She moved closer to the mirror in a flash, thereby knocking down some bottles that were on the dressing table.
Were her eyes playing a trick on her right now?
She blinked, running her fingers through her hair over and over again like a crazed woman, also checking her gown in the process.
When she opened her eyes again, her gown was the same blue color it was when she slept in it. Her hands slowly stilled, she sniffed in her fingers to realize that the dampness was caused by sweat.
Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit her and she had to lean against the top of the dressing chair for support. She blinked a couple of times again, chasing the fogginess in her mind away before looking back at the mirror.
It was all normal, everything was normal.
Well, that was crazy. A while ago, she had been seeing something completely different.
Maybe she just hadn't recovered from her dream yet.
There was a knock, making her look sharply away from the mirror and towards the door.
"Lady Kestra!" A guard announced at the door.
She pulled her nightgown closer to herself, walk over and open the door.
She would have thought that Lady Kestra would be here for anything but what her flawlessly sculptured self had announced.
They were going out!
**"
There were people, lots of them, walking around the market square. There were different stalls here and there with different wares. There were market men and women who were focused on their individual witful battle they were having with their potential customers, who were also just as witful.
It was always about the one who had the upper game, who truly decided how much value the goods had.
Different voices clashing together.
There were children playing around, marketers announcing their wares with attractive catchphrases at the top of their lungs.
Lady Kestra quickly pulled Belladonna away in order not to crash into the group of dancers, who were doing a lot of stunts and backflips in their tall bouncy costumes. Singers and drummers followed behind them.
Many people left what they were doing to watch and cheered them on.
Lady Kestra held her wrist and followed at a safe distance behind them, a small smile on her face.
"What is going on?"
"They are going to perform. We must watch. It will be interesting," she replied, not pausing her pace.
Finally they got to a relatively large place at the center of the market and the performers stopped.
The audience had formed a circle around the performers, so that they could watch the performance from a safe distance. Somehow, Lady Kestra had helped them find a way to the front row.
There was silence, before the drummers, who hung the handle of their drums around their necks, started banging their drums rhythmically and loudly.
"Ohuuuuu!" One of the performers shouted, his voice deep and loud. "Ohu! Ohu!"
The women performers joined, "huuuuu! Huuuuu! Huuuuu!" They bellowed, tapping their hands against their 'O' shaped mouth to produce the sound.
Then the singers joined in.
Just like that, the performance began.
There was a man in a costume. She recognized that all-red robe, those leather gloves and most of all, that golden mask.
It was an energetic dance, a full blown performance that told a story.
There was also a lady in a long white dress. She immediately knew what the story was about.
The Choosing Ritual.
They danced and danced under the hot sun.
There was a man going around with a small open sack in his hand. The audience happily tossed him some coins. When he got to them, he looked up at Lady Kestra and bowed lightly, she gave him a smile in returned, dropping one gold coin in the sack.
The man beamed.
"Shall I announce that you donated the largest, my Lady."
"Let us not disrupt the performance and good moment, uhn. What do you say?" She winked.
"Very then, my Lady. Our greatest appreciation." With that he moved along.
Belladonna looked back, surprised.
Lady Kestra had just had a light-hearted conversation with a commoner.
She could never have imagined.
Was she dreaming?
She thought, but the hot sun that was burning down on her skin told her otherwise.
This was definitely real.
"May the Blessings be upon the King! One of the performers yelled and the everyone said back in response, "may the Blessings be upon the King!"
"May the Blessings be upon the Right hand Woman!" The performer yelled again and the chorused back, "may the Blessings be upon the Right Hand Woman!"
"May the Blessings be upon the Bride!" The performer yelled finally and they chorused back in a final tone, "may the Blessings be upon the Bride!"
Then the performers took a bow.
Finally, the performance had come to an end.
The audience cheered loudly and one by one, they all returned back to their business.
"That was really wonderful, Lady Kestra."
"Kestra is just fine. We are friends, aren't we?"
Belladonna's mouth hang open as she looked up at Lady Kestra, her mind going back to the time she had snapped at her.
"Yes, we are."
Lady Kestra smiled, that painfully large grin. Once again, she was leading them away to somewhere else.
Belladonna's observant eyes scanned everywhere. The whole place was so full of life.
She had long noticed that Lady Kestra hadn't bought the palace guards with them, but she had suspected that it was because she was far more than capable to protect both of them.
But now that she was paying more attention, there was something else that she might have missed earlier.
She looked at the guards stationed at different strategic places in the market, the children that were running around and how people passed by their sides with ease, giving Lady Kestra a little quick bow as they did.
"They are not afraid of you," she stated, looking up at Lady Kestra who already had a smile on her face, although this time, it wasn't that annoying painfully large grin.
"Why would they be? I serve one that would gladly lay down his life for them and they know it."
Belladonna nodded, mentally noting that down. His Majesty was good to his people, so they loved him and anyone that served him.
"I noticed that the palace might have made you bored you out of your mind, so I pleaded with with King to let me take you out."
Belladonna smiled, "thank you."
Lady Kestra's eyebrows flew up and relaxed, a low clicking sound ringing from her mouth.
"The King have earlier passed an order for no one to disturb you while you go out today."
That must be it! That must be why people were giving her long stares and pointing fingers at her, while whispering to one another that she was the Bride and not rushing all over her instead.
How thoughtful.
They kept on walking further into the market and since this was a relaxing moment, Belladonna decided to fire a question.
"Do you know about the Seven Skys of Effidel?"
Lady Kestra stopped immediately, looking sharply down at her, her eyes squinted as if she was trying to stare right into her soul.
To Belladonna, it suddenly felt like as if the whole market had disappeared and it was just her and Lady Kestra standing in the middle of no where.
"How did you know about that place? Not many do."
The question had been bugging her since she had woken up this morning. She had to know if the dream she had was in any form real. Although she had convinced herself before leaving the castle that it wasn't, but for some reasons, her answer didn't feel sufficient enough.
She had never known if that place truly existed. Her dreams were detailed and the knowledge she had about it was little.
Something just felt off.
"It is beyond the Great Walls of Ignas but I assure you, you wouldn't wish that place upon your enemy."
"Why?"
"It is dangerous." Lady Kestra stared firmly and continued to walk away.
Everything felt normal once again, she no longer felt like she had been pulled out of the world.
She followed Lady Kestra, seeking more explanation which Lady Kestra gladly gave.
"The Royal family risked many lives to build for us the Great Walls of Ignas for protection against many dangerous creatures. Those walls protect us, they keep us alive, keep us safe."
Those last lines were nothing new to Belladonna but the first was.
That made her think of many questions.
Where were the Royal family now?
Did their mysterious disappearance have anything to do with that picture frame in the Forbidden Room?
Asides from beasts and dangerous creatures, could there be anything specifically that the walls were keeping away from them?