The Elven Queen

CHAPTER 11

Always one for the theatrics,

Ushered in by the sounds of the dancing drums the entire castle resonated, elves of all shapes and sizes led the way to the dining hall, as soon as we disembarked from the carriage, the silence created by the voice of King Khalfani was drowned out by the howls of the servants formerly lining the way to the castle, pounding on drums and dancing to the beat, bead clad waist moving in rhythm to the drums creating a whole new cadence, men with beaded ankles dance wildly leading the parade into the palace, amidst the chaos Khalfani found his way to my side holding my arm as we walk behind the parade of performers till we found ourselves in the dining halls, even after taking our seats the music doesn’t stop, still charged with excitement the food comes rolling out filling the air with an array of mouthwatering aromas, filling the entire hall with a smell I can only describe as ambrosia, the smell of food flooded your senses dulled only by the smell of fine wine, the room is warm, was it the food? Or was it the warm bodies? who never stopped once even after the dancers made their way into the hall and positioned themselves on podiums located in the corners of the room, the biggest podium being the one in the center surrounded by the dining table in a circular arrangement of sort, they kept gyrating their hips hands going every which way, when the drum played a different tune their waists told a different story, bodies now glistening in sweat under the warm yellow light of the dining hall their bodies looked like they were covered in molten gold and more than a few of my people were entranced,

Can’t say I blame them, their eyes trained on the bodies of the performers never missing a single beat, eyes wide open in amazement, one guard in particular shoveled a spoon full of rice into his mouth but stopped half way, mouth agape and eyes fixed on a particular dancer who happened to take a fancy to him, the air in the hall sizzled.

The only ones seemingly unbothered where Itotia, Gabor and Hugo, mainly because, Itotia and Gabor spent the evening staring daggers at any dancer that came too close to them and Hugo, Hugo isn’t fazed by a lot of things, he’s always been a man of few interests, I feel a little sorry for the dancer that rooted herself at his side trying to get his attention, he spent the entire evening ignoring her advances, unflinching until she ran her hands over his shoulders causing him to blush severely, turns out the poor guy was just embarrassed, to escape his embarrassment he buried his head lower in an attempt to hide his face but the pink ting of his ears gave him away, the dancer with renewed confidence, found this behavior very amusing and continued to hover over him the entire night, even if his continuous shunning offended her, she hid it well.

Plates long since emptied, Khalfani truly kept to his word and gave us quit the welcome, our eyes fixed on the performers I almost didn’t notice when the handmaidens came to clear the tables, I am ever amazed by the cultural shift whenever I visit a different country, Lumeris in particular never ceases to amaze me, beautiful as they maybe I figured it’s time to call it a night, I tapped Khalfani who was seated at my side all evening he took every chance he could to whisper into my ear whether it be about the food or to point out a particular dancer, the silliest reason was that he loved my scent so he wanted to guess what it was, curious I told him to go ahead and he buried his head into the crook of my neck, nose lightly grazing my temple and deeply inhaled, he said lavender, he was wrong but it was a nice try.

One tap on the back of his hand he realizes my intention and raises one hand up telling them to halt and instantly the hall goes mute, the once noisy atmosphere charged with pure excitement gone in the blink of an eyes, Dancers stopping so abruptly the beads on their bodies don’t make a sound, truly the presence of a King, he then turns to me giving me the floor

“Thank you for the lovely evening, the food was also divine” I nodded to Khalfani “.....But we have had a long weary journey and it’s time we retire for the evening” instantly I notice the eyes of my men fall before perking back up and turning stark as if finally remembering that they were Sylphorren royals guards here tasked with the safety of their Queen, normally their behavior warrants punishment but I truly can’t bring myself to fault them “I will be retiring for the evening, the rest of you, make sure you wake up early tomorrow and uphold your training otherwise there will be consequences, good night” I said with a knowing smile and pulled out of my seat, the Lumerians picked up faster than my people as they moved toward their guards of choice flustering the guards as a dancer settles on their lap, Itotia was the first to leave her seat after me grabbing Gabor’s hand and dragging him out with her, Hugo didn’t get up fast enough and the dancer from before grabbed his arm trapping him in place, he stared in bewilderment at the small woman who had his arm captive, unsure what to do he looked to us for help, eyes pleading with us to save him, we all pretended not to notice his predicament and left him to fend for himself, even if he isn’t interested he should reject her himself.

