CHAPTER IX - NEW FRIENDS

 

 

 

A couple of weeks had passed since I had arrived in Hagalaz, and I was slowly adjusting to my new life. Maheliah had decided that I needed to learn to speak the Hagal language, so I had spent the past ten days studying intensively. My teachers had kept me incredibly busy, so I had not had the chance to sneak off and see Netis again since our second liaison.

Gradually, I started to understand basic sentences, and I began to practise with Maheliah, Lilhya, Nalhya and then Angel. He had come to visit me a couple of times, not only because he wanted to see me but also because Netis had asked him to, apparently. He never came inside the palace – Maheliah would not allow it – so we would always walk up to the lake together. Angel was delighted to hear me speaking their language, and he was himself a great teacher, helping me with my pronunciation and gently correcting my mistakes.

Although I was busy, and enjoying learning a new language, my mind often drifted back to Netis, and after two weeks of not seeing him, I was struggling to focus on anything else. Knowing that there was no point in me trying to learn anything else until I had seen him, I snuck out early one morning, and made my way to Netis’ palace. I knew my preoccupation with Netis was wrong, especially since I had Angel in my life, but I could not shake my desire for him. I needed to feel Netis’ hands on me again.

Recognising me instantly, the palace guards silently moved aside and allowed me to enter the palace. Stepping inside, I was about to walk up the stairs towards Netis’ bedroom when someone grabbed my arm, jerking my body backwards. I turned swiftly, furious that someone had touched me without my authorisation, and found myself face to face with a stranger. The man uttered a few words in the Hagal tongue, and I managed to understand that Netis was not in his bedroom, and that I should be waiting for him in the throne room.

It was the first time I had met someone inside Netis’ palace other than Netis and Angel, and I felt suddenly afraid. Who was he? How did he know I was here? I tried to explain to him that I wanted to wait for Netis in his bedroom, but the man insisted that I follow him, and since I could not understand much of what he was telling me, it felt like I had no choice. Shaking his arm off me, I nodded hesitantly, signalling to him that I was willing to follow him. Nodding in response, he beckoned me down the corridor, walking a little way in front of me.

The further we walked, the more anxious I became. I had a strange feeling about this man; his smile felt off, and he looked as if he was up to no good. I knew that I was not welcome in this palace, just as I was not welcome in Maheliah’s palace, but I feared that if I did not follow his commands he would call for others, and I could be trapped in a difficult situation.

Finally, we reached a door, and my guide opened it, gesturing for me to go inside. Upon entering, I realised that he had not led me to the throne room, but to the dining room instead. The room was almost identical to the dining room in Maheliah’s palace, only her dining room did not feature three despicable looking men, all of whom were leering at me with wicked glints in their eyes.

As soon as I entered the room, one of the men in front of me tilted his head at the man behind me, and I felt my ‘guide’ grab my arms violently, while someone else blindfolded me and covered my mouth with another piece of fabric. Everything happened so quickly that I did not have time to defend myself or scream for help. I was paralysed by fear and confusion. What were they going to do to me? Kidnap me? Lock me up? Kill me instantly? My heart was beating fast as I thrashed around, trying to free myself from their grasp.

The man who had led me here turned me around, and I could feel his hot breath on my face. He tried to tie my hands in front of me, but I moved away, trying to keep myself from being restrained. I had to fight, even though I knew I would not succeed in doing much against four men. I tried to scream, but my cries were muffled by the fabric in my mouth, so I struggled instead, but more hands grabbed me, forcing my wrists together. I knew that they would probably kill me, slowly and painfully, torturing me until I was no longer able to scream. After all, it was because of me that their king and queen were quarrelling. In their eyes, killing me was the answer to ending this war.

I felt tears brimming at the corners of my eyes. I had never been so terrified in all my life, and being blindfolded only made everything worse. I was completely disorientated; I had no idea what they were going to do to me, and I would have no way of knowing what was happening until I felt the impact of their blows. I could feel the panic rising as my heart beat faster, threatening to escape from my chest in terror.

I could hear them arguing as they manhandled me, and I felt the cold hard surface of the table on my back as they forced me to lie flat. I could not understand anything – they were speaking too fast – but eventually, one of them moved in front of me, as the others started to shout even louder. I felt his hand pushing down on my stomach, and the ice cold feel of a blade touching my neck. He did not say anything, but I could feel his breath on my face as he moved the blade slowly down from my throat to my chest. I tried to scream but again my voice was muffled by the fabric in my mouth. The blade cut through the top of my dress in a rapid movement, and I felt the man in front of me pulling at the fabric of my bodice. I suddenly realised what they had planned and my whole body shivered with fear.

