To Stand Beside Her (6 page)

Leila had been in the water for only a few minutes before she heard the outside door unlocking.
She closed her eyes and smiled.
Outside in the main room she could hear Nalick questioning Theo.

Maybe I will be able to at least teach this king some manners
before I get out of here
, she thought.

“I’m in here,”
Leila
said loudly while not opening her eyes.
“I promised not to run away for the moment,”
she
replied before Theo could answer
Nalick’s next question
.

Leila
heard the door open a bit more.
“Yes?” she asked
,
turning her head to look at Nalick standing in the doorway.
“Contrary to belief, I am not a ghost.
I
,
too
,
need to bath
e
and eat
regularly
.
Though I can go about two days before I get hungry.
” She smiled at his shocked face to actually find her bathing.
Leila dipped back under the water to rinse out the bubbles in her hair.
“I will not be leaving your company quite yet, so I thought it would nice
if I was able to clean up a bit, but if you need me to come right now.
”
Leila stood
,
allowing the bubbles from the bath to cover her body
but just barely
.

Nalick had no response.
He was sure that she was planning her next escape and was
stunned
to actually find her bathing.
Embarrassed
,
he
quickly turned his back to her
.

“When you are done, Theo will take you to the priests,” Nalick stated.

“No,”
Leila
replied
,
reaching for a towel
.

“What?”
Nalick
asked as he
turned slightly
.
She was now wrapped in a towel but not much
more
presentable than she had been only a minute before.

“I don’t thin
k
you have a hearing problem.” She raised her eyebrows
daring him to counter
.
“Do you need me to repeat myself?
I said no.”

“I wasn’t asking
you a question
,” Nalick began to get frustrated with Leila
,
which made her smile.

“See, that was the problem
,”
Leila
explaine
d
,
coming face to face with him while only in a towel
.

“The
n
let me rephrase
that
.
Would you please accompany Theo to the priests after you are done, my lady?” Nalick asked while giving
her a wink and
a small bow.

“Sure,”
Leila
listen
ed
to Nalick leaving the room and the door being locked again.

Leila
promptly dried off.
In the corner of the room
stood a closet.
She walked over and
looked
through the clothes in it.
M
ost of the clothes
were
her size, but nothing she would choose to wear normally.
S
he pulled a
random
dress out and put it on.

“I am so sorry
,
” Leila apologized
as Kay entered the room
only moments later
.
“I didn’t know that that tracker was waiting for me.
I ran into him and another tracker earlier yesterday morning but easily lost them when I came looking for you,” she explained
,
hugging her friend and checking her over since she last saw her
.
“I should have been there with you.”

“If I had listened to you, he would not have
caught
me,” Kay sighed
dejected
ly
and sat down in the living room
.
“I messed up again.
When I got to the end of the tunnel, I didn’t remember which way to turn.
I chose
wrong
.
I tried to get out the door, but it was guarded so I went out the window.”
Kay shook her head, “I should not be doing this job.
I am no good at it.”

“If you just stick to level one and two assignments you will be fine,” Leila reassured her.
Kay finally hugged her back.
“You have never failed any of those missions
,
”
s
he reminded her friend.

“Yeah, but
the
one time I fail, I put your freedom in jeopardy,” Kay
appeared
like she was about to cry.
“I will never forgive myself if you spend the rest of your life caged up in chains like this.”
Kay picked up the chains on the table
,
“I woke up this morning and felt so guilty
.”

“So what did the priests say?” Leila asked
,
changing the subject
and picking up an apple
.

“
Not good.
” Kay responded.

“
At all?
”
Leila
asked between bites, “Did the priest
s
say they will help us out?”

“Not exactly,” Kay paused
,
see
ing
the anger start to boil within Leila.
“I didn’t understand much
,
but they said something about the seer.”

Leila stood and started to pace.
She had been thinking
that
the best way to get Kay out was with the help of the priests, but if they were unwilling to help, it would take much longer to get her out.
This time the plan needed to be foolproof. Alone, this was going to be difficult.

