May 21st, 2019

Hope you enjoy!

:)

. . Vilja Castle|September|1313 . .

"Nords' armor has lots of fur.
This sometimes makes M'aiq nervous."
-M'aiq the Liar

The men, once the horses were properly put away to their stalls, hauled open to wide spruce doors. Beside her father, Tori saw a line of torches on the stone walls—which were lavished with extraordinary, detailed murals carved within—and beautiful, bronze lanterns hung from the high ceiling. There was a long maroon rug that stretched down the hall, and curtains draped from the height of the room exposing entryways towards large, royal chambers.

Sikowitz jogged towards the main entrance from around a corner, fixing a bright smile at his last step. "Greetings, travelers and fair women!" he bellowed through the gathering breeze. "Even with this fine weather, I would be pleased to lead you all to a lovely meal and a dashing, young prince!" Everybody cheered. "I am Sikowitz, the late and future kings' advisor! Please, follow me!"

The small crowd obeyed, trailing behind him as the doors were closed. Once the frigid air was expelled, the castle proved to be quite warm and welcoming. Sikowitz passed by a smaller space marked by a curtain where the castle's servants smiled, offering their hand to take their coats. After a moment of waiting, Sikowitz continued to lead them all to a large, magnificent room, a long table with colorful meals prepared before a large throne-like seat. Standing beside it, waiting patiently, was Prince Vincent to the right and Princess Jade to the left.

With a big grin that warded away the princess towards the other end of the table, Ryder exclaimed, "My dear women, come join me whilst we dine, and let us get to know one another! Bring your fathers, if you must." He winked teasingly, making some of the maidens—including Trina—to giggle and playfully fan their hands. "Your humble servants may dine at the table, too, by the...princess." His grin then was not as kind, even though his efforts to appear generous were believed. Besides Jade—she arched a brow as she put a hand to her seat, which was identical other than being narrower than his.

Not-Chief Vega pursed a smile towards Tori, patting her shoulder gingerly. "I know...make sure she doesn't get in trouble," she murmured.

"That'a girl..."

"Wait." He stopped in his tracks and looked around. Tori frowned. "It sounds like the prince is letting the servants only eat here tonight."

His smile faltered; he'd just promised her that she wasn't a servant a mere hour-or-so beforehand, after all. "I wouldn't be surprised, darling. But I'm sure if Trina invited you, you could." At her enthused-lacking smile, he shrugged. "I'm sorry. There's not much I can do."

"I know. I'm just wondering how much I'll actually see my sister during all of this."

"Don't worry. And make some friends while at it," Not-Chief Vega said. "I'll be down by the prince, okay?" Tori nodded, feeling only a bit better. And very much alone. Nevertheless, everybody seated themselves, the maidens and fathers by the prince and servants—with the one sister—by Sikowitz and the princess. Chatter filled the room briefly before the guests looked to the prince expectantly. He only continued to admire the line of whores—maidens—pushing their seats closer to him. They awed at his brilliant, blue eyes, smooth skin and raven hair. He made no announcement.

But Jade did. She stood abruptly from her seat, attracting all attention. "I, with the rest of Kaldr, am honored to welcome you all into our home, and I do hope our humble town was gracious." Her voice, without effort, reached the end of the table with great appeal. Her general prowess could not be ignored, even by the intolerant prince. The servants and Tori by her were especially taken aback, practically feeling the tenor of her voice rattle them to their core. Despite the intimidation they felt, they were comforted knowing that the prince was not the only powerful royal there.

Tori, though, felt that she was the most attentive even being several seats away. Perhaps it was the stunning features that clutched her attention, or the gown was the most graceful in the room. Perhaps it was her voice—how heavy and thick her accent was, forcing Tori to realize just how far from home she travelled during the past few weeks; it wasn't like nobody had an accent, but she'd yet to hear a woman with such a hard tongue with a tone like venomous honey. The princess, without fail, mesmerized her.