The man’s hot, sweaty hand grabbed my left breast, and I felt his face come closer to me as he whispered some unknown words in my ear. Crying bitterly, I kept on trying to escape, thrashing against his grasp. The other men all started laughing, probably happy to see me struggling so much. I felt so hopeless. There was no way I could fight my way out of this. They would all abuse me, one by one, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wished that they would just kill me. Even torture would be better than this.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped, and I felt the man lift himself off me. One of the men shouted something angrily in their language, but another voice cut him off, a voice that I recognised. Angel. I wanted to scream his name, but my voice was still muffled by the blindfold. He spoke again, slowly, his words crisp and clear.

“Leave her alone. Now.”

The relief I felt upon hearing his voice and those words was tainted by fear: how could he possibly win against four fully-grown men? The man holding my wrists shouted something else at him and Angel answered, louder this time, his voice almost thunderous with rage. As he spoke, I heard screams of pain all around me, and the pressure on my wrists suddenly disappeared. Frantically, I removed my blindfold, but my eyesight was blurred by my residual tears. Blinking, I slowly recovered my sight, my mind simultaneously processing that the room was eerily silent.

Four men were lying on the floor, unmoving, and as I stared at their oddly twisted bodies, I finally understood what had happened. Angel had used his powers and shocked them unconscious. I turned my head in his direction, my eyes wide with fear. Angel’s expression was severe and his jaw was tight with tension; I had never seen him so angry. Slowly, he walked towards me, and gently removed the piece of fabric from my mouth. I was about to say something to him, but a motion in the corner of my eye distracted me, and I turned to face the door. Netis was here.

Looking around the room in confusion, Netis settled his gaze on me, his eyes full of questions and concern. He glanced at Angel, then back at me, his gaze flickering to my naked chest. He frowned, looking at Angel, the muscles around his eyes tightening. I glanced at Angel, and the expression on his face shocked me. He was glaring at Netis, his eyes full of loathing. I looked back at Netis, afraid that he would be angered by Angel’s inappropriate glare, but his face was calm. Clearing his throat, Netis met my gaze.

“Fada, what happened?”

I did not have time to answer, for Angel, who was still glaring at Netis, spoke in my place, rapidly explaining to Netis what had happened. I could not bear the distress in his voice, so I stood up quickly, covering my naked chest with my hand, and placed my other hand gently on Angel’s cheek.

“Angel, please, calm down. There’s nothing to worry about anymore. You arrived before they had the time to hurt me. Look at me, I’m all right.”

I brought my face towards his, laying a tender kiss on his lips, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, holding me close. His embrace was strong, and I could hear his heart thumping fast, yet even in his arms, I could not help but glance at Netis out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at us, his eyes pained. It surprised me; I had never imagined that Netis would suffer seeing me in the arms of another man. After all, I was certain that he did not care for me personally; he had only used me to satisfy his sexual desire. I had convinced myself that he did not even feel friendship for me, let alone feelings stronger than that, so his expression confused me. Why did he look so sad?

As soon as he realised I was looking at him, he blinked, his emotionless mask returning. Frowning, his gaze became serious, and he spoke sternly to Angel. Yet again, I did not understand what was being said, but when he had finished talking, Angel looked at me with a faint smile, kissing my forehead tenderly. Squeezing my arms reassuringly, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Netis.

As soon as Angel had left, Netis came towards me, trying but failing to mask the pain behind his eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked, gently caressing my shoulder with his fingers.

“Angel arrived in time, that’s all that matters,” I managed to utter. I was still trembling, but feeling Netis’ hand on my shoulder calmed me, and my heartbeat slowly returned to normal.

Resting both hands on my shoulders, Netis looked deep into my eyes, and I gazed back, trying to read his complex expression. ‘The eyes are the mirror to the soul’ was a saying that suited him perfectly; it was impossible not to see a soul in those deep, black eyes. Yet I was still unable to understand what he was thinking. He seemed concerned, and upset, an emotion I had never expected from him. He was a real mystery, but it felt like, during these last few minutes, I had broken through the icy barrier that guarded his soul and caught a glimpse of the man beneath. I knew then that I would continue to see him, even if only to talk and be close to him. Fathoming the mystery of his soul was something I was willing to do every day, for the rest of my days.

