Responsibility Ch. 01

Surprisingly, the woman was wearing a simple gown of pale brown. The sleeves almost covered her knuckles, making her fingers seem that much smaller. The woman's hair was uncovered, signalling that she might've indeed been unmarried, a maiden. As for the hairstyle, it was a little bit different from what Irakly was used to.

Long, pale blond hair was held in two separate plaits that went roughly to what might've been the knees, but they weren't in strands of three as braids might be. Each plait was made of two sections, and the sections were held together with long, white ribbons. The ribbons were wrapped around and threaded between the strands in a simple pattern. The hair wasn't weaved. The hair still had a "straight" appearance. The ribbons ended at the hair's ends, which were covered by wooden, spherical clasps.

It was a rather proud display. Irakly certainly thought so. He thought so because the hair was beautiful and laid over her little set of shoulders, down her front instead of down her back. He wondered how she would cover her hair if she were a married woman. In most countries on the continent, married women were like those in Kaizul, covering the top of their head in some fashion, with only the most daring letting much hair peek out.

The Emperor's eyelids narrowed a bit as he realized that as beautiful the hair was, parts of it weren't very smooth. She was in a bit of disarray.

The woman was led to a place a few feet away from Irakly. Her gait wasn't very steady, but she knelt down just as her cousin had done.

Huh. There was a very faint aroma about her ... like ... bacon.

Before Irakly could address the maiden, one of the guards said, "Imperial Majesty, she was about to hang herself when we found her. If she speaks poorly, then we must beg for mercy on her behalf. She might not have her own mind anymore."

Eyebrows rising, Irakly put a hand behind his back, his armor and padding making rustling and clacking noises. He looked down at the center part of the maiden's hair and said, "This is a rather young person. Is she even an adult?"

The king answered the question. "She's an adult now."

"When she was crowned queen?" Irakly asked.

"She was twelve years old, I believe."

It hadn't been very loud in the throne room at that point. Everyone had been quiet, calm, and respectful. However, the silence that followed the king's statement was still thick and disagreeable. It was eventually broken by the sound of the redhead page sneezing into his elbow, then giving a short apology.

"Who was the regent?" Irakly asked.

"Her mother tried to function as the regent," the king explained, "but that maiden ignored her. The generals and admirals, budgets and disputes, and even our eventual surrender to you, Your Majesty, all was managed by that one."

Pointing down at Rahela's head, giving the king an almost angry expression, the Emperor rolled his next words out like a heavy boulder that gave one difficulty.

"When the siege was at its worst, when I suffered the most casualties, it was because of a tiny girl that hadn't finished her training as a lady-in-waiting?"

Nobody seemed to have a reply for the Emperor, or at least nobody was willing to give one.

After a few more seconds, Irakly put his hands at his sides and his smug expression back on his face. "What sort of miserable hatred does such a maiden have in her eyes?" He made a light flick of a gesture with one of his hands. "I'm curious. Show me."

One of the Testoan guards lightly, very very lightly, whispered a request to Rahela.

She must not have thought of a reason to deny the request.

Her head tilted back. The shape of her lips was more evident then. Soft and full. Maybe a little bit wide, but not too much. Her mouth fit well on her face.

Besides ...

Her eyes are what nearly stunned him.

Large and doleful. Long, pale eyelashes. The irises each had something odd about them. Each one had two different colors. A light shade of azure blue and a pale emerald green. It was as if someone had painted two solid halves of each iris and then laid them together to form the circles.

As beautiful those eyes were, they were also full of exhausted contempt.

The truth was, nothing about this woman's appearance was important. Irakly had always known and accepted that.

Looking to one of the squires, the Emperor said, "bring the little maidens in, and the golden chest." The chest was actually gold plated, but nobody cared.

The squire gave a short bow and left the throne room to give the order. Some moments later, the squire returned with a few men carrying that big chest. It had several iron locks keeping the lid down. There were some other people too, a pair of young maidens, preteen girls that most certainly weren't finished with any training.

One was on the shorter side with her honey colored hair in a single braid behind her back. Her name was Oksana. Like many Yahsin women, she had a certain headdress on her head. The shape, size, and even how far back on one's head would all vary according to tastes and cost. This smaller version on Oksana's head was like a vertical band of thick ribbon, as if it was a little tiara of fabric. It was tied in the back of her hair, also pinned. The fabric was a bright green color with some orange stitching in geometric patterns and small, white fabric flowers.

The other girl, she was unusually tall for her age and sex, but still shorter than the Emperor. Her dark brown hair was also in a single braid. Her headdress had scalloped edges. It orange with pale blue beading. Her name was Yana but Irakly always wanted to call her Jana, not that he used her name much, or even spoke to her on a regular basis.

Their clothing wasn't very elaborate, but it did have elements of the latest fashions in the main country of Yahsin. Their sleeves didn't have rows of buttons that needed assistance for closure, but they were snugly fitted, reaching their wrists. Their gowns were more tightly laced than the former queen Rahela's example, and their necklines were lower. A fashionable Yahsin court lady might use the lower neckline as an excuse to wear a costly necklace.

