*Sorry this is off by a few days, I had a lot going on this past week and I wasn't in the right headspace. I hope you all love it and thank you so much for the support and reading this! Please enjoy!*
The sound deafened in Lyra's ears as the people cheered and screamed as they rode through the streets. So many smells swarmed her all at once as she passed different stalls or eateries. The houses were many with alleyways and wide streets stretched for what seemed forever. Many of the people had left their homes and were crowding the side of the roads, some even reached out as they tried to get even a touch of their famed army.
A few fingers even grazed her legs, making her shift her weight on the saddle.
Rai could feel Lyra start to get overwhelmed and bent down to her ear. "Calm. Try not to focus on everything at once, it was crushing for me the first couple times as well. It helped when I would focus on just one thing the whole way until I would get used to it. Look at the lights as we pass through."
She did as he said, and it really seemed to help her. He felt her start to relax and was relived when her heartbeat was beginning to even out. Rai was using her heartbeat as his own focus point to get through the crowd. When he glanced over at his son, the boy was ecstatic. All smiles and he was waving to some of the people he recognized.
They quickly rode through the village, Rai pushing them a bit faster than normal. The wagons had stopped just as they entered the village and were being helped to unload everyone while Rai and his men continued on to the palace.
Rai's councilman and servants were already lined up and anxious to see him and their family return safely, many of the maids were married to his soldiers and were already resisting the urge to rush forward. Afterall, they had left in a such a hurry to leave that some barely had time to say goodbye.
As he dismounted, everyone bowed low as he faced them. "It is good to see all of your smiling faces greeting me, I want to thank all of you for keeping everything running while we were gone. Make sure that the injured receive care and also are given a few days to recover from their injuries. We dealt a major blow against the southern kingdom and reminded him why we are a force not to be reckoned with." They all stood, a few couldn't take it and raced forward to their husbands. A few laughed heartily when one slammed into her husband hard enough to knock them both down.
Laughing as well, Rai turned to Lyra, offering to help her down. Those walking closer took notice of the woman sitting on top of the king's stallion and paused. He had never brought someone back with him and, taking his hand, she slipped off herself and landed on her feet.
"Come. Let me introduce you to a few people." Rai led her past the others who were gaping at the strange woman now walking alongside him. His five head advisors were still standing were they originally were, waiting for their king to address them. Two of the humans gave her warm smiles when they ventured closer, the other two glared at her.
Almost all of them were human, which surprised her, except for one.
He's an old one, not an original but very close.
Long hair as black as night was tied tightly to the back of his head, his rare blue eyes stared sharply at her, holding all of her focus. His stance wasn't threatening, yet old habits had Lyra's guard up.
"This is councilman Hyro, he is my lead advisor and was the same for my father before his passing." Rai introduced him, he could see the tension between the two as they stared each other down.
Lyra smiled, although it seemed more predatory than genuine, her fangs revealed. "It is a welcome sight to see your advisors come out to greet you when you arrive home."
Hyro wasn't impressed and glanced to his young king. "Why would you bring a girl like her here?"
Rai frowned at him; a bit surprised by his attitude. "Do you recall me telling you about a wolven female that I spent my time with back in the Netherworld?" Hyro hesitated but nodded slowly. "Allow me to introduce you to Lyra. She will be staying here as my guest and will also be training my son on how to properly use his extensive skills. Something I am disappointed to learn hasn't been taken seriously."
Hyro now frowned at Lyra. "I'm well aware of who she is. I may not have been to the Netherworld in a long time now, but I still hear everything that is going on there. Including a tale about a young wolven with white hair that slaughtered over a thousand vampires." Lyra snorted. "Do you think that is something to laugh about?"
"No. However, just like everyone else, you choose to believe the rumors rather than the truth. I killed vampires that night, that is true, but I only attacked those in the castle. I left the village alone. Someone else swooped in and destroyed the village and I took the blame for it. I was only after the ones who hurt me and a few others, their lives were what I was after last night." She explained. Lyra had tried to find out who killed all of those innocents but came up short when she went back to investigate.
An older human with a long beard stepped forward slowly. "Apologies, my king, for interrupting. Would this perhaps be the same young lady I have heard a few of the maids or even the townsfolk whisper about?" Rai nodded, earning him a curious glance from Lyra. "Well then, if what they say is true, I welcome her. Her generosity and strength will be a nice change from a few...others that we currently have here."
Hyro glares at the man, knowing who he was talking about. He, however, couldn't completely disagree with him.
