Page 38 of Deadwood
King Alline had been kind enough to let our group sleep in some of the empty houses near the castle after we’d arrived too late to visit with the king and queen. They didn’t have as large of an estate as Amosite, so there were no spare rooms for us to occupy. I’d been in my own cottage with three guards posted outside while Lander and Paxon slept in a separate one just next door. The guards who weren’t on shift got one house to themselves. After days in a tent, we were all thankful to have at least one full night’s rest in a real bed.
But somehow, even with the unpleasantries I’d learned came with travel, I’d never felt happier.
“I smell the salt in the air,” I replied, almost hating the small talk Lander and I forced at times.
I’d chosen to wear a looser dress today. The tight-fitting gowns I typically wore didn’t seem to fit in with the citizens of Sulphur. Much like the land and its people, I wanted to feel free, and that meant no restricting corset. No dreary colors either. Red was not in my vocabulary—at least for today.
“Not as humid, though. And a much cleaner aroma than Amosite,” Lander acknowledged, nudging my shoulder with his own. He clearly wasn’t missing the damp, seaweed smelling air in my kingdom. Truthfully, I wasn’t either.
“You’re not wrong,” I said with a hint of a smile before taking a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what the day held. I wasn’t used to any of this, but I was trying.
He stepped forward and opened the door, holding it wide for me to pass through. The morning air warmed my skin instantly as I moved past him.
“My lady,” a guard said, stepping in front of us before we descended the steps. The sword at his hip clanked against the garnet armor on his leg.
Lander and I both paused.
“I have to ask that you go back inside,” he went on.
“Is there a threat?” I asked. With the mention of it, Lander inched closer to my side.
“No, my lady.” He cleared his throat as he averted his gaze, eyes darting to my clothing before looking at me. “But King Tenere has given us strict orders that you are to only wear his colors and the wardrobe he had picked for you.”
Hiscolors. As if I didn’t spend every day of my aching life in Amosite. As if I hadn’t grown up there.
A bit of the tension left my body at the reassurance there was no real danger. I should’ve known, though, that even outside the chasm, my father would still find a way to control the smallest of things.
I glanced at Lander, but he had his gaze downcast on his glossed shoes.
I turned my attention back to the guard. “Surely, for a day, my father would excuse it.”
“I cannot make that decision for him, my lady,” the guard said, something like uneasiness coating his words.
I looked down at my simple white dress, realizing there would be no getting around this. If the worst that came to me on this trip was being forced to wear Amosite’s colors every day, then I considered myself lucky.
“I can wait here. Changing will not take long at all,” Lander assured me.
I swallowed, already feeling the binds of a corset caging my torso in. But how would it look if my first impression outside of Amosite and in another kingdom was arguing with a guard over something as minute as clothing? It wasn’t worth my—or my father’s—reputation.
“Thank you,” I muttered, not sparing the guard another glance before turning around. Lander kept his word, standing outside as I changed, and when I reappeared wearing the desired red dress, the sleeves itchy and the neckline suffocating, he offered a sympathetic smile.
I didn’t return it.
“King and Queen Alline will be meeting us in the town square,” the guard said, trailing beside Lander and I as we walked.
“Is that where we’re to do this speech?” I asked.
“It is, my lady. We can get everything done today and be gone by morning.”
“I wasn’t aware we were leaving so quick,” I said.
“King Tenere has us on a tight schedule. If we hit poor weather, we may have to stop, and with days of travel in between each kingdom, we’re hoping to get ahead of anything that could hinder us arriving back in Amosite on time.”
It seemed my father’s guards were just as fearful of him as everyone else. Although their jobs were on the line, I worried it wouldn’t be them who got the worst of what was to come if we weren’t back in a few weeks.
Though I was the one forced to change my attire, Lander looked much worse for wear. His hair was astray, his lapel crinkled, and the cuffs of his sleeves were unbuttoned.
“Are you okay?” I muttered to him as we walked.