Over their gowns, there were over-garments called surcoats. They were sleeveless and open from the shoulders to a quite a distance past the hips. The rest of the surcoats were long skirts. Masculine surcoats were slowly fading out of style. A more fashionable woman's surcoat might have a thinner, yet more adorned, front panel. These girls had wider fronts.

Mildly speaking in the Yashin language, these girls went over to Rahela and bowed. This put confused expressions on basically all Testoans in the area. Rahela turned her head away and covered her mouth with the back of her hand, but Irakly saw her wince.

"Come, Young Mistress," Oksana, the short one, said. "You must have finer clothing."

Yana, the tall one, she put her fidgeting hands to her bosom and stammered out, "Hi-his Im-im-imperial Majesty has said that ... ah ... that Queen Rahela must be dressed in fine clothes and put on display." She didn't know Rahela wasn't a queen anymore, poor girl.

Rahela's eyes shut then. The eyelids wrinkled with what seemed to be pain. Then, with the guards near her, she led the other maidens away, apparently to her bedchamber.

The king suddenly said, "Majesty, my cousin has said that all of her personal items, even the most precious things, are yours to claim. They're all tucked away in their chests and coffers for you to distribute among your bravest men, or to keep for yourself."

With a little shrug, the Emperor told the king, "That's a respectable gesture, but I've no use for it. My men are paid well and I want for nothing."

After some more time, during which the Emperor finally told all the kneeling people to save their knees from strain and get to their feet, the other guards, the Yahsin girls, and Rahela returned to the throne room.

Her long hair had been combed and styled again, although in a similar style from the last. The ribbons in her long plaits were a pale rose color. At the end of the plaits, there were clasps made of animal horn, the tips decorated with tiny loops of more ribbon. A thin fillet of plain silver was held over Rahela's head, against her furrowing little brow.

She seemed to be wearing two gowns at once, a common thing to do when the weather was cool. The outer-gown was a minty green with long sleeves that opened a bit at the elbow, creating a "wing" style that dangled almost to the floor. The neckline was very high, with a short bit of opening, as if someone had cut out a thin triangle. That neckline, the openings of the long sleeves, and the gown's hem, all had similar borders with parallel, horizontal black and white lines.

Peeking out only a little from the neckline, and much more from the open sleeves of the outer-gown, there was an apparently simple yet expensively dyed bright orange gown. Orange itself wasn't an expensive color, but the brighter and more powerful tones were certainly so. Paler colors required less dye, and the dyeing process involved plenty of waste even when done correctly.

A woven, brown girdle was wrapped around Rahela's thin waist twice, the second time at a lower angle. The knot was tied in front and pinned with a simple but pretty golden brooch. The rest of the girdle hung down over the gown's skirt. A leather pouch with its own cords was tied and pinned to the girdle so it could almost playfully dangle over the maiden's covered hip.

Only one hand had any rings, and there were only two of them. A simple golden band with a small, cabochon, red stone. And a silver band, slightly thicker but still plain, aside from two little stones, also cabochon but a bright yellow color instead of red.

Dignified, if different from what Irakly would've expected from a wealthy Yahsin woman.

Her face was clean and much less pink than before, but there wasn't any obvious paint nor other cosmetics there. She was bare in that way.

And she was also very cold and blank.

Once she stood before the Emperor, she gave a deep bow, the ribbon loops and clasps on her plaits touching the floor. Then, still quiet, she seemed to wait for any more instructions.

A squire handed Irakly a ring with a few keys on it. With his men holding the golden chest up, Irakly unlocked each lock with a different key. Then the squires pulled the lid back for him and took out the item inside.

A long cloak.

Indigo fabric, dark and rare. Golden embroidery in the form of the Yahsin Imperial Family's crest, along with a far spaced pattern of nine-pointed stars. The edges had thick borders of white and black ermine fur.

The same fur served as a lining. When the squires and some guards had the lavish garment spread out, hovering a bit above the floor, almost every Testoan gasped at the sight. Rahela held a curled little hand to her bosom and stared at the cloak, her colorful eyes nearly bulging and her lips tight.

Irakly snapped his fingers, and the cloak was quickly and carefully carried off.

Towards the women.

The Yahsin girls stepped aside.

The cloak was laid on Rahela's shoulders, held in place by two thick, gold colored cords and large brooches.

Testoa's current monarch nearly fell over. Someone had to keep him from collapsing and injuring himself.

Rahela's lips parted just enough to show the top row of her clean, straight teeth. If it was possible for her eyes to fall out, they would've done so.

Irakly put his palm to his chest, approximately where his heart might be, and the most pleased little wrinkles stretched out under his eyes.

"Now," he said with amusement, "I've found my fourth, and gods willing, last bride."

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Author's Note: This story is still a work in progress, although I have a good amount already finished. I'd love to read any ideas you have in a comment, although I can't promise I won't disappoint anyone. Thank you so much for reading my silly stories. I appreciate it.

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