Chapter 14: Tales of Tribal Romance

 

 

 

Chapter 14: Tales of Tribal Romance

 

THE wedding was nearly upon us now.

“Only five days away? Where did the time go...?”

This wasn’t a serious question, of course. We’d been following a rigorous schedule, so at no point did I forget the passage of time. Still, now that the big day was looming just on the horizon, even I was starting to get a little nervous.

Patricia’s wedding hairstyle was already set in stone, and I was reasonably confident I could pull it off on my first try, but I was still tempted to suggest we do a practice run, just in case. After all, she’d probably want to see for herself how it would look on her, and in the event it didn’t turn out the way she hoped, we still had time to make alterations.

But first, I had my daily tasks to worry about.

That morning, I got ready in a flash, then grabbed my hairstyling tools and hurried off to meet Patricia.

“Oh, good morning, Ray,” I greeted as I walked past him into the Princess’s bedroom.

“Morning, Mayna,” he replied in kind.

Inside, I found that Patricia was already awake. I greeted her along with her three servants.

“Good morning,” Rebecca answered promptly.

“Good morning...” Mona replied dreamily, a vacant smile on her face.

Sari simply glared in my direction. Either she was still upset about catching me alone with Kirion two days ago, or she was silently blaming me for his conspicuous absence.

You see, as of yesterday morning, he had been temporarily relieved of his title as Royal Hairstylist’s Apprentice—likely a direct result of Ray discussing his suspicions with Prince Dario.

Mind you, Ray almost certainly would’ve included the possibility of Kirion’s innocence in that conversation, so the fact that Dario had taken action seemed to suggest that the Prince was unwilling to allow anyone of even mildly dubious character within his future bride’s vicinity. Instead, Kirion had been assigned a different job altogether: as of today, he’d been assigned his own room in the castle in which to give haircuts to the servants. After all, with the big day right around the corner, the castle would soon be filled with foreign diplomats and other important guests, and it couldn’t hurt to have everyone looking their best. As for Kirion, he seemed to accept this decision without complaint.

In the meantime, the Prince had sent a servant to go and look into Kirion’s work history. Should he be proven innocent, he would regain his title and resume work as Patricia’s hairstylist. But his hometown was located in a distant, rural part of Vaxwald, so the trip there and back would take a good few days. Timing-wise, this meant the investigation was scheduled to wrap up close to the wedding ceremony.

“Your Highness, why don’t we do a trial run of your wedding hairstyle today whenever you can find some time?”

“Why, that’s a marvelous idea! I should quite like to see how it will look. I’ll have time after breakfast, so let’s do it then.”

“Understood. In that case, I’ll just give you a simple style for the time being.”

Once I had styled her hair, I left her quarters. Out in the hall, Ray called out to me. “Mayna, did you run into Kirion yesterday? I can’t imagine he was happy to lose his title. I just hope he didn’t take that anger out on you.”

“No, he didn’t.” He did whimper something about how he wished he could stay with me, but I decided not to mention that. “He’s accepted his new post with grace, though he was complaining about the heavy workload when I spoke with him yesterday. It seems there’s no shortage of servants interested in a free haircut.”

I was trained in cutting hair myself, and at one point I was tempted to help, but after everything that had happened two days ago, I ultimately decided not to. Perhaps he would think me heartless, but so be it; I didn’t want to risk him misinterpreting my kindness as anything more. Instead, I advised him to set a maximum daily quota for himself and schedule haircuts based on that.

Ray nodded pensively. “Don’t let your guard down around him just yet.”

What if this investigation proved that Kirion was telling the truth? That he never used mind control magic on Ian? That he really was who he claimed to be? That he was my Bondmate, and he’d bought the hair ornament for me?

No... Even if the first two proved true, I still couldn’t accept the rest. My real Bondmate was the person who gave me the gift, and that was—

❀❀❀

“OH, it’s perfect! I love it! And I’m sure Prince Dario will like it, too. I admit, after everything that’s happened, I was a bit worried that something might go wrong on our big day, but now I’m really looking forward to it!” Patricia gushed, admiring her wedding hairstyle. And after all the protesters, rumor-mongering, and even an attempt on her life, I could certainly see why she might be anxious.

Still, I was glad this fancy new hairstyle had brightened up her day, even just a little. Finished with the test run, I took her hair down and restyled it.

With my duties fulfilled, I left the room, and Rebecca followed me out into the hallway in order to go and prepare a cup of tea for the Princess.

“How are you feeling, Mayna?” she asked as we walked down the hall side by side.

“Who, me? I’m fine. You’re not worried about me because I’m a Flowerfolk, are you?”

For whatever reason, these Dragonkin all seemed to see Flowerfolk as feeble, helpless creatures.