"Thank you for your warm greeting." Lyra faced Hyro again. "You may not believe me on this or maybe you can sympathize, but I don't intend anyone any harm here. I've fought enough for a while. Based on what I'm guessing your age is, you fought in the Immortal War didn't you?" He nodded, a haunted look ghosting over his face. "I've fought my war; I don't intend to start another."
Rai placed a hand against her lower back and started to lead her away. "There will be a meeting in twenty minutes. Attendance is mandatory." He called out to them as they walked away.
"I think that went well." He told her after leaving their earshot.
Lyra raised a brow at him. "Were you expecting Hyro and I to come to blows?" He shrugged. "Give it time."
He laughed, pulling her close to him. He led her to a beautiful home just off the main path, large shrubbery hides it partially from view. The wooden beams and doorway were stained with a dark color, making them standout against the white of the home's walls.
As they stopped at the door, Rai turned and handed her a key. Placing it in her hand he smiled at her.
Lyra stared at the key in her hand, confused. "What's this?"
"A key."
"Obviously. Why did you give me a key?"
"That is for your new home." He gestured to the small house they stood next to. "I had this built after leaving you when I had to return home."
Lyra was stunned. "You built this for me? I thought you would have wanted me in your room with you?"
Rai smirked. "Oh I do, have no doubt about that. I wanted you to also have somewhere to come to when you needed space. This place is off limits to many." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead as she stared at the key in her hand. "Get some rest, I will see you when you awaken."
He left, leaving her to watch as he walked away. Still dumfounded at the exchange.
"He gave us a key, a house even, Lyra."
"We still need to be careful; I still cannot bring myself to trust him fully. And we don't know how tomorrow will go."
Using the key, she opened the door and was now even more stunned by what she saw inside.
The interior was soft cream colors. Stone lined the back wall where a burning wood fire was burning in a stone hearth. A dark wood chabudai sat in the middle of the main room, several place seats surrounded it. Walking in, she was relieved to notice that there were only a few scents that she could smell, many were old and most likely belonged to those who kept the home clean. Glancing over, she spotted a bedding area. A light blue patterned bedroll already set out with another small fire stove set close by, most likely used to keep warm during the snowy months. A tub was also just inside the room, slightly hidden behind a paper and wood screen for privacy.
"Lyra...look up..."
Following L's order, she glanced up towards the ceiling in her new den, and was left stunned by what she saw.
Stars.
And not just any stars. They were the same ones that she would fall asleep to back in the Netherworld, the ones that Rensho had taught to her. All of them were exact, painted against a dark blue night sky. When she would sleep, they would once again be watching over her.
"...he did this...for us?"
"Perhaps we can trust him a bit more then. Marco would never have done anything like this, even when he was being charming. Rai was listening when we were telling him things about ourselves."
"He had to have done this right after he met us the first time..."
Once again, Rai had left her speechless. But it warmed her to think that he had done something so simple but yet so incredibly thoughtful.
Maybe...he was worth taking a chance on...
A light knocking followed by quick chattering from someone from outside her new home had Lyra rousing, but not from sleep.
"It's almost midday, how long do you think she will be asleep for?" One asked.
Another spoke in a hushed tone. "The king said she may be out for a while, many of the soldiers are still out cold from the journey."
"It was quite a taxing time, Matsuta told me everything that happened when he came home late last night. He was exhausted from the meeting that they had right after they arrived, and I was barely able to get him to eat anything." Lyra blinked and started to rise as the voices continued conversing.
A familiar voice had her ears twitching at the sound.
"Quiet now, I can hear her moving, and I'm sure that she can hear us now too." The door had a light clicking noise as the door opened to her home. "My lady, please excuse the interruption, we wanted to introduce ourselves to you."
"We shouldn't just be entering without being invited, what if she gets angry?" The first girl asked.
The one with the key snorted. "I promise you; we wouldn't have gotten through the doorway if she didn't want us here."
Lyra walked through the doorway and was, once again, left stunned.
The blue eyed, strawberry-blonde vampire smiled warmly at her. "Good morning, Lyra, it's so good to see you again."
"I thought you were dead." Lyra told her.
She shook her head. "No, you saved many of us that night. King Kaiartho found us and brought us with him to his castle, when his grandson offered me a position here in this realm I couldn't say yes fast enough."
Jessara moved forward until she was standing just in front of Lyra. "I was once your handmaiden back in that realm, if you would like, I wish to re-honor my role again. You were always good to me, and I cannot see myself serving anyone else but you."
Lyra glanced at the two young ladies standing behind her. "Who are you two?"
