This morning I woke up to the sound of a cat purring contently next to my ear. It's soft paws landed on my cheek and tickled my face. My new cat was so cute, with its big pale blue eyes and it's soft white belly. I felt compelled to stroke and tickle her as she nuzzled up to me. Soon after Agnes, Edna and Mellie entered my room and opened the curtains and the windows to let light and fresh air in.
Today they brought out my corseted pale blue dress with blue embroidery. It was quite plain but pretty and according to Agnes, puffed sleeves and corsets were the latest fashion. So I would unfortunately be required to wear more of those.
Today I was going to a farm on the outer South-West region of Gismead, I wanted to secure a deal with the farmers so that I could get milk, sugar, flour and other products I would need delivered to the café.
Today Bard and Augustus accompanied me to the Frobisher farm to organize a deal with the farm owner to sell me his produce throughout the year. The farm owner was called Mr Galorian Frobisher and he owned many different farms that produced many different things, but he was renowned for his sugar blossom plants - the crop that produced sugar. He walked us around his farm and he let us try lots of the different fruits and crops that he made.
There was this delicious green fruit called a chicory that tasted slightly of peppermint but was shaped like peaches. Then he showed me these beautiful bright purple fruits called Korlans, they looked like dragon fruit but tasted more like watermelon. He also grew a fruit that looked and tasted exatly like strawberries, but bigger and jucier. My favourite was this small reddish-brown bean called Gocan beans, that tasted exactly like coco bean, I already thought up some plans to make chocolate.
We went back to the stone farm house and negotiated a deal with him, in the end we settled on 10 silvers every paying term - which was halfway through every season and at the end of every season, thus six times a year - for about five large crates of my desired fruits every week starting from the following week. Mr Frobisher seemed like a very sensible and honest man, even though he as very old and his eyes were so wrinkled I wasn't sure if they were open or not half the time, he was very sharp and clever.
Augustus had assured me that all his produce was to the finest quality, and that we were given a good deal for our money. So afterwards, we happily rode away in our carriage and returned home.
When we arrrived my cute little cat simpered out to meet me and nuzzled the bottom of my skirt and purred happily up at me, asking for some attention. She was really the cuttest little cat I had ever seen with her soft fluffy fur and big round eyes. I would have to think of a cute name for her. I reached down and picked her up and held her close against my chest and gently stroked her. I was about to walk into the house when a flustered Agnes ran up to me. Her cheeks were a bright red and she could barely speak because she was panting so loudly.
"Milady!" She creid out.
"What is it! What's wrong Agnes?" I asked concerned. She looked like she had just gotten the fright of her life. Did something happen to her? was she okay?
"There is... an... important guest... in... the...drawing room!" She wheezed out.
"Why on earth are you so flustered? who is it?" I asked relieved that she was fine and that nothing serious had happened but a little annoyed that she was overreacting.
"Make haste Milady! His highness had been waiting a good while for your already!" She said desperately as she shoved me to the drawing room.
His Highness! Prince Geoffrey? I felt my heart beat just a little faster and my cheeks warmed up a bit, I couldn't help feel a little tinge of excitement that Prince Geoffrey had come to see me, but I shoved that feeling away as I realised that he had probably come to talk about the potion.
Auberon opened the door to the drawing room for me and I walked in, to see the Prince eating some ice cream and fruit from a bowl, he was dressed in a very fancy white and gold attire, with what looked like a satin gold-threaded cape, while a very sharply dressed knight stood behind him. They were definitely a sight to behold in my drawing room.
I curtseyed a very low and formal curtsey to him, "Greetings your highness. I am sorry to have kept you waiting." I said.
"Finally you have arrived..." He said smirking, the prince was teasing me, how was I supposed to know that he would just stop by? I looked around awkardly feeling embarrassed.
"Do not apologise, you were not informed that I was coming." He said seeing that he had made me feel embarrased.
"Please take a seat, he motioned to the chair opposite him." I obliged him and sat down in front of him. I looked up at him and suddenly felt very intimidated, it was partly because of his ferocious golden stare and partly because he was so handsome and regal that I found him intimidating. However, I sat up straight and held my own. I didn't want him to know that his presence affected me.
"I need to discuss the healing potion with you." He started, he then placed the empty bowl onto a little table next to him and then gestured to the night behind him. The knight then stepped forward and placed a satin sack the size of a soup bowl in front of me. I looked at it curiously, wondering what it was.
"May I?" I asked, looking at the prince, asking if I could open it.
He simply nodded, "It's yours." When I opened the sack I was surprised to see that it was full of gold coins.
