Alina

Alina watched from her terrace as more lords mounting their Pegasi arrived at the castle gates. With Grytia's fall and Lord Frederik coming to the North for help, Bernard had called for High Council, inviting all the Northern Lords from all over Nordenland.

The Pegasi continued to enter through the gates, where winged guards led them to the stable. That was when Alina spotted Julian in the distance, standing outside the stable door and guiding the Pegasi inside. Her chest tightened and she turned away from the terrace at once.

She was still suffering from guilt and shame for what she had caused Julian to go through. The unsettling image of his body tied up to the whipping post and his skin ripped open by the savage whip still haunted her. She had attempted to watch his punishment from her terrace that day, but only long enough to see the whip slice his back a few times, before she hurried back inside her room, unable to stand the torture. And it was all her fault...

Alina looked up as she heard someone entering her room, pulling her away from the disturbing memories. She found Kaya walking through her door, smiling sweetly and carrying a black bundle in her arms.

"Morning Alina!" Kaya beamed, hiding no malice like the other day when she found Alina walking with Mikal in the courtyard.

It was curious. Kaya was completely as sweet and friendly as Alina had always known her, which had Alina wondering if Kaya had been mean to her that day in the first place. She might have been imagining things after all, being so filled with jealousy, that she had mistaken Kaya's genuine concern for something else. And it made her feel all the worse, for thinking ill of her best friend.

"I've got something for you," Kaya said excitedly, offering Alina the large black bundle she was holding in her arms.

With a curious frown, Alina carefully unfolded the large heap of black velvet and tulle, and her eyes widened as they fell on the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. A bare shouldered, tight fitting, black velvet beauty, draped with a full length, open front, tulle skirt. Alina knew that particular dress, which was one of Kaya's best.

"I thought the Lady of Nordenvania should look remarkable on such an important day." Kaya winked.

"Wait... you want me to wear this? Today?" Alina turned to Kaya with a horrified expression. "No way!"

"Why not?" Kaya pouted. "I am sure it will look great on you."

"But I can't! I mean, would that even be appropriate? Isn't it... frowned upon women who wear black?"

"Where did you hear such nonsense?" Kaya laughed. "I wear black all the time. So do all my friends! Have you seen anyone frowning upon us?"

Kaya was right. Most of the young girls in the castle wore black dresses. While Alina admired the color on everyone she saw, she never had the courage to try wearing it herself. Alina thought that perhaps it was time for her to adopt the trend as well. And perhaps I would be able to impress Mikal.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Kaya urged.

Alina, though quite hesitant at first, finally yielded. After all she had often daydreamed of wearing beautiful dresses in the deepest shade of black, which seemed to be Mikal's favorite color.

Kaya laughed as she struggled to fit Alina into the dress. Alina, although younger, was a little curvier than Kaya, and while the dress fit Kaya a bit loosely, it fit Alina too tightly, the soft velvet explicitly tracing her curves, and the tight seams below the chest pushing up her moderate breasts into full roundness.

"It looks perfect!" Kaya smiled in awe as they both stood before the mirror. "It even looks better on you than it does on me."

"Really?" Alina asked shyly as she admired her reflection in the mirror, smoothing the soft velvet that hugged her hips, and toying with the cascading tulle that framed her legs on either side. Indeed the dress looked more tempting on her than it did on Kaya. Perhaps if Mikal saw me now he'd choose me over Kaya...

***

Alina was running late, of course, having to battle her way through the narrow staircase all the way down to the great hall. The great hall where the high council was taking place must be already full by now, Alina thought as she finally reached the door. And full it was, with every Lord in the North.

She stood at the hall entrance, her heart racing, and right before she decided to walk inside, she quickly wiped the red rouge off her lips, which Kaya had insisted she wear. She was nervous enough to be wearing a black dress for the first time, and painting her lips in red made her feel even more self-conscious. Alina took in a deep breath, before she walked in confidently with long graceful steps.

The great hall dominated the center of the keep, spanning the height of the whole castle. A massive glass dome enclosed it at the top, while arched balconies overlooked the ground level below. Canopied swings and suspended benches hung randomly from each floor, providing small private sanctuaries for residents and guests alike. But today, the swings and benches were left empty, as everyone was gathered in attention on the ground level.

Gaping eyes followed Alina, and incoherent whispers rose as she walked towards the head of the hall. Alina felt her cheeks blushing. Did she really look that impressive? She had barely smiled, when the whispers grew clearer in her ears, and she could make out the words that were spoken.

Isn't that Bernard's wife? How shameless! How daring!

Alina's heart sank. What she had thought were looks of awe and admiration, turned out to be disapproving stares. The whispers went on as she approached the long council table, where Bernard and Mikal were seated along with the other advisors.