The first one she heard speak stepped up. She was the shortest, but had very long dark brown hair braided down her back. "I am Okazaki Shiori, I have heard many tales about you from the other from the Netherworld. I am very honored to meet you."
The next stepped forward almost silently. Her skin was the palest out of the three, but she had the most beautiful soft brown eyes Lyra had ever seen. "Tagawa Reiko, it is lovely to meet you my lady. I hope you will be just as kind as I have heard you have been to our mistress. We will serve you well." She whispered.
Jessara smiled at them and nodded for them to begin their chores. The two walked over to the fire hearth and began to heat up water. "If you would like, we can all help you bathe before you meet with the king. He had asked us to come and help you with anything you needed." She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice so the two humans behind them couldn't hear. "If you do not wish so, you can ready yourself or I could help you if it is needed. They don't know about them." She was talking about the scars and Lyra caught on.
"They won't be insulted, will they?" Jessara shook her head, it was why she had already set them off to do other tasks. Lyra nodded and motioned for her to follow. "There are things that you don't know about as well." She warned her.
Jessara closed the door behind them as they entered the bedroom. "It has been a while since I have seen you, I'm so happy to be around you again! Where have you been all this time?"
Lyra was genuinely glad to see her. Jessara was forced to be her handmaiden back when they were under Marco's rule. The poor thing was absolutely terrified of her when they first met, granted Jessara was only fifteen at the time. She hadn't escaped any 'punishments' either, but Lyra would refuse to hurt her in anyway when he demanded it of her, usually ending up taking the sentence in her stead. She was one of the few people that Lyra could actually trust and would help her rise through the ranks.
While Lyra didn't need the help dressing and un-dressing, it felt good to have an old friend around. Jessara was also one of the best to keep or hear secrets being whispered about.
When she dropped the top and bottoms of her sleeping ensemble, Lyra glanced behind and smiled at Jessara's shocked expression at seeing her markings.
"When did you get those? Are they the real ones?" Lyra cocked her head in confusion. "Some will get markings here; they don't have to go through trials in the Netherworld." She explained. "Are those spider lilies? Wow, I remember you telling me about those, look how beautiful they are. Wait, why is this one not bloomed?"
Lyra cleared her throat. "It's her flower."
Jessara let out a quiet oh. She turned and grabbed two buckets of heated water to add to the bath. She also grabbed a glass bottle filled with scented oil and dropped some into the steaming water. Opening her hand over the water, a few pink and white flower petals fell and joined the oil.
"I forgot that you could do that." Lyra said, lowering herself into the water, sighing as the heat sank deep into her bones.
Jessara smiled. "I am far down my family's line, but I'm thankful that I can at least do a few tricks. I think I might add some to your hair, especially since it's gotten so long. Please never cut this, I wish I could grow mine this long. I'm still cursed with this orange nest." She tugged at her strawberry locks.
"I love your hair, it's the color of the perfect sunset. How have you been?" Lyra asked her.
Jessara motioned for her to step out. "Well, when all of us arrived here, we were given jobs that we were used to doing. A few of us got to choose something new or to leave and find our own path. King Rai built a schoolhouse in the village and many of us learned the language there, among a few other things. He has been very good to us, more so than Marco ever was."
Lyra glanced at her with a raised brow when as she wrapped her in a light blue robe with pants hidden beneath. While Lyra didn't like others touching her hair, Jessara was one of the few that she knew wouldn't yank or cut it without her permission. So, she let her style it with a few braids close to her head and twisted the rest into a series of thicker braids and left them hanging down her back. Jessara chose to add blue and white flowers to complete her queen's hair.
"I hope I'm not overstepping when I ask this but..."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "I don't think there are too many secrets that neither of us don't know about each other. We learned quite a lot about each other over the years."
Jessara chuckled. "That we have. Why are you here? I heard that you were to become the prince's teacher, but why though? After everything, I figured you would stay away from vampires until the end of times. Not that I would blame you, what happened after you set us free. I've never seen you like that, your eyes, your face, it was like you were a totally different person. I heard the stories about what happened, a lot of them were nonsense, but I was still worried about you."
Lyra hesitated. She knew that she could trust her, their shared past and trauma had brought them together in the beginning. It only made sense to tell her the truth.
"How much do you trust those two?"
Jessara sighed. "They have been there to help me and have listened to me, but they haven't been hardened like we have." She was talking about them having learned how to keep quiet and never reveal secrets. "I do not know how much they may reveal accidently. They still have much work to do, and they will not hear us if we speak quietly."
Sighing, she motioned for Jessara to sit down on a few plush seats that she had discovered earlier. "This will be a lot, and I'm going to need your help."