Page 72 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
However, right now, she was feeling nervous again.
Who were those women who had shown up? Alezya had been thunderstruck by their abrupt arrival. She couldn’t have foreseen that she would feel so threatened by two women suddenly appearing, yet here she was alone again, with her thoughts spiraling. When had those two women arrived, and why?
Alezya was pretty sure those women hadn’t been in the area before, as their clothing suggested. From what she’d seen of them, one had to be related to Kassein, as they were too strikingly similar not to be related. But if he had brought his sister or relative here, who was the other one? She bore no resemblance to him, but they clearly knew each other. They had been near each other with that proximity of people who were comfortable with one another, not strangers. She wasn’t a subordinate either for she hadn’t acted as wary as other people in his presence. She hadn’t bowed or stood still at the entrance of the habitation. Lorey, she was called.
Alezya hated herself for feeling so threatened by another woman of whom she knew nothing. Except that Lorey was beautiful. Really, really beautiful, with her big dark eyes. Graceful and kind too. A kind beauty that she hadn’t expected had suddenly appeared. Until now, she had thought she was the only woman in this place, the only woman near Kassein.
Why did she hate that another woman had come while she didn’t mind his relative much? Alezya knew the answer, but she didn’t like how easy it was to read her own pathetic heart.
She waited alone, unsure of what to do next. She hated that they had all gone out and she was trapped here, too injured to move. Her body was aching, but her mind was aching even moreto be out there, to see what Kassein and those women were up to. She had never wanted to leave this place so much to peek outside.
She could hear the dragon, and at some point, she wasn’t sure if there was more than one creature growling, which made her nervous. Another dragon? Or was that merely an echo? Alezya was so curious that her body had begun leaning forward toward the entrance when that woman came back. Lorey. Her heart sank.
Why? Why was she allowed to freely come and go inside Kassein’s living space? Alezya didn’t say anything and just watched as Lorey laid out on the bed what she had brought: new clothes, all clearly female clothing. There was a set of undergarments, a dress on which some fur had been sewed, a set of small gloves, and some thick pants. Some of the fabrics were foreign to Alezya, but she could tell all those were meant for a woman in a cold setting like this.
Not only that, but Lorey also put down a pretty comb for her and a headband that looked like her own, a simple silver half-ring.
Then, she smiled as if this was a gesture of goodwill. Alezya nodded, with a half-smile, but she couldn’t help but feel conflicted about those “presents.” Where had those come from? Were those Lorey’s? She hated how tormented her heart was by the apparition of one woman.
Where had Kassein gone, and why wasn’t he coming back? She was growing more nervous and couldn’t relax. The pain was keeping her on edge, but not nearly as much as the worries that grew inside her mind.
Not long after that, a smaller basin of hot water was brought in with small, smooth cloths, and to her surprise, Alezya realized that Lorey was here to help her clean and change. That womanwanted to serve her? Was that why Kassein had brought her, to take over in taking care of Alezya? Perhaps he had realized that it was unfitting of him, a male warrior, to be taking care of a woman...
Once again, she felt her heart fall a little. If the other woman was his relative, was Lorey a servant? Or was she a friend his relative had brought to help him take care of Alezya? Had he told them some bothersome woman had appeared, and she had brought a woman to save his pride? Or had his clan heard of this mad situation, and decided to set things straight, unable to bear one of their warriors’ pride defiled like this?
Either way, Alezya decided to stop letting those doubts sour her mood. She had to set her priorities straight, and the first one was that she had to heal. She wanted to heal and stop being some dead weight, incapable of helping Lumie and relying on Kassein.
She accepted Lorey’s help, convincing herself that this was the proper thing to do to begin with, and focusing on the moment to calm down her thoughts. She had to stop that spiral of nervousness and worry... Alezya slowed down her breathing and focused on what they were presently trying to do: clean her up. Her injuries hurt a lot, but Lorey was kind and extremely gentle with each of her movements.
She patiently helped Alezya undress and washed her with hot water and that nice-smelling thing, being mindful of her injuries and making sure to gently smile often as if to reassure her.
After a bit, Alezya realized she genuinely wouldn’t have been able to dislike such a kind and patient woman, even if she wanted to. And she didn’t; she refused to turn into a jealous, bitter creature. She wanted to get off that dangerous, dark path before she’d turn into something she hated. She had seen some of her half-sisters, who had always been quietly jealous of herbeauty, rejoice over her fall into disgrace instead of helping her. Alezya refused to be anything like them.
