Zenora
11. Beautiful Creature

Emily’s point of view:

Natalya gently woke me up and showed me a tray full of freshly baked bread, pressed orange juice and some grapes. I thanked her and sat up straight in my bed, accepted the tray and enjoyed my breakfast. Then I almost got aroused, thinking about what happened last night, thinking of Brock’s big muscles and naked chest. Wondering how he looked all naked. Argh! I just can’t keep him out of my head, why did he leave me like that yesterday?!

“Princess, can I ask you something?” Natalya suddenly said, waking me from my angry and dirty thoughts.

“Of course, Natalya, what is it?”

“Well, first I wanted to apologize for intruding yesterday evening. But I also wanted to know why you aren’t angry with me now.” She asked me while keeping her head down, not daring to look me in the eyes.

“Why should I be angry with you? It’s not like you knew Brock was in my room, right?” She shook her head and then I noticed a little smile that appeared on her face. I patted the bed, noting for her to sit beside me, and even though she was reluctant to do so, she sat on the edge of it. “Just get here, will you? Have you eaten already this morning?” I asked pulling her closer to me. She looked very pale and thin so I figured she didn’t have breakfast yet.

“No Princess, we are not allowed to eat until everyone in the castle is provided with their meals.” She said with a soft voice. I couldn’t believe what she said and started to wonder if there was anything left when she had done her chores, because she was really, very thin.

“I’m sorry Princess I didn’t want to bother you with my…”

“Okay first of all, in this room you won’t call me Princess. I am Emily or Milly to you is that clear? And second, next time you bring me breakfast, bring some extra. Just say that I’m really hungry in the morning alright?” And with that being said I gave her one of the big buns on my plate and the grapes that lay next to it.

She nodded to what I said and smiled from ear to ear. Then hungrily ate the bread and grapes. We sat on the bed for a little while longer and she told me she just turned sixteen and was a maid for three years now. And because she was one of the well-behaved servants who excelled at doing the job, she was immediately assigned to be my personal maid. I was happy she was now, as I could imagine her becoming my friend here.

After breakfast, I noticed two dresses hanging from the closet. Natalya must have brought them in earlier before she had woken me up. They were beautiful but not something I would wear. I asked Natalya if there are any other clothes available and she remembered the pants and blouse I wore yesterday.

“I cleaned and folded the strange clothing you wore yesterday Prin…, miss Emily.” She said while I frowned at what she was about to say. She walked towards the closet and got my clothes out of it.

I asked Natalya if there was any possibility to get more of these kinds of clothes. She looked strangely at me but told me she could get a tailor to make some pieces. I put on the clothes that she had cleaned, brushed my blond hair and went to the main hall where my father was waiting for me.

He looked at me a bit awkward at first but then smiled. “I guess you don’t like to wear dresses?” He said and I blushed a bit. “So much like your mother, she was always so happy to take them off at the end of the day. She said it constricted her from making normal movements and couldn’t shoot an arrow with it.” He laughed out loud and I smiled at the thought. I know that she probably didn’t have to shoot any arrows while being a Queen, but I can imagine her dress getting stuck in the bow if she had to.

“Dad, did Brock ask you to send some men to the portal?” I asked him as Brock didn’t tell me if he did yesterday and I couldn’t stop thinking about Anna, Dennis and my animals. He told me that Brock spoke with him before he went to my room and indeed asked him for a dozen of men to send to the portal.

“Brock acted strange when he asked me for those men though. Did you have anything to do with that?” My father asked me with a curious smile.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I said sarcastically and he laughed.

He then guided me outside and said he wanted to show me around the castle of Terralon. We walked through the great front gates into a small courtyard. On the left were the blacksmith’s quarters and on the right, the royal stables. He noticed me smiling and my eyes grew bigger at the sight of the creature that was being restrained by at least four strong men.

“Is that a Gryphon?” I asked him and he nodded with surprise at me knowing the creature’s name. Well, I might not have been brought up on Zenora but on Earth, I’ve seen a lot of movies and read a lot of books with fantasy creatures and strange new worlds. Well… not so fantasy anymore now… I guess…

The Gryphon had a beautiful brown feathery coat on his head and a soft shorthaired fur coat on his body. His wings were big but were strapped to the ground by the men. The creature was snapping at the ropes with its beak and scraping on the floor with its claws. A strange loud squeak came out of him, saying that he didn’t like to be held tight like this.

“He will be tame after he is handled by the men today.” My father explained, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there must be another way to train the animals, other than this sort of breaking in. But at this time, it didn’t feel like the moment to ask for a change as it seems that they have been doing it this way for a long time already.

We continued our walk out of the courtyard and through a smaller gate to show me an amazing sight. On the left, there was the ocean and following the path down, there was a harbour filled with big ships with grand white sails. On the right, there were farming lands growing grain, corn and several other sorts of vegetables. There were also big farms with pigs, cows and chickens. They looked pretty much the same as the ones we got on Earth, but a bit bigger and more robust. Everywhere people were working and they all worked together. They helped each other to get all the chores done and they looked happy doing so too. All I could think about was that my father must be doing a great job in ruling his kingdom.

My father then ordered a guard to get two horses. “Want to take a ride? I want to show you something.” He asked me and I nodded happily. Of course, I would want to see anything he wants to show me!

I got on the horse my father gave me and we drove off to the other side of the city. People were looking at me, wondering who I was, but I guess my father wouldn’t like to tell them about me yet because he just kept riding too fast.

After a good fifteen minutes of riding, we got past sentry towers and the guards on top of it nodded to their King. I still couldn’t comprehend that my father was the King, but I had the strange feeling I had to learn to get used to it, soon.

We curved to the right and there was a large wooden barn with guards at the gates. Inside, I heard some strange noises and my father got off his horse and handed it to one of the guards. I followed him and went inside, right after him. But when I entered the barn and looked around, I was amazed by the creature that stood there! What I saw was something so beautiful!

“She’s a rare Gryphon, only one of them ever encountered.” My father explained while I walked forward.

She was gorgeous! She had dark purple feathers on her head and amazing bright pink-coloured eyes. Her fur was lighter purple and long-haired, nothing like the brown shorthair I saw earlier in the courtyard. Her lion-like paws were big and her nails were sharp and shiny. She didn’t have a lion’s tail but three thin tails with a fluffy patch at the end. Her wings were beautiful as well. Close to the body, the feathers were dark purple but at the end of the wings, the colours faded into a very light pink, almost white.

But even though she looked marvellously regal, her feisty attitude wanted to break through the doors of the barn while wearing a chain around one of her back legs. I hated that!

“Your mother was the only one to be able to control her, but ever since she is gone, she won’t accept anything from any other person.” My dad sounded sad as this Gryphon was probably one of the few things left of my mother. Even though I didn’t know what she looked like yet, I could imagine her riding the purple gryphon and it made me wonder…

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