Just a little help pronouncing the names, I sometimes get it mixed up but I like the way I want them to be pronounced.
Tenaya: Ten-ai-a
Chasa: shase-a
Arèshin: Aer-shin (Idk if the accent is right)
Daer: Day-er
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She entered the room, and all present, groups at a time noticed her, conversations, gossip, bickering and dancing slowed to a cease, they all watched her. She tingled with the attention and paused hesitating as if she was unsure what how to react to suddenly becoming the focus of hundreds of eyes, eyes that she felt admiring her beauty, eyes both male and female admiring her luscious figure which her dress only emphasized with leading lines and embroidery that swirled with golden vines and leaves curling about her figure.
She hesitated in her steps as she moved down the marbled stairs that curved along the wall, her legs peeking out from the two long cuts down the middle front of the dress. She was of course wearing a pair of form fitted pants, a deep black. The same color as the inner cloth of the dress.
She felt her cheeks flush as the attention grew deeper the tingling intensified and her heart picked up pace slightly. She delicately trailed her fingers along the wooden banister. When she finally reached the bottom of the steps the dancing resumed and gossip picked up. She felt herself being the center of it; the tingling of attention had not faded, they still thought of her.
The polished marbled inset tiles reflected a red blob with a black tip as she moved, her dress was red and her hair was black and long even in her usual high pony tail. Others in their more traditional dress—men in their black suits and women in their tight bodice dresses that exaggerated figures—moved out of her way as she walked. She didn’t know where her destination lied, but she would know when she found it.
Her walk wasn’t a simple walk like others. She didn’t move about pushing her chest and hands pressed against her dress. No she placed each step with deliberation, taking subtly long strides with her arms relaxed to her side. She knew how much her strides moved her body, how much she sashayed, how people watched her from behind. She smiled a secretive smile and kept her eyes bright and inquisitive. But this was the way she walked, always.
Retrieving a drink she primly sat at a table with other young woman, sitting on the edge of her seat, back straight, head raised. Her arrival interrupted their murmurings and titters muffled by the gentle music. She smiled widely, “Please don’t let me stop your talk.” She placed a gloved hand on the table’s cloth in an apologetic and encouraging gesture.
“No it’s quite alright!” One declared, “We were simply discussing your arrival, you made quite the stir.”
“Indeed,”
“Quite right,” the others chimed in agreeing. She smiled again nodding, so the first was the leader and the rest are the sycophants, she noted to herself.
“Yes, well my carriage was caught up in the storm.” She circled her goblet swirling the wine within.
“Passions is it raining? How horrid!”
“Yes, the storm caught us rather early…” She trailed taking a sip of her drink, sweet, just the right amount and they resumed their conversing leaning close, whispering. A young man approached the table; the ladies shushed themselves sitting a straight with hopeful eyes.
“I would have this dance?” He asked with a bow.
“I would be flattered!” The leader spoke up.
“Pardon Jesan, but I was not asking you.” He looked away, “My name is Zin.” He held his hand out.
“Tenaya,” She took his hand looking to his face for the first time. He was quite handsome, a bit rugged and messy. Some of his jackets buttons were undone and his hair was all over, like he had just woken up and left bed.
“Such a pretty name does not do you justice.” He smiled leading her to the floors.
“Oh?” She asked feeling a spike of irritation.
“It is a wonderful name,” He spun her, “But I think you are prettier than it.”
“Oh,” She blushed as he placed his hands upon her waist. She felt a heat rising in her hands and up her arms as she placed them about his neck and they swayed gently.
It was a wonderful night, he spun her they danced and danced, his eyes never left her, he was always smiling genuinely, and the heat in her hands grew when he grabbed her hand. If he noticed he gave no hint. A spark shot up her arm at the contact shoving her exhaustion away and filling her with elation.
The night and time blurred and they were standing in the center of the ballroom, she felt she could run for miles, and jump to the stars. Passions Love she was…well she was in love. Then he leaned back and his eyes widened. The spark that had become ever present where he touched her fled, and left her numb. “What are you?” He murmured stumbling back.
“Wait, w-where are you going?” She reached out for him, and he revolted, slapping her hand away.
“Get away from me, you…you monster!” His shouts drew attention and all eyes were on her again. This time there was no tingling, there was numbness.
Murmurings blossomed and people crowded around her in a tight circle, but many steps away. “What is she?” “Monster!” “…Ugly…” “Hideous beast…” Her legs gave out and she collapsed, as if she had never slept a day in her life. She struggled on the cold floor for a moment, like gravity had grown a thousand fold she could not move.
