The King's Flame

Chapter III - The white camellia

The days passed and the girls got more and more used to life in camp, which had its ups and downs. Some soldiers were completely unpleasant and despicable, but some were friendly and even kind - after Lord Reimfred's supposed direct orders, none of them could mess with the girls anymore. Instead of having dinner alone with Mrs. Virrin in her tent, they were now dining around the campfire with the boys from the second division, sometimes even accompanied by Guilla and Lanaida. It was a moment of tranquillity and distraction, where they listened and told stories, drank wine and laughed a little despite of the chaos their lives had become.

The moments of tension, for Kira, were saved for the prince's tent. Most mornings were peaceful; she served breakfast and left the tent before he woke up. When he and the other knights went hunting, she arranged his bath and he always asked her to stay and rub his back. At night, normally the other knights - among them, Lord Reimfred - would join him for dinner. While Kira remained silent, speaking only when extremely necessary, Lila seemed comfortable smiling at the knights she served. Nichol himself interacted with her a lot and Kira began to realize that Reimfred didn't seem to like it. And she didn't like it either.

More than two weeks had passed and some soldiers were already saying that they would set up camp soon. The attack on Fortress Zunir was imminent, Kira and Lila knew this from the conversations they listened to in the royal tent. The prince awaited the return of an informant to know when to attack. If all went well during the assault, the army would return to Pontal next. The trip would be long and tiring, two days to cross the Edreston forest, one day to bypass the Mountains of the Sun and four to five days on the Black Coast Road. Kira and Lila spent hours pondering what their lives would be like from now on, just now that they were starting to get used to the routine at the camp.

Amarna had burned her hand while helping Mrs. Virrin to prepare dinner and Kira went to look for some herbs near the stream to prepare a medicine that would help her heal. She missed spending time with herself, although some soldiers were around, they ignored her. She always felt at peace when she heard the sound of running water, the smell of wet earth from the banks and the feeling of sitting on the grass, in contact with nature that sometimes seemed to talk to her. She was immersed in her own thoughts for a few minutes when she heard someone approach.

- Good afternoon, Kira. - Said Prince Nichol. He wore the black leather coat instead of the armor once again.

- Good afternoon, Your Highness. - Kira replied, preparing to get up.

- Don’t worry. - Nichol said, making a gesture with his hand so she wouldn't get up. - I'm not here to disturb you. What are you doing?

- Picking herbs for a medicine. My sister burned her hand.

- Lila?

- No. - she said, shaking her head. - Amarna. She helps Mrs. Virrin in the kitchen.

- Mr. Zumes can take a look at her hand.

- There is no need. - Kira replied, shaking her head. - I'm a healer, sir. Or I was. But, thank you anyway.

- A healer? - he smiled - You are really surprising.

- I wouldn't consider myself that way. – she laughed.

Nichol ducked down besides her facing the stream and scooped up his hands to drink water. Kira stared at him without realizing it, paying attention to the way his jaw moved to swallow, his stubble and his slicked-back hair which soft waves fell delicately over his face when he leaned over. She was only able to look away when he looked back at her.

- I will miss this when I return to the castle. - Commented Nichol.

- Miss what? - Kira asked.

- The woods. I wasn’t made for a life in a palace.

- A prince was not made for a palace? – she laughed.

- I don’t think so. - he laughed - But I miss it when I'm here too.

- Home is the place where you want to escape when you are there and where you want to go back when you are not. - She smiled.

- Do you miss your home, Kira? - Asked Nichol. That question surprised Kira.

- Yes. – She replied with sadness in her voice.

- I'm sorry about your mother. It shouldn't have been like that.

- No, it shouldn't. - Kira said, feeling her eyes wet. - The people in the village, my mother ... They were innocent. They didn’t deserved to die.

- We invaded the village because we found out that people in there had seen our camp. If someone had surrendered our position to Rhestan's army, maybe we would not be able to take the Fortress.

- Should that make me feel better? - Kira asked, dropping a tear and wiping it away immediately.

- No, definitely not. - Said Nichol. - But I would like you to understand that I am a general in charge of an army and I have a war to win. I'm not a monster.

Kira remained silent, looking down, not having the courage to look back at Nichol. He stayed there for a while, expecting some response from her, until a knight called him and he got up and left.

Throughout the day, Nichol's words floated over Kira's head. Not about his war, but about missing home. Kira missed certain people, but not her life. Most times she found herself thinking that if the village was intact and all the people she had lived with all her life were there, and she if she had a chance to go back to what it was before, maybe she wouldn't. Much guilt accompanied such thoughts, but deep down Kira knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be. And it scared and fascinated her to the same extent.

The next day, in the morning, Kira did not have to wait for Nichol to wake up upon entering the tent. He was washing his face in the cold water of the metal tub she filled every day when she arrived with breakfast. He was already dressed; pants, boots and his linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows so they wouldn't get wet while he washed his face. Nichol smiled a good morning and thanked her for the food as she put it on the table.

