Chapter 197: Heila vs. Jacques
Hours later, well after the sun had risen and Nyrielle retreated to the chambers High Lady Erna had prepared for her beneath the ground, Heila sat outside Ashlynn’s bed chamber waiting for her lady to wake.
The late morning sun streamed through the lattice stonework of the tall windows, warming the stone floors and casting dappled shadows on the far wall. Elsewhere, the palace had begun to stir with the sounds of servants going about their daily tasks, but this wing remained peaceful, preserved for important guests like Lady Nyrielle who shouldn’t be disturbed.
In truth, High Lady Erna had made extra efforts years ago in remodeling this wing to add underground rooms in the hopes that Nyrielle would visit more often. Most Eldritch Lords who had reason to visit the High Fen would have resided in the chambers Ashlynn currently occupied.
Only Nyrielle and others like her would give up the opulent chambers with their expansive views of the palace gardens and the city beyond to allow another member of their household to enjoy the luxurious treatment in the rooms above ground.
While she waited outside Ashlynn’s bed chamber, Heila held an embroidery hoop in her hands along with a brand new silk handkerchief. A rich, coppery thread ran through her fingers as she delicately worked away at the soft, chocolate-brown fabric. Two completed handkerchiefs sat neatly folded next to her, each bearing an elaborately stylized letter ’H.’
Their stay in High Fen City would only last a few days and when Ashlynn included a new set of handkerchiefs in the wardrobe she purchased for Heila, her diminutive lady-in-waiting had insisted that she could monogram them herself.
It was already an indulgence for her to receive so many fine dresses and expensive accessories. There was no reason to spend extra to make an embroiderer rush their work before they left the city for the final leg of Ashlynn’s journey to the Mother of Thorns. Besides, embroidery was one of the parts of her job that she found genuine joy in.
That joy, simple as it was, only lasted until the late morning, just an hour or so before midday, when a guest came calling, escorted by Captain Lennart and one of the serpentine palace guards assigned by High Lady Erna’s majordomo to keep watch over Lady Nyrielle and her entourage.
"Lady Heila," Lennart said, giving a crisp bow when he entered. After hearing what happened during the masquerade, he wasn’t favorably inclined toward their guest but he didn’t dare to refuse the man’s request for an audience either. He could only ensure that Heila knew she wasn’t facing the man alone and hope that things went smoothly.