Struggling, tears forming and mind numbing, she pushed herself up with trembling arms, like she was lifting the weight of the world. Then she froze. She could see her reflection perfectly on the floor, the marble turned mirror showed her.
Her fair skin was a veiny ashen grey, like it couldn’t determine if it wanted to be pale, or a brown. The combination was hideous. Her violet eyes, her pupils were long diamonds, curving from the two center points to the tops and bottom. From her forehead flat against it flat horns grew, up and long, curving towards each other red as blood.
A straining against her fingers like hands in gloves too small. He tips of the gloves broke away as her finger nails grew long and sharp from her slim fingers. She gasped and covered her face as she saw small fangs grow from her canines and the whispers of those around her grew and assaulted her. “No,” She shied away, trying to make herself small clamping her hand over her eats became impossible, they had grown an entire hand span longer.
But they moved in, and she could see them, suddenly the ballroom gone replaced with darkness all but the reflective beneath her, deformed shadows moving and whispering about her. She wanted to cover face, her eyes so she couldn’t see what she was, but her hands wouldn’t move and she saw every bit, heard every ridicule and insult, each one like a dagger to her soul.
Then she heard something different, voices shouting in pain and defiance. Voices she somehow knew, but could not name, voices that caused her mind to revolt and her to scream in horror. The shadows played across the floor acting out a dark scene, one that chased reason away and inspired fear.
“No! No! NOOOOOOO!!!” She shrieked, trying to hide from herself and what she saw, but didn’t know. It terrified her, and she screamed her till she could not anymore. She huddled on the floor staring into her own eyes that became like gems, almost faceted. But she didn’t notice, she didn’t care, she just needed to hide from the pain, from the anguish. Why did it hurt so much?
She was left sobbing on the floor both the ridicule and the wicked shadows playing out their parts, she could do nothing to block it out, to stop seeing it. It felt like it became her life, like her moments of joy where when the ridicules took a breath, when the murderous shadows grew so overwhelming what they were acting out could not be seen as they bled into each other.
Then the shadows turned to her, only one remaining, holding another limp shadow vaguely giving the impression of a demon holding a dead body by the neck, still squeezing the life out of the victim. The demon shadow had eyes now, glowing red with an open sharp, jagged mouth of blood and death.
Dragging the body the flickering demon shadow stepped towards her, slowly, one step at a time until it was upon her and moved the dying body’s face near, a face that the inky shadows withdrew from revealing a blurred face, indistinct but there a blur of jagged, and flickering colors instead of dark like before. The demon was speaking now, but all she saw was the face, the distorted lips moving, saying their last words.
A sudden hand on her shoulder, and she sat up gasping, eyes wide her heart hammering like a smithy was forging it. Her eyes wide and hands trembling, body shaking and damp with sweat she looked to a face covered in shadow, and her heart froze for the longest moment. The person moved forward into the candle light in their other hand.
Chasa looked worried, her eyebrows arched and her frown deep. A friendly face, not a blur…She nearly tackled the handmaiden into a hug, shoulders racking with sobs clawing at the woman’s night shift.
“It, it was just dream,” Chasa finally spoke, hesitantly not returning the hug.
“Was it really though?” Tenaya rasped, the dream had felt so real…whatever it had been.
Chasa repositioned herself so she was sitting on the bed, and placed the candle on the nearby nightstand and just simply let herself be held. Tenaya didn’t remember the dream, but just recalling the impression it left caused her to tremble.
She didn’t know how long she sat there holding Chasa but the handmaiden’s usual tough touch returned. She pried out of Tenaya’s grasp and held her by the shoulders. “If you won’t need anything else my lady I would like to return to bed.” Bold. But that was Chasa.
“Of course, you may go.”
Chasa nodded, gathered her candle, “Chasa?” Tenaya asked just as thw maid was about to leave the room, she paused and looked back, her face flickering with shadows. “Thank you, and sorry for waking you.”
Multiple emotions flickered across the young woman’s face, irritation, anger, guilt. She nodded curtly and left the room with a clenched jaw and tight neck. Tenaya curled back into her bed and hugged a large pillow to her chest. She didn’t want to be in the dark anymore…Where had that thought come from?
The next time she woke she woke to muffled song birds that had nested outside her window. Sunlight streaming in and warming her face, she stretched out with a moan and yawned. She slept well…She shivered and sat up her nightmare still causing trembles.