"Is this all from selling the potion?" I asked incredulously. That couldn't have possibly made this much money in a few days.
"During the week that we were manufacturing the potion, I ordered for demonstrations and other such advertising to be held in all the other kingdoms as well, we have already sold one hundred cases of potion to Astonia and it won't be long before the other kingdoms are willing to buy the potion, not to mention that the potion is selling very well here in Gismead as well." He said in his low regal tone. I couldn't get over how sharp and fierce his eyes were. It made looking into them difficult for me and thus I found myself avoiding eye contact when possible.
"Well, that explains all this money." I smiled, peering into the sack again. It looked like mostly gold coins and a few silver coins. It was kind of crazy how much money I had, so much that I didn't think I would be able to spend it all in this lifetime. But the more money I had, the more I would be able to spend it to make a difference in this world.
"Thats not all I wanted to tell you." I snapped back to attention when I heard his words. "Your potion and your name will soon spread across all the kingdoms. Do you know what this will mean for you?" He asked tilting his golden head to the side while staring at me, studying me to see if I knew the answer.
"No, not really." I replied honestly, avoiding his stare.
"Your potion is quite honestly a wonder. Arteria has never seen anything like it before. Not only is it extremely effective but it can heal people in a matter of moments... The other kingdoms will be eager to get their hands on the creator of this potion and discover its secrets and since you are the creator of the potion, the other kingdoms will send their spies and knights after you in order to learn your secrets." My throat suddenly felt dry after hearing his words, I hadn't even thought of the possiblity of this happening. Why did making a potion to help people suddeny put an international target on m head?
"Wouldn't they just go after the stone I enchanted, not me?" I asked confused. I realised that if they just stole the stone I had enchanted they could also just make the potion themselves.
"That stone is now being kept safe by the Royal family, so it would be much easier for them to just capture you." He replied. "Besides that, nobody besides us knows about the stone you enchanted." Oh yes, of course, he was the only one I told how I created the potion.
I felt kind of insecure and unsure about the whole situation. I didn't want to live in hiding or anything like that, I didn't want to become some paranoid maniac because I felt like people were constantly watching me. The prince seemed to sense my unease.
"Do not worry, I will have some knights keep gaurd over you at all times. They are all highly skilled and very discreet and they work in the dark. You will never see them, hear them or sense them, but they will always be near you and will protect you with their lives. You can rest assured that you will be kept safe, after all you are an asset to Girannon, and I will not allow you to be taken by another kingdom." The way he said that somehow made my worry fall away. He somehow managed to make me feel safe with a few words. Although I was really intrigued and scared by the sound of these discreet knights, protecting me from the dark. It sounded very surreal.
"In case of emergencies blow this pipe and they will come to you." He handed me a small plain golden pipe, with a black ribbon tied around it. As I felt it in my hands, and felt the cool silver metal against my skin, I shivered and sensed a dark aura emanate from it.
"Thank you." I bowed my head to the prince gratefully.
"lastly, we will be opening up more factories in order to make a larger amount of potion. The royal family wanted to use these factories as an opportunity to employ the many jobless commoners living in the common sect. Do you have any objections to employing commoners?" He asked.
"No, I think it would be wonderful to employ commoners." I nodded happily because the potion factories would now become another opportunity to employ the poorer people of Gismead. I smiled, now creating the potion had two helpful outcomes: people would be healed from injuries and some poeple would be able to find jobs and earn a living. I felt like my quest from the gods was going well so far.
"Good..."
"Since we will be opening up four more factories, we need you to enchant four more stones. Rest assured that we will keep them safe." I nodded my head and planned to make four more balls as soon as they left.
"This knight here, Lord Gawain Smithson will come and collect them from you tomorrow morning." He said, pointing to the knight standing behind him. I bowed my head respectfully to him. This night had a gruff look about him, there was a roughness to his demeanor that told me that he had fought and killed many times, but stilll I found him less intimidating that the prince.
"Yes your Highness." Everything he said to me felt more like a command than a request.
"I will leave you now. I look forward to seeing you at the Von Esterheim soirée." He stood up and nodded his head to me. I quickly got up and curtseyed to him, and then led him out and waited until he and the knight left on their brilliant and heroic looking horses, they kicked the gravel up with them as they galloped off. Then the breath that I had been holding in rushed out and I felt a sense of relief as the prince left. I felt like he had some kind of strange hold on me: he made me nervous and anxious and made me feel really awkward. But then again I guessed that all the ladies he had ever met felt that way about him.
<———————-<<
Prince Geoffrey and Lord Gawain rode away on their horses back to the castle.
