The Column Racer (6 page)

They passed shops, marketplaces, and restaurants. When they came to the center of the city, there was a statue of Emperor Abhiraja, which seemed to extend itself to match the height of his extraordinary trees. And around the statue was a series of fountains and shops.

All the other carriages and those on horseback, no matter which side of the street they were on, moved over to the side out of respect for the Emperor and his riders. The carriage continued through the city streets, until they came to a stop in front of a gated entrance.

Areli tried to look out the window, knowing that the commander was talking to the gate guards. Her father kept looking out of both windows, anxiously. Areli, unsettled by his actions, asked why he was moving about so.

“We’re headed toward the wrong lake.”

“What do you mean, wrong lake?” asked Areli.

“This is not the lake of the riders,” said her father, “this lake is the Emperor’s.” Areli rushed back and forth between both windows, and gave the gate guard a surprised look when he knocked on the carriage door. They gave him their papers. The commander deftly avoided her eye contact while the guard confirmed their document’s authenticity. Areli knew this couldn’t be good.

“Okay,” said the guard, “you’re cleared to go.” As he gave the signal, the gates opened, and they traveled across another bridge towards the residence of the Emperor. Areli looked at her parents with shock. This was something she never expected. As she looked out her windows, she saw the largest homes she had ever seen. Each was gated and all had perfectly cut lawns. The house on the end was the largest by far.

They stopped again at another set of gates, and after going through the verification process were allowed into the beautiful drive. Statues stood on each side of the road, which were meticulously edged with a deep rose-gold trim. And the house at the end of the road almost seemed to be the size of a coliseum. In front of it was an enormous fountain.

The carriage pulled up next to the steps, which had a carpet rolled down from oversized double doors. As their driver brought the team of horses to a gentle stop, a young man and woman exited out of the double doors and moved swiftly and gracefully towards them. The man had on a blue leather trench coat with matching pants. He wore a red silk shirt with fierce black stripes that matched his knee-high boots. The woman had her hair elegantly held up in way Areli thought impossible, her pale dress accentuated her breasts, and her shoes glistened with diamonds.

“Thank you commander,” they said in unison as they approached the carriage.

“Oh,” said the woman, grabbing her nose, “how
absolutely
terrible!”

“I daresay,” said the man, “when is the last time you three have bathed?” Areli and her parents glanced at each other, ashamed. The commander cleared his throat and shot the two of them a look that could kill, but they smiled it away.

“Well, come on then,” said the man, instructing them to exit the carriage. Her parents let Areli go first, and the man was about to escort her up the stairs, but the woman interrupted him.

“Leave her to me, Bray,” said the woman, “besides, this one needs a woman’s touch.” She grabbed Areli’s hand, bid farewell to the commander, and proceeded up the steps. Areli could tell the woman held her breath the entire way.

When they got to the door, she gently knocked and then gave Areli a disdainful smile. The door was opened by another, younger, woman. Areli craned her neck to try to get a glimpse of her parents, who followed quickly behind her, but her arm was grabbed with such force that she almost screamed.

“Aubie, I swear upon every star in the sky, if I have to wait like that again, I will tear your pretty little eyes out.” Areli was surrounded by white walls and thick carpeted red steps. The woman pulled Areli up the stairs, to the next level, and keyed open another door.

Areli was able to see the apprehensive looks on her parent’s faces just before she was forced through the opening.

“Emilee, who is this?” asked a woman playing with her hair in a mirror, “and what is that terrible stench?” The woman lifted her armpits to her nose and sniffed.

“It isn’t your pits, Estrella,” said Emilee, “and if it were, don’t you think I would have told you by now?”

“Sorry I asked,” responded Estrella, “anyway, who’s the girl?” She turned away from the mirror and looked at Areli, as if examining her every inch.

“This is the new rider,” said Emilee, who grabbed and raised Areli’s arm, “and this is what you’re smelling.” Estrella made a grimacing face and then recovered.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear,” said Estrella, “you needn’t worry though, it’s nothing we can’t fix.”

Another girl in the corner quickly sprang to life when she heard the word rider.

“Emilee, is she the one from Sector D?” asked the girl.

“Of course she’s the one from Sector D!” said Emilee, “I thought the smell would have answered that one.”