Finally in my room, after exiting the hall maids came to meet us we walked together for a while till we were broken off into our respective rooms, my room was wide, a balcony adjacent to the door, a door that lead to the bathroom on the right and a LARGE bed, the bed in our castle was also big but this, it was nothing compared to this, brushing my finger on the shiny wooden headrest, I feel a slight oily texture, bringing it to my nose I pick up the faint smell of varnish, this bed was brand new, going to the extent of preparing a new bed, Khalfani was truly a persistent man, on my bedside was a small shell most likely a whispering shell, I bring it to my lips and said

“I would like to take a bath” immediately I hear a knock on my door, opening it I see 4 female servants “we’re here to help you bathe, Your Grace” said the one in front

“that won’t be necessary, just run my bath and you may leave” stepping aside I gave them room to enter, but only the one in front entered, the others stood by the door, sensing they were not going to come in, I shut the door and went back to the bed and began to undress, robed and ready for my bath the servant that went into the bathroom came out and bowed

“Your bath is ready, Your Grace”

“You may go” she stands up and leaves, the door slightly ajar I notice that the servants were still there, an odd bunch, paying them no mind I got into the bath, soon as I submerge into the warm water, I feel my muscles instantly relax, true bliss, not wanting to take long, I quickly washed up and walked out of the bathroom while braiding my hair, I towel dry myself, and slipped into my night gown, getting under the sheets, they were soft, looking closer I realize the blanket was Magibeast fur, most likely an Edenber, a native beast of Lumeris but to find a white furred Edenber was damn near impossible, not only were they rare, they sold at an insane amount of money, and yet here I am rolling on the biggest bed I’ve ever seen, blanketed by Edenber fur, what and odd man you are Khalfani was the last thing on my mind before lulling into a dreamless slumber

Hot

Was my first thought as I felt a huge mass behind me pressing into my back I feel a strong wall like figure pressing into me, followed by a strong vice like grip snaking around my waist, I feel something creeping up my thigh, the touch felt light as a feather yet it seared my skin as it passed, I felt hot air go down my neck followed by something wet, starting from my shoulder this new sensation traced up and rested on my neck, slightly biting down on the juncture between my shoulder and the crook of my neck, while the creeping feeling continued to go down my body tracing the length of sides, from my legs lingering at the hem of my dress then going up to the dip on my waist then it froze, the onslaught on my neck also stopped and the wall like figure started to slowly inch away from me I wonder why, maybe its because of the small dagger I put to his neck

“Does consent mean nothing to you, Khalfani?” lying on my left hand with him behind me, I used my free hand to reach under my pillow and pulled out the dagger I stashed away then passed it through the gap between my head and shoulder till it was right on his neck, I rolled over so I was now lying on my right side fully facing him, dagger still on his neck

“well? Explain yourself” I demanded

“There’s really no catching you” he said not looking the slightest bit remorseful, not like I expected any less of him, we’ve been in this exact position multiple times, whether it be in my castle when his father came for a trade meeting where he would always try to sneak into my room to prank me or in the tent on the frontline about to fight the biggest war of our lives because he believed I needed the stress relief, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory, how much we’ve grown, seeing my smile he released his tensed muscles and opened his arms beckoning me, I stared at him for a bit them took the dagger off his neck and buried myself in his welcoming arms

“Do you ever cut your hair?” I ask as I twirl around a loc of his hair, in Lumeris it was a common hairstyle to not comb your hair till it matted together creating tangled locs, the number differed per person, and Khalfani had a mane of it coming down to his waist, he’s had it for as long as I’ve known him, his hair smelled like fresh sandalwood, he had always been obsessed with his hair

“Of course I do, if I didn’t, it would surely be longer than it is now”

“mmmm” I muse over it sinking deeper in his arm, trying to take in as much of his scent as I could, it was a mix of sandalwood, wet Earth after a rain shower, and vanilla? I didn’t understand it, but I loved it

“Thank you for coming all this way, and for agreeing to this, it means more to me than I could ever explain” he said softly, in a whisper like tone

“It was my pleasure, thank you for inviting me” feeling a little guilty at his sincerity, I paused to muster the courage and continued “Khalfani, I have a favor to ask”

“Sawa” Alright, he looked down to meet my gaze, his eyebrow raised quizzically

“I want permission to use your royal library”, if he was surprised he didn’t show it, instead he closed his eyes and faced his head upward to the ceiling in contemplation, then

“Sawa” Alright,

“Seriously?!!!” I push out of his arms to look him in the face, that’s it? He’s not going to ask me why I want access to the room that holds the secret and history of his country. I know we are friends, but this isn’t a decision you make lightly

“But, you will have to do something for me”, he says while running his hands down the side of my face, now I’m the one with an eye brow raised

“What’s that?”

“Let me dress you in the clothes of my people, I’ve always wondered what you would look like in Ankara”

“That’s it?”, he nodded his head in agreement “Alright” I agreed and his face broke into a wide smile, almost like a child who got the new toy he always wished for

“I have the perfect shop in mind you will love it I promise” he giddied while taking both my hands in his and putting a wisp of a kiss on my fingertips

“I’m sure I will, now get out of my room” he paused

“Surely you jest, the bed is large enough for six more people” in no mood to argue with him any further I nudge his abdomen with the dagger still in my right hand, never once had I let it go, he put his hands up in mock surrender, pulled off the covers, and walked out, when he reached the door he turned back to me

“Usiku Mwema, Eztli”

“goodnight to you too, Khalfani” I call after him as the door closes, I rush to bury myself into his side of the bed mstill warm, still smells like him, taking a deep breath, I think, I should’ve just let him sleep here.