing in front of her. She couldn’t tell him. She never knew anybody. And all the names could be checked.

-I don’t want to be returned. I would rather die than to be sent to the north.- she said with determination. The blue eyes smiled.

-It seems that he has made an impression on you.-those words were too cruel for her. But she understood his implication.

-We have already been through a ceremony. If I come back to him now, I will never be able to leave him again.-she gave him his motive. His eyes searched hers. Blue against black. Who was going to win? Shana kept looking at him as if she had nothing to hide. Nothing to lose.

-What makes you think that you will ever leave this place?-he asked her after a long pause.

-I have done nothing wrong. What is my crime? I have already paid for my insult for trasspasing to your land. But we both know that I have a right to leave.-she reminded him of the rules. They were the same for everyone. Even he had to follow them. Rishon stepped away from her as if thinking. He went back to his chair, turning his back on her.

-Give me the name of the warrior and I will be happy to return you to him.-he decided. Her heart started to beat faster. She didn’t want this to happen.

-That is not something I can do. Let me leave.-she asked again. This time she couldn’t control the feelings in her voice. She was on edge. Her body was weak. She was tired. Alone. Abandoned. Surrounded by every side. What else could happen to her?

-You are not of age. You are not allowed to wander our world without a caretaker or an escort. And I don’t really believe your story. Until I can confirm who you are and where you are coming from, you are staying here.-that was his final word.

She wanted to continue speaking. But she recognized his tone. This will not be discussed further. Her hands closed into fists. She will not be defeated like this and left to become a prey.

- Then at least have respect for my position. I am not to stay in your home or your palace. The ceremony was completed.-she reminded him. He looked at her with a cruel smile on her face.

-So now you want to hide behind a warrior you are trying to run away. Alexandra. Stick to one truth. Don’t change your story too much. You have shown me nothing to accept that any ceremony has been done. And I have to mention that my guards find you so adorable. They cant wait to spend some time with you.-he said that in such a polite way that she thought she heard him wrong. Her heart filled with fear. What can she do now? How to protect herself. Her hand closed around the black stone. And she had the slightest hint of a weak voice urging her to use it. To protect herself with it. That stone was the only thing standing between her and Rishon's cruelty. She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. She took the stone out, showing it to him.

-I was given this at the completion of the ceremony.-she said. Rishon stepped closer, raising his hand.

-Show it to me.-he demanded. For the first time she didn’t listen. He was trying to trick her. She knew if she surrendered the stone to him it would be lost.

-A thing such as this should not be removed. I have given him my word. If you want it, you have to take it. But then that will be another rule you are ready to break.-there was honor in her voice when she said it.. And Rishon saw himself in those black eyes. Why was this child talking to him like that? As if she could anticipate his every step. He came close to her. Stood right in front of her. And he was so much taller she needed to raise her head to look at him. His fingers touched the stone she was holding. Very carefully observing the dull surface of the diamond. This time she was telling the truth. And he was surprised at the amount of disappointment he felt at that moment.

-I give you my word as a leader. I will give it back to you. No matter what.-he whispered. He didn’t know himself why it was important for him to see it. To make sure that such a small thing was standing between them. Hesitatingly, Shana took it off her neck and placed it into his hand. Waiting for what he is going to do. Rishon stepped away, coming closer to the light from the window. He inspected the stone but it didn’t seem valuable. But he had to make sure. He had to calm his rage. He took a candle from the table and put it on the black surface. Shana almost stopped breathing. He knew. He suspected. And at any moment now he will discover who she really is. But nothing happened. There were no symbols like before. Stone didn’t show anything. She took a deep breath, not knowing how it was possible. There was a bitter smile on his face.

-You never know what your enemies are planning. When they are very cruel and never stop,-he seemed to talk to himself. With a simple movement, he threw the necklace back to her and she caught it in an instant. Hiding it again around her neck. Waiting for another decision from the leader in front of her. He looked at her silently. As if trying to find a way to make her life even more miserable than now.

-You can stop this any minute. Just tell me a name I need to hear.-he reminded her. Shana stood her ground. Refused to back away. She didn’t have a choice.

-As I said. I would rather die than to go back to him. But I will not belong to any warrior here. There is honor left in me still.-her voice was proud now. It was the voice of a leader's daughter. And for a moment Rishon could see the real her. The young girl ready to fight for herself. And that he hated more than anything.

-As you wish. Everything will be as you wish. Welcome to the desert. I hope you enjoy it.-he said with a cruel smile on his lips dismissing her.

But the thing that he didn’t say. The decision he never bothered to explain was soon coming. In their world, rules were simple and set in stone. Only members of the family and slaves could reside in a leader's home. She was neither. But she was treated like a slave. They gave her a small room in a wooden house where other servants lived. Just a small room the size of a closet with a tin roof which made it hot in the day and freezing in the night. She didn’t even have doors to close them. During the day she would walk 3o minutes to the fort to clean the Rishons' home. Starting from the library, halls, floors, windows to the kitchen. More often washing clothes, fixing food, keeping the fires and mopping the floor.

From dawn till dusk she would be there dressed in a simple black dress bringing water for cleaning, wood for fires or just weeding the plants in the garden. She never stopped. Never complained. It took her a month to learn everything. To know where the place is to clean, to sleep, to rest, to hide and to eat when there is anything left. Nobody spoke to her. Nobody knew her. Sometimes the guards would push her from their way. But that was all. She was treated as if she didn’t exist. And yes she was tired, she was tortured by cold nights and hot days. She was hungry and sometimes on the edge of despair. But there was nothing she could do.

During the sleepless nights when she felt too hungry or to tired and her entire body hurt, she would look at the stars in the sky and imagine just falling into darkness. Just not waking up. Yes it was hard. Sometimes unbearable. Often she would think that she couldn’t stand no more. She would fall to the ground and wake up several hours later in the same place. Kicked by a guard or pushed to the side by another servant. That was the life of the desert. During her late walks from the fort to her simple room. When the work was finished, it was time to have some rest. Her steps would be slow. Following the lighted torches aware of the guards watching her. Waiting if she would make a run for it. If she was brave enough to disappear into the darkness that surrounded them. But she never did. She didn’t have a place to go. She didn’t have anyone to save her.