The Curse of Thir
Chapter 21

Both parties were in shock, as they walked slowly down the passageway, being passed by a flurry of medics and men with stretchers. Xylees hand went limp in Naveens grip and dropped to her side. She stopped and waited for a terrified woman carrying bandages to scuttle past before she spoke.

“...did you mean it?”

Naveen looked at Xylee.

“Did I mean what?”

“Did you mean it when you asked Gelnane to remove this necklace?” She clasped the yellow stone with cold fingers, the very thought of what it was capable of disgusted her now.

“Of course I meant it; if I could I would remove it this instant and smash it into a thousand tiny fragments.” Two men carrying a bleeding man on the stretcher between them, raced past Xylee and Naveen towards the castles infirmary.

“Let’s get back to my room, it should be quieter there.”

They continued at their slow pace.

“But not with Francis in there Princess Naveen.”

Naveen smiled at Xylees statement.

“You’re right. I’ll see if she can sleep elsewhere tonight. I don’t think her twittering would be appreciated by us in our current state.” They remained silent and walked on past huddles of gossiping servants who hurried away at the sight of the messy princess and a bloody Xylee.

“... he didn’t look right...” The lights turned on and lit up their path. Xylee spoke out loud.

“There was something wrong with his eyes and the way he moved.” Stillness followed that statement as they found themselves in front of Francis and her nervous plump flesh.

“PRINCESS!! My Princess! Bless Thirs soil, air and water. I heard that there are bodies littered in your garden and that creature is to blame...” Francis inflated herself and squeezed in between the two of them.

“Shoo demon! I shall call the guards to escort you away from My Princess and I’ll make sure they are not polite about it!”

Xylee found herself a little more than disgruntled at Francis’ actions and let a throaty grunt slip out, much to her own surprise and Naveens. But before Francis could complain or take any further actions, Naveen pushed the woman’s heavy body aside and took hold of Xylees arm.

“Stop calling her demon, Francis. She saved my life.” She pulled Xylee towards her.

“My Princess! How have you bewitched her you devil creature! Release her from you-”

“FRANCIS!” Naveen stood angrily clutching onto Xylees sleeve. “If you continue with your name calling and acting in this manner, I shall have to ask you to leave. Permanently. I suggest that for now you make other sleeping arrangements, I cannot tolerate you and your words right now, I’ll get somebody to call you back when I am ready to forgive you and when you learn some manners.” With that she backed into the open doorway of her room pulling Xylee with her and shutting it in the face of a horrified Francis.

Xylee stood patiently with a blanket around her shoulders, outside of the washroom waiting for Naveen to finish washing and dressing herself.

“I shouldn’t have allowed her to carry on like that for so long Xylee. It wasn’t right of me, especially if I want us to be friends.” There were a few splashes from the bath. Francis room felt surprisingly empty without her complaining in the background.

“I mean, if I really want to be friends with you, and have you want to be friends with me. I can’t treat you differently in private and then expect you to act like a servant out in public, allowing others to belittle you isn’t right.” Water sloshed about in the bath as she got out.

“...Are you there Xylee?”

“Yes I am.”

A click followed by creaking as the door slowly opened. Warm steamy air escaped through the crack as Naveen hid partially behind the door.

“...I forgot to ask for fresh towels...” Her sheepish expression caught Xylee off guard and she found herself grinning foolishly as she handed her the blanket from her shoulders.

“I guess I can use this... Thank you.” The door clicked closed. “I’ll be quick, so you won’t have to wait in the cold for long.”

It was five minutes before Xylee found herself staring at a dressed and semi dried Naveen with a clammy blanket in her hands.

“I ran some clean water for you, it should be warm soon.” She walked towards the door. “I’ll go get some towels... Thank you.”

“It was just a blanket Princess.”

“No, I don’t mean the blanket, I mean thank you for saving my life.”

“I wasn’t the only one. Besides you saved my life, so I should be thanking you.”

Naveen smiled and nodded.

“Just don’t run away again please.”

“I won’t.”

Naveen opened the door and was greeted by four guards instead of the regular two. She closed the door immediately and sat on the floor, her fear of the events sending a cold chill up her spine and neck.

“Maybe we could go fetch the towels together?”

“It’s all right, I don’t need to bath.” Xylee sat next to Naveen on her hunches.

“No offense Xylee, but you do.” She wrinkled her nose. “You smell like lake water and blood. You need to clean yourself so the wounds don’t fester.”

She looked down to see her sleeves slightly ripped with a tiny cut from where she had knocked the mad guards’ sword aside.

“Oh... well I’m all right with drip drying Princess Naveen.”

“For Thirs sake, please just call me Naveen, and you can use a blanket then.” She lightly pushed at Xylee and smiled.

“Do you need help with the corset?” She stood up leaving the damp blanket by the door and taking another from her bed and handed it to Xylee.

“I think I’ve got the hang of it.”

“Enjoy your bath; I’ll be on Francis bed if you need anything.”

“Ok.” She closed the wash room door and breathed in the warm rose scented air. Removing the outer layers of her clothing was easy enough but left her shivering. She hooked her arms backwards and began unclasping the corset, but as the first clasp unhooked she gasped in pain as she realised the metal frame work inside the material had dug into her flesh at the back. Corsets were not made for fighting unnaturally strong individuals. She unhooked the next a clip and found it more painful than the first, it had been awhile since she felt pain like this. In a way she appreciated it, because it had nothing to do with the necklace. It reminded her of the Dreag, simple uncomplicated pain that made sense and required time to heal. Not the green fire that burned and then disappeared, making her feel craze.