"For the next week, we will be locked within the castle, I'm afraid. A blizzard has arrived to greet you as well." A polite hum of chuckles rose. Once they died down, Jade continued: "When it goes, winter will still be upon us but the town and forest around shall be open for exploration. Should you not feel at home or peace here, you can go to the docks and leave. Hopefully, that will not happen... But I should warn you, do not go far from our land—from Vilga Castle, the Citadel nor the town. As you may know, we are in the midst of great battles where assassins have hid in the forests to strike from neighboring clans...which is why we must have a powerful ruler to take the throne."

Ryder grinned cockily as the maidens closest to him purred at his dimples. Tori, who couldn't tear her eyes from the princess, could have sworn to catch a hit of a sneer flicker across Jade's lips.

"Yes..." she drawled on, "which is why you all are here. My brother, Prince Vincent, will be coronated by the spring and will need a queen by his side as tradition. But there is more. Even our finest gathering of hunters are weary of the beasts and animals that have claimed their homes within the forests—and rightfully so. We only gather what we need, and that means they are quite comfortable within the trees. Do not disturb Mother Nature, and we shall be at peace."

"But," chimed the prince, whose voice was arguably more delicate, smooth to the ears compared to his sister's husk. "But...when I am king, there will be no worry of assassins or beasts." The young women giggled. "Forget any worries! We must dine!" Ryder announced, raising his drinking horn of mead. There was a cry of approval. "Oh, and what a fine speech, my sister. I commend you."

She scowled, though sat down in her seat.

Plates and silverware clinked as everybody began to eat, conversing amongst themselves. Tori watched as Sikowitz murmured something to Jade, her hard stare locked on her brother. She nodded slowly, then bit into a biscuit. Before Tori could even think to react, the princess' glare switched to her. She jumped in her seat, forcing her eyes to her plate. Had she really been staring?

Out of curiosity, Tori looked back to Princess Jade, only to find that the glare had soften to a mysterious gaze, her brow arched. Tori stripped her attention back to her plate and didn't look back up until the supper was finished.

. . .

"This corridor leads towards the royal and guest chambers..." Away from the dining hall, deeper into the mountain, the guests followed the princess to their rooms. Princess Jade halted in front of a large door, accompanied by long drapes continuous throughout the castle. "Here are the rooms for the fathers and other guests not including the maidens and servants. The bathhouse is connected to the guards' chambers, which is on the other side. If you so wish to know where your daughters will be sleeping, follow on." Other than a quick peek inside the lavish hallway of bedrooms, leading straight to the bathhouse through double, maple doors, the fathers eagerly followed with curiosity.

As they continued to stride onwards, Tori walked behind her father and sister, beside another servant with dark, curly hair and a joyous grin. The prince—despite getting along quite well with the maidens—didn't join in giving a tour for the night. He slipped away to his own room.

"Here," Jade said, halting, "is the maidens' chambers. They are identical to the other guest rooms, except their bathhouse is smaller, though private." She folded her hands and eyed the group with intent. "Any questions before you turn in?"

"Where's the prince's room?" There was a murmur of agreement from the maidens. Jade arched a brow and looked towards the princess who asked the question eagerly; from what Tori could remember, she was Princess Hayley Ferguson from one of the small Germanic settlements down by the Mediterranean. Her sun-kissed skin didn't deny that. She stood by her servant, Tara, and father, the king of said Germanic settlement.

Princess Jade paused, her annoyance—though controlled—apparent. "I'm sure he will show you himself," she answered. "Now, if that is all that is troubling you, I bid you a fair night." Jade turned towards the servants and said, "Now I shall show you your room and rest of the castle that will be relevant to your services." She waited for the servants to bid the rest of the guests a fair night—which didn't take long as Tara and Tori were the only two with any semblance of a relationship with their respective royal family—then set off.

With the group considerably smaller, Jade showed them the hallway leading towards the royal chambers, then the kitchens, the stables, the boiler rooms and, finally, the servant chambers. Further down the corridor were more rooms, though they were for the servants serving their life for the castle and citadel, if they did not live in the town. She opened the door to a great room, beds in a line with personal chests and a lamp for every one of them. "Now, the bathhouse is the furthest door to the right, and is for all of the servants—" The princess froze and kept her gaze locked on one particular servant.

He was the only man in the group. His hair black hair was curled and eyes timid as he gave a meek smile.

