Marriage Alliance? (2)

"I assume you must be tired from the long journey. We have prepared the palace for you; you can stay there from now on as it will be yours," said Azorius, extending his hospitality. Noori hesitated for a moment, a flicker of confusion crossing her features. However, sensing the weight of the distant figure's gaze upon her, she chose not to dwell on it and accepted the king's offer with a gracious nod. "Yes, that is too kind of you."

"Please lead the Princess to her room, and we will meet at the ceremony tonight. Have a good rest," Azorius instructed, gesturing towards Noori. With a polite smile, she turned away, her gaze briefly grazing past the enigmatic figure in the distance. Eager to depart the room, she followed the attendant. 

Farris instinctively followed Noori as she began to leave, but he was intercepted by the king's summons. "Duke! Come with me, I have to discuss some things with you," Azorius stated, his tone carrying a hint of urgency. Farris's gaze, initially fixed on the exit door, shifted towards Azorius as he responded with a curt "Yes."

Noori couldn't shake the uneasy feeling settling in her chest as she stepped out of the palace doors. It wasn't just the discomfort of being in enemy territory that troubled her; there was something more, a nagging intuition gnawing at her senses.

"Bishop!" she called out, drawing his attention as he swiftly moved to her side. "Yes, Your Highness," he responded dutifully.

"Don't you think something is very wrong with our arrival here?" Noori inquired, her tone tinged with unease. Bishop glanced around, scanning their surroundings before replying, "I know being in an enemy country is unsettling, but apart from that, I don't see anything amiss."

Noori pondered his words for a moment, her gut instincts telling her otherwise. "Hmm… Perhaps it's just me," she muttered, though the feeling of foreboding lingered, refusing to be ignored.

The attendant led her to the waiting carriage, while Bishop remained behind to oversee the troops' journey to the palace. Noori settled herself across from the attendant, whose appearance epitomized the classic beauty of a Solyrian woman. Her features boasted the quintessential traits of her homeland: porcelain skin, hair of cool tones, and eyes as blue as the chill of winter. Noori observed her closely, taking note of her attire—a lavish velvet gown adorned with sparkling gems—and the modesty with which she carried herself.

As Noori examined the attendant, she couldn't help but contrast her own appearance. She felt a pang of inadequacy, realising that she seemed worlds apart from the delicate beauty sitting before her. Unbeknownst to Noori, her intense gaze unnerved the attendant, who trembled under her scrutiny, feeling as though she might faint at any moment.

To make matters worse, she saw Noori's hand draw closer, instantly prompting her to slap it away, causing Noori to pause with surprise. The attendant immediately realized her actions as she had slapped off her hand out of pure fear.

"I-" her throat dried up, and she met Noori's gaze, momentarily seeing the blood-red glow of her eyes. That was enough to make her regret every decision she had ever made in her life. She threw herself onto her knees, banging her head against the floor of the carriage and roaring with fright before Noori could even get a chance to speak.

"Spare my life! I deserve to die, but I believe in your mercy!" she growled, making Noori's brow lift, and the hand holding the handkerchief pulled away.

"Get up!" She said to the attendant.

"Please don't kill me!" She didn't lift her head and remained like that until Noori seemed to start to run out of patience. "Get up, or I will truly kill you." She said in a tired voice, making the attendant spring up her head, but she was still kneeling by Noori's legs, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Take this! I was giving this to you. You are sweating." Noori pushed the handkerchief back at her, catching the attendant by surprise. It was only then she noticed it and realized that Noori wasn't killing her but was simply offering her a handkerchief.

After a few moments of silence, the door of the carriage opened again, and a knight of Solyria peeked inside, confused. "Wave? Aren't you getting off?" He urged her, his brows creased.

"Huh?! Yes, I am!" She nodded and slowly got to her feet. The knight pulled her off the carriage, and when her feet touched the cold, wet snow, she found Noori standing in the falling snow, waiting patiently.making her chest constrict. 'Did she not leave yet? Is she waiting here for me?' echoed in her head like an alarm bell.

"Our deepest apologies, Your Highness! The attendant is lacking. We apologise." The knight who had pulled Wave out of the carriage bowed with gritted teeth, clearly showing he barely wanted to be in the same proximity as Noori but kept up the obvious act. Wave lowered her head too, clenching the handkerchief tightly in her hand as if her life depended on it. "Please forgive me! You had to wait because of my incompetence!" Wave lowered her head as she stuttered, waiting for a response from Noori as she tightly closed her eyes with fear.

"Lead the way," Noori responded briefly.

Wave's head shot up, and a nod came through involuntarily, until she showed Noori around the palace and finally brought her to the room prepared for her. Wave opened the door of the room, made out of heavy magnolia. The room was grand, just according to Noori's status, with exquisite furniture and soft, hand-woven carpets. Woollen tapestries adorned the walls, and flickering lights illuminated the room.

"Welcome to your room. You will be staying here for a while," Wave said, her head hanging low.

"The bath is ready for you, and the bath maids are waiting. They will assist you. You can rest until the ceremony. I will come to wake you up," Wave continued, her tone filled with deference.

"Send them away," Noori replied and walked into the room.

"Pardon?" Wave was confused.

"I said send them away. I don't need assistance while bathing," Noori elaborated, her tone tinged with irritation.

Wave noticed and her eyes narrowed with worry. "Yes, I will do that," she said, beginning to leave.

"One more thing, make sure the water is cold," Noori instructed firmly.

"But—"

"Don't make me repeat myself! Just do as I say," Noori cut her off, reaching out to her forehead, which throbbed with pain from all the communication she had to go through.

"Yes!" Wave responded quickly and left the room, feeling the weight of Noori's commands heavy on her shoulders.