Eudora

Chapter2

The preparations were going smoothly; everything was in place. The party started at exactly the ninth hour.

The ballroom was crowded with Men in neatly tailored suits and ladies in beautiful ball gowns and fancy face masks. Laughter echoed through the walls; it was just a perfect evening.

Without delay, the King, Valerius and Queen Ophelia settled down in their royal seats, Vynn by the right and Iver seated by the left. As was the custom to have the first heir sat at the right side of the throne while the second sat at the left.

The dancers were first to the stage, performing three different dances.

First of all, the Hanoak. This dance involved seven people with a deity seated in the middle. The first three people would chant sutras and jump around the deity. The next three would beat themselves with knives until they bled enough blood to completely drench themselves.

The last person was blinded with a dagger soaked in the King's blood and acted as the deity's medium.

It wasn't just an ordinary dance; it was deeply rooted in ancestral rituals.

The deity gave a pronouncement: 'Valerius č̣oake nesuy feregha quai heima tume najuv etudhe oakf ezyuc zueheɛ gauquai'. The deity spoke in ancient Zuria language, which only the seer could understand and interpret.

The pronouncement clearly stated that King Valerius would be hated and brutally murdered by someone close to him.

The seer had never heard such a prophecy before; even during war times, the deity always gave good declarations.

Now it was the King's birthday, and not wanting to harm the joyous atmosphere, he lied that the deity proclaimed peace, long life and riches upon him and his entire generation.

The crowd screamed with excitement when they heard it.

Immediately after this, the deity screamed in another voice, 'The lie has been spoken.'

The medium coughed up black blood and lost consciousness.

The crowd turned to the seer to interpret what had just happened. The seer frettingly told the people it was exhaustion from the ritual. The people relaxed a bit now. The Queen, however, noticed the seer's hands were shaking but shook it off as a normal panic attack.

The next dance was performed by the Circus crew.

They stacked themselves up on each other and all somersaulted at the same time, landing exactly how they positioned initially.

The circus crew danced with fire torches while throwing backflips here and there.

Finally, the royal dance and everyone, one way or the other, found a partner to dance with.

Eudora planned on slipping away during this dance.

She had already made her way past the door hurriedly when she bumped her head into a muscular and broad chest.

It was Fersus.

He looked down at her and asked, 'Heading somewhere, Princess?'

'Uhhhmmm no, not at all, ... I just needed to get some...some...some pastries,' Eudora stammered, hating the fact that she could neither talk straight nor maintain eye contact.

Fersus chuckled slightly, knowing she was lying.

'Eudora, the pastries are inside the Ballroom, not outside, 'he said, inching a bit closer to her face.

She could already feel the warmth of his body; his eyes stared deep into her soul like a card reader.

She reddened and tried to hide her flushed face.

'Shall we?' Fersus asked, gesturing towards the ballroom.

Eudora shamefully walked back into the ballroom and began stuffing her face with creamy pastries to hide her embarrassment.

She bit more than she could chew and soon began choking. It didn't give her much concern; she needed to hide her shame one way or the other.

Her eyes were already tearing when Fersus noticed and ran to get her water.

He gently patted her back while she drank water.

Her skin was so delicate to the extent that red marks could be seen on her neck due to choking.

Seeing the red marks on her neck, Fersus became angry. It ignited a fire he himself could neither understand nor quench.

Looking at this tiny, delicate human in front of him choking over cream pastries was meant to make him chuckle, at least, so where did this burning anger come from?

Who was he angry at?

'My lady, please try eating as slowly as possible; I wouldn't want to see you hurting again, ' Fersus said softly, trying to subdue the anger behind a smile.

Eudora nodded hard; she had made a fool of herself the upteenth time today.

The last turn of the dance faded, and the halls turned their ears to the singers who would weave the next spell.

Eudora was among the singers, but this time, Solo.

Stage names were called, and Fersus smiled heartily. 'I will see you later, Princess,' Fersus shouted, disappearing into the crowd.

Eudora heaved a sigh of relief as he left the ballroom.

At least he won't be there to watch her embarrass herself again. However, it troubled her at the same time: why did he leave right before her stage time?

