Page 76 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
In fact, she felt a bit emotional. It was like when she was young, and her mother would gently help her comb her long black hair... The older ladies during her wedding had mercilessly pulled and been completely inconsiderate of the pain they inflicted on her, but Lorey was as gentle as one could be. In a matter of minutes, she was not only done combing her hair, but she had also braided a few strands and arranged them around the silver headband she’d given her the previous day. Alezya felt grateful upon touching her newly arranged hair... and a little bit prettier.
“Ti jib ha kuha,” Lorey then said, pointing at the food.
“Kuha!” Alezya repeated, happy to finally recognize a word.
Lorey seemed surprised by her sudden excitement but presented her with the food.
“...Taam,” Alezya said, remembering it meant food.
Lorey nodded encouragingly. She then began gathering the used bandages around the room and cleaning up a bit while Alezya ate.
It was more of that soup with the chunky bits she liked. What kind of meat was this?
“Lorey,” she called her. “Taam?”
Upon Lorey’s confusion, she tried to point at the chunky bits in the soup, having isolated a couple on her spoon. Then, Lorey smiled.
“Lehma,” she said.
“Leh-... Lehma,” Alezya repeated, trying to imitate the guttural sounds.
Lorey smiled and nodded. Then, she came back, next to Alezya, and showed her the little cup of fruits on the side.
“Atiwut,” she said.
Was that their word for berries?Atiwut, Alezya mentally repeated. She really hoped she was going to remember these things...Lehmameant meat, or perhaps that specific type of meat.Kuhawas to eat,taamwas food... She rememberedinkir, for more. What was the word for water again?Mahi, orshrib? One of those two?
“Shrib?” she asked Lorey, pointing at the jug.
Lorey took the jug and tilted it to point at the content, more precise than the other two.
“Mahi,” she said.
Then, she pretended to drink from it.
“Shrib,” she said, mimicking the action of drinking again.
Alezya enthusiastically nodded. She was starting to get this, and Lorey seemed only too happy to help her out. Maybe it wasn’t insane to try and learn their strange language. Maybe it wasn’t insane at all, but on the contrary, her best chance.
“Alezya?”
She looked up at Lorey, wondering what she wanted. To her surprise, Lorey pointed at the water, then at her. Did she want her to drink?
“Mahi,” she repeated. “Lorey, mahi?”
She then pointed at her lips, and that’s when Alezya understood: she wanted to learn her language too. Alezya hesitated. She was apprehensive about teaching Lorey or anybody else. Was it because she was nervous to teach her language to a foreigner? Or because she felt she would be betraying the clans if she did so?
...What if the Dragon Clan used this against them? She couldn’t even understand why she felt so loyal to the people up the mountain. Perhaps because this wasn’t just about her own clan, but about all the people that lived up there. She had that heavy feeling that at this precise moment, if she began teaching the Dragon Clan their language, she might be the first oneto topple their fate... and she wasn’t ready to take on such a responsibility.
Lorey seemed to notice how troubled she was by her simple question, and gently put a hand on her knee, giving her a compassionate smile.
Then, she got up, and resumed her tasks again, not insisting any longer. Alezya was a bit grateful for that. She felt bad refusing Lorey when she’d already learned a few new words herself. She silently resumed eating, mentally repeating the words she had just learned to remember them, while Lorey seemed to be cleaning around or after her.
After observing her for a little bit, Alezya couldn’t help but notice that Lorey was mindful of Kassein’s place, and not daring to touch too many of his things either. She would wash or throw out the used bandages, take care of the fire and take out the extra ashes, rearrange the furs on the bed, or clean the dust off the fur rugs outside, but she didn’t touch any of the weapons, nor attempt to rearrange the mess on the table at the other end of the room.
In fact, she carefully only took care of anything that had to do with Alezya but didn’t dare touch any of Kassein’s belongings, nor venture into his private space. This realization made Alezya a little happier and rid her of the jealousy she had felt toward Lorey. It was hard to hold any negative feelings toward a woman who was acting so selflessly kind toward her. Alezya couldn’t help but wonder what her status actually was. She was too beautiful not to be married already, but she didn’t know the signs of a married woman in the Dragon Clan. What of Kassein’s sibling? Was she married too? It was Alezya’s first time seeing a female warrior, so she wondered how different their customs possibly were.
“Kassein?” Alezya asked as she had just finished eating.