Trying hard not to fall apart, Alina managed to keep her face relaxed and her head raised high as she took her seat between Bernard and Lady Greta, and her heart sank further as she saw the deep frown of disapproval on Lady Greta's face. Alina was utterly confused. She was sure it was not the black dress, because Kaya assured her that it was fine, and most of the girls here wore black almost every day. It must be because of being late then, Alina tried to convince herself.

Mikal was sitting next to Bernard on the other side, watching her with an unusual expression. He seemed troubled or bothered. Yet she could not tell that he was actually frowning. Vilfred sat next to Mikal, looking at her with a clear frown of concern, while Lucian was stupidly gaping at her, his blue eyes round with shock. Bernard, however, was unusually calm. He only kept staring at her for a long unnerving moment. Her heart raced. And the ominous silence that suddenly fell within the hall started to scare her.

She looked towards the guests, and she found their stares as cold and condemning as Bernard's. The last thing she had expected was to be met by all these glares. The long unnerving silence seemed to never end. Until she found Lord Fredrik Hellstrom and his daughter Hilda walking their way. Bernard turned to greet them, and Alina sighed in relief as the attention was drawn away from her.

"Sir Mikal, have you met my daughter Hilda?" Frederik asked as he presented Hilda to Mikal.

Alina rolled her eyes. Frederik's family had been staying at the castle for the past week, so of course Mikal must have met Hilda. And apparently he was not even slightly interested. That was probably why Lord Frederik had to keep reminding him of her presence. It must be true then, the rumors about how Frederik was trying to marry his daughter off to Mikal.

Alina watched Hilda carefully. She was not particularly ugly as rumored. But she was just plain. Very plain. A plain face with plain features, a thin body, and dull brown hair. She might have even passed as acceptably looking if only she didn't look very rigid and serious.

It was also said that she was being trained in swordsmanship, and that was why she did not look quite soft. And in addition to the rumors that she had killed her late husband, of course Mikal would never want to marry her.

"My lady," Mikal simply nodded at Hilda, showing no hint of interest at all. Of course, someone with Mikal's standards would never be interested.

"My Lords," Bernard said as all the Northern Lords had gathered, announcing the start of council. "I believe most of you have already learnt that Grytia had fallen into the hands of King William." Side whispers rose at Bernard's announcement. "Not only that, but King William had also appointed his advisor, a human known by the name of Tristan, as the new Lord of Grytia."

Several gasps broke and all eyes widened in shock. In the whole history of Engeldom, for a human to rule a castle was completely unheard of.

"How dare he give Grytia to a lowly human slave!" Lord Lefan of the southern city of Mederia stood up in protest, before he turned to Lord Frederik. "Lord Frederik! Do not worry. We will never allow filthy humans to take your lands and gold!" Lefan narrowed his eyes in determination before he turned around to face the other Lords. "I am certain that every Lord in Nordenland will accept to aid your cause! Isn't that right?"

"Aye!" several cheers followed, and Frederik's face relaxed a little.

"Lord Bernard! When do we march for Grytia?" Lefan asked eagerly as he turned to Bernard.

"As soon as your men are ready," Bernard said.

"My men are all yours Lord Bernard, all hundred of them," Lefan said and a few chuckles followed.

"I can provide seventy men," someone else added, only to be answered by disapproving snorts.

"What nonsense?" an elder Lord with greying hair interrupted. "This is William's army we are talking about. We need thousands of men not a hundred or two."

"But Sir Mikal was able to defeat thousands of Kassarathi with only fifty men!" someone said and loud protests broke. Even Alina could tell this was an extremely naïve response.

"Stop exaggerating. The Kassarathi were only a few hundred when Sir Mikal defeated them," another only slightly smarter man said.

"Still, he had only fifty men," the same stupid man insisted.

"But he only managed to defeat them because he tricked them into thinking the castle was deserted," another apparently not very bright man spoke. With that level of intelligence, Alina was wondering whether these men could actually lead an attack on William.

"We need more numbers," Mikal finally spoke, his voice calm amid the ongoing chaos, and everyone was instantly forced into silence. "We are facing a force of at least five thousand men. We need to be equally prepared."

"If all the Lords of Nordenland sent their men we would still only make a fraction of William's army," Sir Maarten said.

"Then we need a little more than all the Lords of Nordenland's men," Mikal said and everyone looked at him in confusion. "We have a great resource that we have never thought of using, and we can build an army twice as large as William's."

"What are you trying to suggest Mikal?" Bernard asked with raised eyebrows.

"What is it that William's army has and ours doesn't?" Mikal asked. "What is the majority of his army made up of?"

"Slaves..." Alina whispered, almost to herself. And the whole presence turned to stare at Mikal in utter disbelief...

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