"Again." Her sultry voice echoed loudly across the field. Her eyes peered into the collapsed frame of the young man in front of her. He shakily rose to his feet and leaned heavily on his wooden sparring sword. His brown curly hair drenched with sweat and plastered to his head, his golden eyes blood shot and tired. He began slowly shaking his head as he attempted to catch his breath, he ran his free hand through his dripping wet hair and stood up as straight as he could manage, taking a deep breath to try and fill his aching lungs.
"I can't. I can barely catch my breath as it is my Lady." His voice was shaky and raspy, it clung to every bit of air that came through as if it was the last time he would ever get the chance to breathe. He looked up at her reluctantly, waiting to see if she would push him past his limits again. The last time she oversaw training for the day she put half of the unit in the Infirmary and the others were left with shaken legs and unable to breathe.
She began making her way over towards him, her movements were as graceful as a doe as her long legs carried her, quickly covering the distance of the training ground. Her face unchanging and impossible to read. With her non-armed hand, she reached out and took his chin in her hand, eyes scanned his exhausted face as she analyzed his condition for herself. Her eyes were a dazzling sea greenish blue with a dark blue ring on the outside of her eyes, similar to when the surface of the ocean met the shallow waters of the shore. A golden ring wrapped around her iris with flecks that danced in the sun, her eyes were truly enchanting, captivating anyone lucky enough to gaze into them.
She sighed with a small chuckle and dropped his head, she shook her head slightly, the hair in her high ponytail danced back and forth delicately. After the long morning of training, not a hair on her head was out of place, her skin remained matted and clear just as it would if she had just gotten out of bed.
She motioned for someone near her as she tossed her sparring sword away, another knight walked up and took the young man's sword from him. "This concludes today's training. Rest up, all of you." Her voice sang across the grounds, loud yet calm.
She turned away and made her way back to the main hall. The knights followed her with their gazes, both in awe and a little in fear but soon started making their way off the training field and back to the barracks.
The graceful warrior enjoyed training the knights and the squires, it reminded her of her battling and campaigning years. It always made her feel a bit nostalgic, and sometimes made her feel young again.
A slim, petite young woman scurried up next to the fit, long legged beauty, desperately trying to get her to slow down.
"My Lady Arella, please slow down my legs cannot keep up at such a pace." The young woman's voice sheepishly pleaded. She jogged just to try and keep up with Arella's pace.
"Oh, I am sorry Ollie, I must still be coming down from today's activities. What has you all worked up?" Arella asked calmly, she slowed her pace so her shorter companion could catch up. Olenya sighed and shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing as she moved. "The Lord of Western Trystalla is requesting an audience with you, my Lady. Apparently, ravens were sent a few days ago but they are arriving as we speak. I assume it is about the export's situation." she said cautiously, the beginning of Austrimm always meant being short on exports to the Border City yet it never stopped them from coming to Evynne asking for more.
Arella sighed, knowing she would be unable to find an excuse to miss this meeting, she turned and nodded to her nervous aide, she placed a hand on her shoulder, to offer some level of relief. Olenya got anxious easily when it came to City matters, she was more accustomed to caring for Arella and Lady Rae.
The two of them entered the main hall of Castle Evynne and began to head toward the living area so Arella could change out of her casual training attire.
The castle was enormous with greyish white marble floors all throughout. The main floor housed the banquet hall, where all of the feasts and parties were thrown. A large open foyer with curved mahogany stairs on either side leading up to the second floor and a glamorous crystal chandelier hung elegantly from the ceiling, it gave the space a welcoming feeling to everyone who walked through the main doors. Windows spanned from the floor to the ceiling, allowing as much natural light in as possible which made the castle feel even more massive and inviting. The council chambers were down the hall on the right side where all political matters were discussed. The kitchen was behind the banquet hall to minimize the amount of travel required to prepare meals and festivities. The floor was decorated with a forest green carpet which complimented the lightness of the marble floor, bringing a more earthy feel into the space. The carpet lined the most trafficked areas except for near the kitchen. Elegant candle holders were meticulously placed throughout the castle to ensure candlelight could fill every space during the evening hours and the darker times of Ystrid.
