Rose's Thorns

Chapter 7

When I got back to the grand hall the fat man was already waiting with my sisters and the other two men. I took my place between the fat man and Dahlia, showing I was the eldest. Dahlia was close in age to myself, only a month or two off. Next was Lily then Violet, Daisy, Petunia and Aster. The king and queen walked in after a few moments and we all bowed our heads. Once told to rise, we lifted our heads and waited for what would happen next. 

"Our eldest will be a bit late seeing as he had urgent business to attend to, we will start introductions without him though. First I present my youngest boy, Prince Carson...." Carson walked in with his head high and his blue eyes scanning us. He had his fathers dark hair and his mothers eyes, he also had his mothers nose and thick lips, his face was not yet able to grow hair and had a chiseled shape. He was altogether a very handsome young man. He wore the bright blue sky for a shirt, and the darkest night sky for trousers. Both colors seemed to fit him rather well. 

"Next is Prince Zuko...." Zuko walked in looking down on us with disdain, I lowered my head in a slight bow appeasing his need to be respected even though he carried no aura of power. His hair was just as shiny as his mothers falling down to his shoulders in magnificent waves. He had dark eyes, but in the lighting on the room and the distance made it hard to tell what color they were. His mouth was curved in a thin smirk when he noticed my submission to him. He, like Carson had his mothers nose, only his mouth was a thin line. His face was adorned by a dark stubble, even through it I could see his face was softer than his younger brother's. He wore a light green top that reminded me of fields sprouting vegetables. His trousers were made of a material I had never seen before, they were kind of loose and a dark black color. Neither brother wore a crown. 

"..and lastly for now is Henry." Henry walked in with a kind smile, his head was held high, but he wasn't looking down on us as his brother had. Henry's head was filled with dark black hair, and so was the beard that was only the tip of my finger away from his face. His eyes seemed to be the same dark color of Zuko, but again, I couldn't tell. He had his mothers nose and his fathers smile. His face shape was different from either of his parents, but his tall bulky figure screamed that he was the son of king Tyson. Zuko was only hair shorter, but the sheer muscles on Henry made him appear small. I again bowed my head and he grinned slightly showing off a perfect set, from what I could tell, of snowy white teeth. I took notice that he looked more regal than both of his brothers with a dark blue shirt and black trousers that were well fitted. 

"It is an honor to meet you, your graces." The fat man said. "These are..."

......Elsewhere in the castle........

"He will be fine." Elder Garrick said, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was prepared to end his suffering once I came here, not to see that Prince Aspen's dog was recovering.

"How?" I asked, I needed to know how it had been saved. 

"A woman heard us in here and came to see what the ruckus was about. It was she who knew what to do, she claimed to have seen an ill dog like this before, she was able to get the small thorn from his paw and clean his would while Jayson and I held him still."

"Do you have a name for this woman?" I asked. 

"No, she left before I could ask....but I will say I told her this dog was important and a  great debt would be owed to her for saving him."

"And she left, without any clues?"

"Aye, I think she could have been a new maid, I know the king and queen are hiring."

"We will look around the castle then, the king and queen are having dinner with men proposing wives for the princes. We should be able to find her in the kitchens or near the great hall." 

"I agree, let's find her." 

......Back to Grand hall......

"Now that the introductions have been made, let's eat." A large table was carried in by ten servants who bowed before leaving the room. A moment later they reentered with seats. The king sat at the head of the table with an empty chair to his left, then Henry, Zuko, Carson, Daisy, Petunia and Aster. On his right sat Roeger, Rayburn, Sigmond, myself, Dahlia, Lily and Violet, with the Queen across from the king. I sat across from Carson who took more of an interest in Dahlia's supple breasts, than his food. 

Dinner was served and it looked like the food my mother used to make. Fresh bread with lamb, roasted potatoes and carrots. My favorite part had to be the green beans, when I was little I refused to eat them complaining how much hatred I had for them. I just wish I had eaten them for my mother when I had the chance all those years ago. Even though they still tasted horrible I stomached the green food before eating the rest. 

"I got an offer of marriage today." Zuko announced after swallowing a bite of food. "From one of the women in town, she heard of these women coming here and she would rather not have a foreign woman on the Emerald throne." 

"And what was your answer?" King Tyson growled. 

"I didn't give her one." Zuko replied blandly. "I wanted to see these foreign women before I decided. I must say that Daisy is a rare sight in the ugly north." Daisy choked on her food before looking around with large eyes. She looked at me for an answer and I sent her a soft smile. 

"Thank you for the compliment, your grace." After our last encounter I taught my sisters how to properly address members of the royal family. 