“Good morning my lady,” A voice deadpanned. Yelping Tenaya looked around and found Chasa standing nearby, a bundle of clothing in her arms.
“Oh! Good morning Chasa!” To which the maid simply made a noise of acknowledgment and moved away.
“I’ve commissioned a bath for you,” She stopped by a door with in her room and opened it,
“Oh, thank you.” This was unusual behavior for Chasa, normally she would just help her dress, or wait until a bath was asked for. Like she was unwilling to help and take the initiative.
She stood up from bed, hugging herself, and walked to the baths room. The warm water was steaming from the large tub tucked in the corner of the smaller room, a maid stood perched over the tub with a large bucket of water carefully tipping it in. She pulled the bucket away and whipped her brow when she was done. She paused when she saw Tenaya standing near observing her and with a quick curtsy she rushed away through the servant’s door and it clicked shut.
Grabbing the hem of her night dress she pulled it off slowly, still conscious of Chasa’s presence. Although she had grown up with the girl helping her with this kind of thing all the time she had never really been completely comfortable with stripping down in front of another person. With a sigh she pulled it off and cautiously stepped into the steaming water and settled into the bath with a contented sigh.
Chasa nearby settled onto a seat behind Tenaya and pulled her hair into the little bowl set into the tub and began washing it, scrubbing her hair and skull. She worked in silence while Tenaya relaxed and swished the water occasionally with her hands.
“I hope you slept better after you woke last night.” Chasa spoke softly, rinsing off Tenaya’s soapy hair.
“I did, thank you for helping me…” Tenaya suddenly felt bashful.
“It was a nightmare?”
“Y-yes, how did you know to wake me?”
“You were screaming, I got there before the guard and shooed them off when I saw you asleep.”
“Oh.”
Chasa was brushing her hair dry now. “Do, do you remember your dream?”
“Umm,” Chasa was feeling talkative and generous today it made Tenaya almost uncomfortable. The mentioning of the dream sent a shiver and chill down her spin despite the hot water. “No, I don’t remember…” She hugged herself and fought another shiver.
Chasa finished brushing Tenaya’s hair and helped her clean her body, as awkward as it was it was much easier with help so she endured the embarrassment. Once down and out of the tub Chasa also helped her dry off too before handing her a clean underdress and unfolding the bundle of clothe she had brought with her and oddly helped her into the dress, Tenaya usually did this on her own.
Tenaya moved in front of a body length mirror as Chasa left the room taking the night dress. The dress was Tenaya’s usual style, sleeveless, tightly form fitted about the waist and bust with a thicker clothe with two cuts down the middle front from her hips with leading golden lines and swirls like vines with sharp points like thorns that accented and flattered her figure. It looked familiar this morning, like she had worn it just the other day…
It was secretly buttoned down one side of its square-ish cut and wrapped about one like a robe. She pressed her hands against her stomach and ran them down her body turning to get a look at herself in the mirror and posed with one hand on her hip and the near her shoulder. Her bare leg peeked out from one of the two cuts, she looked good. The lack of leggings was scandalous but she could put those on. She posed looking herself at different angles making sure her dress fit her right, the waist was firmly fitted and tight across her chest, but not too tight, with a square neck line.
The dress did not have a corset, she didn’t need one to make her waist look small and emphasize her bust and hips. Her figure was already better than what wearing those resulted in and her dress only served to complement those curves.
She leaned in close and examined her eyes, not sure what she was looking for. But like her figure she didn’t need makeup to outline her eyes, to thicken her eyelashes, or even blush to contour her cheeks, or even to smooth her skin, it was already pure and smooth, like porcelain.
She was beautiful and she knew it, she could have any man she wanted, and every man wanted her. She paused, but she hadn’t met a man she wanted…yet. She sighed and retrieved her leggings and wigged into them just as Chasa entered the room, she stopped with her mouth open about to say something but stopped at Tenaya’s compromising position and raised an eyebrow. Tenaya blushed furiously and tugged the leggings on the rest of the way and let the dress slip back over legs before standing straight and poised. “Yes?”
“The Queen requests you dine with her, breakfast is prepared.” She simply bowed out of the bathing room.
“Ugh!” Tenaya threw her hands out in frustration at her maid’s stony personality and pulled her long hair into a high pony tail letting some shorter locks of her raven hair fall loose to frame her face. Why was Chasa so…so disimpassioned? She didn’t react to anything much, passions this morning was the most emotion she’d seen the girl show! With a huff she left the bathing room and her own room.