“Poor girl,” said Estrella, “I bet you hope that Degendhard fellow gets captured. What – with his running about raping and stealing girls. Murdering women. Nasty little situation, you have there in the South. Just nasty.”

“Well, it’s so very nice to meet you, miss,” said the other girl hesitantly, “I have actually read about you everywhere. I’m so very excited to see you ride.” Areli didn’t have a chance to respond before Emilee started mocking the girl.

“Isn’t that so cute,” said Emilee, “read about her in the paper. Snap out of it, Samara, we have a lot of work to do.” She instructed the girls to order water and labeled off the scents and salts to place in the tub. “I want garden rose, with a pinch of lavender, and just a squirt of honey.” Her two underlings went to work.

“Okay, missy,” said Emilee, “time to undress.” Areli looked for a place to take her clothes off, but found none; she even roved around the room with her eyes in search of a towel or a robe, but didn’t find any of those either.

“We’re all big girls here, rider,” said Emilee without flinching. Areli felt her breath being rushed from her, she felt like this terrible woman was suffocating her.

Areli closed her eyes, as the only ones that had ever seen her naked were her mother and father. If she was grateful for anything, it was the thought of not having to bare herself in front of the male version of Emilee.

She untied the string that kept her shirt from falling from her shoulders, removed her pants, boots, and socks, and then hesitated.

“We don’t have all day, missy,” said Emilee, giving her a stern look. Areli loosened the clip of her bra, and slid her underwear off her long, thin-as-a-noodle legs and stood in judgment.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad,” commented Emilee, who started walking away, and then turned back towards her, “well? – are you coming, or are you just going to stand there?” Areli hated this woman so much, but this wasn’t Oroin. People here didn’t respect or adore her like they did there, except for Samara, maybe. She hadn’t earned that yet.

When they entered into the bathing area, Areli couldn’t help but lose her breath when her feet touched the jade colored marble floors. The room was beyond elegant. The ceilings were covered in paintings of dragons so realistic Areli thought the room could actually be in the sky. Large statues of dragons stood in the four corners, and the walls seemed to be nothing but intricately worked metal and mirrors.

The tub stood in the center of the room, and there were large curtains, as tall as the walls, draped behind it. Both Estrella and Samara were standing next to it. Samara, warm and smiling. Estrella with a look of indifference. They assisted Areli into the large marble tub, surrounding her with bubbles that rose like mountains from the hot, soothing water.

“You two make sure that she is as polished as one of these statues. I don’t want a single speck of dirt on her,” said Emilee, and then she turned and walked out of the room. Estrella used a rough brush on Areli’s skin. It seemed as if she was determined to clean her to the bone. This took away from the delight of Samara’s gentle fingers massaging shampoo and oils into her hair.

When Estrella was satisfied, she told Areli to exit the tub. Each woman took one of Areli’s hands to make sure she didn’t slip and fall. They brought her over to an area of raised red marble, next to one of the corner statues. Estrella knocked on a door and whispered in orders when it was opened. As Areli stood there, she couldn’t help but use bubbles in an attempt to cover herself.

A pair of women servants came out of the room, impeccably dressed, each carrying a thin bucket filled with steaming water. Estrella told Areli to hold her arms out, and the servants set to work rinsing her off, pouring water on her head, her shoulders, and then using silk cloths to clear away whatever the water didn’t get.

Next entered another pair of servants who carried big thick towels. After she was dried, Areli was thankful her naked body was covered with a robe so soft it felt like it was made from a cloud. Samara gently hooked her arm into Areli’s and gave her a reassuring smile. The two girls followed behind Estrella into the previous room.

Emilee was waiting for them next to a white marbled table overlooking a large mirror.

“What in the world took you two so long?” barked Emilee, “I asked for her to get cleaned, not for her to know your whole life stories.” Both girls gave their sincerest apologies. “Anyways, sit her down.”

Areli was placed on a comfortable red chair, and Emilee went to work instantly. She had soft hands, but she was rough with them. She pulled Areli’s hair into a pony and examined the young girl’s face.

“Chin up, missy,” she hissed, as she placed her hands on Areli’s cheeks and turned her head to the left and then the right. “Not all bad,” said Emilee, “your hair, you’ve been growing it long.”