“It’s just... Lately it’s been getting colder in the mornings, you know? Suits us just fine, of course, but I was worried it might be a bit much for you.”

“No, no, it’s great!” I reassured with a smile. “I have to ask, though, why is it that Dragonkin see Flowerfolk as frail? I would understand if you all had direct personal experience, but as I understand it, Vaxwald doesn’t have a Flowerfolk or fairy population at all, so I can only assume you’ve never met one.”

“That’s correct. You would be the first,” Rebecca confirmed my suspicions.

“Then what is it? Is it a mental association with flower fairies?”

“I’m sure that’s part of it, but...” Rebecca paused. “I think a lot of us got the idea from Tales of Tribal Romance.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that! I forget when, though... Hmmm...” I tilted my head in contemplation, and a moment later it hit me:

“She’s human, but I daresay she looks like a Flowerfolk.”

“Indeed, she’s quite small and stylish. Fortunate, too, because a real Flowerfolk would never do. I mean, you’ve read Tales of Tribal Romance, surely?”

“Oh, yes, I have. I quite liked the one about the Merfolk.”

“Likewise. I also enjoyed the one about the human.”

It was at Patricia’s big debut party soon after we first arrived in Vaxwald—a conversation between two noble ladies, if memory served.

“Tales of Tribal Romance is a famous anthology. Anyone who grew up here has read it at least once,” Rebecca explained. “There are five short stories, each with a different Dragonkin protagonist, and each protagonist has a Bondmate from a different tribe: human, Flowerfolk, Merfolk, Treeborn, and Shadowkin, in that order. The stories are about the struggles each Dragonkin faces in forming a relationship with someone from a different culture.”

“Sounds like a good book,” I mused.

“It’s really popular. But not all the stories have a happy ending, you see. The tales of the Flowerfolk and Shadowkin are both quite tragic.”

“Oh?”

“Would you like to read it for yourself?” she suggested. “I have a copy I can lend you. And since it’s something we’ve all been reading and rereading since childhood, I’ll bet it can help explain why we see Flowerfolk the way we do.”

“That would be great, actually!”

“Perfect! I’ll bring it with me first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Or so I said...but internally, I was a bit apprehensive.

❀❀❀

I didn’t actually get my hands on the book until three days later.

“Sorry about that! I hadn’t read it in a while, so I kinda forgot where I put it. But I found it!” Rebecca apologized.

“Oh, no, that’s not a problem. I appreciate you going to all the trouble!” I insisted as I took Tales of Tribal Romance from her hands. It was about the size of an average book—not too thick, not too thin. Depicted on the cover was a woman of indeterminate tribe snuggled against a dragon.

Once Rebecca and I had parted ways, I went straight to my quarters to start reading. With two days before the royal wedding, the rest of the castle was busy with all sorts of prep work, but as a mere hairstylist, I didn’t have much to do.

Before I could start, however, I needed to push my loveseat over to the window to get some light—a formidable task that left me sweaty by the time I was done. Then, at long last, I plopped down on the sofa and flipped through the book until I found the story about the Flowerfolk.

“Here we go...”

It was titled The Tale of the Flowerfolk. In this particular story, the Dragonkin protagonist was a man, and the Flowerfolk was a woman. As I turned page after page, I became absorbed in the story—and then the next thing I knew, it was over. No surprise there; these were short stories, after all.

All in all, I found it to be a rather heartrending tale, and sure enough, I could easily see why anyone who grew up reading this would worry about me. After all, the Flowerfolk depicted in the story was much frailer than any actual Flowerfolk in real life.

Not only that, but if nearly every single person in Vaxwald had read this, then Ray had probably read it as well...and if so, that would almost certainly explain his behavior toward me.

As I recalled, I had first told Ray I was a Flowerfolk back in Myulan—back when he thought of me as his Bondmate. It was by no means a secret, so I’d brought it up early on to save time. But looking back, perhaps that was the turning point in our relationship. Ray had been awfully surprised to learn I was a Flowerfolk, and while the change in his behavior was by no means instantaneous, it was still there—even if it took me this long to notice.

Still...if I was right about this, then that would mean Ray was paranoid to the point of stupidity. No offense, but you’d have to be pretty naïve to take a fictional story as fact, and I was having a hard time believing Ray could possibly be that irrational. Thus, I was hesitant to come to any conclusions just yet.

But what else could it be? Is a Bondmate’s love so deep that it forces you to take fictional possibilities into consideration? No, surely not... He’d have to be insanely overprotective...

Someone suddenly pounded their fist on my door, making me nearly jump out of my skin. “Mayna!” a high-pitched voice shrieked angrily from the other side.

