novelxo Chapter 3: Octavo
Vita could hear the screams from the dungeons below as she entered the palace gates through the servants’ entrance. She hated that place and everything it stood for. Even worse, the upcoming Octavo celebration meant she would have to watch as their final judgement was cast.
Of course, the emperor had a rationale for his cruelty. Such severe punishments would land them in the gods’ favour and deter others from following in their rebellious footsteps. Vita couldn’t agree. She had visited the dungeons once on the request of the emperor. The smell of illness, death and stale faeces still haunted her today. She shivered as she recalled the awful scene: water trickling down from the cold stone ceiling, soaking the thin covering of hay on the floor, the naked bodies, chained behind rusted bars. There were four, perhaps five, sharing one mouldy, cobbled cell. She recalled them shivering as they battled with the rats to try to find enough dry hay to provide some heat.
In her mind’s eye, she could still see the high society pelting rotten fruit, sticks and stones, anything they could get their hands on, through the rusted metal bars. The height of Mendacian entertainment. Her cheeks paled as she recalled the sickening clunk of a stone hitting a young boy’s skull and the thud of his lifeless body hitting the ground. After enquiring of his crime, she was told he was an orphan who had stolen a carrot from the market.
She was lucky to have escaped that as her fate too, given her earlier performance. No! That wasn’t right. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory. Just a venom-induced delusion, she reminded herself.
When she had come to earlier, after the nominations, everything had been calm and quiet. She had found herself amongst a forest of cacti, where, one of the few townsfolk had told her, she had collapsed a good while earlier. She examined her finger, where the kind lady told her she had been bitten by a snake. The memory came flooding back. See, Castus! The snake venom did affect me.
‘I tried to help you, child,’ the lady had told her. ‘Drag you out of here, but you be having none of it. Lashing out at me and the like. I decided I be better off leaving you to sweat the poison out on your own.’ The woman looked oddly familiar to Vita.
She had a matt of grey hair atop her frail, dark-skinned body. That alone was unusual. In Mendacia she had only ever heard of one person with skin as dark as this woman’s, the one survivor of the arena, but then there was her cane. It was an intricate carving of a brown snake and Vita had to look twice to realise it wasn’t a real snake.
She didn’t know of anyone in the empire who could carve such an elaborate piece. Surely, she should remember crossing paths with this woman in her twenty-one years. Nevertheless, her story did make sense; perhaps her appearance was all still part of the hallucination.
‘But what about the nominations?’ Vita had wondered.
‘They happened hours ago, child. Some more poor souls be sent to the arena.’
It made sense, Vita supposed. The forest of cacti could, to a poisoned mind, look like a crowd of people, and then there was Kayin, of course. If the vision had been real he would never have tried to save her. Not after she had betrayed him like she had.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Vita glanced around to check no one was watching as she ascended the steps to the kitchen. She raised her head to check the window above was clear and jumped when she saw a face staring down at her. Kayin. She shivered and cursed the butterflies that fluttered inside her. The Prince of Mendacia stared down at her with bloodshot eyes; the curse of his wine-induced insomnia.
Even in this state though, he was remarkable. He was polished and shone with a golden sash resting on his cream and maroon robes. An intricate gold band of woven leaves circled his head and a gold medallion hung from his neck. Finally, two gold cuffs surrounded his wrists. But, unlike the rest of the women in the empire, she knew of the darkness lurking beneath his polished features. She pushed through the kitchen shutters, leaving his glare behind.
‘Vita Dulcas,’ a familiar voice started from across the room. ’Where have you been? Who do you think you are?’ The plump cook waddled, large bosoms bouncing, across the kitchen towards her. ‘And… oh,’ she paused, taking in the sight of the servant girl, ’oh my, just look at the state of you.’ She placed her hands on her hips to assert herself, not that her towering frame and large build required any emphasis.
Vita stared at the ground, chewing her lip so as not to break a smile. She needed to be careful with Marcia. She liked to think of the emperor as her personal friend and confidant, one of her many delusions, and was waiting for the day she caught Vita red-handed. She kept her hatred for Vita on her sleeve, for her incompetence, her lack of discipline and, most importantly, for her lack of respect for the emperor.
