A Bewitching Time V1: Nightfall Ch 2

A Bewitching Time Volume 1:
Chapter 2: Knighthood
 
 
I never noticed how much my head could ache until my head hit Warrick's pillow. If I were in normal circumstances I would be very uncomfortable in a boy's, no, a man's room. I would have never spent the night in Warrick's room with him in it either. Especially since Warrick is really a stranger to me. Meeting a man in the woods, where I have no idea how I got there, going home with him and his band of adventured death-wish hooligans. I must be high or drunk. I can't remember my real name or anything about my past for that matter.
My life as I knew it crumbled before me without knowing what my life was. Will I ever remember who I was? My thought process was shattered with the sound of the creaking wooden door opening. Warrick whistled inside with just his night pants on.  I rustled around in the sheets and turned on my back to face him. Trying to keep a straight face was challenging. A half naked very attractive man was all of a sudden crawling into bed with me. The heat was killing me and I couldn't stay quiet.
I rose out of bed and stood there for a long moment. Warrick ignored me and covered himself liberally with the heavy blanket.
"You'll catch cold standing there Canaan. It's much more pleasant under here." He said.
"Warrick, I only just met you. I appreciate your gratitude but-"
"Stop yammering. Get in bed, I'm not going to touch you." He said, opening my side of the covers.
I gulped and tentatively crawled back in bed. Wow, it is much warmer. I tried not to let my young adult brain get the best of me and just focus on sleep. This time I didn't dream like I had the night before. That's odd considering I had slept riding on a horse. I doubt many people can do that. Maybe it's a new found skill of mine. Warrick was not around when I woke. Instead the person who woke me was a very pretty woman of Asian decent. If I were to guess her age, I would say she is around her late 30s to early 40s.
She opened up the drapes to let the harsh sunlight in. I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. I had a good sleep but I still didn't feel rested enough to my liking. She pulled the blanket off with one fell swoop and said, "Master, you have a big day today. I must prepare you for the King."
"What?" I asked. Prepare me? I'm no princess. Besides I can take care of myself. Why was she calling me Master?
"Up! I must prepare you to meet with King Abraxas. I cannot waste anymore time." She said this time heaving me up into a sitting position.
"Miss I'm perfectly capable of getting out of bed by myself."
"Master, my name is Chiyo and I am the slave of the knights as was my ancestors before me. I ask that you treat me with respect." She said.
"Since I'm your Master, you should treat me with respect as well!" I retorted.
"Such things are true, but you are not getting up fast enough. Now come with me, we have much to do." Chiyo spoke well despite her thick Japanese accent.
She pulled off my nightgown which left my skin exposed to the cold. I was naked in front of a woman that called me master.
"May I have that back Cheeto? I feel uncomfortable standing naked in front of someone I just met." I said trying  to cover myself and snatch my nightgown back.
"My name is Chiyo. Chee-yo. Not Cheeto. It is my duty to prepare you into a fine looking warrior for the King, Mistress Canaan." She said taking the night gown away and grabbing a plain white uniform from a dresser drawer.
"How do you know my name?" I asked, yet another invasion of my privacy.
As she clothed me she said," I understand your concern for privacy but this is an ancient custom here in Albion. You will get acquainted to it in time. Master Warrick told me your name."
Chiyo placed my feet in very thick flip flop type shoes. We exited Warrick's room and left. I don't think I have been up and down so many stairs in my life. There were stairs everywhere. If I ran around the castle a few more times a day, every day, for a month, I think I would turn into a grotesquely fit mountain woman.  I could tell at least that we were in a basement of some kind. It was exceedingly cold in every corridor we took.
            Suddenly, the air grew warm. It was so warm that it gave me goosebumps all over. Chiyo opened the door for me and it was a bath. Maybe it was a spring? Or both? Chiyo sat me down on a small wooden stool and undressed me again. This time I didn't complain but I'm sure Chiyo could tell from the expression on my face that I wasn't liking it. She scrubbed me down meticulously from head to toe. She didn't miss a beat. She led me into another room farther than the washing room.
            This room was ornately decorated in various paintings. I gawked at them as I entered the pool of warm water. The North wall had a painting of several knights with various weapons. The east wall was ordained with two thrones and a magnificent looking King and Queen. The west wall had several faceless slaves dressed in traditional Japanese garb. Finally, the south wall had 12 cowering monsters one of them looked like the monster I saw yesterday, a menacing creature with big bat-like wings and a scorpion tail.
            "Do you recognize one of them Mistress?" Asked Chiyo as she brushed my wet long black hair in her lap out of the water. I looked up at her.
            "Yes, the one with the scorpion tail. Do you know about it?" I asked.
         "Yes, Master Warrick has told me many stories about them. They are the most abundant in the dark forests. They are the least lethal of the twelve, or so I have heard." She said. No way! The least lethal? I thought the group had a bit of trouble with it and that was only one. I didn't want to ask her about the west wall. Part of me knew the answer already, they were faceless because they were dispensable.
         Chiyo saw me staring at the west wall. I averted my eyes from it, I didn't want to pry anymore than I already was. As she was drying my body and putting on yet another plain white uniform, I couldn't hold it in, "Chiyo, I'm sorry-" I felt like looking at the west wall was equivalent to staring at a grotesque scar if she had one.
         "Canaan, I am not in the position to complain. I have always known that there are people who will be worse and better off than I. That's just the way the river flows." She said as she gingerly put my shoes on for me. I still wanted to say something, You must want to live in a better way, you deserve better, how long have you tolerated this treatment? But I knew Chiyo would be stubborn and not accept anything else I told her.

