Through the Storms

MIDNIGHT

CHAPTER THREE

Arya found that Nick was quite a dancer and his matched hers but she kept wondering if he was the king. It would sound rude to ask him directly and the princess’ mind burned with so much curiosity. The song changed to a much slower and sensual one and Arya took the time to catch her breath. Nick chose to address her then,

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself, I’m Nick by the way and I guess you’re Princess Arya?” he asked. Arya nodded her head because she didn’t know how to address him, was he a prince or the king of Beolyn? She asked herself. She decided to settle for the latter and address him as a king. Hadn’t he talked about longing to see his people? A king who had been away for as long as he had been would definitely miss his home, Arya thought and replied him.

“I learnt you’ve been away from here for a while, how long?” she asked him

Nick looked directly into those blue orbs and couldn’t help admiring the princess. She looked much more beautiful up close. Get your head together, Nick! He berated himself and answered the question.

“Yes, my princess, I’ve been away for almost a year. I’m back to set things in order and some people straight.”

“People you say, would you be referring to the merchant you spoke to earlier?” Arya asked Nick.

“You could say that, Princess. And how can you tell he’s a merchant?” Nick countered with a question.

“Well, for the record, the clothes would definitely give him away in the crowd.” Arya began, “and the way he carries himself with a somewhat gloating face would say he’s one proud merchant…” Arya paused for a while and concluded, “And I heard some of what he said”   

“You mean what we all said” Nick asked.

“No, just some of what he said. You know, business and all” Arya replied and maintained eye contact with Nick for measure. Her training wasn’t going in vain; she thought and smiled at Nick.

Nick’s thoughts flew out through the window the minute Arya smiled at him and he blinked a few times to get his head straight. He had just met this damsel and he felt he had already fallen for her charm. He had to be calm and focused so he could assess her and give satisfying conclusive results. He took a deep breath and led Arya from the dance floor so they could get a drink.

Arya was relieved they could stop dancing. She was feeling not so comfortable in the dress which had been picked by her new maid, Diane. She took a sip of the wine Nick handed her and watched him closely. I need to keep this up. From what she heard from Nick’s exchange with the other men and from the way they all acted, she could tell something was up and Nick had confirmed it from what he said. She breathed deeply and hoped she would be able to cope with the drama playing before her eyes. Nick was talking with some other lady and she decided it was time to leave. She needed to get some rest and continue with some of her pretentious acts.

She made it out of the hall safely and headed to her room and all of a sudden she felt that uneasy feeling like she was being watched. This time it felt much stronger and she tried all she could from turning and heading back into the hall. It was quite noisy in there and she couldn’t go back. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned swiftly only to come in face to face with Nick. She breathed in relief and curtsied.

“Leaving already?” Nick asked the somewhat panicky princess. Somehow with him there she didn’t have that creepy feeling.

“It’s quite late, don’t you think?” Arya asked before replying, “Yes I need to have a good night’s sleep so I don’t wake with a puffy face” She said 

“Then I won’t hold you back princess. But if you’re up for at sunrise I would like to invite you for a short ride with me.”

“That’ll be great. I’ll make sure to join you tomorrow” Arya replied and headed to her chambers. She turned and Nick was still standing there,

“And it’s Princess Arya for starters. Thanks for the entertainment, Your Highness.” Arya said before heading off.

“Your Highness?” Nick thought with an amused expression on his face, “If only I was” and then he went back to the hall. There was still some unsettled stuff and he intended to do all that tonight. Tomorrow he would be presiding in the council meeting like he was told to do.  

All Arya thought about that night was the jittery feeling her stomach felt or rather butterflies that was quite unusual to her. Diane had helped her change into her night dress and get ready for bed. She had tried several times to engage her in a conversation but all she got were curt answers from the maid who treated her with so much respect. She bade her a goodnight before leaving her all alone to her thoughts.

Looking out through the window at the night sky and all the shining stars, Arya couldn’t help but sigh and think of the happenings at the banquet. It seemed the king wanted to know who his allies and enemies were. The reaction of that merchant and the other man had given them away and she could tell they weren’t to be trusted. She had heard all of what they had said from where she stood and she knew that this court was one where lots of games were played. She had to be careful at all costs. If they knew she had heard most of the conversation even before Nick had arrived she could well be in danger, that was why she had pretended that she didn’t hear anything. Most women who were found to have so much knowledge were apt to be killed by the ones who didn’t want such information to be spread.

With these thoughts running through her mind, Arya got into bed and tried all she could to go to sleep. Each time she closed her tried all she could to go to sleep. Each time she closed her eyes all she could see was Nick’s face. After a while, she fell asleep.

That door woke her up again. It wasn’t the maid’s fault that the door made such noise but she hoped these chambers were temporary. She would tell Nick to ask some repairmen to sort this out. Speaking of which made Arya recall that she had to be up and ready for her ride with Nick.

She asked Diane to help her quickly get ready and decided against dressing lady-like for this ride because she wanted to race and feel the wind in her face. It had been a while since she had gone for a ride and she looked forward to this with so much anticipation.

Arya got to the stables in time to meet Nick picking a horse. She curtsied before him in respect before casually asking how his night was. He replied in the affirmative and asked her to choose a horse. Arya passed several stalls and watched as the horses looked at her with uninterested looks and continued munching on their food.

A black horse caught her attention and she stopped by the stall and looked at it.

“That’s Midnight, the fiercest of our horses” the attendant said, “He’s quite a bunch to handle and can be really tough to handle.”

Arya shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll pick this horse, and you should dress him and use the right saddle.”

The attendant was confused, “The right saddle?”

“Yes. I don’t want any princess saddle.” Arya replied and went back to meet Nick who stood beside a white horse. The attendant nodded and went to work.

“Did you choose a horse?” Nick asked

“Yes, I'm told she's called Midnight” Arya replied and patted Nick's white horse.

“You just chose the Royal stable’s wildest horse and you seem unperturbed. You’re equally dressed to handle one rough horse” Nick said as he assessed her wears for the first time that morning. She was dressed in men’s wears but the clothing hugged her body like a second skin. It was unusual for a princess to wear such but it sure looked appealing. Heather had sure gotten one hell of a beautiful princess as his bride, thought Nick.

The attendant brought a struggling Midnight to Arya all ready for a ride. The moment Arya reached out to take the bridle from the young boy, Midnight’s fussing reduced. Arya whispered some incoherent words and to his surprise the horse stopped prancing and calmed down. Arya climbed the horse without any aid and tipped her head to one side before speaking again,

“Your Highness, where would we be riding to?” she asked.

Midnight didn’t give one fuss and Nick wondered why. Aside from that, the princess seemed to have a saucy tone like she was ready to compete with him. He liked what he saw; cool at night and saucy in the daytime. Conflicting characters that kept one guessing all the time. Really intriguing, thought Nick as he climbed his horse and headed out with the princess close behind.