- You woke up early, Your Highness. - Kira commented.

- I always wake up early. I just don't like getting out of bed. - Nichol replied, smiling.

- The hardest part of the day, in fact. - she smiled.

- Do you want to help me? - Nichol asked, holding out the silver razor.

Nichol sat on one of the chairs and waited for Kira to return with the bowl of water and towels. She took the same almond oil and heated it in her hands, but this time he was not surprised when she touched his face. She looked into his eyes for a moment, feeling enchanted by that vivid blue color, until she realized that she had already spread the oil on his face and neck a while ago. He didn't seem to care. When Kira took the blade in her hands and started to slide it across his face, Nichol closed his eyes momentarily, as if he relaxed when he felt it. He no longer had the provocative look he had before.

- I am a little surprised that you trust me with a blade so close to your neck. - Kira commented, feeling the same confidence in herself that she felt the last time she did it, but in a different way.

- Danger excites me. - Nichol replied as she cleaned the razor. - It makes me feel alive.

- You won't be alive for long if you don't learn how to shave yourself. - Kira joked. Nichol laughed.

- And I trust you, Kira. - Said Nichol. Kira was about to return the blade to his face, but stopped. - I feel like I can trust you. Besides, nobody would shave me so well, so it's worth taking the risk.

Kira smiled and continued to shave him. She couldn't explain why and could hardly believe it when she stopped to think that, in a way, she trusted him too. She left the tent feeling strangely content. Going to Mrs. Virrin's tent, she saw Lila, coming from the stream, carrying a wooden tub full of wet clothes. She had a white flower on top of the low bun she wore.

- What a beautiful flower. - Kira commented, meeting with her sister and continuing to walk with her to the back to the tent. - Is it a camellia? Where did you get it?

- Well, I ... - smiled – Lord Reimfred gave it to me. I loved it.

- I think Lord Reimfred is really in love with you, Lila. - Kira said, smiling.

Lila smiled back at Kira and immediately started to cry. She put the tub of clothes on the floor, and instead of standing up after crouching, she just sat on the grass, crying copiously over the already wet clothes.

- Lila, dear, what is it? - Kira asked, bending down to speak to her sister.

- He told me today about how he became lord. – Lila said. - He was an ordinary soldier guarding the Pontal Palace and saw movement in the woods. All the other guards thought he was seeing things, that it was just the wind. He ran away and discovered that there were twenty King Rhestan's men marching silently towards the palace. He killed four of them and threw their heads in front of King Gaelor. All sixteen other men were hunted and killed. The king gave him Reimfred County to thank him for his bravery. For protecting the castle from the selirian spies.

- And why are you crying, sister?

- He's just like that! Intelligent. And brave. And strong. And kind. And I know that I could so easily love him! But I could never be anything but his mistress and it breaks my heart.

- Oh, Lila...

- I don't have a dowry or inheritance. I don't even have my virginity. He is promised to a maiden, the daughter of a nobleman, heiress of something. And, Goddess, how happy she will be when she meets him. I am promised to a stableman or a simple blacksmith. Perhaps one of the soldiers that Guilla and Lanaida serve, at best.

- Who? Aldir? The one with a funny nose? - Kira joked, making Lila laugh between her tears. - Lila, my love, I hate to see you suffer like this.

- I must forget it, I know. But I can't stop thinking that maybe I should actually become his mistress.

- What? Lila, how ...

- He is a powerful man, he would keep me comfortable for the rest of my days. And I could help you, Amarna, Lanaida and Guilla. It wouldn’t be so bad…

- And you would have to see him marry another woman one day. This is a stupid plan Lila, nothing would guarantee that he would not love his wife, nothing would guarantee that he would support you forever...

- Well, I don't know, Kira! Unlike you, I am not calm about the future. I don't want to see you and our sisters helpless, prostituted, starving! We have absolutely nothing! What will we do when the prince decides that our services are no longer needed? Where would we go back? Where would we go?

- Lila, I don't know what to tell you. And I want you to calm down! I will always take care of our sisters and we will always take care of each other. I am not telling you that the future will be easy, but I am counting that we will be strong enough to face it as Madame Orana told us!

- I just want to wake up at our home. Help Madame Orana with the house, sew a new dress for me, bathe in the river with you... I just want our lives back! - Lila cried.

- Oh, sister! - Said Kira hugging Lila. - We'll be fine, believe me. Everything will be fine.

Kira wanted to convey her certainty that everything would be fine to her sister, but she knew it was impossible. Lila was shaken, desolate and fearing not only for herself, but for all of them. Kira suggested that the following day, in the late afternoon, they should bathe in the stream before serving dinner. It was the best she could do to bring her some comfort.