But Vita had not been born to a servant lifestyle and continued to value her freedom, the way that her parents had always encouraged her to. It infuriated Marcia that despite everything, her emperor still offered Vita his protection when her own family were starving and at the mercy of the demon patrol. She had a point, but Marcia was blind to the true nature of Malum Dolus.
‘I bet you have been wandering off up to those caves again,’ Marcia continued. ’Cavorting with… well, who knows what your kind gets up to? I have a good mind to tell the emperor, young madam. I honestly don’t know who you think you are. He shows you kindness, he takes you into his home, feeds you and protects you and this is how you repay him?’ Vita braved a glance across the room to where Sera, her best friend, was concentrating very hard on pouring cups of wine and avoiding Vita’s gaze.
‘Sorry, Domina,’ Vita replied, trying to sound her most sincere.
‘Yes, well, all the same I think it is high time the emperor heard of your little adventures, don’t you?’
Vita’s face turned pale. The emperor had already warned her and she knew he would need to make an example of her if she had deliberately disobeyed him. ‘No! No, please Marcia, I wasn’t… I wasn’t—’ she stumbled to think of something to say but her mind was blank.
‘Ah, Vita,’ a very welcome voice joined the conversation.
Agil. Her friend and personal guard to the prince. He held the highest rank as domine: his reward for bravery and ruthless protection of the palace and his interventions of rogue demon attacks in the city. An unmissable man standing tall and broad, with chestnut hair and beard, flecked with grey now, and attractive features that were enhanced by his smile lines. There was something in his stature too: a comfortable and easy confidence and warm smile that melted the citizens’ reserve and gained their trust. Even his enemies were hard pressed to dislike him, even though, when it came to it he was a formidable force.
‘I see you have finished,’ Domine Agil lifted a broken strap of Vita’s dress, ‘and done a hard day’s work by the look of you. Thank you, my dear.’
Vita sighed with relief.
The domine turned his attention to the cook. ‘My beautiful Marcia,’ he began, taking her hand for a kiss. ‘I must apologise! I’m afraid I’m to blame for the lovely Vita’s absence. I had asked her to help me with some stable work while your poor boy lies ill. I hope you’re not too cross with me.’
He spoke with silky smooth words, a trick he had learned that always helped him turn on the charm. Although from Vita’s perspective, nothing about him needed smoothing over. He had become a great friend.
Marcia’s ageing cheeks blushed a little pink as she stared up at the guard’s strong, kind face. ‘Oh… uh…’ she stammered, ‘not at all, Domine. I know how you must be struggling without my strong Petrus helping you.’
Vita sneaked a look at Agil. Petrus, a kind boy who had lost the use of his legs and could often be more of a burden around the stable than a help these days. It was amazing how Agil could remain so sincere and kind, even when faced with such a blatant untruth. Marcia was traumatised by her son’s fate and chose instead to pretend like it never happened, a pretence that was upheld by all who came across her, either out of pity or fear.
‘Oh yes, we’d struggle wi’out the lad for sure,’ he said, a note of his natural accent creeping through. He checked himself. ‘You should be very proud. Now please excuse me, I have to depart, I am needed on the balcony and I know you are all very busy down here. I cannot wait to try your delicious feast.’ He gave a small bow to Domina Marcia and winked at Vita.
She mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to him before he turned to exit the kitchen. Marcia stared after him, a rare smile on her chubby face. She was married, but Agil, with his strength and kindness, was able to bring a blush from even the most happily married lady. Vita politely coughed to rouse her from her thoughts. She turned around with her familiar black stare.
‘Well, since you are so late,’ she said, ‘you had better help Sera take the wines upstairs now. Just don’t let anyone see you in such a state and make sure to clean yourself up before you see the emperor.’
‘The emperor?’
‘Oh, yes. The emperor has requested you serve him on the balcony.’ Marcia waddled off. ‘Although who knows why. Such a useless girl!’ she muttered under her breath.
Vita rushed across to Sera, grabbing a tray of wine and they both dashed to the stairwell before either could break into a fit of laughter.
‘And just look at the state of you,’ Sera mimicked, as they ascended the stairs to the lower levels of the palace, just above the servants’ quarters, or the tunnel, as it was known by those who lived there. Those who resided on this floor were the palace guards, above them, the guests and Bacchus, the royal advisor. The upper two floors were reserved for the prince, the emperor and empress.