Some of the men who had attacked me started to move, and Netis looked at them, frowning and gripping my shoulders protectively. Realising what he had done, he released me gently, before taking my hand and leading me away from the dining room, back down the corridor. Opening the main door, he spoke sharply to the two guards and they hurried inside, leaving the two of us alone.

“What did you tell Angel, before he left?” I asked, keeping his hand in mine.

“I ordered him to fetch some of the others and carry those traitors down to the prison cells.”

“What will you do to them?”

“That’s not something you need to worry about, Fada. Rest assured, they’ll never hurt you again, I promise.”

His voice was calm, but his eyes blazed with quiet rage, and he gripped my hand tighter.

I understood that their punishment would be far worse than I could imagine, and I felt safe in the knowledge that Netis would deal with them.

“Is there anything I can do for you? Why did you come here today?” he asked.

“I came to see you… to spend time with you…” I replied, blushing.

Netis moved closer to me, releasing my hand and taking my chin between his fingers. I tilted my face to meet his gaze, losing myself in his eyes. His expression was complex, a mixture of desire and sorrow, and after a few seconds, he turned away.

“You should go back to Maheliah’s now. You need to rest, and get a new dress…”

His dismissal hurt; it felt like a rejection, like he did not want to see me anymore, and I felt a silent sob lodge itself painfully in my throat. Nodding silently, unable to speak, I began to walk away from him, but he took my hand gently in both of his. I turned to face him.

“Next time you come to the palace, make sure I’m here first. I have quite a busy schedule, you know. I’m not always daydreaming in my bedroom,” he remarked with a smile.

His words brought a smile back to my face. Maybe he did want to see me again after all.

“I’ll open a portal to Maheliah’s, so you don’t have to walk in the cold with your torn dress,” he added, pulling me closer to him as he held his other hand in front of him and began to open the portal.

I was about to walk through it when Netis brought his face close to mine, whispering in my ear.

“I’m truly sorry, Fada. This should never have happened to you. I promise I will never let you suffer like that again.”

I stared at him, surprised by his unexpected show of compassion. I could not believe that he was apologising, especially for something that had been beyond his control. Maheliah barely thought him capable of showing any emotion that was not anger, let alone kindness, care, and compassion. It gave me hope that the two siblings might one day be able to reconcile their differences and accept one another again.

I smiled at him as I walked through the portal, arriving right in front of Maheliah’s palace. I took a deep breath. I knew that Maheliah would panic when she saw the state of my dress, and given how difficult it was to get new dresses made, I hoped that this one was salvageable, or that someone in the palace would be willing to lend me something to wear for the time being.

As I entered the palace, holding my bodice together as best I could, the guardians looked at me with confusion. I felt ashamed, arriving back at the palace looking like this, and the jeering voices of the men who had attacked me were still looping around my head, intensifying my feelings of shame. I knew that I had no reason to feel this way. I had done nothing wrong, but no matter how much I told myself that this was not my fault, the shame refused to fade.

As I walked up the stairs towards Maheliah’s throne, she glanced up from the book she had been reading, raising her eyebrows in shock when she saw the state of me.

“Fada! What happened to you? Are you okay?” she cried, running towards me.

“I had a little trouble at Netis’ palace, but I’m okay now.”

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

“Maheliah, calm down, it’s okay. Some men kidnapped me and tried to hurt me, but Angel arrived before they could do anything. It’s okay.”

“No, Fada, it’s not okay. Netis should never have allowed something like this to happen to you…”

“Don’t blame him, Maheliah. He wasn’t there when it happened, and he apologised to me afterwards, even though it wasn’t his fault.”

“Netis apologised?”

“I know, I was as surprised as you are. But he was really kind to me. He even opened a portal so I didn’t have to walk back here in the cold.”

“He was kind? That doesn’t make any sense…”

“It wasn’t his fault, please don’t be angry with him.”

“You’re right, it’s my fault. I should have never allowed you to go back to his palace. It’s too dangerous; you’ll never go back there.”

“No, Maheliah, please. Don’t forbid me to see him, I’m so close to convincing him to end this war…”

“So you want to be killed after his rogues hurt you, one by one? Is that what you want, Fada?”

Maheliah’s voice broke, her eyes brimming with tears. She looked so distressed by what had happened to me, and I could understand her concern. I had been terrified, but now, the whole thing seemed insignificant. They were just a group of idiots who had let their sex drive mislead them, and I knew that Netis would deal with them.