"You will be the only male servant here...do you want a separate room with Sinjin and Burf?" she asked.

"Who are they? Ma'am?"

"The jesters."

"Oh." The servant blinked. "No thank-you ma'am. I will do fine here." He shrunk at the number of eyes suddenly on him.

Jade shrugged. "Okay." She then gestured towards the room. "Make yourself at home, then. Be ready in the morning for breakfast." With that, the princess was gone. Awkwardly, the servants stood around before stepping into the room. Like all the others that they saw during the tour, the room was quite garnished with paintings, stone carvings within the wall and wooden furniture.

Tori made her way towards a bed at the very end were a row of bookshelves lay adjacent to it. The cheery servant—whose eyes wandered around the room—followed. "Do you want to be bed buddies?" she asked. Slowly, Tori nodded before she excitedly plopped down on the bed besides Tori's. She noticed that her accent was southern, around the Mediterranean; Tori couldn't pin-point from where exactly. "I'm Cat, by the way."

"Tori," she answered with a small smile. As they made their introductions and got themselves more comfortable on their beds, the male servant strolled passed them.

"Uh...would you mind if I slept in this bed?" he asked, pointing towards the lonely bed separated from the others in the corner and opposite of Tori's.

"We don't mind," Tori said.

He beamed tiredly, then flopped over. "Thanks. What are your names?"

"Cat."

"Tori."

He propped himself on his elbows. "I'm Robbie," he introduced before glancing around the room. "For Vikings, they seem awfully nice."

"For Vikings, they seem to have a king and queen," Tori chuckled. Robbie gave a soft laugh and nodded. They paused, listening briefly to the other, polite conversations from the other servants in the room. "Does the princess... Never mind."

"Go ahead," Robbie said, jerking his chin softly. Cat nodded and rested on her stomach curiously.

"Does the princess... Well, does the prince seem...interested to you?" she asked.

"He seemed interested in the maidens earlier," Cat muttered.

"And a bit intimidated whenever the princess spoke."

She gestured towards Robbie. "That's what I mean." After another thought, Tori murmured, "The princess seems more like a queen than he does a king."

Robbie shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me. He's only a bit older than us, by a few years, and she's older than him by five. She would've had to lead if their parents died ten-or-so years ago."

"But there's Sikowitz."

"Doesn't mean she wouldn't be the only one leading," Cat reminded pointedly. "Like look at Trina, she's not a princess but the advisor's daughter. She's still considered royalty to some extent, even her younger sister."

The male servant scratched his head. "Did she come too? The younger daughter."

"Yes," Tori sighed. At their confused stares, she answered, "I'm the younger daughter. We've never afforded servants so I was chosen..." They gawked at her, dumbfounded.

Immediately Robbie went red. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to call you—"

"It's okay," Tori laughed. "This isn't a change in what I already do. I've had to work the stables and clean my king's castle all my life with Trina. Trina's the one that's doing...something new."

"You've had to work too?" Cat asked, innocently.

She nodded. "Yeah," Tori then answered. "Now, we lived in a much nicer home than everybody else, and got along with the nobles and all quite nicely. But we're in a great depression ever since Prince Eric took over after his father... He's...never been good with money from what my father said." She released a sigh. "I suppose that's why we're here because Prince Eric's daughters have already married."

"Well, it's a good enough reason for me. I'm here with Meredith from down by the Commonwealth. Her family's all real nice, but Meredith said she's really here to escape the pirates pillaging them."

"That's a good reason too," Tori and Cat said in unison. By that point, Robbie and Tori looked to Cat.

"Well," she explained, "I'm with King Quincy's daughter...Hope. And let me tell you, you better hope she gets the prince. Or any man. My king said that he needs an alliance with the prince, but she's just hungry for a baby." Tori and Robbie's eyes went wide. Cat shrugged. "I'm here because I was a stow-away on a ship and they didn't know what to do with me." Jaws dropped and Cat giggled. "I'm still alive, aren't I? And I'll probably stay here, too, even if they want me back in their castle. I like it here— Oh!"

"What?" Tori asked as Cat grabbed her arm excitedly.

