“Tomorrow, I will meet you here at dawn to continue your strength training and more,” he said.
Master Isel nodded toward a hefty blonde handmaiden, and the happy girl approached.
“Until tomorrow, Ceres,” he said, walking away into the gardens.
“Please follow me, my lady,” the handmaiden said and started toward the palace.
Ceres didn’t think she could walk another step, but somehow, when she told her legs to move, she managed to follow.
The handmaiden led her into the palace, up four sets of stairs, and toward the western tower. Up at the very top of a spiraling staircase, they walked into a room. The bed sheets were made of silk, the drapes of fine linen, and a bed as wide as it was long stood against the northern wall.
Four dresses were laid out on the bed, two made of the finest silk, and two of soft linen. In front of the fireplace, on top of a white fur rug, stood a tub filed with steaming water, iris petals floating on the surface.
“Master Isel had this food ordered especially for you, my lady,” the handmaiden said.
Her stomach growled when she saw a table covered in meats, fruits, vegetables, barley, beans, and breads. She walked over to it and devoured several mouthfuls of food, washing it down with wine from a golden goblet.
“May I help you undress for the bath, my lady?” the handmaiden asked after Ceres had finished eating.
Ceres felt a sudden rush of shyness come over her. Have someone undress her?
“I…” she balked.
But before she could decline, the handmaiden was tugging the shirt out of Ceres’s pants, and once she was fully undressed, the handmaiden helped Ceres into the tub, the hot water enveloping her, soothing every sore muscle.
The girl proceeded to wash Ceres’s skin with a sponge, and next, she worked on Ceres’s hair, detangling it with a sweet-smelling honeysuckle conditioner, turning Ceres’s hair as smooth as silk.
She climbed out of the tub, and the handmaiden dried her off, after which she rubbed oil into Ceres’s skin. Then the girl applied makeup to Ceres’s face.
“Your dress, my lady,” the handmaiden said, holding up the coral-colored one.
First, she helped Ceres into a white tunic that reached her ankles and covered her shoulders, and then she dressed her in the coral dress, securing it with a golden brooch above each shoulder.
Studying the material, Ceres saw that the fabric was embroidered with golden thread, the pattern reminding her of lilies of the valley.
Finally, the handmaiden braided Ceres’s hair into a partial up-do, and on her head, she placed a thin golden headband in the shape of a wreath.
“You are lovely, if I might say so, my lady,” the handmaiden said with a smile as she stood back, admiring Ceres.
There was a subtle knock at the door, and the handmaiden answered it.
Ceres looked at herself in the mirror, hardly recognizing herself, her lips stained red, her face dusted with chalk, her eyes darkened with eye makeup. Although she was grateful for the food and the warm bath, she loathed how she looked like the princesses, the very ones she had her entire life hated.
Then she had an idea and turned toward the messenger at the door.
“Will you please tell Thanos I wish to have Anka, the girl who is in prison, for my handmaiden?” Ceres asked.
The messenger bowed.
“I will relay the message,” he said.
The handmaiden closed the door and walked over to where Ceres stood.
“An invitation for you, my lady,” she said with a bow.
Ceres picked the note off the silver platter and unrolled it.
Ceres,
If it pleases you, I would love the honor of your company this afternoon. It would be my greatest joy if you would meet me at the library.
Sincerely,
Thanos
Ceres sat down on the bed and tried to ignore the excitement that hummed through her at the thought of seeing Thanos again – just the two of them – at the library, of all places. She loved to study, and had frequently snuck away from home to read scrolls at the library just twenty minutes from her parents’ house.
I mustn’t feel excited at the thought of seeing Thanos, she commanded herself, the note dropping to her side. If she allowed her affection for him to grow, deceiving him, and then betraying him, would be so very hard to do. And she loved Rexus. How could she even consider such an invitation from the enemy they a few days ago jointly despised?
Accepting Thanos’s invitation was dangerous, too, Ceres knew. Just yesterday the queen had ordered they not see each other outside of practice, and here Thanos was openly defying her command. Had he no fear?
It didn’t seem so.
Had he really agreed to marry Stephania to save her life? Ceres marveled. It was the kindest thing anyone had done for her. Too kind, in fact.
She should tell him it was too much of a sacrifice.
Yes, that was what she would do: accept his invitation and tell him, after which she would remind him that he had agreed not to see her.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
This will not end well, Ceres thought as she walked down the winding staircase from her room, her handmaiden leading the way. With sweaty hands, and a heart that refused to beat at a reasonable pace, every few seconds, she’d stop and almost turn back to her chamber. There, it was safe. There, Thanos wouldn’t visit her, and she wouldn’t hate herself for accepting his invitation and for being untrue to Rexus.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairwell and peered down the hallway at the dozens of marble columns that lined the passage, the handmaiden continuing on. The ceilings seemed as high as mountaintops, the floor smooth as a lake on a quiet day, and the mural paintings covering the walls depicted former kings, queens, beasts, and nature.
The handmaiden, now several feet in front of Ceres, turned around and waved.
“Well, come on then,” she said. “Or perhaps you are too sore?”
She was sore, yes, but that wasn’t the reason she wasn’t moving. However, she knew she needed to do this so she pulled her shoulders back, took a deep breath, and strode forward.
Once downstairs, the handmaiden led Ceres outside and walked her through the courtyard and to the side of the palace.
They arrived at a separate building, the face of the library having six marble columns. In front was a small fountain with a statue of the queen at the top, the queen’s steely gaze looking down at Ceres.
Even here she is watching, Ceres thought.
“Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?” the handmaiden said with a smile.
Ceres shook her head and watched as the girl sauntered off.
“Ceres?” she heard behind her.
She turned to see Thanos standing there, a white toga draped around his body, his dark curls combed back neatly. Although more formal-looking than usual, it was a good look for him, Ceres observed. She tried not to like it too much.
“I almost didn’t recognize you,” he said.
“I look…not like me,” she said, twisting her hands into knots.
“You look exactly like you, just a little cleaner,” he said, the slightest look of amusement in his face.
He leaned in and inhaled.
“And you smell good,” he said.
Of all things to notice, she thought, irritated, though she couldn’t stop her heart from beating a little faster.
“Did I not before?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not as much as a girl,” he said.
“Well, don’t get used to it. In the arena, I’ll still not smell like a girl.”
He laughed heartily, and that made Ceres even more irritated at him.
“Shall we?” he asked, holding his arm out for her to take it.
Without taking his arm, she walked right past him and up the stairs toward the library. She heard him exhaling sharply behind her.
Stepping inside, Ceres gasped when she saw thousands upon thousands of scrolls stacked into wooden shelves on every wall. She had never seen so many writings in one place – the other library she had studied at was much smaller. Oh, how she would love to sit in this room for days and weeks and months and soak up all the knowledge that was in here.