Did he reason that she would get nervous, knowing he would watch her perform? Or did he have other plans?

Whichever way it was, Eudora made her way to the stage.

She was a real nervous wreck. She thought to herself, 'What if I fail?', 'What if my voice breaks?', 'What if I'm not good enough?' "What if I underperform and this ego-pumped fool of a Prince uses it against me?' And a thousand more what-ifs rushed through her mind.

Nonetheless, she mustered up courage and did her solo as perfectly as she could.

To the bewilderment of the crowd, the King was the first to applaud her. 'She has talent, my people, a voice as angelic as this and an extremely beautiful lady. Perhaps, destiny has chosen our Future Queen.'

The nobles whispered. Some ladies glared at Eudora. The Queen forced a brief smile.

Vynn frowned to show her his disapproval.

He instantly stood up and argued, 'Father, if every good singer becomes Queen, won't the Palace be made a theatre rather?'

The Ballroom went silent. Then everyone laughed. Eudora was humiliated.

The King sternly ordered, 'Keep silent, young man.' Vynn sat back, angry.

Immediately after her solo, Eudora rushed outside to catch the sunset. 'The sky is so peaceful, 'she said, munching some creamy pastries.

Eudora heard footsteps coming behind her, though there were so many servants running here and there; this particular one came with a whiff of sandalwood scent. It was a scent she couldn't forget easily. Her mind immediately rolled back to Fersus, her dark-skinned angel. She found herself blushing at the very thought of his name. Her heartbeat tripled as the scent became stronger and closer.

'My lady, ' Fersus said as he approached her. Eudora pretended to be in shock and turned around quickly. Their eyes met, and everything faded to static. She found herself tracing the shape of his lips, craving the sandalwood scent he was always engulfed in.

Seeing her in a daze, he smirked inwardly. Fersus took hold of her hand and kissed it gently; her fair and pampered skin ignited in him a desire to claim her.

Eudora jolted back to reality. 'You always seem so distant, my lady. Anything I can help with?' Fersus inquired, letting go of her hand gently as though he were afraid it would hurt. This made Eudora embarrassed, and she blurted out a loud but quiet no.

'Mind if we take a walk around the Palace?' Fersus asked, giving her that smile even an old lady would choke on. Who was she to refuse?

She nodded shyly.

They were just by the Palace Garden when Eudora plucked a flower that stretched over the fence.

'And is that?' Fersus asked, hoping to break the long period of silence.

'Black spider lily,' she replied sharply.

'Ahhh, I see you know your flowers. Do you know what it means?' Vynn inquired.

Eudora shook her head.

'In Zuria, the Black Spider Lily blooms only when death has chosen its prey'

She laughed nervously and turned to look at him, trying to decipher if he was joking. His face was rather stern, as though he already had something in mind.

'Do you also enjoy watching sunsets?' Fersus asked as he pointed to the sky that had captured Eudora's attention for so long.

'Ohhh, of course I do, Fersus'

'The view from the Palace watchtower is more beautiful than the balcony, shall we?'

Eudora gleefully sprinted ahead of him to the Palace watchtower.

It was truly a sight to behold.

They conversed endlessly, their laughter bubbling up over trivial things.

The guards at the Watchtower began questioning their friendship because, to them, it was more than just friends.

'It's getting chilly now; warm yourself with this,' Fersus said as he draped his long fur coat on her.

Feeling his warm fingers on her cold skin made her skin tingle.

Eudora was rendered speechless.

She looked up at him as her way of saying thank you.

'Twilight is upon us, Princess. I shall escort you back to the Palace at once,' he commanded, guiding her out of the Watchtower.

When they got to the Palace, Fersus took her hand and gently kissed the back of her palms. 'Till the stars bring us together again, My Lady,' he declared as he walked away elegantly.

She grasped the fur coat tightly, inhaling the deeply engraved sandalwood scent and cursing herself for acting like a schoolgirl.

Eudora perceives, somewhere beneath the sandalwood scent, a burning, ashy smell. She traces it to the breast pocket of the coat, only to find a blackened paper stained with blood.

She attempts to open it—

'That doesn't belong to you, Princess.' Echoed a voice from behind her.