Cat inhaled, a grin spreading across her face. With one exhale, she asked, "Do you think that we'll actually go into the prince and princess's room? I hope so, I want to see how nice their bedding is! Do you think there's curtains? Oh! And will the prince wear a crown after his coronation as king? Oh! And can we ride their horses? They're so big and so warm! And..." Tori and Robbie glanced towards one another, surprised smiles stretched across their lips.

Cat continued her long rant of questions, all until Tara shouted at her to "Shut your bloomin' hole!"

. . .

Despite not being an actual servant, Tori was ordered to gather water and juices for breakfast with Cat by her side. Though, after years of living with Trina and their mother, she found that the task was very easy. And then, of course, working the stables with Trina and her mother. Tori held two jugs of water, one for each hand, whilst Cat balanced jugs of berry-juices on her hands and arms with talent and grace. And while there was limited chatter between them, Tori felt relaxed knowing she wasn't alone in the castle. Or even the world, for that matter.

As they trekked down the hallway to the right of the royal dining chamber, Tori thought she could hear the harsh winds through the sealed windows. Just as they turned the corner, she felt her foot catch something hard and Tori was flung forward with a yelp. The jugs of water were tossed, only one able to catch itself at its base, still filled with a quarter of the water spilled. As for the other jug, all of its contents drenched itself into dark, royal furred-garbs. Cat staggered back, barely able to balance herself in time to avoid the same disaster. Her eyes widened in fear for Tori.

Tori, flustered, scrambled on her knees to pick herself up upon looking at the thick, furred boots and long, dark cloak. "I-I'm so sorry mist—" All words left her, only leaving a squeak. "I-I..." A humored laugh started behind her as she stared deep into irritated, pale eyes. She bore some resemblance to herself the night prior, though without the dress nor styled hair, Tori didn't recognize her immediately. "I'm sorry...Princess. I didn't mean to..." she finished in a hoarse whisper.

Jade stood, soaked, with her hands frozen in shock. Beside her, Sikowitz chortled, pressing his knuckles to his lips. From around the corner, the prince watched, barking with joy. He stared at the flustered woman, intrigued. The princess—noting his sudden interest in Tori—grunted, "Get up." Tori obeyed and got to her feet like an awkward duck. She swallowed nervously at Jade's glare surveying her, her own eyes darting about. "You're Trina's sister, aren't you?" she muttered quietly, Ryder's laughs suddenly quiet.

"Y-yes...Princess..." Tori nodded, then said, "But, I'm not here to visit. We didn't have any—uh—any servants to come so..."

"Not royalty...?"

"Y-yeah, of sorts," she mumbled.

With a grumble, Jade turned to Cat. "Help her with the rest of the drink," she said before turning at her heel and striding away.

Sikowitz hesitated, then grinned cheekily at Tori. "You're lucky, you know. Her temper usually leaves a mark." The prince snorted his agreement before brushing passed Cat and giving Tori side-eye. Watching him, Sikowitz sighed. He glanced back at Tori in wonder. "Both of the king's children have taken a liking to you." Tori's cheeks beamed red. "Thank-you," Sikowitz added, calmly, "both of you, for our drink. Just set them on the table."

With a generous smile, he left the two women in the hall. As Tori stood, numbly, Cat stared with a smirk hitched across her lips. "W-what?"

"Oh nothing," Cat said cheekily. "Just...thinking."

Wow, I updated again. :D This might be the last thing I'll do for this, in a row, since I'll focus on some other things. But! I will update...just not this per se. Also, for the first time, I really don't like the title for this. So I came up with a new one. Pretty proud of it, I must say.

It'll kinda be like Game of Thrones, now that I've thought on the plot a bit (not the general story, but the feel/mood, I guess). So, if that'll help with the title, then there. But the ending won't be disappointing (hopefully). And yes, the written work will be finished...like there'd be anything other than the written work. I'm not fucking Anna Todd.

As summer's starting to sink in, and I only have an English class and an online math class, one for each month, I think I'll be in good shape to update a lot. Hopefully...I am trying to be more social as well before senior year.

Hope you enjoyed!

:)