ADURAS

Section 32: Tired

The fire danced freely over the torch, located on the left and right sides of the bars. The sky that was once clear blue slowly turned pitch-black, peering out from the rectangular window with an iron fence. On the outside, a collection of stars formed a beautiful pattern while the others shone independently. The moonlight was half full, slipping from its crevices.

Yena suddenly remembered her childhood with her father. How enthusiastic they are when night falls, Yena always pulls out her father to witness the beauty of a star-studded night.

Yena missed that time. A time when he did not care about various adult problems, a time where he only cared about his playmates and parents, only, and the time in which his sister was born— was the peak of his family's happiness.

One day, after being sworn in as the King's Personal Guard, his father is killed on his way to carry out a secret mission from the king. Though on the night before leaving, both of them still had time to joke like they could. Yena was devastated to hear the news. During the burial of his father's body, he was ceaselessly crying. That moment also his position changed. At first, it was just a girl with a tall dream. Now, being the head girl of the family for her mother and sister.

The wooden door suddenly opened, and a servant woman with her hair smeared with a plate of flat bread and roasted lamb and a glass of iron filled with water. A guard in armor approached the servant and forcibly took the tray the servant was holding.

"Go there! Let me feed him," said the rude guard. The female servant left with her head lowered.

Yena's attention was distracted by the conversation earlier. The guard threw the plate through the bottom lane while the glass was placed carelessly, almost spilled.

"I guess, I've seen you. Your face feels familiar," Yena said with a slow and powerless intonation. Around his eyes blackened, he could not sleep at all while inside the prison.

The guard is clucking. Crouching in front and grabbing onto Yena's shabby strand of hair. Notably jet black hair looks dirty unkempt, soil and gravel fill the hair waist. "try to remember. A few years ago, who did you beat when I was in the finals?"

Yena's eyebrows are linked, the machine in her brain is fast operating. Re-opening the forgotten pages of the past. "You ... the son of an arrogant minister? Minister Kaide? Hah, so you ...."

"Heidan, that's my name. I should have won and become the owner of Er'dura's sword in the competition. But, you screwed things up in a sneaky way. I ended up being a loser, until my father died not caring. I'm wasted and I'm a lowly bodyguard here."

"Kasian, I'm concerned. But, let me tell you. What I did was not a sneaky thing, there were no rules governing how to fight the participants. After all, you were expelled not because of me, your father only wished too high," he joked with his lips on his back, without looking at the interlocutor.

"You!!" The man named Heidan went up black, he choked Yena's neck until her breathing cavity narrowed.

Yena tried to thrash, even with her hands still tied. However, Heidan's sturdy arm was extremely difficult if it did not use all its strength to take it off.

"B a n g s a t!" the cry of a young man, emerged from the doorway. It was Eden, swiftly pulling the T-shirt in Heidan with a blazing pomegranate iris.

Heidan was thrown to hit the stone wall very hard, at that time there was no movement from him. Eden immediately grabbed the key hanging on the wall and opened the door and knelt down to help Yena sit back.

Yena coughed, her neck ached, her breathing shortened. The former giggles are also clearly visible.

"You okay? Your Majesty wants to see you. You ate dinner, didn't you?" Eden's pomegranate bead turned soft, seeing Yena with this condition was very sad for him. He immediately untied Yena's hand.

Without making a sound, because of the sore throat, Yena just shook her head to reply to Eden's question. His hand held the stomach and squeezed while staring at the plate of food at the side. He had not eaten for days.

His gaze turned to the plate and immediately swept Yena to a long chair where the guards gathered. After that, Eden took a plate of bread lying down and a glass and put it on the table.

"Quick, eat. King Firan wants you to meet him in good condition. After this, you have to shower and dress up. There will be a servant who will help you" said Eden.

Yena glanced at Heidan who seemed to have fainted. "Why should I dress up? Does this have anything to do with that desert killer?"

Eden sat down beside Yena and replied, "Yes, and whatever happens you must not argue, because your family is at stake."

Very clearly visible, a gray cloud was displayed on both eyes. Eden never saw that look again after the departure of Yena's father. Only now, reappearing, was even more concentrated than before. "Silent. For now, they're fine. You don't have to worry."

"Hmm, Thank goodness ...."

Smiling across his lips, Eden said, "Now you have to eat a lot and get out of here. There's been a few servants waiting for you outside."

Yena simply nodded her head, hurriedly devouring the meaty flatbread. Then swallow with fatigue.

"Be careful." Eden gave a glass of water to his best friend so that coughing because choking stopped. His gaze softened, seeing this kind of Yena made his heart ache. Eden knew very well how Yena, a tough woman who rarely complained, but now it was really sad. He is so helpless if the family is the victim. Just like he was before his father and mother died simultaneously.

...

Coming out of the underground prison hallway towards the surface, there was already someone waiting for the two of them. The female servants bowed in unison, greeting the two, while the two guards by the side of the door did not budge at all.

"Give Yena to you, clean her body and give her some pretty clothes. This task is from His Majesty. So, do well not let anyone miss," explained Eden, his face turned flat as usual.

A butler there replied straightforwardly, they immediately took Yena to the bathhouse. Yena did not refuse at all, all she thought about was family and no longer cared about what would happen in the future.

The baths of the king's wives were different. Yena suddenly arrived at a yellowish white space, in the middle of which there is a large pool made of stone carvings and arranged into a circular pond body.

First of all, Yena must clean her body first there, so that the dirt that sticks dissolves in the large pool. Although actually the temperature of the water in the pool is so piercing. However, Yena had to do it.

Afterwards, a waiter gives Yena a towel and goes into the second stage. That is soaking in warm water sprinkled with various flowers, its function as a body fragrance.

However, the place is different, Yena is led to a door again, in which there is a room that only has a small pond of wood and several pots that are grown with plants, enough for one person only.

"Auntie, where am I in the palace exactly?" yena asked the butler, venturing out.

"Miss is in the second palace, special bathhouse. Please soak first. If so, put on the clothes we had prepared," explained the butler, turning to the door, there was a small table beside him and the white clothes folded.

"Okay, thank you."

The servants left Yena in the room with lighting from candles of various shapes, no torches or lanterns there, in contrast to the previous room. The candles are mounted within five adult jengkal on the wall. Some are fat, slim, tall, short and wavy so as to create a candlelight that is very beautiful in view of the eye.

Yena quickly took off the towel wrapped around her body and stepped into the pool filled with warm water and flowers. He sat with his legs straightened while closed. Her black hair unraveled very pretty and there was already no dirt attached.

A few minutes passed, Yena immediately put on a special white abaya to sleep. He was led again by the servants to the two-door room, of course the room was only intended for a king's wife only.

The servants left Yena after coming inside. The butler said they'd be back in the morning, which meant Yena had to sleep in this room. No need to explain what the shape of the room, it must be very spacious, even larger than his house. No longer stand the dirhams but have been sparkling the price of every furniture in the room. Most interestingly, the bed. With golden sheets and a curved bed, there is a semi-circular cage above it.

"Why am I here? What kind of job did he give me?" ask Yena to herself. When sitting slowly on the side of the bed, it feels very smooth and very soft.

Instantly drowsiness ambushes vision. His body was in sync with an eyelid that was so difficult to open. "I'm tired, very tired. I'd like to take a little nap.