Making her way to the dining hall from her room she navigated the halls that lead to the greater halls supported by large pillars and a curved strata ceiling and from there the dining hall was found, near the ball room and the throne room all inter connected by smaller halls and private rooms of their type, a private dining room, throne and ball room.
Tenaya entered the private dining room and found her mother at the head of the table the room dimly lit with only candles upon the table and a fire behind the head seat. She could only see her mother’s silhouette; it gave Tenaya an ominous feel and when the queen turned her head Tenaya froze, she couldn’t move, was that really the queen, her mother? Surely it was an imposter of some kind, she felt threatened and in danger, the hair on her arms and neck were raising and tingling. What was this?
A demon upon the throne, the thought established itself within her head. Demon upon the throne, demonic, but divine A demon sits upon the throne, A demon dwells within and sits upon a stolen throne, the true, dead, serving, suffering. The silhouette grew more and more deformed, a dark light glowing, wings spouting to pounce. A demon sits upon the throne.
“My dear are you okay?” Her mother’s sweet voice shook her from her reverie and the shadow vanished and her thoughts fled leaving her dizzy. “Oh my dear are you having an episode again?” A gentle hand cupped her cheek and raised her drooping head to look into a pair of deep red eyes, not blood shot or ugly pale, but a deep red like pooling blood. Tenaya jerked away and stumbled, what? Blood? “My dear, you must sit. Ignore the thoughts, push them away and block them.” Bloodied hands and claws flashed before her, laughs of malice and twisting breaking flesh. Flashes of red light, flashes of black, fire, despair, a shadowed figure flashed before her, sounds of screams and fire, the figure was holding a limp body, standing poised before a burning mountain and a flash of the brightest lighting over mountains, and hope such a bright hope. Death.
The hands were back and caressing her head and the dizzying thoughts faded and Tenaya collapsed into a chair, her mother kneeling next to her, several maids standing near, Chasa’s stony face save eye brows creased.
“What did you see?” He mother asked lovingly petting Tenaya’s head.
“I, I saw murder, death…demons, fire, burning and twisting torturing bodies.” Tenaya’s vision grew distant as she remembered, several of the maids paled as the blood drained from their faces. “And hope,” She whispered. “a light in the dark that closes on this world…”
“Daughter dear are you alright?”
“Huh?” Tenaya looked up from her soup…her soup? When had she sat down? Her mother was sitting at the head of the table with Tenaya next to her. Hands folded in her lap the queen looked as if she had something important to say, or was saying something important. “Yes, sorry mother, I just…don’t remember sitting down is all.”
“hummm, yes well I suppose you don’t remember what I just said?”
Tenaya ducked her head, “Sorry,”
“Yes well, can’t be helped I suppose. You did take your medication this morning?”
“ummmm no?” She stole a glance at her mother, the soup suddenly very interesting. Moments later a servant handed Tenaya a small cup to which she wrinkled her nose to the pungent smell, but downed it all in one gagging gulp.
“Honestly child you cannot skip these, what if one day you were to forget your name? Or you day dreamed as some dashing young lord asked for your hand?”
Stiffened Tenaya looked to the queen. “We both know mother I’d not say yes, unless—”
“Yes, yes, unless you wanted him as your husband. Child you do know you’ve turned down every lord in our land, and very nearly every prince in any neighboring kingdom of our lands!”
“Mother,” Tenaya huffed, “I have told you; I am not going to give my hand to a man who only looks at me with lust in his eyes and an eye on the throne.”
Her mother groaned, “Of course their eyes would be upon the throne! You’re a princess! Dear there’s not much chance for you to get what you are asking for!”
“And what’s that?” Tenaya nibbled on a pastry.
“Love! My daughter you want love in your life! But as a princess you have responsibilities!” Her mother took a deep breath, “I understand you not wanting to marry someone who only seems to want to bed you, but sometimes you must make sacrifice’s for the greater good for your kingdom.”
“‘Sacrifice’? Mother do you think so little of my purity?” Tenaya struggled to keep her voice even; she was roiling with anxiety beneath.
A thump on the table and Tenaya jumped, looking at the queen, who was glaring at her daughter. “Our kingdom is in poverty, Desolation himself has touched our farmlands, and our mines, we have nothing to offer in exchange for support of another kingdom, you have scorned all the ones who would have taken you hand, and in doing so assuring the safety of our—your, people, and scared away the rest!”
Tenaya shrank in her seat, it was true, apparently princes and lords did not take rejection well, and they seemed to talk as much as a troupe of gossiping mothers at a dance trying to find the best candidate to marry off their daughter.
