Ava watched as the prince took his leave and heaved a sigh. He was quite arrogant and sassy. She was so tired now, she needed rest and a lot of food.
The guards opened the doors and she was ushered to her room. The room was far from her imagination. There was a large bed in one side with dark mahogany shelves and furniture, a grand silver rocking chair at the center. When she stepped in, her legs felt the soft red floor mat, it made her realize she was wearing no footwear.
This was probably another dream, right?
Her eyes swept the silver curtains and the beautiful view the windows gave, The beautiful lights, sweet scenting flowers, everything was so perfect.
"Do you have any colour preferences or is there something you'll like to add to your room?" one guard asked
"No thanks" She half-whispered "it's perfect"
"Two maids would be assigned to wait on you, you can tell them to do whatever you want"
"Okay" Ava wasn't new to maids. Sir Asher had some people who helped her with the chores and she also had a nanny when she was younger.
The guards left the room and she left for the bathroom.
It was the sweet smell of lavender that greeted her. There was a large bathtub and a shower cubicle. She filled the bathtub with water, removed her dirty clothes and dived right in.
After a very long bath, she turned to open the wardrobe to find out what to wear. All the dresses were quite exquisite. There was this flamboyant red corset dress, a blue short dinner gown, an off-the-shoulder long black dress…the list was long.
She wanted to wear something simple and there was almost nothing that fit in the picture here. She finally settled for a white short-sleeved silk gown.
As she wore the gown, her head kept thinking, the people here were very nice, they didn't even know her and yet they treated her so well. Even if the welcome wasn't so good, this place was heaven. was this how they accommodated strange people?-
"Lady Ava!" Someone's fist pounded the door. Ava's heart skipped a beat "your maids are here" She heard the person say and sighed in relief.
She opened the door and found a guard with two other ladies, one had short brown hair and the other had purple coloured eyes.
"Okay come in" they both entered the room. Ava closed the door.
"Good evening My Lady" they both bowed
"Hello?" Ava didn't know what to say
"My name is Rosslyn and she's Annabelle" the purple eyed one spoke.
"Is there anything we can help you with?" short brown haired one who was Annabelle said
"Ermm" Ava scratched her hair. The maids at her house didn't act like this, they were free and lively and…
"Lady Ava your hair is messy, I can start with that" The Rosslyn said.
"I'll help with your makeup and nails!" said Annabelle
And before Ava could say a word, they seated her on the ever-comfortable rocking seat and started making her up.
"What style Lady Ava?" Rosslyn asked
"Anything you can do"
"Okay"
"Which nail paint do you prefer, red or pink?" Annabelle asked
"Pink" Ava replied. She had never put on makeup in her life, she was quite excited to know how she would look.
There was a long silence as they were busy doing their jobs. None of them said anything, Ava was itching to talk to someone.
"Are you guys allowed to talk to me about anything apart from my appearance and wellbeing?" Ava broke the silence, it was very boring.
"Well, if you don't mind, Lady Ava" Annabelle said as she painted Ava's little finger nail.
"Okay…" Ava paused "Is this how the King behaves, I mean…he accommodated a total stranger, he did not even ask where I was from and he is willing to let the prince train me, is he that generous?"
"Well, our king is the most powerful of all three clans, all other clans have to pay tribute to our clan to avoid his wrath. He doesn't do these kinds of favours but I don't know why he gave you such opportunity. He is quite ruthless and unforgiving, I have never seen anyone receive his mercy" Rosslyn answered.
"Yes, I can't help but to think you're lucky, or there is something he stands to gain out of helping you. His Majesty personally ordered that you should be well taken care of" Annabelle added.
Ava paused at the statement and then continued "Well, um…do all of you have magic? Like every single one of you?"
"Yes, I'm in level five and Annabelle is in level four" Rosslyn replied
"Level…?"
"Oh" Annabelle smiled "Your level is the height of your magic power. There are ten levels, only one person has ever reached level ten"
"Yes and you can always know what level someone has attained by checking the back of their arm. See" Rosslyn showed Ava her arm, where there was five black dots arranged in a straight line.
Ava checked her own arm and found only one dot there, she was in level one. No wonder the king looked so bemused when he saw the dot on her arm. She was probably too old to be a beginner.
"Okay" she straightened up and glanced at the mirror finding out that she had been completely made over by Rosslyn and Annabelle. She looked so pretty!
"I think some earrings would suit the outfit and hair perfectly" Annabelle suggested
Ava nodded, stood up and opened the wardrobe and searched for jewelry, there she found a whole box of the most stunning set of jewelry she had ever seen.
"Which one do you think is okay?" Ava asked.
"The pearl earrings would be good, My Lady" Annabelle said
"Okay" Ava agreed and tried them on, they indeed matched the outfit and her dark brown hair that they had curled.
"You look amazing, Lady Ava" Rosslyn complemented. "Don't you want to change your necklace to match?"
Ava peered down at the gold necklace with the blue pendant that she wore, she thought for a while…
"No, thanks. This one is just fine" she replied and then remembered something "Sorry, I want to ask another question"
"Of course, My Lady" Rosslyn replied
"If someone asks what clan I am, what do I say? What clan is this?"
"Everyone here is a Spellbinder, My Lady. Spellbinding is the clan"