‘Honestly, it’s beyond me that in a city as starved as ours, she could rival the belly of a pig. I think she raids the palace stores when no one’s looking.’
The pair giggled, causing the cups of wine to jingle on their trays.
‘She had a point, though. You do look terrible. Was it the—’ she stopped, sensing Vita’s unease. ‘If you stayed inside the walls, they wouldn’t be able to get at you, y’know.’
Vita stared at the steps as she climbed, trying to avoid the discussion. Sera was right, but she needed to feel the freedom and gaze upon the vastness of the land. Sera was satisfied with her life behind these walls. Vita wasn’t.
‘I just fell,’ she attempted, knowing how weak the lie sounded. She wasn’t about to admit the Bilo brothers had got to her again, nor that she’d survived yet another snake bite. Sera was the superstitious type and it had taken her a long time to trust that Vita was a good person and not the witch she was thought to be.
Sera passed a disbelieving look at Vita as she glanced at the knuckle-shaped bruise appearing on Vita’s cheek. ‘Well, take a look under my bunk when we’re done here. I have a new pot of face paint that should help cover that up.’
Vita raised a suspicious eyebrow. ‘Really? And which besotted fool have you got to buy you that? Those things cost a fortune. Honestly, I doubt the empress has as many luxuries in her entire quarters as you have stashed away under your bed!’
‘If you are allowed secrets, so am I,’ her friend grinned.
Vita giggled ‘Maybe if I had as many men in love with me as you do, I’d get treated with less suspicion for avoiding the Mendacian curse too. You’re so much more beautiful than I, and nobody thinks anything.’
Sera smiled and flicked her long dark curls over one shoulder revealing the swell of her ample breast and curved waist. ‘Ah but I’m just a low born servant, I have never been bitten by a snake and I follow the rules. If you kept your nose out of trouble, I bet everyone would forget all about you in a matter of days.’
‘I doubt that. Anyway, enough of this – we’ll always disagree. Did Cleo turn in today? I missed her in the kitchen.’
Sera’s smile waned. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Marcia was furious about that too. You don’t reckon she’s gone missing too do you? Oh, how exciting, a real live kidnapper in the city.’
‘Must you be so crude? You shouldn’t laugh at things like that! That would make four girls missing in one moon’s turn. What if it was you?’
‘It will be you if you don’t start behaving yourself.’
Their conversation halted at the sight of Prince Kayin leaning darkly on the opposite wall.
‘Ladies,’ he nodded. He caught sight of Vita’s appearance and his eyes narrowed.
Kayin Dolus is a pig! Vita reminded herself and tried not to think about what Marcia would say when she learned the prince had seen her so dishevelled.
He pushed himself off the wall, slugging a mouthful of wine. ‘It looks like you’ve been busy,’ he said to Vita, his attention already redirecting to Sera’s curved figure.
Vita watched Sera’s cheeks turn red and her eyes darted to the floor as he smiled at her.
Vita felt her own heart leap at his crooked smile, enhanced by his dishevelled hair, making him look somewhat unruly. His casual demeanour was that of a man who was comfortable within his position of power. Beneath his hard surface she saw a brief shadow of the man he used to be: the self-confident smile, mischief behind his bright eyes, bronzed skin that seemed to glow, twinkling and golden in the light. But that had all been lies. She must remember that. This was the real Prince of Mendacia, the man who stood before her now; red, sunken eyes that hid a wealth of cruelty. A broken man. A tainted soul. She felt the same wave of unease around him now as she did with the emperor. She feared him.
With a last glance in Vita’s direction, he turned and headed down the grand corridor.
Sera turned half apologetically to Vita and dumped her tray by her feet. She trotted off like a little lamb to the slaughter, hot in pursuit. Vita found herself rooted there, like some ancient tree, desperate to break free of its binds and flee.
But she couldn’t. All she could do was stand and watch, not knowing how, what or even if she felt anything at that moment. He never even turned, knowing the power he held. He knew Sera was there, of course he did, there would always be someone there, skipping after the Prince of Mendacia.