In fact, she hoped she could make allies with these people, especially now that there were women here. Unlike her half-sisters, her mother’s clan had shown her what women, if they were all tight-knit, were capable of. Her mother had come from one of the only clans that were women-led, a rare matriarchy amongst all the other male-dominated clans. They weren’t recognized by the other clans, and often ignored, but it hadn’t kept them from doing well and being a peaceful, thriving clan of their own.
Alezya only had faint memories of it from the few times she had visited her mother’s clan when she was much younger. She had never gone back after her mother had left, and she wasn’t even sure where this clan was located. But she only had good memories of it, with images of women freely speaking, laughing, and gathering together. She wished she knew what had happened to her mother’s family, but she had never been allowed to go and visit them after her mother had left. She only knew they were far, a dangerous journey she hadn’t even considered for her escape with Lumie. But perhaps, after this was all over, finding them wouldn’t be such a crazy idea. They would welcome a woman and her baby, she was sure of it. Or her babies. If she ever did get pregnant with Kassein’s child, went back to her clan, and managed to escape with Lumie, then...
“Alezya?”
She was taken out of her thoughts by Lorey’s gentle smile. She was done washing her and was presenting Alezya with the bandages and paste to re-apply to her injuries. She helped her back to the bed, and then, Lorey carefully tended to her injuries, obviously somewhat experienced.
This was the right way, Alezya thought. A man like Kassein shouldn’t have lowered himself to a task that was a woman’sjob, to begin with... She tried to ignore the pinch in her heart as Lorey finished bandaging all the injuries that ought to be and presented her with the new clothes to help her put them on. Alezya nodded with a slight blush and, with Lorey’s support, got dressed.
Those new clothes were even more comfortable and fitting, and she guessed that the fabrics ought to be more expensive. There was a sort of wool she’d never seen before, and the undergarments were made of that same thin and cool fabric that Kassein had gifted her before for her hair.
Once dressed, she already felt a lot better. Lorey was now helping her rebandage her hands when the other woman came in. She was definitely nothing like any other woman Alezya had met before. First of all, she was tall, almost as tall as Kassein. Alezya had decided they ought to be siblings, given the striking resemblance. She was the tallest woman Alezya had ever met, and Alezya herself was considered rather tall amongst her own people.
Moreover, she was muscular, which was also highly unusual. Not as much as the men Alezya had seen out there or her sibling, but she was still the most impressively fit woman she’d ever seen. She didn’t seem to mind the cold, as her incredibly defined arms were showing under the black fur cape she had put on. She had put on the same shiny protective coverings that the other warriors in the Dragon Clan wore, but hers was bronze-colored. It covered the shape of her chest perfectly, as well as arm and leg braces. That woman was a female version of Kassein, except for her long brown braid and softer, rounder face shape. Was she a warrior too? Was there such a thing amongst the Dragon Clan as a female warrior? Perhaps that was why she was leaving Lorey to take care of her... or perhaps Lorey was her helper of some sort.
Alezya still thought their customs were most likely different. Still, she hoped Lorey hadn’t come here to assist Kassein like she perhaps already did his sister. She tried to chase those thoughts away, annoyed at her own pettiness. The two women exchanged a few words, and Lorey suddenly turned back to Alezya, while her hand was pointed toward the other woman.
“Kiera,” she said. “Ha ku Kiera.”
Alezya gave them a faint nod. Kassein, Kiera. Even their names sounded similar; that woman was definitely Kassein’s sibling. She couldn’t tell if Kiera was older or younger though. Perhaps they didn’t have much of an age difference. They probably had the same mother, given how alike they were. The woman gave her a faint smirk as she looked Alezya up and down. Then, the two women exchanged in their odd language again, although Lorey was still busy helping her with the bandages and re-applying paste on her injured hands.
As soon as she was done fastening the dressings, she smiled again at Alezya, leaving her alone on Kassein’s bed, and went to stand next to that woman, Kiera.
Kassein suddenly walked in, taking Alezya by surprise. She found herself unconsciously holding her breath, both relieved and shocked to see him again so soon. For some reason, she’d expected, and feared, to see him less now that those two women had appeared...
