Chapter 4: Settling In

Astra was tired, but she was looking forward to seeing where she would stay. She followed Aleron down a hallway as he showed her to her rooms. “Normally, I’d put you in the guest wing of the palace, and not the barracks,” he said over his shoulder, “but as Lexi is staying in the city with Ladron, I thought you might be more comfortable staying near me.” It wasn't proper etiquette, to treat a guest this way, but the Astra he knew was never one for luxury. So long as she had a desk where she could work and a bed where she could sleep, she was happy. After seeing her train today, and guessing that much of her time would be spent doing just that, he’d confirmed his decision to house her in the women’s barracks.

For Aleron, Astra’s wish to remain away from the luxuries of the palace was completely understandable. He himself had a set of fine chambers and a connecting office in the noble’s wing, but he much preferred his smaller room near his men. Aleron came to a stop in front of a door. “This used to be a storeroom for weapons,” he explained, “but since we built ourselves a new one, this room has been left empty. I had the servants bring in some basic furnishings ahead of time.” He pushed the door open and stood aside so she could enter first.

Astra walked in slowly, eyeing the small space. Though it was a little cramped, there was an open window that let in fresh air and the evening sun, giving off a cheery atmosphere. A bed stood in the corner, the same one that all the soldiers in the barracks used. A bookshelf stood along one wall - a sizable one, half-filled with various tomes. A short wardrobe was tucked into another corner, and a writing desk sat beside it, already with a sheaf of blank papers stacked atop it and a writing quill poised in its stand. On the other side of the room was the one special addition of the women’s dorms that the mens’ rooms did not share - a small but serviceable vanity, with a marble basin and a small mirror.

“I know it’s quite plain,” Aleron began apologetically, but she held up a hand to forestall him.

“It’s perfect,” she said softly. “Thank you.” She’d been secretly dreading having a room in the guests’ wing - or worse, in the noble quarters, she thought wryly. Her encounter with Maria and Kara earlier today had told her enough to know she would likely be spending most of her time with the soldiers, where no one would throw passive aggressive insults at her - at least, she hoped not. “The bookcase is a luxury I wasn’t expecting, though.”

Aleron nodded as he gestured to the object in question. “The books there are my recommendations. I am sure that, should you ask them, the soldiers will be happy to lend you more.” He ushered her back into the hallway, gesturing to a set of doors farther down. “Those are the baths – the men and women are separate. I doubt anyone will try anything untoward, but please, be sure to let me know if anything makes you uncomfortable.”

“I will,” she promised.

Satisfied, Aleron smiled at her. “The barrack kitchens are also available to you; I daresay the men will probably come to love your cooking as much as Ladron did. We passed them on the way in - the large archway.” When she nodded to tell him she remembered, he continued, “I’ll leave you to get settled in. If you need me, my room is the farthest in inside the men’s dorm building, and Jeorge’s is next to mine. If I am unavailable, don’t hesitate to ask him for anything.” Nodding, Astra promised that she would, and he went on. “Tomorrow, if you’re willing, I would like to take you around the palace. I know Liam likely did a fine job as tour guide, but I should like to show you the rest of the palace myself.”

“That’s fine by me,” Astra replied dutifully. Knowing she probably wanted some time to herself, Aleron bade her goodnight and headed into his office. He had a lot of paperwork to catch up on.

Astra sank deeper into the water with a grateful sigh.

It had been a long day… and this open bath was the best.

The women’s bath was an open-air bath with showers lining the walls and a large pool of hot water to soak in. After moving around all day, the relief for her aching muscles was welcome. There was a wooden divider between the area she was in and the men’s bath, though the top did not quite reach to the ceiling, allowing sound to carry through easily, so she was careful not to make too much noise as she splashed around.

Soap and lotions had been provided; Astra took her time lathering and rinsing her hair, which had gotten longer in the past months, before dunking her head under the water to rinse the soap out of it.

A noise from the entrance to the baths gave her pause; it seemed someone else was entering. With the soft patting of bare feet, a tall woman appeared in the doorway, holding a small basket with a towel and other implements, and paused as she realized the bath was occupied.

“Hello,” Astra greeted her even as she sank lower into the water, a little shy.

The newcomer was extremely well-built, with clear muscles and a lean frame despite her height, and had a mass of bright red locks that tumbled down her shoulders. She was pretty – stunningly so, making the noirette feel even more self-conscious.

“You’re that newcomer that the Captain brought home, aren’t you?” the redheaded woman asked cheerfully as she bundled her hair up in the towel and then padded down the steps into the water. “I’m Ilia.”

“My name’s Astraea.”

“I heard the men making a fuss about you earlier today. I was surprised to see our stick-in-the-mud Captain bring home such a cute little thing,” Ilia sang as she slipped the towel from her hair and accurately slung it over to her basket of things, where it caught on one of the handles and stayed. “He leaves home for two years and comes back just like that? As expected of him.”