She peeled the last metal piece from her back and looked at the inside of the corset, the top pieces had hooked onto something as she had slammed and skidded on the ground bending backwards piercing her. It was unusable now. She hoped that Naveen wouldn’t be mad at her for this.

“Naveen....” She was wrong about her, and she had been since they first met. She wasn’t some spoilt brat, she was just lonely and knew as much about human interactions concerning friendship as Xylee did.

“I should say yes...” she smiled as she realised that she wanted to be her friend, whatever that may be. She climbed into the bath and yelped loudly in pain, her hands shot over mouth but it was too late as Naveen lurched sleepily through the wash room door. Upon seeing Xylees back and the blooded corset she refused to leave her alone, picked up a clean wash cloth and dabbed at the scratches, apologising every time Xylee gasped. It was the first time Naveen had seen Xylees back. It seemed normal enough save for the dense feeling of her spine.

Xylee was silent aside from the occasional deep intake of breath, her brow furrowed deeply and she blurted out a single word.

“Yes!”

Naveen dropped the wash cloth in surprise.

“What? Yes what? I am hurting you? I’m sorry...”

“...no, well yes but that’s not your fault. I said yes, as an answer to your question.”

“I asked a question?”

“Earlier, before that craze man... tried to kill you.” The thought of so many dead men made both the girls shiver in the warmth of the room.

“Earlier? You mean when I asked if you wanted to be my friend.”

“Yes, and yes I do want to be your friend.”

Naveen moved to face Xylee and stared at her with intense dark eyes.

“Do you mean it? Do you really want to be my friend?”

“Yes I mean it. If being a friend... is making each other less lonely and helping one another, and standing up for each other, then yes... that’s something I’d like. I’ve never had it before, although so I don’t know how good I’d be at the other things in friendship if there are any and there probably are.” Looking at Naveen made Xylee wish she hadn’t said everything whilst she was in the bath. She felt... embarrassed or at least this is what she believed embarrassment felt like. Her cheeks reddened and she drew her knees up to her chin.

“That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say... I’ll hug you later when you’re less naked.” She smiled broadly and went to sit on the stool in the corner.

“...ok...”

Xylee carefully washed herself and paid special attention to her horns that had settled into their regular size. She had finished washing and looked back to see Naveen staring at the misty ceiling, the blanket sat next to her. Why had she put it so far away?

Sitting there for a moment longer she finally found her bravado, hopped out of the bath, grabbed the blanket and covered herself in one hasty action.

“You could have asked for the blanket.” Xylee found Naveen staring intensely at her again with a smile on her face.

“Right...”

“I’ll wait outside while you get dressed. Your sleeping clothes are there where the towels should be.” She pointed to the bench and got up then stopped. “When you’re done can you come to the door with me, I know it seems silly, but I don’t trust them.”

“Of course I will and it’s not silly, one of them went craze...Naveen.”

“Thank you.”

Dabbing herself dry with the overly fluffy blanket proved harder than she had thought, bits of fluff stuck to the cut on her arms so she avoided her back completely, and merely dropped the long heavy grey sleeping top over her head, it went past her knees so when she found the pants uncomfortable she left them off.

Naveen sat on the edge of the bed, her head dipped forward as the waves of exhaustion hit her.

“Oh, you’re done?” She rubbed her eyes and got up. “Let’s go to the door then.” She walked dozily to the door and opened it slowly revealing the small army that stood in front of it.

“Could you please send somebody up with fresh towels and ointment for wounds please?” She stood squarely and faced them as if she had no fear, but Xylee heard the increased beat inside her chest, reaching out she clenched her hand like Naveen had done not so long ago.

“Yes Princess Naveen.” One guard bowed and left, the others stood and eyed Xylee warily. Turning her royal gaze to another guard she questioned him on the whereabouts of the three surviving guards.

“They are in the infirmary, Princess. They’ll be fine once the shock wears off. I’m sure they will be pleased to hear of your concern for them.”

She nodded.

“Did any of the others survive?” She looked on expecting a no.

“Yes Princess, Holton and Rodrick, they are healing after surgery.”

“But Holton... I saw the sword go through him? How did he survive?”

“The blade missed his heart and lungs, it is a miracle he was that fortunate. Unfortunately he will no longer be able to serve under Your Father the King, or Gelnane.”

“Perhaps that is most fortunate. Please inform me when he will be able to receive visitors; I believe I owe him my deepest gratitude.”

“Yes Princess Naveen.”

The guard who had left returned with a servant in tow.

“Thank you.” She let go of Xylees hand and took the towels and cream from the quivering servant girl.

“Xylee are you hungry?” She looked at Xylee who was busily staring at her exposed knees.

“Not really Naveen.” As soon as she uttered Naveens name in such a casual manner a ripple of shock could be felt from those that stood before the threshold of the door.

“How dare you utter the Princesses name in such a manner? You demon!” Naveen side stepped and stood directly in front of Xylee, blocking any attempt the guards wanted to make.

“If any of you dare to harm or insult Xylee further I will make sure that you are removed from whatever positions you are in. You will then be forced to clean up pig El-ta for the rest of your lives. Do you understand?” The group of individuals nodded their head in shock at the Princesses use of words.

“Good. I expect breakfast at ten tomorrow. Mostly fruit with some buttered bread and tea. Good night.”

With that she shut the door with her foot, leaving surprise on the other side of the door for the second time that night.