Heart Over Sword

Evanna lifted her legs from the floor and began struggling in the guard's arms, trying to escape from their grip; there was no way she would make their job easier. If they weren't wearing helmets, she would have headbutted them. Her eyes darted across the small hall, once again looking for any escape routes. When she found none, they landed on the prince who stood directly across from her, his arms crossed and his face looking bored.

Her eyes burned into his. Even though she kept telling herself not to fall for anything in his words, she somehow began feeling the slightest bit of comfort from his presence. She ended up looking forward to his visits, even if they were filled with questioning on a crime she committed. It was better than sitting in the cell by herself, left alone with her racing thoughts.

Evanna sighed and looked away from the menacing prince; she tried to look for a way out again. Her eyes flickered across everything until they found Arawn's again after his baritone voice echoed through the hall.

"* Drug her. *" Arawn commanded; Evanna's eyes widened, and she struggled again, trying to get out of their grasp. She stomped her foot on top of one of the guard's boots, but her nose and mouth were then smothered by a cloth with an overpowering scent. She didn't know what concoction it had been soaked in, but it made her muscles go limp and her vision beginning to blur.

The last thing she saw before the darkness of her mind consumed her was a pair of bright blue eyes.

*

Evanna stirred after smelling some incense waft up her nose. Her heavy eyelids slowly opened, and her blurred vision zoned in and cleared after staring up at the sky. Her brows drew together as she stared at the clouds that slowly drifted across the blue sky above her. Turning her head slightly, she saw the outskirts of some white trees and leaves that arched together near the top, only to reveal the sky partially.

Drawing in a breath, she turned her head and blinked rapidly when she saw a lady, a she-elf sitting down watching her. Evanna jumped up and scrambled away from her, but her movements were slow and sluggish. She looked down and realised she was on a bed fit for a king, for about six people could easily share it. Her eyes flickered across the enormous room, and Evanna knew she was placed in one of the royal bed chambers.

Her eyes landed back on the she-elf who came towards her, whose hands were raised as though she was calming a wild animal. Maybe she was with the state she was in right now.

"I mean you no harm, please," The woman said calmly. Evanna relaxed her muscles slightly, the woman didn't seem like a threat, and even if she were, Evanna still knew how to fight. With her eyes wary, she looked at the she-elf with long brown hair and brown eyes; she had a kind and, of course, stunning face.

Evanna didn't want to admit it but, she felt safe around her. The woman had a calming aura, making her relax that much further.

"What is your name?" Evanna asked her.

"Rina. I am your handmaiden and will be here to assist you with anything you may need," The brown-haired she-elf named Rina said.

Evanna blinked back at her, confused, handmaiden? Her eyes wandered the room again, and she climbed off from the bed.

"Rina?" The she-elf nodded politely as she stood up, "What am I doing here?"

"Oh, I apologise, my lady. Prince Arawn did explain you had a terrible fall and hit your head. He has been kind enough to let you stay here while you recover. He has provided you with new garments, and of course, when I have assisted you in bathing and changing, I will bring you to the dining room," Rina explained.

Yet, everything Rina just said seemed absurd, Evanna knew she had been locked in a cell after stealing from them, and when she was taken out of it, she was made unconscious from the drug she sniffed. But if the prince did not wish for Rina or any other elf to know, then she would play along with it for now. After all, she was getting a bath and new clothes out of it; once she was left alone in the tub, she would plan her next course of action.

"I see, thank you. I must have hit my head hard enough to forget that," Evanna replied politely but internally rolled her eyes.

Rina smiled subtly and gestured for Evanna to follow through another set of doors. As soon as she walked through, her eyes immediately landed on the tub in the middle of the room. She then looked up and saw the darkening sky.

"What happens when it rains?" She asked, her eyes still staring upwards. 

Rina smiled as she placed some towels on a chair, "The palace has an enchantment on it. The weather is not an issue here."

Evanna's brows rose as once again she was impressed with this magical world the elves lived in. She walked towards the tub; deep in thought, she felt a little jealous. As a princess of the Dunhurst Kingdom, she, of course, had to follow the rules set out by her great grandfather, King Harold. Although her mother still had goods from the elves, and they spoke the elven tongue, her mother did not go as far as to let Evanna seek out grimoires and meet witches.

