This love is like a curse (18)
Since she had expelled everyone who had previously been sent from the main palace, she now had less than ten maids from the small palace at her disposal. And she forbade those from approaching her. So those who could be taken with you on the journey could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
That is why Thalia had to go on a long journey, surrounded by servants sent by Senevier. Honestly, she would have kicked them all to hell, but watching Gareth and Isla ride out with hundreds of escorts, she couldn't afford it.
The girl bit her lip nervously, looking angrily at the crowd surrounding the carriages of the Crown Prince and the First Princess.
She always felt disgusted when someone got under her feet. Therefore, for years she did not let anyone near her except Barkas and the nanny. She did not want to keep people with her who could trample her at any moment.
But while her half-brother and sister were demonstrating the grandeur of the imperial family with hundreds of servants, the thought that she would have to appear in public with only three or four servants caused her burning annoyance.
In the end, Thalia had to accept the maids that Senevier sent. But she could not relax for a second, wondering what intrigues they might have. Thalia closely watched every movement of those who carried her things.
At this moment, a startled voice was heard very close by:
“Are you really going to take all this with you?”
The girl looked up and looked coldly at the man who suddenly appeared nearby.
She only got rid of the stupid guard who acted like a puppy in front of the crown prince. So now the new knight, barely appointed to the position, allowed himself to speak to her so unceremoniously. And she didn't like it at all.
- What, is there something that doesn’t suit you about my things?
“I understand that you want to maintain your dignity as a member of the imperial family.” But isn't this too much? Hundreds of dresses, expensive jewelry... If you are not going to change clothes five times a day, this is all just an extra burden.
- You don’t understand anything. I'm going to change my clothes not five, but ten times a day. We will drive from morning to evening, and I will probably be covered in dust. I would never wear a dirty dress, even for a minute.
“This is a joke...” the knight smiled tightly, not understanding that the princess was speaking seriously.
Leaving the dim-witted man behind, Thalia headed to her carriage. She stood at the tail of a long procession and was no less majestic than that of the crown prince.
The doors and roof were richly decorated with gold and ivory. Inside was a spacious seat, wide enough to serve as a bed, and on it were thick felt [1] throws and silk pillows.
Thalia climbed into the carriage and pulled back the curtain behind the seat to reveal a spacious changing area and large built-in storage. After carefully checking the drawers, she made sure that all her most luxurious dresses and jewelry were in place. But that wasn't enough to outshine Ayla.
Maybe it was worth stealing that diamond necklace that Senevier received from the emperor? No, it would be better to take my mother’s entire box.
It seemed that the Empress really hoped that her daughter would break Ayla's engagement. Perhaps she was deliberately pushing her to do this. If Thalia asked to borrow dresses and jewelry for her purpose, she would happily agree.
“Perhaps we should go to the Empress’s palace?”
Thalia cast an impatient glance at the box and left the carriage, heading towards her mother's chambers. But then among the soldiers she noticed Longboat in the uniform of the Knights of Roem.
The girl froze. Although there were more than one hundred and fifty knights in the same uniform in the courtyard, she only saw him.
Her obsessive gaze stuck to his straight back, broad shoulders and ash-golden hair, faintly glistening in the sun.
He crossed the courtyard with a controlled, confident gait, giving orders to his subordinates. Apparently, he checked the system before leaving.
Thalia swallowed. The closer he got, the more her throat tickled, as if she had swallowed shards of glass.
His indifferent gaze, sliding along the procession, finally stopped at her carriage.
Even from such a distance, the girl saw a thin fold appear between his eyebrows. The one that always appeared when he looked at her.
And then that cold face, which caused her pain every time, slowly approached.
—Are you still not ready to leave? - Longboat scolded her knight without even looking at her.
The knight scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
“As you can see, it looks like we’ll have to look for another cart just for luggage,” the knight said with annoyance.
Longboat's pale blue eyes turned to the servants, who were trying in vain to stuff a mountain of things into the carriage. Thalia noticed the irritation flicker across his usually impassive face.
Finally his gaze slid to her.
— This procession will pass through six major cities. Everything you need can be purchased along the way, so get rid of excess cargo.
Thalia raised her chin defiantly:
- No. How do you know what exactly I might need?
“It will still be dresses and jewelry,” he said dryly. — There are many developed trading cities in the northwestern part of the empire. There you can buy plenty of things that suit your taste. So stop harassing the servants before you leave.
Thalia snorted disdainfully.
- Don't be ridiculous. You just want to make me out to be a wasteful and unworthy princess who knows no limits during a pilgrimage, so that I can be compared to Ayla. Do you think I'll buy this?
“Since when did you start caring about your reputation...” Longboat barely noticeably curled his lips, clearly not believing his ears. - However, no one will compare you with the first princess. So leave your baseless worries.
These were words that Thalia never wanted to hear from his lips.
With a face full of resentment, she raised her hand, but Barkas was not someone who would calmly tolerate such a thing. Quickly grabbing her wrist, he told the servants with a slight nod:
- Leave only the essentials. Everything else is to unload. We're leaving in an hour, so hurry up.
- Who allowed?! - Thalia screamed, trying with all her might to pull her hand away. She was hysterical, but the man didn’t even flinch.
Enraged to the limit, the girl kicked him in the shin with all her might and screamed:
- Who are you anyway to tell me what to take and what not?! Fancy yourself as someone important?! You're not even a Duke yet! You're just some knight at court! The petty knight dared to order the princess of the empire!
- Why are you delaying? - he said to the servants in an icy tone, ignoring her hysteria.
Those who had been hesitantly stomping around before immediately rushed to unload the carriage.
Nothing could have shown more clearly whose orders carried more weight: the nominal princess or Longboat, commander-in-chief of the imperial guard and future Duke of the East.
At this moment, Thalia, overcome with rage, rushed towards one of the maids:
- Get your hands off my things immediately! If even one trinket is lost, I will hang you all with my own hands...!
But she didn’t have time to finish. The longboat picked her up with one hand, like annoying luggage, and, without blinking an eye, pushed her into the carriage.
Forced into the seat, Thalia was burning with anger.
Longboat was devoted to the imperial family to the core. He would never dare raise a hand against Ayla.
The fact that he could afford to treat Talia like this means only one thing: he did not consider her a true representative of the imperial blood.
The thought made her eyes sting. Pain and resentment tore through her chest - the man who bowed restrainedly and respectfully to her half-sister behaved with her like an insignificant dummy.
Notes:
1. Felt is a dense non-woven material made by felting (knocking and pressing) wool or other fibers.