"I heard that the princess prepared this year's festival" a woman dressed in flamboyant clothing remarked.
"Well, it certainly is a bit more extravagant than last year" replied another with a slight chuckle.
The first ball of festival was filled with gossips and murmurs. A thing that Ariya abhors. "It was wonderful meeting you" she bowed slightly before excusing herself from the group of the guests who approached her to introduce themselves. She heard from Kiriam that the Sultan departed late in the afternoon to reach the eastern borders. Travelling there would require half a day, which means that they would be back very late. She slipped through the crowds and went through the backdoors. Now alone, she leaned back to the stone walls, shuts her eyes, and took a deep breath. She stayed like that for a while. She needed space, away from the crowd to calm her raging heart. A wave of tiredness suddenly engulfed her, and all she wanted to do was to halt the time.
"Princess?" a familiar warm voice called her. She quickly stood straight to greet the woman. "What are you doing here alone?" Liyab Asani, grabbed both of Ariya's hands and worried eyes scanned the lady's tired face.
"Asani, I should be asking the same thing. Why aren't you inside?" Ariya asked back. She shook her head slightly to try and wake herself.
"I'm too old for those things. Are you feeling unwell? You don't look so good since the last time we met."
"I am okay. Thank you. A slight headache, won't kill me"
"Come, we should take a seat." Asani dragged the princess to sit in a nearby fountain. Seeing the princess, a memory suddenly flashed to Asani and made her chuckle.
"You resemble her a lot."
"What?"
"Your mother" Asani replied. In an instant, Ariya's eyes went wide. No one ever mentioned her mother to her before. I felt to her like she was suddenly born without a mother, without ever knowing she has one. When she was little she sometimes tried to imagine what her mother must have looked like, or the way her voice would sound like. She doesn't have anybody to ask about her mother, although there is one. But his heart was stone cold to even talk to her.
"You knew my mother?" Liyab Asani's smile immediately faded, and all that is left is her sad eyes, looking at the pitiful princess. She sighed deeply, "Ohh, my princess, pitiful child" using her calloused hands, she cupped Ariya's right cheek.
"Tell me about her" Ariya's voice sounded horse. A desperate plea it was. She acted all strong, like it didn't matter at all. That the woman who gave birth to her was nothing more than that. But her eyes said otherwise.
"It is time you know of your origins, Ariya. Your mother was a Northerner. She came from a small tribe called Ashtimur. The people of Sepehr."
"Sepehr?"
"Your mother was the daughter of tribe's chief. She possesses qualities no one ever believed was true. She claimed that she can hear Sepehr's voice. The village thought she was crazy, and that she was making it all up. But on her 16 th birthday, a prophecy was heard,"
Liyab Asani was suddenly speaking in tongue, a language Ariya could not understand.
"Starā yahmi fraθrā ,Yazata yō fraŋha vīš ,Aŋhəra vīš, xšāyaθiya ušahā. The star who descended, shall bear the fire within and from her light, the realm shall unite. Right then, the tribe elders knew that your mother was speaking the truth. But the truth never came to light. After that, the village was brutally attacked. Men, women, children were murdered, unmercifully. No one was left to tell the tale."
"Ho..how do you know all of this?"
"A miracle happened. Your mother was able to escape, along with few other children. They wandered everywhere, doing everything they can to survive. Soon enough, she came to the south and met the Sultan."
"But my mother.. did she tell you all of this?" Ariya searched for an answer but all she had was silence. The old woman's eyes shed a single tear and realization washed over Ariya. Cold waves came from her head down to her toe, "you were one of those children..." it came almost like a whisper, as if she was saying something she shouldn't say. A secret to be buried deep into the ground. Ariya was confused what to feel. Or what to say. Thousands of thoughts was swirling in her mind, but nothing seems to come out to her mouth. Asani hugged Ariya tightly.
"I'm so sorry princess. I could've told you about this, but I was waiting for the right time."
"What was her name?" Ariya quietly said.
Asani broke out from the hug and cupped her cheeks. Suddenly, a fire was lit to the sky, and a signal horn was heard. A loud explosion shocked everyone in the kingdom. Her knight frantically ran, fear was drawn all over his face. He was clutching his left side while crimson liquid was flowing between his fingers,
"Princess, we are being attacked. We must go, now!"