Black Blood

In a fit of pure panic, I throw the half banana under the cupboard. As fast as my jaw can move, I work the piece of banana into my mouth and swallow it. I wipe my mouth and look into the corridor.

A woman in her thirties or forties walks into the living room. Her long blonde hair hangs over her shoulders, decorated with gold chains full of charms. The long white dress hangs around her body like silk. The only thing about her that is not white or gold are her pale green eyes. She is beautiful, I cannot say otherwise.

As soon as her eye falls on me, I bow slightly. She just nods her head and walks past me into the living room. I’ve been told to keep quiet, so that’s what I do. I stand still for a few seconds before continuing to clean the living room. The woman, who I think is Nalu, has disappeared into the bedroom.

I continue cleaning in silence until I have had the entire room. Nalu did not come out of the bedroom and somehow I am grateful to her for that. I wouldn’t know what to say to her, though I have so many questions. Why doesn’t she share a room with the king? How does she feel about his other wives? What is her task? Maybe one day I will get the answers.

As soon as I have finished cleaning and putting things back in their place, I let out a sigh. I am exhausted, my back hurts, I am hungry and tired. My respect for the maids has increased tremendously today. I stand in the corridor with the basket full of dirty things, wondering if I should announce my departure. Leaving in silence feels strange, although I’ve never heard a maid announce her departure before. So I decide to open the door in silence.

‘Celeste,’ I suddenly hear behind me. Startled I look behind me. I hadn’t expected Nalu’s voice and presence. The lady is standing at the end of the corridor in exactly the same clothes as she came in. Her arms are crossed and she looks straight at me. She does not give the impression that I have a choice to leave without answering her, on the contrary, she forces the answer with her gaze. Again, I make a small bow, holding the basket in my hands.

‘Your Highness,’ I reply in doubt. She obviously knows who I am and we’re about to find out whether that’s good or bad.

‘Why are you here?’ It is not an aggressive tone, but rather direct. I’m also a little shaken up. It seemed clear to me that I had just cleaned the suite. The clothes and the work speak for themselves, you might say.

‘I have been given the task of cleaning your suite and providing you with your wishes,’ I reply. My labelling lessons from the castle slowly resurface. From how you eat to how you talk, I have been taught in detail. Since I left, those rules seem to have slipped my mind a bit, but they are still engraved in my mind and now seem to be returning without a problem.

‘I mean what are you doing here in this village?’ she clarifies herself. Her attitude speaks volumes. I have no opening to make up a nice excuse or tell a lie. She stands straight, has a confident attitude and her eyes seem to be taking me in completely. I have heard stories about this woman, each about how wise and firm she is. Sometimes a bitch too, but we’ll leave that aside.

‘My... travel companion fell ill and needed help,’ is my honest and brief explanation. Nalu takes a step in my direction. Her eyes glide over me from head to toe.

‘You are lucky that Novak is an acquaintance of ours. The king would not have spared you if it were not so. I must admit I made fun of you when I was informed of your arrival. Anyone else in your position would have made a different choice, I should hope.’ I don’t blame her. I had a suspicion about Novak’s fame here, but I was not sure. Without thinking, the moment I landed here, I put Novak’s safety above mine.

‘I can’t fault you,’ I reply without thinking about whether I have permission or not. She takes another step closer.

‘Travel companion you said?’ she asks with a raised eyebrow and a suspicious look in her eyes. I nod slowly. She nods her head slightly in understanding. Her gaze has an undertone, an undertone of disbelief and suspicion.

‘Have you visited your traveling companion yet?’ I shake my head. I would like nothing better. Now that I’ve been separated from Novak for a fortnight, I’m starting to miss the smallest things about him. How he smokes a cigarette every morning before breakfast, refuses to use a knife for anything, and even the excess of detailed stories about his travels. Novak has clearly become my friend this trip, perhaps even more than that.

‘Then I will inform you of his condition. He is in a coma, but there is visible improvement. The hemlock, which I assume you understand, is beginning to fade in his blood. He had a severe fever and regular bleeding through the nose, this is also diminishing. There is no telling when he will wake up, but the improvements are hopeful. I will have to discuss with the king whether you are allowed to visit him.’ The news does me good. It is nice to know something about his condition, at least that he is still alive. I don’t let myself get too excited while a heavy burden falls from my shoulders. My head has thought of every possible scenario while I have been cleaning the suite, this is the best outcome from that pile.

‘Thank you,’ I reply sincerely. She nods her head slightly. I would love to run to the infirmary now to find Novak, but it’s not the right place or time. Something in me said he was still alive. Something in me tells me he’s going to be okay and I can’t place what. Like I can feel his body in mine, his presence like he’s standing next to me.

‘I don’t need you right now. Go home, get something to eat and come back in an hour. Clean up the banana under the cupboard right away. I don’t like hungry servants eating my fruit.’ I feel the blood rush to my cheeks immediately. I have met the former Luna of Asa’s pack. She is a woman of authority and power, but Nalu is one step above that.

‘Yes highness,’ I say before I make a small bow and quickly leave the suite.

-

‘What do you mean you stole a banana?’ Alisha asks, laughing as she places a plate of food in front of me. I sigh deeply and take a sip of my glass of water. Alisha was kind enough to prepare a meal for me in between babysitting.

‘I forgot to take a break and was so hungry I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl,’ I reply, embarrassed. The more I think about it, the more idiotic it becomes. Alisha starts laughing as she scoops up another plate.

‘I’m surprised you’re still here,’ she grins. I take a bite of my salad and sigh deeply.

‘Ali can I have an apple?’ asks Lotus, the four-year-old girl who Alisha is babysitting. The cute girl has long red hair, sparkling blue eyes and is not afraid to talk. Since I arrived home, she has been asking me questions about where I am from. I made a nice story of it, because reality is not meant for children’s ears.

‘Sure,’ says Alisha and takes an apple from the fruit bowl and starts cutting it into pieces. The little girl turns to me again. I just put a bite of salad in my mouth.

‘Do you have a husband?’ she asks. I choke almost immediately on my bite of salad and start coughing. Technically, I have a husband. One I hate, probably wants to kill me and anything but a lover. Novak is not my husband, nor do I officially have a relationship with him. We never labelled our band, we didn’t want to. Still, Novak feels more like my husband than Christiaan.

‘No,’ I answer so as not to have to answer any questions. Lotus looks at me in surprise. For someone of nobility, which I told her I was, to be unmarried as a woman at my age is highly inappropriate. Most are given away immediately at eighteen. Love almost never plays a part in that.

‘Why not?’ she asks like the innocent child she is. Although Alisha knows the reality, she says nothing. She quietly continues to clean the kitchen.

‘Because I haven’t met the right person yet,’ is the answer I would like to give in reality. Unfortunately, this world doesn’t work like that, no matter how much I might want to.

‘How are you going to have children without a husband?’ she asks. Once again, I half choke on my salad. We all know my history with having children. I don’t even know if I can have children, let alone want them. I thank the gods on my bare knees that I never got pregnant with Christiaan. I don’t know if it’s my body that refuses or pure luck. I was laughed at, humiliated and my father was anything but happy with the time it took to have a child.

‘Celeste can’t have children,’ Alisha replies before I can say anything. I look at her in surprise. She’s just taken the small plate with pieces of apple from the sink and put it on the table for Lotus. She looks at me, not understanding.

‘You don’t know?’ she asks in surprise.