“It seems there are certain
rituals
that have to be done
to us
.
But everything was so confusing.
There was all this talk about you and some white aura.”
Kay looked across the room at the opening door as she trailed off in thought.

“My lady,”
Theo said
,
entering the room and
giving a little bow to Leila
,
“
w
ould you please come with me?”

Leila stood up and turned back to Kay
,
“
s
tay right here
,
and I should be back soon.”

Theo walked over to the table and picked up the chains and again wrapped one around
Leila’s
waist.
H
e tightly locked
both her hands
to the chain around her waist.
Leila did not mind the treatment for she won the battle with getting the chains off while she was in the room.
T
his escape would require that she escort Kay so that she had no chance of forgetting anything
and being chain free would be the key
.

Theo led the way back down the stairs they had climbed the night before.
At the end of the stairway was Macarius who joined Leila and Theo.

“He really doesn’t trust that I can walk to another place in the
palace
alone?”
Leila
asked the two men.
“I do know my way around.”

“Do you blame him?” Macarius asked.

Leila thought a second, “No, I suppose not,” she paused
,
and then told the men, “but I am not yet ready with all my plans to leave.”
Both men laughed at her last comment.
“What?
I was telling the truth, which I suppose I don’t do too often.”

“So we have been told,” Macarius added.
“Did you really walk out the front door of King Jahangir’s palace?”

“Yes
,
and why not?
It was the way I came in
;
I thought it would be fitting to leave civilized through the gate.”
Both men laughed.
“I walked out the palace door right under King Amet’s watch also.
He didn’t even recognize me and paid me a small gold piece as I left because he thought I was part of the performing troupe.”

“Really?” Theo asked in amazement.
“So when you finally decide to leave us, you will just vanish?”

“That’s how I work,” Leila told the truth.
T
here was no need to lie to these men.
They were not the one
s
holding her against her will.

“I hope you decide to stay,” Theo added.
“It is nice to have someone around that doesn’t fear Nalick.
”

“I honestly didn’t think there was a woman out there that could handle the man Nalick has turned into over the years
,
”
Macarius explained.
“He
has been king years now and yet
shows no
sign of wanting to take a bride until you came along.
”

“Miss L
ei…
”
began
a young man
who
walked up beside her
.
S
he waved to him to stop before he used her real name.
“I am honored to be in your presence.
I have heard many tales about you, but non
e
can actually compare to meeting you.”
The young priest had a starry gaze in his eyes.
Theo and Marcarius stayed behind and the man ushered Leila away into the priest quarters.

“Will you help
me and
my friend escape?”
she
whispered
,
eager to be on her way
.

“Escape?
But I thought you were brought here so that I could t
each
you the rituals that need to be followed to marry our King?” the young
,
confused priest said.

“I do not wish to marry your king,” Leila responded.

“But I thought it was your destiny to stay here,” the young man was now truly confused.

“I have always chosen my own destiny,”
Leila
explained
,
“
a
nd I don’t plan to stay here any longer than necessary.
If you are unwilling to help me, our conversation here is done.
I will find my own way out of this palace.”
Leila turned and started to walk back t
oward the
hallway
and waiting men
.

The young priest was startled by the news that this woman did not want to stay.
Once he realized she was leaving
,
he ran to catch up with her.

“That is not required,” an old man’s voice said from behind Leila and the priest.
“I don’t think she will leave quite yet.”

Leila stopped walking away and turned to face Gabor.
“So
,
you will not be helping us leave?”
s
he questioned the old man angrily.

“Have you ever thought that maybe
I am
doing the best for you?” Gabor asked.

Leila glared at him.
“You are just full of lies.
I am not staying.
I am going to get Kay out of here first
,
and then I will be on my way, whether you want me to or not.”

“What would it take to make you stay anywhere?” Gabor
pondered
,
not moving any closer
.
“Would you stay if I told you that you would be happy here?”

“How could I ever be happy being confined to a palace as a prisoner?”
Leila turned to walk away.
As she neared the door
,
Gabor made one last comment.

“Erich died wanting you to be happy.
For once
,
child, stop worrying about the rest of the world and look in your own heart.
Are you happy with your life?”