Part 3 - The Tour

“This is great!” Selina said by the tenth time, holding a plate with some of Mithir’s delicacies as her head turned from side to side, her eyes literally glowing as she took notice of every little thing. She was wearing a beautiful dark-red dress, her hair pulled up in the same intricate fashion she had seen the other noble Ladies wear, a red flower holding it in place. “And my room! I’ve never seen anything so amazing! I could really get used to this,” she went on and Allana sighed as she sat down on a small bench.

The dining room that Elian had shown them to was only one of many in the palace, offering a wide variety of delicious food and drinks throughout the entire day. However, and even though it was near midday, no one beside Dana, Heric, Selina and her had yet to show up.

Dana sat at a table, dressed in copper gown, eating delicately as she always did. And Heric, all clad in black velvet, sipped from a glass of wind, apparently too nervous to eat after their meeting with His Majesty, the King. At least that had gone accordingly to plan, she thought as she pushed a piece of lamb stew around her plate. And, as to be expected, he had fulfilled his part perfectly, if she could believe Dana’s recount of the events.

Selina sighed, her plate completely empty, and looked at Allana’s half eaten food with a critical expression.

“Hurry up and finish it! You owe me a tour, have you forgotten?” she reminded her, as energetic as always, and Allana sighed once more.

“I’m really not that hungry …” she muttered, knowing Selina wouldn’t want to hear any of that since she’d be the one to fix her plate.

“Just eat it and hurry! Or are you trying to tell me that we’ll have to stay here the rest of the afternoon?”

She was worse than Dana, with her friendly smiles and innocent expression, she thought as she forced herself to obey. Selina watched happily as she swallowed down all the food and, the minute her plate was empty, she quickly took it from her hands, dropping it on the nearest table, to come back for her, holding her hand, pulling her towards the door.

“Selina! Where are you going?” Dana asked, raising her voice to that motherly tone, and Selina smiled as she turned back to face her.

“Allana is showing me around.”

“Remember what His Highness told us! Keep out of the Royal Quarters!” she reminded her and Selina nodded, pulling her once again, obviously completely ignoring all of Dana’s warnings.

“Where are we going?” Allana asked a few minutes after, as the other girl kept dragging her down corridor after corridor without a hint of hesitation, and Selina looked back at her with a smile on her face.

“Outside! I want you to show me where you stayed the last time you were here,” came the answer. And so, to Allana’s amazement, the other girl kept guiding her without a fail, until they were outside.

“You’ve already memorized the palace’s layout?” she asked in amazement when Selina finally released her hand to stretch like a cat under the bright sun, and the other girl smiled mischievously when she turned around to face her.

“That’s why I asked you to show me around outside. Inside there are only boring rooms, and corridors, and inner gardens. The only good points are the ballroom and the study room, where all those nice noble gentlemen gather.”

“And that’s only because it’s filled with nice noble gentlemen,” Allana guessed critically and Selina winked at her.

“But of course! Who do you think showed me around the palace in the first place?”

Allana sighed. There was no use arguing. Selina had always been like that.

“Fine, then. But I’m warning you. There’s nothing amazing about the Knight’s quarters,” she told her but, even so, Selina smiled enthusiastically when she finally took the lead.

They spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the Knight’s training grounds, Allana taking care not to be seen, at least not from up close, since no one would ever suspect that a little girl dressed in a blue satin dress had been, until just a few days ago, a cadet in training. Selina followed her everywhere, even up the long stairs that led to the library, deserted at that time of day, since actual training had been doubled in preparation to the upcoming war. Finally, she took her to the dormitory, peeking through one of the windows to make sure it was deserted before they went in.

“And here is where I used to sleep. That bed over there,” Allana pointed at the empty bed and Selina looked around appreciatively.

“Well, I guess it could be worse. But seriously, Allana! How can someone in her right mind exchange all the comfort and riches inside for … this?”

Allana laughed and, grabbing her by the hand, pulled her back outside.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand!”

“How can anyone understand? Still, this is quite the large complex, isn’t it?” she added, looking towards the practicing grounds where they’d been before.

“And this is only the Black Order’s infrastructures. That way you have the White Order’s main building.”

“The one’s responsible for healing and knowledge, right?” Selina asked, just to make sure she’d understood the division, and Allana nodded. “So, that’s where Denar took Elipson, when we arrived.”

“Probably …”

“Can’t we go there?” she asked as they walked back and Allana sighed.

“It’s probably better if I don’t. But you can!” she added suddenly happy with her own idea. “That’s it! Why didn’t I think of this before? You can go! And check on Elipson! And even Kahor!”

“Kahor?!” Selina asked pausing near a wood contraption, looking at it with a curious expression.

“Yes! I told you about her before, remember? The girl that helped me when I first arrived here and then got hurt.”

“Oh, yeah … The one that hurt her knee, right?” Selina asked, still wondering about the wood construction. “What’s this for?” she finally asked and only then Allana noticed that she had stopped to look at it. “It’s not a bench, right? It’s too high for that.”

“Oh, that’s used to train your balance.”

“You mean you walk on top of this?”

“Yeah. And do all sorts of thing, like running, and jumping, and standing on one foot. Some even fight on top of it.”

“Isn’t it too high for that?”

“I guess there are worse things than that,” Allana told her with a smile and Selina walked around it, stopping at the other end.