"Good to know you were thinking with the right head for once." I bit my lip holding in the small giggle that nearly escaped the tight prison I kept my happiness in. The door to the grand hall burst open causing most of us to jump in fright before we turned toward the loud sound. My jaw nearly dropped at the man standing there, his clothing consisted of a black top which was loose on his large muscles, a few wisps of dark chest hair could be seen just below his neck. His pants were black and held up by a belt with a sheath for his sword with the emerald encrusted pommel. His hair was dark brown almost black, it was cut so that it went halfway down his forehead, and covered the tips of his ears. Down the right side of his face ran a horrid scar. He had no right eye, instead a shining green stone rested in its place. His nose was straight, like his fathers, he had thin lips surrounded by thick facial hair. His beard was also thick yet neatly trimmed. His one dark eye scanned the room passing over all of us before he growled and went to the empty seat beside King Tyson. 

Once he had taken his seat he scanned the table again, when his eye met mine I bowed my head, when I looked back up his eye had already moved on, sizing up the men on my left. "Gentlemen, this is my eldest son Prince Aspen." King Tyson said. 

"Wolfe." The prince growled, he almost sounded like a real wolf. 

"Your grace." The men responded all at once. I looked over and I smirked when I saw how shaken the men were at the appearance of the Prince they had been mocking earlier that day. 

"Tell me my son, have any one of these women caught your eye?" The queen asked. 

"I won't marry off of looks." He said sternly.

"So one of them has." I looked over and I noticed the love the queen had for her son in the way she looked at him. A slight whimper came from the doors and I looked over to see Cedar limping over to the table. His focus was set on Wolfe who smiled at the injured dog. "Cedar? I thought it was his end?" I noticed the confusion on the queen's face. 

"A warrior like him." The King said proudly. "would not die from a wound to his paw." 

"Elder Garrick said a woman, possibly one of the new maids had seen another in this state and she was able to save him. I mean a bur, who would have thought something of that size could turn a loyal beast so feral." The prince said. I cast my eyes away hoping he didn't know it was me...but it could present an opportunity. 

"Did they say anything else?" The queen asked.

"Aye, that she was offered a reward, yet she left before telling them her name. They also said she was kind, Cedar let her close which isn't something he would do especially in his state of pain."

"What are your plans? Should you find her?" The king asked 

"It depends on who she is. If she is an elderly woman or very young a satchel of gold coin, if she is the proper age I will offer her my hand."

"You what?!" The queen asked in exasperation. "You know nothing of her."

"And I know of these women?" He growled. "I would rather marry a woman I don't know who Cedar didn't maim after she got near him without my presence,  than a woman I know nothing of entirely."

The king sighed deeply before speaking. "Let's finish dinner, when it is over we will discuss this while the rest of you can explore a bit more." I nodded once before finishing my food. I found a stray bean I had missed and stabbed it with my fork before forcing it down my own throat. When I was done I wiped my face with the cloth provided and put my hands in my lap and looked at the wood of the table waiting for the men who had larger portions to finish eating. 

"Ladies if you are done you may go." The queen said, I smiled at her and nodded before standing and smoothing my dress and walking past Dahlia and taking Lily's hand. We left the grand hall and walked up to a man in armor speaking to a few maids. 

"Will you ask him where the stables are?" I whispered in Lily's ear. She squeezed my hand before we walked up to the man who looked down at us and offered us a thin smile. 

"How can I help you?" He asked. 

"Could you point us to the stables?" Lily asked shyly. "My sister loves horses." I nodded with a small smile.

"How about I escort you there?" I nodded and kept smiling and he raised an eyebrow before we walked to the stables that were outside of the castle. The minute we walked in a dark black horse caught my eyes, his hair was long and black. (Fresian breed of horse) I walked toward his stall and noticed he had feathering covering his large hooves. 

"This proud Stallion is Torrand, he is Prince Wolfe's personal steed." I let out a small puff of air in amusement, it seemed I was drawn to Prince Wolfe's animals. The flapping of wings caught my attention and I looked up to see large eyes of a white owl looking back at me. I saw flames dancing in its eyes as the light of the barn gave; it's eyes changed the hue from orange to red to yellow. After a moment the owl flapped its wings and flew away, my eyes followed it until they met the brown eyes of the man in armor. "They are beautiful aren't they? The snowy owls." He said when he saw the look of confusion on my face. I nodded and looked back at Torrand who was falling asleep in his stall, he was easily the most beautiful horse I had ever seen. 

"He is incredible." I heard Lily whisper. 

"He is the finest horse in the world." The man said. "He has been with the Prince for two years now."

"I pray he lives a long life." Lily said. 

"As do I. Is there somewhere else you would like to go?" The man asked. 

"Nay, we should get back to the grand hall."