"Your Highness..." Gawain broke the silence.
"Yes Gawain." Answered the prince.
"Is she truly the Mage that created the healing potion?" Asked Gawain. He had not expected her to look the way she looked. He had expected the creator of such a potion to be an old and wise Mage, possibly a hermit who lived in isolation and had practiced magic for decades. It didn't make any sense to him that some young Lady could make such a potion.
"Yes, I am sure that she created it." Said the prince firmly. "Although she is so young, she has incredible power." He told Gawain, he let his mind think over the dark-haired maiden that had him so enthralled. "Did you watch the Mage tournament Gawain?"
"Yes I did."
"Didn't Lady Riley impress you?" He asked.
"Indeed her skill is very impressive, she must have taken a long time to refine her magic to such a level. The Marcellus's must have trained her very well and for a very long time." Gawain said recalling the magnificent water dragon that she created.
"Two weeks."
"Excuse me your Highness?" Asked Gawain confused.
"Two weeks." Repeated the prince. "She trained for two weeks to reach that level."
Gawain stiffened and his horse felt the sudden shift in his rider's mood and neighed in despair. Gawain responded by tightening the horses reins so that it wouldn't get out of control.
"Two weeks?" Gawain Asked the prince, almost not believing it.
Geoffrey nodded in response and Gawain knew that the prince would not lie to him. That didn't stop his mind from racing, it took people years to master their magic so how was it possible that a young Lady could master and refine it in two weeks... and then go and create and incredible healing potion...
"You should try and get better acquainted with her Gawain. She will probably be of great use to you in the future, as the soon to be head of the Royal army."
"Yes, your Highness." Gawain knew that Prince Geoffrey was telling the truth, that woman, Lady Riley could be very useful to his family in the future. He would make sure to be welcoming and as friendly as possible at the Von Esterheim soirée.
Riley had just finished enchanting the fourth steel ball and then took them up to her room with her, where she found her cat sleeping peacefully on her bed. The cat stretched out one of her back legs and gave a little yawn before settling back into Riley's bed.
Riley chuckled at the sight of her, she thought that for a cat that had been a stray and was starving on the streets, she had quickly adjusted to the life of a noble. Riley still didn't know what she would name the cat... maybe she would just give her a normal Earth name, since she hadn't heard many regular Earth names here in Arteria.
Riley started calling out a few names that she liked.
'Sophie' 'Amelia' 'Keira'... she called out a bunch of different names, but at the end she decided on Sophie.
"Hello Sophie..." Riley cooed as she went to go pick her up and cuddle her. Then she heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." She called out. Agnes walked into her bedroom.
"Milady." Agnes curtseyed.
"Yes Agnes?" Riley Asked.
"Milady..." Agnes breathed in happily as a prideful smile appeared on her face.
"Prince Geoffrey just came to your manor... and sat in your drawing room... and talked to you..." she said her eyes widened as if she couldn't believe her own words. "I did not think that yourself and the prince were on such good terms. This is simply wonderful, to be so well acquainted with a prince..." Agnes's eyes sparkled as she thought of all the wonderful opportunities that would happen for her lady because of this friendship.
"Agnes, don't get the wrong idea, it's not because we are friends, it's because we have work together..." Riley said hoping that she would be able to scrap Agnes's ideal thinking."
Agnes just didn't listen, "Milady You mustn't let this opportunity pass you by, you must solidify this friendship and use it to your advantage." Riley sighed. Agnes was always thinking of ways for Riley to climb the social ladder, although it was frustrating, Riley knew that she only did it because she cared so Riley just sat there for a few hours and listened to Agnes lecture her about how best to climb the social ladder, while they enjoyed some biscuits and milk.
Then they heard another knock on the door.
"Come in." Called Riley.
Edna and Mellie popped around the door, "Milday your new dresses have arrived!" Gushed Mellie excitedly.
"New dresses?" Asked Riley confused.
"Oh yes!" Agnes jumped up from her seat. "The dresses that you could possibly wear to the soirée of course." Riley deadpanned, honestly how much of her money had Agnes spent on dresses.
"Let's try them on!" Clapped Agnes.
<—————-<<<
First was a corseted white dress that I quite liked, but it showed off a lot of my breasts - another quirky thing about Arteria was that it was okay for women to show of their breasts and arms but was extremely daring for a women to show off their legs and ankles.
I then tried on the array of magnificent ball gowns. I could tell that Agnes was paying keen attention to what I liked as she had ordered dresses in pastel colours, my preference.
Then the last one was an extraordinary gown with beaded patterning, even better it was long and flowy and corset free. I loved it.