Alexia
"How did you manage to keep your hair so beautiful being a maid?" Linda asked, smoothing my hair as she braided it. She and Anne were elated at the discovery of my origins, it seemed to have given them encouragement and hope " Who knew, that's why you've always been so... independent"
"I thought it was so strange when I came into the room and the bed was already made up," said Anne with a smile.
"And you've always been kind to us, we didn't expect that from a princess and you even have a dragon, that's so amazing!" Linda said, I looked at her eyes in the reflection of the mirror, they all seemed enchanted by the idea that a maid could have become the princess, it seemed so unreal.
A knock on the door made me turn towards her, Estevan appeared and the girls looked at each other and left.
"Did you talk to him?"
"Yes, things are a bit chaotic, we're going to Letrons today and we'll be back in two days, three at the most," said Estevan and I nodded, "I'll take a shower and we'll go."
I saw Estevan heading for the bathroom and looked at myself in front of the mirror, nervous and not knowing what to expect from Letrons.
I hadn't heard much about the country, I didn't know what to expect from the king or what our stay would be like.
After climbing into Silver and a two-hour drive, we arrived at Letrons, entering through the gates.
The structure of the castle was unlike anything I had ever seen, they seemed to be more advanced.
We were guided by guards and waited until we were announced in the throne room. When the doors opened for us, there were different colors and clothes, in Letrons it didn't snow, it was warm all year round and the women walked with their bellies uncovered, without bodices and some even had openings in their skirts so that when they walked you could see a bit of leg.
Estevan's eyes were fixed on King Thales, who had dark skin and a slightly out-of-shape body, while Queen Naomi had dark, curly hair and looked good.
We started walking, Thales' eyes fixed on us.
We stopped at a distance of ten meters and bowed as a sign of respect.
"King Thales," said Estevan, raising his head, "Queen Naomi."
"Prince Estevan, what do I owe your visit?"
"I came just after seeing your letter, I think we need to talk," said Estevan.
I could feel a tension in the air, Thales' gaze was not friendly, but then he smiled and got up from his throne and came towards us, hugging Estevan and patting him on the back.
"This is the only way for you to visit me, and King Thales"
"He can't come"
"I understand," he said, shaking his head. "It's not good to leave the kingdom empty.
Estevan shook his head, I didn't understand.
"This is my wife, Princess Alexia"
"The lady of fire" he said, taking my hand, he kissed it, looking into my eyes "It's a pleasure to meet such a legendary person"
I smiled.
"It's my pleasure to meet your majesty"
"So, since we're all happy about this meeting, I'm going to prepare a feast" he said in a flamboyant way, he turned to Naomi "What do you think dear?"
"I think that's a great idea," she said.
The atmosphere no longer seemed as heavy as it had been, I didn't understand how it had changed so drastically from one second to the next, but I felt relieved.
He looked us up and down.
"You need to change, it's too stuffy in here for such heavy clothes. I'll have a servant take you to your room," he said to Estevan, who nodded.
When we left the throne room I could finally relax my muscles, I sighed with relief and stopped in the corridor facing Estevan.
"What was that all about?"
"King Thales is a good man"
"So you expected this reception?"
Estevan shook his head in denial.
"I always come here and I know King Thales, but I had no idea how he was going to react when he saw me today, in his letter he showed that he was furious so I think I'm going to hear a lot."
I shook my head and we started walking.
"Did you see what those women were wearing?"
"They don't wear corsets"
"Don't pretend that's all you've noticed," I said and Estevan smiled; I felt like hanging him.
When we got to the bedroom, I walked to the bathroom to freshen up and when I returned to the room, there were already three maids with clothes and shoes in their hands.
"Thank you, you can go now," said Estevan and they bowed and left.
When they closed the door, he turned to me and held up the small cloth in front of me.
"I'm not wearing this Estevan"
"Why not? I'm sure you'll look beautiful!"
"I'll feel naked"
He put the garment on the bed and picked up one of his own and showed me the vest.
"That's my upper garment," he said and I bit my lip with laughter.
There were few men wearing shirts, most wore only a vest. It looked like Estevan would be one of them.
I turned my back to him, giving in, and tossed my braid aside.
"Help me take off my corset," I asked and he came towards me to start the job.
I wanted to get to know the world, so I needed to be open to experiencing different cultures as well, I just didn't know how big the shock would be. Zaim and Letrons were completely different from Torrem, the most similar was Olimper, that fine alliance between the kingdoms could have served to see their similarities, but it all ended with the death of Calixto and Morgana in the castle courtyard, there was no turning back, the alliance was over.
"Is there anything I need to know?"
"Yes, the food is a little different. Almost all animals are sacred here, so people are practically vegans."
"I'll eat vegetables, I don't see a problem with that"
He shook his head, still untying his bodice.
"Why are you all tied up?"
I laughed at his delay.
"You've never taken off a corset before?"
"No"
Even I alone would be quicker than him, but I didn't say that, I just let him get on with it.
"Don't drink too much alcohol, here they like to make some combinations that are delicious, sweeter, but you get drunk without realizing it."
"I was tempted to try it" I teased him.
"Drink it, but drink it slowly and don't mix it. I've already made that mistake and thrown up the main hall"
I imagined the scene of Estevan throwing up at a party and laughed, the bodice fell off my body, I threw one strap over my shoulder and then the other, turning towards him and letting my clothes fall off.
"That's better" I said "It's so hot!"
He smiled teasingly and kissed me closer, I felt my body heat up even more with his closeness and I turned around, his kisses on my neck making me shiver, I pulled away from his arms and stopped in front of the bathroom, I turned around with teasing eyes.
"What are you doing standing there? Come and have a shower with me" I said with a mischievous smile on my lips and then entered the bathroom, hearing his footsteps approaching.