“Wh-Who is it?” I called back.

But no response came. Instead, the door flew open. It was Sari.

“Stay away from Kirion!” she demanded without so much as a hello.

“Kirion? Where is this coming from?”

“Don’t try to play dumb with me! A servant friend of mine told me she saw you and Kirion talking, just the two of you!”

“I mean, yes, we did talk...” I answered, shrinking back in the face of her ferocity.

Obviously I hadn’t sought him out on my own; Kirion had tracked me down during his break time for no other reason than to “see me” and chat. Naturally, I had cut the conversation short.

“Kirion is my Bondmate, got it?!” Sari snapped, eyes blazing.

“Your...Bondmate?”

“Yes! He told me so, and I know it’s true!”

“...Kirion told you you’re his Bondmate?” I repeated, frowning. “Do you feel anything in return?”

“Yes, of course!” She thrust out her chest proudly.

I decided to ask her something I’d wondered for a long time: “Are you in love with him?”

“Duh!” she replied instantly.

“What is it about him that you like?” I pressed.

“Well...he’s attractive, and he always tells me I’m the most beautiful girl in the world...and he loves me...”

“How much do you know about him? Where was he born? Does he have any siblings? What’s his favorite food?”

“Bondmates don’t need to know each other in order to love each other! If anything, that just proves it’s real!” she argued loudly, and I decided not to push her buttons any further.

“All right, well, I just want to warn you not to trust him. He’s lied and said the same thing to me—”

“Maybe he was lying to you, but with me it’s the real deal! I was first—he told me right after we first met. He was just using you to make me jealous, that’s all! Got it?!”

“Got it,” I replied with a shrug.

“Hmph!” And with that, she stormed out.

Left alone once more, I wondered to myself: was having a Bondmate that important to her? Perhaps she was one of the many young Dragonkin women who dreamed of having a destined lover. Seeing Mona so affectionate with her own Bondmate probably made her envious, too.

Then along came Kirion, handsome and charming, claiming to be her Bondmate—surely anyone in her position would jump at the chance. But did Sari actually feel the love of a Bondmate toward him, or was she just giddy about being special? I didn’t get the same sense of security from her that I felt from Mona.

Regardless, I definitely didn’t trust Kirion now. Not if he was going around proclaiming to be Bondmates with half the castle.

There came another knock at the door.

“Mayna? Why’s your door open?”

I looked up to find Ray standing there, peering in at me. While I appreciated the knock as a polite gesture, it was a bit pointless to do so when the entire room was on display. I shut my borrowed copy of Tales of Tribal Romance and tucked it behind my back at the speed of light.

“Hello there, Ray. What brings you here?”

Much as I was tempted to ask him about it, I held my tongue. On the off chance I was wrong and he hadn’t gotten any misinformation from this book, I would simply be making a fool of myself by accusing him.

Ray folded his arms across his chest. “You met with Kirion, didn’t you?”

“When are you referring to?”

“Today, a little while ago.”

Whew. I was relieved to know he hadn’t found out about the incident in which Kirion nearly kissed me. Wait, but then...how did Ray find out about our one-on-one conversation today?

“A fellow knight told me he saw the two of you together.”

“Another witness? Did we have a whole audience or what...?” I muttered sarcastically. “Look, all we did was catch up. It was harmless small talk.”

“I understand it must prove difficult to avoid meeting or speaking to him altogether, but it’s simply not safe to be alone in a room with him. We still haven’t proven his innocence—and even if we do, I still wouldn’t trust him.”

“Relax. We were standing in a busy hallway at the time. And besides, obviously your knight friend was there, so clearly we weren’t alone.”

Ray scowled. “Look... I don’t have any proof that he used magic on Ian to make him attack the Princess, so I can’t say for sure. And though I may question his heritage, you saw him morph into a dragon with your own two eyes, so perhaps I’m wrong about that too, but...” He looked into my eyes for a moment, then continued, “I’ve already caught him lying at least once—no, twice!—without so much as batting an eye. He’s a liar, and I don’t trust him.”

“What were the lies?” I asked, and Ray fell silent. Still, I could wager a guess: that Kirion was my Bondmate, and that he had bought the hair accessory. “I always have my guard up around Kirion, okay? Relax,” I told him reassuringly.

Evidently my tone sounded too lighthearted for Ray’s liking, however. “I’m serious. You have to exercise the utmost caution. Don’t sit in here alone with your door wide open. Try to stay with Her Highness as much as possible. That way I can be there for you, too.”

I nodded. “All right.”

“Good. I’ll be going now—but as for you, I want you to head straight to the Princess’s royal chambers, understand?”

And with that, Ray walked off down the hall.