“Ever since I was a child,” said Areli, proud of her hair. It was a beautiful blonde and traveled the length of her spine. She didn’t even notice the thing that Estrella placed in Emilee’s hand, or the wicked smile. If she had, she might have put up a struggle, but she knew exactly what happened when she heard the familiar sound. Snip. It was reminiscent of the sounds heard in their kitchen once a month, the sounds that came from her mother’s bathroom once a week.

The tears fell before the first strand of hair touched the ground. Areli froze in her chair. Time seemed to stand still. She was in too much shock to even scream. Feeling came back to her hands, and she forced herself to feel behind her head . . . it was gone. Her beautiful hair was gone, or at least it’s length.

“You’re not going to miss it, missy,” said Emilee, “now put your hand in your lap unless you plan on missing fingers as well.” Areli did as she was told and watched as Emilee continued to cut and measure what was left of her hair. “And will you please stop your crying, it’s off-putting.”

Areli sniffled back her pain and felt the kindness in Samara’s fingers as she wiped away the tears that Areli couldn’t keep from washing onto her face. Emilee continued to tug, push, and pull Areli’s head in every-which-direction until she was finished. She took her final measurements and instructed Areli to look at the mirror.

Areli didn’t want to look, but Emilee was quite convincing, as she rested the blade of the scissors on her shoulder, the tip nuzzled against the skin of her neck. As Areli looked up, she was speechless. Her hair traveled beautifully just past her shoulders and was cut to perfection. But it still didn’t wash away Areli’s ever growing hatred for Emilee.

She could see Emilee standing behind her, admiring her work. Areli wished she had something bad to say about it, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find a single flaw. She turned her head to each side, and Emilee’s focus turned to Estrella and Samara, ordering them to get the dress ready.

Areli was grabbed and pulled, by the aggressive fingers of Emilee’s, towards the wardrobe area that was marked simply by the racks of clothes. Even though most of the dresses were hidden amongst themselves, Areli could tell that all of them were more expensive than anything she had ever worn. Areli wished she could look at them all, but Emilee already had one picked out and layed it over a chair.

It was refined. Made of Satin. And was comprised of two different shades of red, fresh strawberries and blood. Estrella and Samara helped Areli get into it, while Emilee circled around them. The bottom of the dress bushed out like an umbrella and covered Areli’s feet, and the top was tightened with force against her skin. It tied in the back. Emilee messed around a little with the bottom, and when she was satisfied, had her assistants escort Areli back to the table.

Emilee lifted Areli’s face to the mirror again, her hands pressed into her cheeks.

“Light,” said Emilee, “let’s accentuate her beauty, not hide it.” Estrella and Samara went to work with brushes, pencils, powders, and pads. Emilee inspected their work and finished with a few touch-ups of her own. She applied a little more blush and parted Areli’s hair down the middle, teasing it at the ends.

With the end of an eyeliner pencil against her chin, Emilee lifted Areli’s face to the mirror once more. Areli could feel the pause in her heart. The stagger in her lungs. She always knew she was beautiful, but she never knew she could be this beautiful, not even in her wildest dreams. Emilee stepped away and allowed Areli to be the mirror’s only occupant. Upon looking at herself, she wanted to touch her face, just to make sure it was really real. She cast her eyes to the floor. She wondered if maybe she would have tried harder . . . would have taken greater care to maximize her beauty . . . if then Talon would have told her the words she so yearned to hear.

“Don’t you dare, missy,” sneered Emilee, “I’m not beyond breaking each and every one of your fingers if you smudge up my work.” Areli fought hard to keep the tears from carving down her face. And then she knew it was real, because if it were a dream, Emilee would be dead . . . but only after the make-up was applied.

There was a knock on the door, and Emilee directed Samara, with her eyes, to go and answer it. Areli could hear the young man’s voice coming from behind it. The young assistant closed the door and gave a single nod towards Emilee.

“Well, missy,” said Emilee, “it appears he’s ready to see you.”

When Areli came back into the red-staired area, her mother’s hands instantly went to her face, causing a look of death to come across the young man’s face.

“No, no, no!” said Bray, “Mrs. Roberts what did we talk about?”

“I’m so sorry, Brayer,” said her mother, “I don’t know what came over me.” The young man smiled and motioned for his assistant to come forward. He presented Bray with an elegant wooden box with platinum hinges and two dragons fitted into its center.