Arella entered the castle in the back, closer to the servants' quarters. There were 250 rooms inside of the castle, 150 were for the servants that tended to the castle and the rest of the inhabitants. Their rooms were modest but spacious, not as decorated as the rest of the castle but Arella ensured that her staff would have ample space to live and relax in.
She took the servants' stairway to the second floor where her quarters were located. Massive mahogany double doors adorned with silver handles led into her opulent room. Her bed was in the center of the room, her closet was on the left and her vanity on the right. Her room was decorated with blue, green and silver colors giving it a more relaxed feeling. The curtains hanging over the expansive windows were a silvery grey as was the rug that was underneath her bed. The bed sheets that were expertly tucked and folded, were a beautiful shade of light ocean blue with a hint of sea green within their stitches. She had her own private bathroom area with a granite bathtub, which was rare and heated through a fire underneath it, a separate toilet and hand washing area. The bathroom had the same flooring, with a silver rug under the hand washing bowl. There were silver hand towel holders on either side of the hand bowl with earth green hand towels that hung from them. A small open closet sat in the opposite corner, with more green towels lining the shelves.
She quickly stripped off her dirty training outfit and began rummaging through her closet to find something suitable for her guests. She ended up settling on a silky emerald green dress that draped off of her left shoulder and wrapped around her waist, hanging delicately off of her side. Not too revealing yet not the most modest thing she owned, she paired it with plain black heels which made her already impressive stature appear even taller. She grabbed her brush off her vanity, added some rosehip oil to her hair and began brushing it before she gathered it and did a simple side braid. Her hair was black with subtle highlights of red throughout, in the light it burgundy low lights could be seen shining through. She walked over to her porcelain hand washing area and quickly washed her hands and face before putting some more rosehip oil on her skin. Her skin was light, with an olive-ish tint and yellow undertone, which gave her a more exotic look. She glanced at herself one last time in her mirror before she set off out of her room and made her way to the foyer.
Olenya met Arella around the corner from her chamber and began escorting her towards the staircase that led to the foyer. As they began descending the stairs Arella took notice of the company the Lord of Western Trystalla had with him, 6 personal knights, 10 soldiers and 3 squires. She raised her eyebrow, silently questioning the unusual amount of protection the lord had brought with him.
"My Lord Levinn, to what do I owe this pleasure? Just as dashing as always I see." Arella cooed as she reached the bottom of the stairs. All of the lord's company knelt as she approached as did the lord which she curtsied in response as a sign of respect. Lord Levinn straightened himself before he spoke.
"Still just as flirtatious as ever I see Lady Arella and as always, just as beautiful." His low, husky voice poured out like a fine wine, honeyed with sweet words. He reached for her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles before he dropped his arm back to his side. His knights shifted uncomfortably behind him; they didn't seem to know where to look so as not to offend either party.
Arella chuckled lightly and gestured toward the hallway leading to the council room. "Shall we converse in the council room then Lord Levinn, I will send for your men to get rooms, baths and meals as I know you all must be tired from your journey." She smiled gently as Lord Levinn began walking alongside her, he and his knight commander followed to the council room. She turned her head to Olenya and instructed her to inform Sir Kaylln to meet her in the council room and have the staff prepare the rooms for the men. Olenya nodded and promptly disappeared into the banquet hall to get everything ready.
The Lord and Lady exchanged pleasantries as they made their way down the expansive hallway. Arella asked about the trip From Trystalla, the weather, if they encountered any trouble on the way, all the things one might discuss to pass the time to avoid an awkward silence.
By the time Lord Levinn and Arella made it to the council room Sir Kaylln was already posted outside waiting for them. As they approached the knight commander bowed his head and placed his hand on the door handle. "My Lady, My Lord." His voice was deep and melodic. Sir Kaylln had always made it a point to address Lady Arella first, especially in the company of visiting Lords. His light brown eyes were unwavering, his black wavy hair looked as if it had been brushed by the wind. Kaylln had bronzed, light caramel colored skin mostly due to all the years he had spent under the grueling sun. His muscles were toned and sculpted perfectly, like a fine art sculpture of the ideal male physique, any woman would fawn over him if given the chance.
Arella smirked as her best knight, and her most loyal friend led them into the room followed by the Lord of Western Trystalla and his knight commander.