         Chiyo led me out of the bath and through numerous corridors, we passed many different people on our way to the dressing room. There were people from all walks of life, rich, young, old, poor, some more servants that I didn't recognize. I felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach when ever I would pass the servants. I avoided looking at them in the eyes too, I just couldn't bring myself to stare at them. A part of me felt like I was somehow responsible for them staying here. With me here at this grand castle, how long would they stay here? How long would I live? 50 or 55 more years? That would make me about 71 or 76. Once I get older too, I would have to have more time consumed for my life.

         What about children? If I do have children I wouldn't want servants to take care of them in the first place but I'm sure that it would be an undeniable custom in this place. With this life here at this castle, I imagine I only have about ten years to have kids. To be honest I'm on the fence about the issue however I know that I don't need to be worrying about children right now.

         Chiyo undressed me, I still feel uncomfortable being naked in front of another person, especially someone I had just met. But, in the end I didn't let it show on my face, I feel like I can trust Chiyo. She dressed me in long black gloves that came up to my elbows, a long flowing black skirt that rested at my waist, and a surprisingly comfortable black bra-like cloth. The skirt and the bra was ordained with specs of gold. The bra was much more fancy than just a bra, it was more of a presentable piece. The skirt acted more like a dress than a skirt. I liked dressing like this it made me feel special.

         Chiyo was far from done with me, she brushed my hair, braided it loosely, and clasped it together with a golden metal clip at the end. The end of my hair resembled a paintbrush. Chiyo stopped in front of me, raised my face, cupped my cheek in her hand and said, "The finishing touches." She smiled at me. I smiled back at her. Something in me now, undeniably, loved Chiyo like a mother.

         Chiyo fitted on a thin gold tiara onto my head. She held out her hand and lifted my long, dress-like, skirt so that it wouldn't touch the ground. She led me into another, much more cramped room. She made me stand on a wooden stool and liberally powdered my face. She added bits of powder around my exposed skin to cover the moles.

         She painted my toenails and nails in a metallic gold. She sat me down in a large velvety chair and didn't let me move a muscle. I see, she wants my nails and toe nails to dry completely. The chair was very comfortable. I wanted to fall asleep but Chiyo was playing a large wooden instrument. She laid it on her lap and picked at its metal strings to make music. My guess is she was doing this to pass the time until my nails dryed.

         The instrument she was playing was foreign to me but I soon came to like it. It left a new taste in my mind that I liked. When she was done playing, she checked my nails. She was pleased with the job she had done. Chiyo held out a finger signaling for me to wait there in the chair. What did she want me to wait for? She checked to see if the coast was clear of people and checked the time on the grandfather clock.

"We have enough time," she said. Time? Time for what? She pulled out a glass with salt and some sticks sticking out of it, from a secret compartment in the floor. From another secret compartment in a wardrobe, she pulled out two statuettes, one of them a man and another a woman. she placed them on the marble vanity and gathered some small spare sticks. she used the sticks and walked over to the fireplace for a light. she lit two of the sticks surrounded in salt. there was a thick smoke coming from them. That was incense that much I knew. However, I didn't recognize the statuettes.

Chiyo sat on her knees, put her hands together and prayed. Who was she praying for? Me? Why would I need such a thing? I'm only going to see the King and Queen. She ended her quaint ritual in about five minutes. She promptly blew out the incense and put the figures away in their proper places. She also gave me some sweet orange scented perfume, which she also used to mask the smell of the incense. She gave me a mirror and examined her fine work.

My lips were painted bright red with lipstick and my face pale but beautiful. The gold eyeshadow complemented my clothes. I waved my finger for her to come closer. In her ear, I asked her, "Why did you have to pray in secret?". She smiled bittersweetly and responded, "Any other religion besides worshiping Midratha is forbidden. If I were caught, I would be burned in public. I prayed to the God and the Mother Goddess for your good fortune Mistress Canaan." She smiled again.

