The Offering

Chapter Eight - Daella

I sit stirring my bowl of porridge not wanting to think about last night, all of their faces, all of their smiles, but mostly how much I hated that version of me.

"Have you heard that the next event is tomorrow afternoon?" Roux asks startling me as she sits next to me while the others take their seats around the dining table.

"No." I didn't want to think about that either.

"I asked my servants," She smiles. I didn't even bother to learn my servants names let alone talk to them.

"What will it be this time?" I ask, scooping sugar into my bowl.

"A garden party."

"A what?" I ask, confused.

"A garden party, it's a party that is held out in the gardens, like a giant picnic." She explains.

"Will there be as many people as there were last night?"

"I don't think so, it will just be the High Court and the royal family."

"Well that's something I suppose. You seem more positive about the whole situation." I note as she begins serving food onto her plate. I couldn't forget that feeling from last night as I watched her dance, like she fit in.

She shrugs. "I guess after meeting the fae last night they don't seem as scary as they first were. I wouldn't say I'm happy with the whole situation, but I guess compared to my old home, it is a lot nicer here, and I won't ever go hungry again." She laughs.

I look at the food and nod, it was something else to have a full belly all the time, and not eat the same food over and over, but it wasn't enough to make me forget about everything else.

Maybe she was just making the best of her situation, that wasn't the same as being happy about it. I don't think I had that ability, to just be positive about everything happening to me right now. Yes we were being treated well and fed and cared for, but we were still here for one purpose, and that was something I couldn't just make myself feel positive about.

"Ladies, tomorrow afternoon we will have our next event with the High Court, a garden party." The Mistress interrupts my thoughts as she stands at the head of the table and Roux smiles at me with a knowing look. "The royal family will be there as well so we must all be on our best behaviours."

"Did you see the Princes last night?" Roux asks around a bite of toast once the Mistress finishes her announcement. I nod in answer. "I asked more about them, I wasn't sure which one was which."

I still wondered if speaking to the Prince had really happened or not. I had only spotted him a few more times throughout the evening as I was spun and guided around the dance floor trying to remember each step.

"Demwyn is the eldest, with the longer dark hair, he is General of their army and heir to the throne obviously. Alvaryn is in the middle, with the shorter dark hair, he is in their army as well but has spent a lot of his time studying, and Aeris is the youngest, with the hair like the Queen, he is in the army as well, that's why they always have swords on them, it seemed strange at first, seeing swords strapped to them, not like back at home, but apparently it's completely normal here." She shrugs with a smile.

"Why are you so interested in the Princes?" I find myself asking.

She shrugs again. "They will be at each of the events and are meant to be picking a bride as well, it helps to know which is which."

I nod, she made sense at least. I didn't mention my encounter with Prince Aeris, it hadn't really meant anything, he had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.