Dragon's Breath

Chapter eight

The queen scowls, her blonde ringlets tumbling off her shoulders. She lifts her head as she pinches her nose in disgust.

"What in God's name have you been doing child? You smell like a barnyard!” she barks

I take a step towards her and watch in delight as she recoils from me.

"This might be hard for you to understand, considering you are a queen who is sloven by nature, but I was helping your knights learn how to better their sword skills,” I inform her.

"I do not care how you got the way you are, go and bathe. Lunch will be served soon, and if you are not clean, you will not eat. Your presence is already a nuisance. Don’t make it worse,” she commands.

I roll my eyes scowling at her.

Placing a hand on her shoulder I shove her aside, watching as she stumbles.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bathe. You might want to consider it yourself, that perfume is putrid,” I remark.

I briskly walk away, leaving the queen to stand there gawking.

I pass a couple of maids on my way to my quarters and ask them to send someone to prepare a bath for me.

Arriving in my room, I find several of them already filling a tub with warm water and scented oils. They certainly work fast. Turning to me, a maid with dark brown hair walks over and attempts to undress me. I swat her hands away, startled by her actions.

"Everyone get out,” I command, causing some of the maids to jump in fright.

"Your highness, we're only here to help." The maid with brown hair says to me tentatively.

Looking her up and down I say with a snort, “I do not need your help to bathe, now if you please, get out."

At my words, the maids curtsy and leave the room.

Stripping out of my clothes, I walk over to the large oak tub, placed in the center of the room. There are hundreds of rose petals floating in the light pink water.

Slowly, I step in. I release a sigh of relief, allowing my body to relax into the warmth of the water. Grabbing a sponge that's sitting next to the tub, I begin to clean myself off, scrubbing until my skin turns a bright red. My mind races with a deep sense of irritation. Every time I find myself in the presence of the queen, nothing good comes of it. She is everything I despise about humans. Her judgment only paving the way for more hatred.

Tossing the sponge aside, I climb out of the tub and dry myself off. I move to stand in front of my mirror and begin to brush my hair, working to clear of face of emotion. I pull my hair into a high ponytail. Once I’m finished, I go over to the tall wooden dresser seated next to my bed, pulling out a pair of brown leather pants and a black cotton drawstring shirt.

Leaving, I notify the maids that I've finished, and to remove the tub from my room.

I take my time walking to the dining hall. When I get there, I push the doors open talking a seat in my usual spot next to Geoffrey.

"Took you long enough. If I had to wait another moment, I would have had lunch served without you,” Evalene snaps at me from across the table.

"If you'd like, next time I'll ignore your order and show up without bathing,” I respond annoyed.

At this, the king laughs causing Evalene to scowl, "Gregory, stop feeding into this child’s misbehavior,” Evalene says frustrated.

The king, who I now know as Gregory, narrows his eyes at Evalene.

"What do you mean?" he asks in a strong voice.

"If you continue to dismiss Eleonora's blatant disrespect for me, I fear that others may see this as an allowance to disrespect their queen,” Evalene explains.

"Evalene, I believe you have deeply misunderstood Eleonora's behavior. She is simply expressing how comfortable she is around us. I think you should apologize for always trying to find fault in her," Gregory says to her, flashing me a wink.

I smile to myself. The old man is covering for me, how unexpected. I'm beginning to like him.

Evalene sits there looking baffled, before giving a stiff smile. Turning to me with that smile plastered on her face, she forces out the words, "Princess Eleonora, I'm so very sorry for coming off as rude to you, please forgive me.”

"Can we please just continue with our meal?" I reply, dismissing her.

Without further words, we all begin eating.

Clearing my throat I look up at the king, Gregory.

"While I was looking for your training room today, I took note of all the artwork displayed in the castle. I must say, it is all quite beautiful,” I say.

Gregory’s face lights up at the mention of the artwork.

"Yes, I've been a collector for many years. My collection started small but soon grew to the point where I could no longer keep it all in one place,” he explains excitedly.

"I feel that the works of art make this castle seem more like a home, I loved looking at them,” I say.

"I'm glad to hear it. Evalene has always hated the paintings, she says that in time they will be worth nothing,” he says.

"I'll have to disagree with your wife, I feel that in years to come to your castle, and the artwork it harbors will be revered,” I gush.

Gregory smiles at me fondly, "I am so happy that someone shares my love for art."

We go quiet again for a moment or two before Gregory speaks once more. "That reminds me, Eleonora-"

"Please, call me Nora," I say cutting him off.

He smiles at me then continues, "Nora, I had forgotten to tell you, I've called my granddaughter Gwen to court. I assigned her to be your lady in waiting. Since there are few young women living in court, I thought you might enjoy the company,” he tells me.

While I appreciate the old man's sentiment, I really wish he hadn't done this for me, I would have preferred to be with as little company as possible.

"Thank you, Gregory. When is her lady Gwen due to arrive?" I ask, trying to sound as grateful as possible. The old man is the only one who has made me feel comfortable while being here, the least I can do is give him my respect.

"Actually, she should be arriving at any moment, I've placed her in the bed-chamber next to yours. When you're finished with your meal, she should be there waiting for you,” he lets me know.

I quickly finish my meal, eager to meet my new lady in waiting.

Walking through the halls I easily find Gwen's chambers. I don't spend too much time in front of the door before I slam it open with a bang. At first I am taken aback by the strong jasmine and cherry blossom perfume wafting in the room. I cover my nose, cringing at the smell. Looking into the room, I see a small dark-haired girl jump with fright, making a squeaking noise. She sounds just like a little mouse.

"Calm down, little mouse, I'm not here to hurt you,” I tease.

When the girl turns around, I'm met with two scared green orbs wide as saucers. Looking deep into her eyes, I see more than fear, there's something else there. Something dark that I just can't quite put my finger on.

"W-Who are you? And what are you doing just barging into my room?" She quakes. Her words come out meek and defenseless, but there’s fire burning in her eyes. She's not as weak as she's making herself out to be. So why is she pretending?

"If you are my lady in waiting, then there is no reason that I should be waiting for you," I respond c*****g an eyebrow.

The little mouse puts a hand over her mouth to hide her gasp. “I'm so very sorry, my lady. I was not expecting you so soon, please forgive me." She curtsies, then continues, "I am Gwen Evergreen, I am here to serve you whenever you need me."

"You may call me Eleonora’,” I tell her.

"Very well, it is nice to meet you, Eleonora,” she responds.

Her face looks soft, but her eyes are fierce. There's just something about this girl. Something that makes her different from the others here, I'm determined to figure out what it is.