|
How did I end up here?
Stalking hastily down the hall, Gjeelea felt a headache at the way things had so quickly gone from annoying to unbearable. Without a word from her the meeting and the chaos had ceased, and the princess now wandered aimlessly down the halls that had become so strangely part of her daily routine.
It ended too fast...
The sound of her sandals trudging along the marble halls echoed but was soon drowned out by the scuffling of guards from one wing of the palace to another. Gjeelea put a slender hand to her right temple and she winced at the blood rushing to her head. She closed her eyes and paused in the middle of the hallway for just a moment, rubbing her temple and trying to sort out the events of that morning.
She could not figure out why everyone felt so shifty around the Emissary. Gjeelea sensed Siamak's discomfort throughout the entire meeting. She knew the gossip of the palace all to well; she knew the nervousness of everyone regarding the Emissary. What Gjeelea could not figure out was why everyone felt so nervous around the Emissary. He had provided answers to every question - answers that satisfied Gjeelea because of the diplomatic manner of each one. The Emissary always gave just enough of an answer to please the inquiring mind but keep secret what needed to be secret. It was just the sort of way Gjeelea would have dealt with such a questioning.
Gjeelea snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that she was still stationary in the middle of the hall. She continued walking through the palace, not quite sure of any destination. Her hazel eyes focused on the intricate tiling of the walkway, she did not even see the person walking straight up to her until she bumped into him.
Looking up, Gjeelea prepared herself for some kind of trivial talk with a jittery maid or a guard that would apologize for bumping her. She lifted the corners of her mouth, ready to give a bright, half-hearted smile. This faltered into a slight frown when she saw who stood before her.
"Lord Korak," Gjeelea greeted the man she had run in to. The headache she had felt earlier rose once more to her forehead. Why now? The day could not get any worse. Gjeelea feebly lifted her lips into a polite smile. Her betrothed certainly did not look in the mood, his face grim and moody like it so often was in Gjeelea's presence. Why me? Gjeelea wondered again. "What brings you to the palace, Korak?"
|