This love is like a curse (12)
The maid raised the spoon with a trembling hand, but could not bring it to the plate and closed her eyes tightly.
She seemed to naively believe that if she stubbornly resisted, she would be able to avoid this fate. Perhaps she was hoping someone would show up and stop it.
Talia suddenly grabbed the knife that was lying on the table and ordered the man in a cold voice:
— Keep her fingers on the plate. Since she so neglects my kindness, I will have to cut off one as a warning.
The man immediately grabbed the girl’s hand and spread her fingers on a silver plate. Talia squeezed the tip of her index finger and raised the carving knife high.
Then the maid screamed in horror:
- I'll eat! I'll eat it! I'll eat everything!
The girl hurriedly lowered the spoon into the plate and greedily began to swallow the soup with the dead bird. It seemed that she believed that she could stand it if she did not feel the taste - the girl instantly swallowed the pieces, without even chewing them. But, not having finished even five spoons, she vomited.
Talia, seeing this, continued to insist:
- Eat every last drop. I want to see the bottom of this plate.
The maid's eyes, full of horror, turned to her. It was no longer a look of contempt as before. Now she looked at Thalia with real horror, as if at a monster.
Thalia gave a silent order not to stop. The maid, sobbing bitterly, began to eat again, then vomited again, and so on in a circle - she ate and vomited, ate and vomited.
She tried to limit herself to only broth, because even looking at rotting bird meat was unbearable, but her body did not accept it either.
Her face, stained with blood, tears and vomit, turned ashen gray, and soon the corners of her eyes turned white and rolled back. With a dull thud, her body collapsed onto the carpet.
Thalia watched indifferently as the maid convulsed and foamed at the mouth, then nodded arrogantly to the numb servants:
- Take it away.
And, throwing the dirty plate at their feet, she added:
- And bring me new food. This time - edible.
From that day on, the cruel abuse from the servants stopped, as if by magic.
The maids began to treat her as if she were something dangerous, like poison, and some servants openly showed fear. They no longer cast contemptuous glances at her or whisper cruel words for her to hear. As soon as Thalia appeared, everyone immediately fell silent and hastily bowed their heads.
And rumors spread throughout the palace about the cruel temper of the second princess. Those who heard her torture an innocent servant who had served the crown loyally for decades only shook their heads, amazed at the cruelty of such a young person.
The clergy sighed sadly that a spawn of snakes had crawled into the palace, and the emperor’s followers expressed fears that the evil princess would disgrace the honor of the imperial family.
But there were also those who were satisfied with Talia’s atrocities.
One day, on the eve of winter, the empress, wearing a dress as deep blue as her eyes, visited the small palace.
Thalia, who was coming down the stairs with a stony face to meet her, couldn't help but freeze. Seeing Senevier, she suddenly felt her throat tighten with melancholy.
This was the same mother who had so coldly turned away from her. Thalia still remembered how she looked after her when she mercilessly pushed her hand away and slowly walked away. Then the girl swore that she would never love her again.
But as soon as Senevier crossed the hall and kissed her on the cheek, this determination crumbled, like a sand castle under a wave.
- Hello, Thalia. Today you are especially beautiful.
Seneviere emanated the sweet aroma of roses, lilacs and ripe fruits. It was painful to realize how much she missed that intoxicating smell.
The Empress looked at her daughter’s gloomy face with a gentle smile:
“You seem offended that I haven’t visited you for so long.” Sorry. I was just preparing a special gift for you.
Thalia's face was frozen in worry.
- A gift?..
“They told me how cleverly you pacified the impudent servants.” You pleased your mother, and therefore deserved a reward,” she spoke in a voice similar to the singing of a canary and turned gracefully.
Only then did Thalia notice the boy slowly crossing the hall.
She lost her breath. During these months he appears to have been officially knighted. The longboat approached her in the uniform of the imperial guard.
Sunlight filtered through the window, scattering on strands of his ash-golden hair and scattering glare in all directions. The sight seemed to pierce her retina like a shard of glass.
Senevier walked up to the boy and extended her hand, as if showing off a trophy.
“This is a handsome knight who will protect you from now on.”
The young man stopped in front of her and bowed. His eyes, which once sparkled with a crown, were now filled only with chilling rage and a faint glimmer of humiliation. Even a fool would understand that he did not come here of his own free will.
He looked at her as if examining an inanimate object and said:
“Longboat Raedgo Siekan,” his voice was so dry that a chill ran down his spine. “I have been assigned to accompany you until you undergo the coming-of-age ceremony.”
His tone clearly conveyed: “The sooner that day comes, the sooner I will get rid of this humiliating task.”
Thalia looked at his cold face, as if hidden by a mask, in despair. His chilling gaze, dry words, prim behavior - all this again turned her into a despicable, insignificant creature.
She tried her best not to shrink in shame, but she couldn't stop the heat spreading down her neck.
At that moment, Talia clearly realized: this beautiful young man would become not hope for her, but torment. And the most cruel.
* * *
When the persistent rains, which fell for several days in a row, finally stopped, the sky lit up with a hot sun, as a harbinger of the fire season.
Ayla, crossing the bustling courtyard in search of her fiancé, wiped beads of sweat from her forehead and squinted against the bright light.
The usually empty site, reserved for military training, was now filled with dozens of wagons, harness traders, powerful pack animals [1] specially bred for transportation, and soldiers loading equipment needed for the journey.
For a few seconds she grimaced at this semblance of market bustle, but soon her eyes lit up - she noticed Longboat checking the condition of the war horses at the outer wall of the fortress.
Instead of the white battle robes that symbolized the Knights of Roem, he wore a black tunic with intricate embroidery, over which he wore a black iron cuirass. He looked more like an eastern aristocrat than an imperial knight.
Ayla smiled proudly as she looked at him. After completing this mission, Longboat will leave the Guard and begin the process of inheriting the title of Grand Duke of Siekana.
And she, being next to him, will begin to learn to be the mistress of the ducal house. This was predestined from the very day he entered the Empress's garden, following her mother.
However, Isla sometimes doubted whether this day would ever come.
Longboat was always polite and sometimes even affectionate, but Ayla knew that an insurmountable distance remained between them. This distance caused her pain, and therefore she still could not believe that in a few months he would become her husband.
Note:
1. A pack animal is an animal specially trained to carry loads (such as horses, mules, donkeys, camels or even elephants).