I felt warm all through the night.
As if I was wrapped in rays of sunshine.
And I slept soundly. I don't remember the last time I slept so soundly, in this life or the last.
But when I woke up... Altan was gone. The sheets were tucked around me and there wasn't a trace of a sign that he had been there.
"M'lady." I sat up in bed and found one of the young maids who had helped me dress the day before. "I have prepared a breakfast for you." She gestured to a table in my room that was already laid out with fresh fruits and unleavened breads.
I nodded my head and moved lazily to the food. I stuffed a date in my mouth and chewed slowly. I felt 1 million times better than I had last night... Altan had really healed me.
~And that wasn't the only thing he'd done~
The memory of his soft hands on my skin surfaced in my mind and a shiver ran down my back.
~Is that what will continue to happen after we are married? No, it will likely be more than that. If we are married, then Altan will probably expect me to bear him a son: an heir to the Dukedom. And we all know what must be done to bear a son.~
Another shiver ran down my spine, but this one was not with a feeling of excitement.
"M'Lady," The maid asked for my attention and I turned to her with a piece of bread sticking out of my mouth.
"We must dress you soon, M'Lady." the maid went on, "Soon it will be time for the Duke to announce your wedding to the public."
My eyes widened.
~That's right... My wedding~
"When did His Grace say the wedding would take place?" I asked and swallowed the bread in my mouth.
"We are making preparations for the wedding to take place in two days, M'lady."
My feet stood without command. How could I possibly have forgotten the wedding was so soon? "Where is Amah?" I asked.
"Amah has assigned me to be your Lady's maid." The girl bowed. "I am in charge of dressing you and escorting you around the palace."
I turned to the girl. She was short, with a cute, round face, and pin-straight black hair. "And what shall I call my new Lady's maid?"
"You may call me Dilera, M'Lady." She bowed, and I thought perhaps she blushed too.
"What a beautiful name." I said, then I crossed the room and took her hands in mine, "Dilera, I need you to dress me as quickly as possible, then take me to the Duke before we announce our wedding."
Dilera blinked wildly and refused to meet my eyes, "The Duke, M'Lady? bu- but his Grace is very busy, and-"
"And I am the future Duchess of Kiziljer." I finished for her. "If I want to speak to my fiance, no one can stop me."
"Yes, M'Lady." Dilera nodded her head.
"Now dress me in something fierce!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Your Grace,"
"I'm very busy right now, Zamir. I Have to-"
"The future Duchess wishes to speak with you."
Altan's head snapped up at the words of his personal guard. "Then let her in, please."
"Good Morning, Your Grace." I said and entered the room as gracefully as possible, letting my skirt float out behind me.
The side of Altan's mouth glided up into a smile at my presence, and I knew Dilera had done a good job of dressing me.
I was wearing an orange silk wrap that went around the same tight black blouse I had word before. The wrap circled my shoulders, then wrapped around my hips multiple times to form a flowing skirt and was embroidered with the same gold thread that I had seen so far only myself and Altan wear. I assumed it was a sign or royalty.
"How are you feeling?" Altan asked. he stepped out from behind a desk that was in the center of the room. From what I could tell, we were in the Duke's study, which was a room attached to the Library. Or at least I assumed it was, based on the amount of bookshelves and books that littered the room.
"I am much better, thanks to you." I gave him my brightest smile.
"You look it," Altan agreed, then turned a small circle around me as if assessing my body. Perhaps in my past life I would have felt insecure about such a hot man looking so closely at me. But in this new body, I felt like a certified beauty and felt no shame when the duke's eyes lingered on the bit of my torso that was visible below my blouse.
"The colors of Ot Ulut suit you." Altan said, and his dark eyes returned to my face.
~Alright, enough with the flattery, I get it, I'm hot~
"I've come to talk with you about the engagement."
"Ah, yes," Altan leaned on the front of his desk and stretched one of his legs out in front of him, "I have a question for you as well. I need to know your favorite flower for the ceremony."
"Chamomile." I answered without thinking. It was my favorite flower in my past life, I wasn't even sure it existed on this planet.
"Chamomile?" Altan repeated, "The little white ones? Why do you like those?"
I shrugged, "I like to drink Chamomile tea."
Altan seemed to hold in a laugh at this explanation. Although when he spoke he couldn't keep a wide smile from cracking his face, "It's your favorite flower because you like the flavor of it?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked.
"No," Altan shook his head, "Nevermind, we will use chamomile in the ceremony."
"Right," I said, and my smile dropped, "About the ceremony. I've come to ask if we can move it back."
Altan's smile dropped instantly, and he stood, no longer leaning casually on the desk, "And why would I do that?"
"Well, your are already forcing me to marry you." I said, "At least let it be in my own time."
Altan paused, "Yes, but if you're going to marry me one way or another, does the timeline really matter?"
"Of course it does!" I answered, "Where I come from, people don't get married until they at least know each other well."
"Where you come from?" one of his eyebrows rose, "In Pani Rastra?"
"Well, I'm not sure." I bit my tongue.
~I need to be careful of what I say~
"I just feel like that's the way it should be." I corrected myself. "I feel like I should have some time to get to know you better. I don't know anything about you, or about Kiziljer or Ot Ulut. I want to know about this place that I will become the Duchess over."
Altan frowned, "Aren't those all things you can learn after we've married?"
I clenched my teeth. There was no reasoning with this guy.
~Alright, he leaves me no choice... If I can't reason with him, I'll have to beg.~
I made my eyes bigger, stuck out my bottom lip and fluttered my eyelashes, "Please, Your Grace."
"Why are you making that face?" Altan seemed concerned.
I dropped the expression immediately and fought the urge to facepalm.
~Alright that didn't work. Note to self: practice puppy-dog face in mirror later~
"You said you would do anything for the future Duchess." I said and put my hands together as if pleading with him.
"Anything but that." Altan shook his head.
"Please." I pinched my lips together, "Just two weeks, that's all I ask."
Altan crossed his arms, released a deep sigh, then spoke "One week."
~Oh my god, he's negotiating with me~
"Two weeks is not that much more than one week." the smallest smile grew on my face.
"One and a half." he took a few steps forward and lowered his lashes to look at my face.
I attempted the puppy-dog face again, but this time I only pouted my lip the slightest bit. "Please, two weeks?" I begged.
Altan smiled then leaned his face toward mine, "I'll give you two weeks if you let me kiss you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We stood on a balcony on the second floor of the palace. In front of us spread a huge courtyard that occupied nearly every citizen of Kiziljer. A sea or red, orange, and black, the colors of Ot Ulut formed in front of me.
My throat had felt dry since the moment that Altan had taken my hand and led me onto the balcony. Never before had I been in front of so many people. I was grateful that I was not the one who had to do the talking.
"Lady Azul of Pani Rastra has declared that her favorite flower is Chamomile." Altan announced to the crowd, "Please bring as much Chamomile into the city of Kiziljer as possible in preparation for our wedding."
His thumb moved slow circles on the back of my hand as he spoke, and I wondered at his multitasking skills for being able to speak to this large crowd and keep my stomach churning with his touch at the same time.
"The wedding will be held in one week and a half, on the day of Burn." Altan beamed as he spoke, and I found it hard to take me eyes off of him "In the meantime," he continued, "all of Ot Ulut is to celebrate, especially our great city of Kiziljer. For, I, the Duke of Kiziljer, will end an age old war with my marriage! Let us praise the gods!"