“Ah! There’s some stairs here,” she announced and, in the next second, she was already climbing them.

“Hey! Selina! Get down from there!” Allana told her, rushing to her side as she stood at the end of the wooden beam, arms wide open at her sides.

“This is kind of scary, when you look down from up here.”

“One more reason for you to come down!” Allana insisted, looking up since she now stood higher than her head.

“Do you think I could reach the other side?” Selina asked, smiling, and Allana frowned.

“Stop playing around! If you fall from there it won’t be a joke!” she warned but, even so, Selina stepped forward, her feet covered in rich satin shoes carefully sliding over the wood. “Selina!!”

“The problem is this stupid dress …” she was complaining as she walked forward, her expression serious and focused, and Allana thought it better to just let her have her away and stop nagging her, in case she made her lose her balance.

“But just what’s happening here?” asked a harsh, angry voice, startling them, and Selina screamed as she missed her footing and fell, only to be effortlessly caught by two strong arms.

“Wow! Thank you very much,” she told him in a mellow voice, hugging his neck as she blinked at him, but the Knight put her down unceremoniously.

“And what exactly do you think you're doing, playing around in a place like this?” the Knight went on, scolding them, leaving an annoyed frown on Selina’s forehead. “You could have gotten seriously injured!”

“Well, if you hadn’t shouted like that I wouldn’t have lost my balance, now would I?” she countered immediately with an all important look on her face, and the Knight seemed to get even angrier.

“Kai …?!” Allana called, stepping forward, and the Knight looked angrily at her for a split second before he recognized her.

“Darna …” he whispered, all anger leaving his face, and Allana smiled, blushing when his dark eyes shameless looked at her from head to toe. “Darna, right?”

“Hum … Yeah … How’s Kahor?” she asked anxiously but he was still staring at her as if trying to make sense of her new appearance.

“She told me you went back home …” he stated suspiciously, avoiding her question, and Allana sighed.

“And I did. But now I’m back.”

“Yes … you are. But you’re not the same.” Allana averted her gaze, regretting not having kept her identity a secret, and Kai sighed, turning his back on them. “Come. Let’s change places. This place will be filled with cadets any time now,” he told them and walked away, apparently certain that they would follow.

“Huh! What an impertinent little guy!” Selina complained but Allana simply followed him without a word, forcing her to do the same.

Kai led them to a small, windowless room, mainly used to storage training gear, like wooden weapons and dull blades. He lit the candles by the entrance and waited until they had entered to close the door.

“Here we’ll be able to talk at ease. Those people outside simply love to gossip,” he pointed out and turned to face Allana. “So, by the looks of it you’re now staying in the palace…?” he asked and she nodded, guessing where his questions would lead. “And you came back with Elian, today. Just like you accompanied him, when you returned home …” Allana took a deep breath and raised her head, facing the Knight’s wondering expression as he put it all together. “By the Gods … it’s really you …” he finally whispered, stepping back, and Selina crossed her arms with a victorious smile at the sight of his almost frightened expression.

“Please don’t look at me like that! I’m still the same person!” Allana pleaded when he gave another step back, taking a hand to his head, trying to make sense of what he’d just learned.

“So … all this time … How’s it even possible? What about Kahor? Does she know?”

“No! No one knows, except for Denar and Elipson, and Elian of course.”

“And that one?” he asked referring to Selina, who stepped forward ready to give him a piece of her own mind for his rudeness, but Allana held her back, pulling her to her side.

“This is Selina. She’s … my lady in waiting,” Allana told him, feeling kind of embarrassed, and Kai laughed, shaking his head.

“Unbelievable! A Princess … armed with a sword. Now I understand why you were able to stop Kahor’s Test. And why Elian agreed with it.”

“I would’ve done it either way, no matter the situation! How is she?” she took the opportunity to ask again and Kai smiled, which was rare on his ever stern expression.

“Better. They’ve already allowed her to stand, although not for too long. And she still needs help to walk, since it’s too early to bend her knee. Serena tells us that eventually she’ll be able to walk normally, but that she probably won’t have enough strength on her leg to fight …” Kai added, his smile fading away. “All in all, it could have been much worse. And Kahor is still young. There are a lot of different things she can do.”

“What about the ones who did it …?” Allana wondered, careful not to say too much, and Kai sighed.

“After you left, and since Karl was absolved of all blame regarding what happened, she decided that no good would come from naming them. She says that punishing them won’t bring her leg back.”

“I see … I wish I could go and see her, but I’d have to explain all this. And Elian thinks that it’s best if I keep my identity a secret.”

“I understand. And you need not worry,” he told her in a respectful and chivalrous tone that made her frown.

“Please stop that!” she scolded him and Kai gave her a small, amused smile that told her he’d done it on purpose.

“It’s really tempting. Messing with you, I mean,” he confessed and she couldn’t help gape as she looked into his teasing eyes. “In any case, you can rest assured. I’ll keep your secret. But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if you were to keep away from the Knight’s grounds,” he added, back to his serious tone. “And now, if I may be excused, I have to go back to my lesson before my presence is missed,” he told them, bowing lightly and simply left, closing the door behind him.

“That Kai guy … He’s like a fox!” Selina accused and Allana blinked, still shocked.

“And to think I used to think he was such a dark, gloomy and cold person …”