Magic was still very foreign to her.

"You have witches place spells on the palace? Does the spell need to keep being updated?" Evanna queried; her thoughts were still swirling with the idea of magic.

Rina frowned and shook her head, "No, elves do not associate themselves with witches." Rina continued after seeing the confusion on Evanna's face, "Elves have their own gifts. I mean magic, as you call it."

Evanna's brows drew together; how did she not know this? Why did her mother never tell her? Was that why she was never interested in grimoires? If she could speak with her mother, she would ask such questions. Evanna sighed; her mother...

"I never knew," She mumbled.

"It is not very well known, my lady," Rina replied softly. Evanna wanted to ask more about these elven 'gifts', but her handmaiden was preparing a bucket on the side of the room.

Evanna looked down at the empty bathtub and frowned, "I shall wait in the bed-chamber."

"It will not take long," Rina replied, and Evanna watched as the handmaiden twisted a silver handle, and from another part of the silver object, water flowed down into the bathtub. Evanna watched in wonder at such a magnificent instrument.

She took a tentative step forwards and eyed where the water was coming from, "What sorcery is this?"

Rina chuckled, "There are no spells on this, my lady. It is called a faucet."

Evanna looked back at the handmaiden, blinking, "A.. fau-cet. And it is not magic?"

"No, it is called plumbing," Rina smiled politely.

Evanna eyed the instrument called a faucet again and felt utterly dumbfounded. She must have appeared stupid because Rina acted as though it was normal. 

"* Extraordinary, *" Evanna whispered. She still could not help but speak Muranthian when something surprised her. She needed to start thinking more before she spoke. Understanding her enemy's words was a powerful tool and may possibly save her life, but it needed to stay a secret.

Evanna tried to dismiss Rina so she may undress in peace, but the handmaiden shook her head and apologised, explaining it was the prince's orders. Evanna bit her lip and began undressing with the help of Rina; as soon as she was naked, she stepped towards the bath, almost salivating at the idea of being clean.

"*Wait!*" Evanna turned her head to look at Rina, "Wait, please do not get in yet. It is just," Rina pursed her lips and took a deep breath in, "I need to scrub off the dirt before you bathe.."

Evanna looked to the side and realised she needed to be cleaned before bathing. It was not unusual. She was usually never dirty enough to need to be scrubbed at. She nodded her head and stepped back towards a bucket and a bar of soap. Evanna immediately looked at her surroundings with her arms out for Rina to wash her.

After this, she would beg the prince to not have a handmaiden to help clean her. If this was to be her new cage, then she hoped to at least have some privacy when she was naked. She never had Maggie do such a thing, and neither would a stranger.

A few minutes later, Evanna found herself lying down in the bathtub. Rina quickly threw some lilac flower petals in the water, and they seemed to shimmer delicately. She felt herself relax further in the tub, but before she could close her eyes and sink into the goodness of the steaming water, Rina came back into view. Her brows knitted together in annoyance, but it was another reminder that where she was relaxing was not in her home, but the enemies and she should never rest easy here.

Evanna let Rina wash her hair, and although she preferred doing it herself, Rina's hands were something else as she felt the she-elf massage her scalp and Evanna let out a sigh. Her eyes opened and widened with her already rosy cheeks from the heat, went a darker hue.

"I'm sorry," She murmured.

"It is okay, my lady. You seem like you have been through such an ordeal. It is understandable. I shall let you relax by yourself once the soap is out of your hair," Rina said softly. 

Before the handmaiden left, Evanna reached out to her, "Rina," she stopped and looked at her, "how long was I asleep for?"

"Erm, I believe the whole day? It is past six now." Evanna nodded her head at the handmaiden's response, "I shall wait just outside." 

Evanna nodded her head again and watched at the retreating she-elf until she was out of sight, and she closed her eyes. Although her eyes were closed, her mind was not. Evanna wondered why she was now soaking in a bathtub in the Florian Kingdom. She was their prisoner. She tried to think back to the last time she was in the cell with the prince, was there anything that happened for her to now be here?

Until she met the man, she would not know. Evanna didn't understand how Arawn's mind worked, but she knew she would soon find out.