That's crazy! Shouldn't everyone be allowed to believe what they want? This enraged me and made me ball up both my fists. Chiyo took both my hands and patted them.

"Young Mistress Canaan, please don't be angry. Sometimes part of being an adult, you must learn to accept things that you do not want to participate in. But only sometimes." she voiced her last sentence with a cheer and tightened her grip on my hands and winked. I loosened my grip and smiled back at her weakly but it still felt very wrong to me.

Chiyo led me through winding corridors again and finally into a grand throne room. I was starting to get nervous. there were many important looking people all around. They were laughing, drinking, eating, and conversing. The thrones were set apart from the rest of the room by two large flights of stairs. Three grand wooden chairs with bright red upholstery sat at the peak of the two flights. and behind them were the only windows, but they were all large enough to light up the entire room.

There was a grand table set parallel to the stairs with Milton, Warrick, Valencia and about thirteen other knights sitting, eating, conversing also. Warrick saw me and noticed my nervousness, he smiled and winked. I smiled back at him, feeling the nervousness wash away from me. If the powder on my face wasn't there and if it wasn't so thick I would have been blushing.

Chiyo ran a finger down my spine so that I would straighten my back. That sent chills all throughout my body. Thanks Chiyo for the extra layer of awkwardness. The King cleared his throat loudly and the room went silent almost instantly. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Like I was the star of the show with me being the main act. I wasn't allowed to sit at the Knights table. Chiyo stood me in the center and bowed to the King and his family. The three of them were all equally stunning, you could touch the power and prowess they had. The King was dressed in royal purple clothes with a shimmering gold crown. The Queen to his right was dressed in an ornate burgundy dress that was surprisingly revealing yet still had a grace to it. Her eyes told me that she was stern but collected. She had a beautiful tan skin tone that reminded me of an ancient place with large pyramids and hot sand dunes. the name of that place, I know it so well! But what?

To the King's left was a girl not far from my age. She still had a baby face though I could tell that she was of age. She was just as regal and powerful looking as her parents. somehow I feel pity for her, to live your life with a royal mask you were always expected to wear. That must've been a horrible way to live your life. What would happen if she were thrust into the real world? Would she be able to fend for herself? She was beautiful just like her mother. But she had silver hair and fair skin almost more fair than my own. She was dressed in a quaint pastel blue dress that complimented her fair skin and her hair. She had a silver tiara that blew my own out of the water. A dainty blue pendant was hanging from her neck.

"Please state your name." Said the King with his voice reverberating throughout the room.

"Canaan Clarent, your excellency." I gulped.

"A fitting name for a fine young woman." The queen said. I didn't say thank you, it felt out of place to do it. The princess was silent but alert.

"Canaan, I will give you two choices. You will either become a servant like the many you see around here. Or You will join the valiant people sitting at the table behind you. You may make your choice forthwith." The King said sternly.

"Consider this an act of mercy Canaan." Said the Queen. My palms were clammy. How could I make such a life-alerting decision in such a short time? Think! How many minutes have passed? No seconds? Stop sweating you are gonna ruin your make up that Chiyo spent so much time on. Both situations will be under the royals' thumbs. I do like to help people but doing it for a long time, I think I would grow frustrated with it. Being a servant I don't think I would have a voice. Being a Holy Knight will be dangerous, to say the least. With being a knight I could have at least some meaning to my life. Answer them, Canaan! You're taking too long! I breathed in and said it.

"Your majesties, I feel I will be more of use to your Lordships as a Holy Knight." I waited and waited. It was perfectly silent in the room. The Queen and The King adjusted in their seats as if to examine me to see if my decision was genuine. They smiled and The King raised his voice, "To the citizens of Albion I present to you the newest Holy Knight Canaan Clarent!". I was warmly greeted with applause from everyone in the room and whistles from Warrick. I couldn't help but smile looking at Milton, Valencia, and Warrick. I joined them at the table and we ate, made jokes, and talked for about 2 hours.

After the festivities were over and everyone of the citizens went home, we knights we allowed to go and sleep in our rooms. It felt nice to have my own private room. Although I wouldn't mind sleeping next to Warrick for another night or two. That thought made me blush again. The door was in nice shape and didn't creek when I opened it. It was dark, but I could still make out the presence of someone in my room. I called out for Chiyo, maybe she was still in my room preparing things? A candle lit, and it was the princess from before.

"I didn't get the chance to tell you my name, It's Morvana. I saw the way you were looking at him. Warrick. As a warning I'm telling you this now, stay away from him. It's rude to steal from someone who is deserving of him. Congratulations on sacrificing yourself for the Holy Knights' crusade." She purposely nudged my shoulder with her own as she left my room.