“I have spoiled you in your raising,” The queen continued. “perhaps because of your fathers condition, but either way there will be no rejecting this.” Her father, the king, had been ill for as long as Tenaya could remember, bed ridden and feverish. No surgeon or doctor could say, or cure his ailment. So he was simply given as much comfort as possible for when his time came, but with each passing day, each passing year, it grew harder, because if he had survived the past fourteen years why couldn’t he survive tomorrow? When he did pass, it would be a grim day indeed. “You are to be married.”
“What?” Tenaya nearly dropped her pastry into her soup. “To whom?” Mother surly made a mistake? Had she not just said all potential suiters had been scorned away?
The queen picked up a spoon and casually—like she had not just spoken life changing words—sipped the soup. “I have arranged, blessed by Grace, a marriage for you, one that will secure our kingdom’s welfare.”
“But mother…with who?” Tenaya spoke forcefully, loathing her mother’s nonchalant attitude.
She tipped another spoonful of soup. “The king of Arèshin has agreed for his son to take your hand…do not give me that look dear!”
“Mother,” Tenaya said, her voice strained, “An arranged marriage?”
“Yes dear, it had to be done—”
“But what do we, a desolate kingdom, have to offer them? Mother what would they get from this!” Tenaya was grasping at air now, she did not want to get married to some stranger who, she’d never met and would most definitely treat her same as the others.
“We—”
“We’ve no crops, animals, minerals, metals, or arts that could possibly be compared to them! Mother they are the most powerful kingdom in all of Roshin! Possibly Zinar combined. Mother—”
“Enough girl.” The queen spoke, her back rigid and hands poised, her voice hard. This was the queen who had ruled the little kingdom of Daer for the past fourteen years, the queen that had to bear all her hardships without her king. “What they want does not matter. But if you know it seems they wish to pin down their son who seems to be in a similar situation as yourself.” She added with a hint of a smile, “Now I’ll not hear a word of this, I’ve received word the king has already dispatched a troupe to retrieve you, you will be ready. Not. A. Word.” She glared Tenaya into submission and her daughters retort wilted.
“Now eat your soup, I suspect you shall be eating greater than this in a fortnight.” Her mother spoke with a forced smile and a chipper voice.
Fortnight; I’m to be married off and to leave in less than a week. Marriage. The thought repeated itself over and over again within Tenaya’s mind. She ate her soup numbly, her tasty pastry forgotten and retired to her chambers; her mother at least did not stop her from doing this.
Falling on her bed Tenaya stared at her ceiling of overlapping, arched wooden beams. Sometimes as a child she thought to see faces in the wood, the twisting eyes in the wood matching up with swirls in the wood what were imagined mouths, “Marriage.”
“My lady, you’re back so soon?”
Tenaya looked up for a moment; Chasa was there, standing nearby hair wrapped up and a bucket in her hands. Sounds from the bathing room, right; her bath was still being emptied. She let her head drop back onto the bed. “Yes, sorry Chasa, I’ll not disturb you.” She waved her hand in the maid’s general direction and closed her eyes.
“My lady,” Chasa spoke much closer this time. Tenaya cracked open an eye to find her maid standing next to the bed her eyes brows arched in an uncharacteristic show of concern. “What troubles you?”
“Marriage.”
“Marriage? My lady, this…troubles you?”
“When it is arranged without my being told a word, yes.”
“A betrothal? If I may ask, to whom?”
“The prince of Arèshin, the heir and sole successor to the throne.”
Chasa stiffened and her face lost its emotion just before it nearly contorted onto something else.
“Why the face?”
“Oh?” She sounded angry. “Simply because if you are going then surly I will have to go with.” Her voice trembled.
“Do not worry; at least you’re not leaving behind anything, any family.” Tenaya sighed, almost envying the maid, but admiring her loyalty. “At least you do not suffer my pain.” Chasa’s face flushed red and clenched her jaw, she moved away sharply, her movements tense and fast. Oh, Tenaya thought, I forgot she was so sensitive about her family.
“Well,” She spoke to her ceiling, feeling numb, “if there’s nothing I can do to change this…then I might as well do it.” Marriage, it really hit her, marriage, her lower lip trembled and tears threatened; she was going to get married to some man she never met and seemed to have an issue holding a courtship.
Fantastic. The tears rolled down her cheeks.
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Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear you thoughts! Suggestions and questions, are welcome. I appreciate the help :)
Submitted September 09, 2018 at 09:00PM by LeaphyDragon https://ift.tt/2Cy6y5z
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