It seemed to Arlise that misfortune would never loosen its grasp upon her. For years she had endured her father’s cruelty in silence, only for it to grow harsher with each passing season until, at last, he had sold her for the pitiful sum of ten lions into the hands of slavers, who in turn sold her to Princess Seroreah Naerion of Telmar. Since then, true rest had become a stranger to her. Sleep came only in fleeting moments when exhaustion forced her eyes shut against her will, and even then it never lasted long. Hunger gnawed constantly at her belly, while fear coiled so tightly within her chest that she scarce knew how to breathe beneath its weight. She did not know how much longer she could endure it all — nor whether she truly wished to.
Silent as a wraith, she followed the escorts through the winding halls of Castle Destro, her weary gaze fixed upon the floor beneath her slippers. The towering stone walls and grand tapestries blurred together, for she had no heart left to admire them. All she desired was warmth, a bath, food enough to still the ache in her stomach, and perhaps a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Her fingers worried endlessly at the skin around her nails, picking until the tender flesh split and stung, though still she could not stop herself. She expected no kindness here. Why should there be any for a girl such as her? She was no true princess — merely the unwanted daughter of an ordinary Narnian household, a frightened thing dragged far beyond where she belonged.
When the chamber doors opened before her, Arlise stepped inside hesitantly, her eyes only briefly lifting from the floor to the woman awaiting her. Yet the sight that greeted her caused a flicker of confusion to pass across her drawn features. The woman lowered herself into a curtsy and addressed her as Your Highness. For one bewildered moment, Arlise glanced timidly over her shoulder, half expecting Queen Arenella or Princess Seroreah to have entered behind her unnoticed. But there was no one there.
The title sounded wrong upon the woman’s tongue, as though it belonged to somebody else entirely.
Not to her.
Never to her.
Then the woman crouched lower still, until Arlise no longer needed to crane her neck upward in submission, and something deep within her chest tightened painfully at the gesture. Such small kindnesses were foreign things to her now. Dangerous things. The warmth in the woman’s voice seemed almost unreal, as though Arlise might reach out and find it vanish like mist beneath sunlight.
At the mention of home, her throat tightened. She could not imagine this place ever feeling such a thing. Castles were not homes for girls like her. They were cages dressed in silk and gold. And yet… the woman before her seemed gentle. She had not seized her arm or barked cruel commands. She had smiled.
Slowly, uncertainly, Arlise lifted her trembling hand toward the one offered to her. Halfway there she faltered, instinct urging her to retreat, but after a moment she gathered what little courage remained within her and placed her small hand carefully into Tabitha’s. Her fingers were cold.
A faint smile touched her lips then, fragile and fleeting as winter sunlight, though sorrow lingered plainly behind it.
“ Okay… ” she whispered softly. After a brief hesitation, as though testing whether she was truly permitted to speak the name, she added in a timid voice, “ Thank you… Tabitha. ”
Tabitha couldn't help the smile that spread across her face when the girl smiled and took her hand. Her voice was small and crackly from lack of use. This was going to be work...hard work, but important work. Maybe the most important work Tabitha ever did besides raising Tahlia.
"Now, you'll have to tell me all the things you like to eat, my princess." She said, slowly rising to her feet. "But let's start with a tour." Tabitha glanced at the guards still lingering in the doorway. "That is all. You may return to your stations." They silently acquiesced and stepped outside the door. Tabitha tried not to feel giddy in her new authority. She'd never been able to order the guards around before.
"Now, in here is your parlor." She said, leading the princess through the doorway. "Where you'll receive visitors." She led her across the room and into the hallway. "Through this door is your study, where you'll meet with your tutors." She nodded through the open door where a desk could be seen surrounded by bookshelves.
She opened another door. "And this is your dressing room." The room was lined with dresses and shoes and all sorts of other items. A raised dais was on one side of the room, for fitting clothing. On the other side was a bathtub the maids were filling with warm water. "I thought you might like a bath before you eat, Your Highness " she said, glancing down.