125

“Come on now open the gates! The queen has invited us!”, Toreh yelled as she rubbed her arms. Whew! It was quite chilly around here. She should have brought a jacket or coat. Amar didn’t look quite bothered and Toreh wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t forgotten her coat.


“Why would the queen invite slaves to her palace?”, the guard snarled, flaring at them both.

“Who the fuck are you calling a slave huh?”. Amar yelled. “Did you see me with a slave tag?”

“Bring your pretty neck over here let me have a look for myself.”

Amar shuddered. “You and me can never be a thing, you warthog.”

“The right name is Utavis but since you’ve forgotten your manners at the shack, be my quest,” Utavis said, eyeing them.

“You’re the one without manners you watered down son of a….”

Amar shut up when Utavis unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her neck. “Finish that sentence and you would lose a vein.”

Amar held his eyes as she mouthed, “bitch.”

Utavis swung his sowrd and Amar dodged. Toreh stole the keys from his pocket and tried the gates. Utavis roared as he charged at Amar. She dodged again, frustrating the young guard.

Unaware that they were being watched, Amar whipped out a dagger of her own, though she wasn’t sure it was a match for Utavis sword. The gates clicked open and Toreh let out a cry of joy as she straightened. She would have entered if Utavis hadn’t turned on her, slashing at her arm with his steel blade.

Toreh blinked as she stared at her bleeding arm, trying to comprehend what happened. Enraged, Amar threw herself at the guard, knocking him to the ground.

“No one hurts my sister!", she yelled, punching Utavis in the face. Toreh just stood there, still in shock, staring at the wound.

The princes, who had just returned from the brothel they were at, were surprised at the scene awaiting them at the palace gates. Thane who was a bit sober than the rest asked, “What in God’s name is going on here?”

Amar stopped her assault and Utavis pushed her off as he rose swiftly to greet his princes. Amar went to Toreh, inspecting her wound.

“It’s not that deep, so you would be fine.”

“Utavis!”, Elvis called out. “What the hell is going on?”

“These two girls came here, demanding that they see the queen…”

Amar’s scoff cut him off. “Demanding? What an excellent way to describe my politeness.”

Elvis turned to Amar. “You do not speak unless asked a question.”

“Oh, I’m sorry my prince, but that line is only used for slaves and as you can see, I’m missing a slave tag.”

Kayne whistled. Dolan stifled a laugh. Eleanor coughed and Ruarc stifled a smile. Elvis was embarrassed.

“Utavis, who is she?”, Elvis asked, turning his attention back to the guard.

“A fighter,” Kayne answered as he picked up her dagger. The five brothers turned to glare at Kayne. “What? You all saw the way she punched Utavis. I mean if he was human, he’d have a black eye by now.”

Dolan rolled his eyes. “I don’t think Utavis knows who she is. Toreh might know.”

At the sound of her name, Toreh snapped out of it. The pain registered then, and she muffled a scream.

“My sister is in pain so she cannot provide you with the answers that you seek,” Amar said as she tore a part of her dress, using the torn piece to wrap her sister’s arm.

“Your sister?”, Ruarc asked surprised. “You’re sisters with Toreh?”

Amar shot him a look. “I said that the first time, didn’t I?”

“Watch your mouth woman,” Elvis snarled. “You’re before the royal princes of this great kingdom so show some respect.”

Amar scoffed. “You want me to show respect to a bunch of women covered in hickeys who stink of alcohol and sex?”

Utavis choked. Toreh swore softly. “Amar, enough.”

“Amar huh?”, Eleanor asked. “You sure have a mouth on you.”

“So I’ve been told. Now if the ‘great princes’ of this kingdom would excuse us, we’d like to honour the queen’s invitation.”

Dolan frowned. “The queen? She invited you?”

She shot him a look. “I said that didn’t I?”

Toreh sighed. “She invited me. Amar kind of tagged along.”

“And here she is, wreaking so much havoc,” Elvis sneered.

“So, because I punched some guard, I’m wreaking havoc? What exactly did I do for you to hate me so much?”

Toreh sighed again. “Amar, enough. I thank you for being my security guard but I’m afraid I have to go on alone. I promise to be back soon.”

“So, you want to leave me with these men? I don’t know if it has registered, but they don’t like me.”

“Who wouldn’t? Well, since you’re here, you can as well keep prince Elvis company. He appears to be smitten by you.”

The princes laughed except for Elvis. Toreh disappeared inside the palace. Amar turned to Elvis.

“You heard her. Keep me company. I’m sure there’s something that interests me in this palace of yours.”

Elvis smiled bitterly. “There is. Would you like to see the gore room?”

Amar eyed him. “What’s a gore room?”

“It;s where we torture criminals, slaves, anyone who dares to upset the royals. Lately, it has become a safe haven for our bloodthirsty guests,” Elvis replied. “I’m certain a woman like yourself wouldn’t want to associate with such a place.”

She smiled. “You’d be surprised. Lead the way prince.”

…..

The nurse at the infirmary was kind enough to dress Toreh’s wound. She stepped out of the infirmary with a bandaged arm, only to run into Wilhelm.

“Must we always meet like this?”, Toreh asked as she took a step back.

“Where’s your sister?”

“You don’t answer a question with a question Wilhelm. Surely your mum must have taught you some manners.”

“Be quiet about my mother and answer me. Where’s your sister?”

“She’s with prince Elvis, keeping him company. Why? What do you want?”

“I want to talk to her. She hasn’t been answering my calls nor replying my messages.”

“I’m sure she has a good reason for ignoring you. I would have loved to keep you company but I can’t keep the queen waiting.”

“She wouldn’t be able to receive you,” Wilhelm said, causing Toreh to halt in her tracks.

“What?”

“I said, she wouldn’t be able to receive you when she’s with the king.”

“And you’re telling me this because?”

“I don’t want you to intrude on their privacy. It’s as simple as that. You should go find Eloive. He’s been looking for you sine yesterday.”

She frowned. “Why? I haven’t been missing.”

“Just go find him. He should be in his palace, looking for trouble.”

….

Toreh was exhausted by the time she walked into Eloive’s chambers. Her arm was hurting and so was her head. Eloive wasn’t in his room and Toreh briefly wondered where he was.

“He’s in the bathhouse.”

Samantha.

Toreh turned to her, eyeing the noble Icelander. She recognized the shirt she wore as Eloive’s. “How...What are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same,” Samantha replied as she descended the steps. “What are you doing here? After all, here ain’t the queen’s chambers.”

Toreh chuckled. “My my. Word does travel fast around here. What about you? Why are you in the palace?”

Samantha smiled. It wasn’t genuine. “I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your memory that the prince would be married next year and I’m one of the eligible brides. Therefore, I can be here without needing a reason.”

“That’s true but where are the other eligible brides?”

“It’s not my fault if the prince didn’t send for them as well.”

Toreh blinked, taken aback. “He sent for you?”

“I said that didn’t I? Well, if you excuse me, I’d like to take my leave now.”

“You… you can’t leave while wearing his shirt,” Toreh stuttered.

“Why not?”

“It would make everyone think that something happened between you and the prince.”

“Maybe something happened? Who knows? You shouldn’t care about what people would think of me. You should care about what people would think of you.”