The soft warmth of the morning sun hit her face when her eyes peeled open. One of her maids had pulled aside the curtain that blocked off a large spacious balcony to let the light in.
"Good morning lady Rue. I take it you slept well?"
Rue replied but it came out as a low mumble that drowned in the sheet as she pulled her heavy body off the bed. Her back-length black hair stayed in one wavy lock as it would mimic the shape it was last styled in before she pulled her hair out. It slid over one shoulder as she reached to her toes and then for the ceiling in a stretch. Her muscles loosened and the sleep left her body.
"Good morning," said Rue again and she walked forward towards the mirror. It was about two times her height and had dainty green tendrils spiraling the carved golden frame.
"I didn't sleep. Didn't want today to come," added Rue.
She took a good deep look at herself in the glass. Shorter strands of her hair formed ringlets at both her temples while two hung from the top of her light pink face. Her silver eyes stared back at her through the mirror before they shifted to the regalia the maid held up in both hands.
Like most royal dresses it was mainly red. Rue however could not have cared less about what it looked like, only that the back did not show too much skin.
"How is the back?" asked Rue and her brows knitted together in a serious face.
The maid turned it around for her to see.
Rue let out a heavy sigh of relief at the closed-back design.
She was very self-conscious whenever it came to the scar on her back. Only a few people knew about it and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Just perfect."
Rue had a long day ahead of her. After a brief breakfast with her father, she would go on to do some of her royal duties. Today was special as it was her first time blessing a Mera couple who had committed the rest of their lives to one another by sprinkling sacred blood above their heads.
By midday upon completing her royal duties, she would spend the remainder with members of her order, the Zunbera-xefi. They were mostly seen in dark red loose training uniforms with long sleeves down both arms and legs.
Though it was the most respected order in the land, it was not regular that they did assassinations. They only responded to threats to the Frontera system once several Kingdoms bid on them. This was especially since they were not guaranteed to make it back alive from these quests. Yet, it is the order that Mera is built upon. It's the reason they were called across many Domains as the Land of the silent red devils.
In the meantime, they mostly trained or patrolled inside the Kingdom to help maintain the peace. Among the luscious green lands outside the closed-off walls of the royals were living temples and rock-tiled off grounds where they did most of their training.
They did dagger and shuriken throwing, sword fighting, tranquility breathing techniques, stealth, as well as enhancing weaponries like adding poison among other things--and then there was survival cooking that would be served to all by evening.
Rue sat alone with her legs crossed on top of tiled earth. Only the wind and a few strands of her bunned hair moved, as she remained in deep concentration trying to move a pebble just a foot from her.
"You should be focusing on perfecting your stealth-energy field," commented an older male Mera that came and stood at her side. "You are still only able to create a close-body field, and yet you spend your time attempting the impossible."
"I will Sifu," --said Rue without opening her eyes-- "later."
Apart from stealth energy fields that Meras could create by altering the air around them to appear invisible, only a few had the ability of telekinesis and so were able to move objects with their minds. The only close Meras Rue knew with this ability were her father Cronan, and Dayrue a member of her order.
Dayrue however was dumb at the mouth. Most Meras including Rue knew how to sign and communicate with her. The problem was you needed to be paying attention to her hands to know when and what she was saying at all times. This led her to pick up a nasty habit of throwing daggers to get Meras attention.
Displaying such an ability would automatically earn one respect and also a higher status in the Kingdom. Rue was not practicing for this reason as she was already Royalty and had all she could ever need.
Being unsure about her order, however, Rue decided that if she could perform telekinesis, then that would be a sign that this is the order she belonged in. While other Meras around her were passionate and enjoyed doing what they did, she felt lost only going along with the flow.
Her eyebrows twitched ever so slightly above her stony face, but a familiar voice from behind her made her eyes open wide.
"Dad," she whispered to herself before turning around with a grin.
Matching her in dark red, he stood two feet taller. His beefy muscular build and broad shoulders made him appear like a giant. Without his fur cape and crown, three braids of black hair ran down his back and ended above his waist. Both his eyebrows were spiky and long and continued away from his face towards his ears. Like her, his skin was a light shade of pink.
She sprung up and ran into his arms.
He had a wide grin that caused his mustache to spread across his face. "How's my little girl!" it sounded like he shouted. Both his arms locked around her in an embrace.
Rue moved her face away from him, and her chin raised high to look up at the giant before her. "You know me… bored."
He let out a deep chuckle before they both sat down beside each other on the ground.
"So, how was it? How was your first time blessing a committed couple? I always got teary eyes after doing those. One day it will be you down there and me casting blessings on you-- and that special guy of yours."
--Rue smirked, as she thought in her head, that was never happening.
"What's his name again?" and his eyes lifted to the blue skies trying to remember the name.
"Callum," said Rue.
"Oooh, right at the tip of mah tongue. It's impossible to remember every single name in the Kingdom, remember that Rue." He leaned back to rest on both his arms behind him in contact with the earth. "How is the young chap doing?"
Usually, Rue would scold her father about now whenever he couldn't remember an important name such as this. But she pulled in her legs and wrapped her arms around them, before putting her chin to rest on top.
Now was a good time to tell him about it, she thought to herself. No, she did not want to ruin this moment. It should be just her and her dad. Nobody else.