Clasping Maheliah’s hands, I looked into her eyes.

“I know that you fear for my safety, but Netis will never allow anything like this to happen again. He knows that he can’t trust these men, and he has promised me that he will deal with them. Besides, Angel lives in the palace; he will always be there to protect me.”

“Angel may be strong, but he can’t protect you against everything.”

“I’m not so sure about that. He has this power… apparently it originates from another kingdom. It allows him to shoot electricity from his eyes and electrocute anyone who is a threat. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“I know how that power works, Fada. It can only be used when the bearer is trying to protect the most important person to them, which means you must be the switch…”

I started blushing. I had never put much thought into it, but it made sense. It was flattering, but I felt guilty. I was not sure I would ever be able to love him as completely as he loved me.

Maheliah was looking at the ceiling in silence, deep in thought. Finally, she sighed.

“Fine… I won’t prevent you from going back to Netis’ palace, but you must make certain that he knows you are coming, and that he will be there when you arrive.”

I smiled, hugging her tightly. Maheliah was like the mother I had never had. My own mother had died when I was born, and I had always felt envious every time I saw a mother and daughter together. I had always wanted to know what it felt like to be protected and cared for by a loving mother. Seeing my own mother look at me with admiration, or hearing her tell me how proud she was of me, had always been one of my greatest wishes, but I had made peace with the notion that this would never happen. Of course, my dad had been a wonderful father, if a little overprotective sometimes, but it was not the same thing, and I had always felt like I had a gap in my heart that needed to be filled. Now that my bond with Maheliah was becoming stronger with each passing day, I was hopeful that, eventually, she might be able to fill this void.

Maheliah told me to go up to my bedroom, informing me that she would meet me there in a minute. Walking upstairs, I shut the door behind me and collapsed onto my bed, grabbing my pendant from beside my bed. I lay there, looking at the photos of my dad and brother. I wondered how they would have reacted to my current situation. My dad would almost certainly have yelled at me and forbidden me from seeing Netis again. In fact, he would probably have forbidden me from meeting Netis at all, not because he was a cruel being, but because he was a handsome man. My dad would have immediately assumed that I was meeting up with Netis for more than just conversation, and he would have hated the idea of a man like him touching me, especially given the age difference between us. Maheliah, on the other hand, appeared to not even have considered that possibility, and for that I was grateful. Keeping our relationship, if you could call it that, secret from everyone was probably for the best, especially since I had no idea how I felt about him, or how he felt about me.

I was still daydreaming when Maheliah entered my room, followed by Nalhya and Lilhya. I stood up immediately, placing the pendant back on my bedside table.

“As you know, Fada, it is very difficult for us to acquire new fabric and sew more dresses, but upon your arrival, I decided to get one of my dresses altered to fit you. I wanted to save it for once you had become more familiar with this new life of yours, but given current circumstances, we cannot wait any longer.”

Maheliah seemed excited by this dress, her behaviour having changed remarkably quickly. Nalhya and Lilhya undressed me carefully, before helping me into the new dress. Maheliah was looking at me with wide eyes and a massive smile on her face.

“Oh, Fada, you look absolutely gorgeous! Worthy of a great future queen,” she exclaimed.

Seeing her look so happy made me smile, and as I glanced at Nalhya and Lilhya, I noticed that they looked just as delighted as Maheliah. Curious to see what had made them all so excited, I turned to look at myself in the mirror.

The white fabric was tight-fitting from my chest to my hips, becoming looser from the tops of my legs down to the floor. Just like on the other dress, there were two flounces, but these ones fanned out in a V shape from the centre of my bodice down to the floor, merging with the rest of the dress. The straps were loose and sat lightly on my arms, just above my arm bracelet. Where the two flounces met, a magnificent topaz had been sewn onto the bodice, and by the choice of that gem, I guessed that topaz was now my official Anam stone, being the same light brown as my pupils. I had never seen such a beautiful dress; it was hard to believe that it was mine.

“Now no one will be in any doubt that topaz is your official personal gem,” Maheliah grinned.

I turned around and hugged them all warmly, thanking them wholeheartedly. In this moment, I finally accepted who I truly was: the heir of Hagalaz. The misadventure at Netis’ palace had opened my eyes to many things, and it had made me determined to show everyone that I deserved to be treated with respect. It would take some time for me to forget what had happened. Perhaps I would never forget. But regardless, I was determined to face my future with a strong mind. I was the future queen of this kingdom, and I was committed to fulfilling my destiny.