Astra stiffened a bit. “Excuse me?” though she hadn’t meant to, her tone came out harsher than intended.

Ilia’s smile didn’t falter in the slightest, but she raised a hand in a gesture of apology. “I’m sorry – that was meant to be a compliment, Astraea. I don’t mean the Captain any disrespect – he’s a good and honest man and we all look up to him.” Leaning back and crossing one bare leg over the other, she added, “But he is a stick-in-the-mud, make no mistake.”

A smile was tugging at the corners of Astra’s lips no matter how hard she tried to hide it. “Well… I can’t argue with you there…”

“Right?” Ilia sat up with a splash and reached for the bar of soap. “If he’d loosen up a little, I bet he’d have every noblewoman in the palace flocking to him. His good looks are wasted on all us rough-and-tumble soldiers.”

Astra started to laugh. Such a statement seemed even more ludicrous coming from a stunning beauty like Ilia. If she’s a rough-and-tumble soldier, I must be a turnip farmer. “Have you ever tried saying that in Aleron’s hearing?”

“I’ve said it straight to his face. He just looked embarrassed and told me that I shouldn’t be worrying on his account.” A smirk graced those crimson lips, the same colour as her hair. “So what’s your story with the Captain? A secret lover from far away, perhaps?”

“As if,” Astra replied sarcastically, seeing the other woman grin at her wry response. “I’m more like his parent than anything else. Besides, he apparently has a fiancée.” Which she’d only found out about today, thanks to someone deciding to keep his mouth shut…

She was being petty again. Astra let out a sigh that Ilia didn’t hear.

“Oh, the high-and-mighty little duchess of Belliaros?” Ilia wrinkled her nose and huffed as she went to rinse the soap out of her hair. “I don’t like her. The woman’s got a killer sense of fashion, but her personality could use about three centuries of work.”

Astra, who was rapidly liking Ilia more and more, raised her brow. “Oh?”

“I’ve told the Captain about a hundred times that he deserves better than that uppity noblewoman, but he’s never been the kind to listen when someone tells him to break protocol.”

The noirette’s smile turned sideways in a bitter manner. “Did he spout off something about duty and responsibility?”

Ilia gasped as she clapped her hands, scattering water droplets everywhere. “How did you know? I guess you two really are close.”

Like that, lightly ribbing the poor Captain who was not present to defend himself, the two women spent a pleasant time chatting as they washed. Ilia’s room, which she shared with two other female recruits, turned out to be next to Astra’s, to both of their great delights. The redhead bid Astra goodnight before she slipped inside and shut her door.

For a long while, Astra stood alone in the hallway, a towel still draped over her shoulders to catch the water from the ends of her still-damp hair.

For the first time today, she finally had a proper moment to herself.

The king. Sir Orphys. The Crown Prince, and his guard Sir Azela.

Liam, Jeorge, Conrad, and Ilia.

It seemed that today had been equally filled with stressful encounters and enjoyable ones.

“Tomorrow had better involve less socializing,” Astra muttered to herself as she went inside.

In another room on a higher floor of the palace, a young man with raven hair was sitting at his desk, rolling a small white stone ceaselessly across his fingertips.

He was staring hard at the map he had Captain Aleron mark out for him earlier in the day, as well as the contents of an old, worn book which was laying open atop his desk.

Click.

He put the stone down with a light tapping noise and opened his mouth. “What do you think, Azela?”

His usually-silent guard, who was standing behind his chair as always, could see everything on his desk. “It is certainly worth investigating.”

Sighing, the Crown Prince sat back in his seat as he looked over the information he had gathered once more. “If we’re wrong about this, I doubt father will overlook it.”

Azela pointed something out in his usual flat tone. “If we are correct, he won’t be able to.”

A bitter chuckle slipped from the prince’s lips. “Astute as always, Azela.”

“I live to please, your highness.”

Feeling a bit better with his guard’s reassurances, the Crown Prince got to his feet and walked over to his window. In the distance, he could see the twinkling lights of the torches and lamps in the city, and close to where he stood, he saw the training yard that the soldiers used, still lit up with torches. Here and there, a few small figures could be seen still hard at work despite the gradually darkening sky.

Seeing the barracks made him think of the young woman who had been brought to his study alongside the Captain. She had probably settled into her rooms in the barracks already. The prince made a mental note to have a proper guest room prepared in the palace as soon as possible.

That young lady… Astraea Luan. She had certainly been unlike his expectations. Though he hadn’t quite known what to make of a woman from another world, and though, from her explanations, her world seemed to be very different from his, she hadn’t seemed out of place. Even the king had believed that she was merely a merchant’s daughter who had grown up in a Lyndran settlement, not knowing her truly staggering origins. She was polite, her speech undeniably proper, yet straightforward.

He rather liked her. If it was at all possible, the Crown Prince did not want to involve her in his plans.

But…

“Am I doing the right thing?”

For once, Azela did not answer his soft question, but the Crown Prince had not been looking for an answer.