“She worked as a servant for one of my father’s counselors. He noticed her. She was smarter than most, and not afraid to voice her opinion. She actually became his counselor for a while, before becoming his concubine.”
Cassandra nodded. The story suited his mother’s impressive character and also explained why she didn’t care much about Cassandra’s slave status, since she had been a servant herself. She truly was an admirable woman.
“Can we take a walk? I’d like to see the rest of the Castle.”
Kairen silently agreed and stood up, still holding her around her waist. Cassandra ventured back into the Castle, noticing two female servants silently following them from a few steps back. Had Kareen given instructions for the pair to attend to them? They strolled around for a while and the more Cassandra saw, the more she liked it. She had thought upon their arrival that it felt like this place had been abandoned for years and left to the wild. Few rooms were entirely enclosed and most had spaces where stones in the walls were missing or parts of the roof were open so that they were bright and airy. Ivy ran through the walls freely and trees grew up against the walls, their branches replacing missing sections of roof to provide some shade. Unlike the Imperial Palace, there weren’t many signs of wealth, except for a few richly decorated rooms. There was nothing else on display and even the furniture was very basic, made of just wood and comfortable fabrics.
To Cassandra’s surprise, Kairen pushed a large door open and they walked in.
“This is my room.”
It was rather empty despite all the available space, but had a large bath carved out in a corner with a fountain that had dried up. Kairen’s old bed was very much like the one at the Onyx Castle, large and with furs on it.
In another corner was what looked like a very large nest that was well worn out and tattered, and Cassandra guessed that this might have been Krai’s bed when he was younger…and smaller. Aside from those, there was only a wardrobe and a chest on a carpet in the other corner. It was even emptier than his bedroom in the Onyx Castle.
Cassandra ventured further inside, still more curious, while Kairen stayed a few steps back, watching her.
“So this is…where you grew up?”
“I liked it better than the Palace.”
“Why?” she asked inquisitively.
“Less people. Only Mother and us.”
She could easily picture how different from the Imperial Palace this place was. Less people also meant less danger for the Imperial Children.
Cassandra turned around and walked back to the War God. He put his hands on her shoulders, feeling her skin was a bit colder than usual.
“Don’t get sick.”
“I won’t.“
Kairen pulled her into his embrace, warming her up instantly. Cassandra laid her head against him, closing her eyes and tenderly holding on to her Prince.
“I wish our child could come into this world safely,” she sighed.
Unknown to her, Kairen frowned. Cassandra rarely opened up about her insecurities like this, but if she was already concerned about their child coming into the world… He held her a bit tighter. He would definitely make sure both of them were all right.
As promised, the Imperial Concubine took Cassandra to walk around the markets accompanied by an army of servants and her children. While Shareen didn’t hide her boredom, Kairen simply followed Cassandra like a shadow, touching her sometimes as if to reassure her that he was there. The little group observed the many stalls with interest and, to Cassandra’s surprise, the townspeople didn’t seem alarmed to see the Imperial Concubine wandering among them.
They kneeled as they were supposed to in front of the Imperial Family members, but it was obvious that they were used to dealing with Concubine Kareen. She was familiar with some of the merchants too, and many people personally greeted her when they saw her. She was very respected around here.
Cassandra was starting to grow fond of her and her unique character too. She could easily see how Kairen and Shareen had grown into the personalities they had, so different from those of their siblings. Their mother was very cynical, down-to-earth, and forthright.
Cassandra also appreciated that she spoke to her as if they were equals, showing great interest in her knowledge about plants and spices.
“For the skin?” she said doubtfully, as Cassandra was showing her some yellow spice.
“Yes. Turmeric is good for cooking, but it also helps with skin inflammation and redness, and you can drink it as tea.”
“Interesting. Let’s buy some, I want to try it. I’m old enough to start showing some wrinkles soon.”
She was far from looking old though. Concubine Kareen was one of the most beautiful women Cassandra had ever seen, even among the court ladies. She had a cold, natural beauty, with unique traits. Her hair was colored with that enigmatic deep red color, without an ounce of white to be seen.
They walked up to the next stall where some jewelry was laid out. The merchant immediately started showing his goods to the Concubines, but neither of them were really interested.
Suddenly, a ruckus started behind them. Cassandra, afraid, turned around but the commotion was over in an instant. She heard a snap followed by a man being pinned to the ground, Kairen’s foot on his back and Shareen’s whip around his throat.
