Karinaya Doon looked out the window of her chambers and over the city that stretched out below. The sun had set only a hort time ago, and the reddened skies tinted the whole city with color. The copper roofs on many opf the houses that gleamed on the daytime now reflected the last lights of the day and looked as though the city was engulfed in flame. Travelers called it the Burning City for that purpose. It was her favorite time of day.
A knock came on the thick chamber door, a low rumbling that echoed through the chamber with its high ceilings and thick stone walls. "Come," she said.
The door swung open only a bit, and a thin pagebopy walked in and bowed. "If it pleases Your Highness, I was asked to come and fetch you to dinner," said the lad.
"Thank you, Gaarnin," she said. "Please tell my mother and father that I will be there shortly.
The boy bowed quickly and sped off, without the customary goodbye all the servants usually gave.
Karinaya just smiled after him. She liked Gaarnin. The youth had been living here in the castle for a good many years now, and was one of the most trusted servants she knew. If she needed something done discreetly, Gaarnin was sent for. Not that she had much of a call for those kinds of things, but she knew that if she ever needed them, Gaarnin was available. If she could ever find him not in the employ of someone else, that is. She often wondered just how much the boy knew about the comings and goings of all the people in the palace. She shuddered at the concept and grabbed her dining cloak.
Fastening it as she made her way through the dreary damp of the castle walkways, she eventually found herself at the entrance to the grand hallway. The room was the main audience chamber for her father, the King of Darhunlund, and as such, was decorated ornately. Suits of armor stood alpong the ouside edges on small pedestals, large tapestries covered the yellow stone walls, and large timbers overhead supported the massive chandeliers that hung idle. The room was not used very often, but her father, King Alaeon, made sure that the room was used at least during the harvest season for the Festival of the Three Moons. Karinaya remembered always being fearful of the room, as though the suits of armor would come alive and track her down. She knew better, of course, but could not shake the feeling that there was something in that room that should not be there.
She made it to the other side of the grand hall and went quickly through the small wooden door and into the kitchens behind it. She knew she wasn;t supposed to use this path to get to the normal dining, but she was already late. She made her way quickly, past cooks who were surprised to see her and serving women who were not. She relieved an apple on her way, and was happily munching it by the time she reached the far end of the kitchen. Karinaya sighed. She hated this next part most of all.
First, her mother would be very pleased to see her, but would tell her that she didn;t look enough like a lady for the royalty that she was. He father would be disappointed that she was late. Her older brother, Cryill, would nag at her about how if she would just do as they all asked of her, life would be that much better. It was the same every week when they all actually gathered for supper. Most of the times, Karinaya was able to master her own schedule, but never on the Ludisday. There was always a big family feast that more often than not had nothing to do with family than it did fighting and bickering. Her parents and brother were one thing, and she didn;t really mind them that much at all, but it was the extended family that she really couldn't stand.
Her uncles, all three of them, Borjin, Greyon, and Rahmain, were the worst. All three seemed to think that it was all right to treat her and her mother as though they were nothing more than common lodge wenches! The last time, Borjin went too far, and she made him pay by knocking a full tankard of the hot mulled wine onto his lap.
She sighed as she pushed open the door. If she was lucky, they would be too engrossed in their endless conversations about politics to notice where she came from. She closed the door quietly and turned, finding herself face-to face with Cryill.
"Father's in a particularly foul mood today, Sister," he said. "I shouldn;t wonder but if he saw you come in here through that door he would threaten to have it walled up."
"Then he'll have to wait longer for his food," she retorted. "Will everyone be here?"
"I'm not sure," he said. "But, for the good of the country, do try and be civil to everyone for once?"
"You know the rules as well as I do, Cryill. Never make a scene that could result in someone being embarrassed."
"THen we're agreed," he said. "You'll behave like a proper princess should?"
"Just as long as those three uncles of ours stay away from me, I should be just fine."
"Well, then, you''re in luck. They've been drinking their way across the city this morning to get here. None of them can stand anymore."
"Come on," she said taking his arm, "let's get this over with."
Today's seen was inspired by the many yellow brick buildings that I see along my various travels. While it doesn;t take center-stage, that's where it started.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
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