Chapter 346: Only Eyes For You
At the plaza outside the palace, Ashlynn presented a calm, stately appearance to onlookers as she stood beside High Lady Erna. Inwardly, however, her heart raced, seeming to beat twice as fast as the slow, steady rhythm of the drummers in Nyrielle’s army.
For tonight’s welcoming event, Ashlynn had dressed in a long green dress that hugged her lush hips and slender waist while a corset of dark lace offered up her full bust like fine melons to be feasted upon. Unlike her last visit, she’d abandoned local fashion, choosing to leave he shoulders and neck bare.
The attendants who helped prepare her wardrobe for today’s reception looked somewhat scandalized that Ashlynn wouldn’t wear any of the jewelry they offered. Necklaces, chokers, and elaborate chains of silver or gold and precious jewels were all rejected, as were the simplest of bracelets.
"You don’t understand my Nyrielle," she told the scandalized jeweler. "To her, no gem or jewel could ever compete with the sight of my pulse beating beneath the surface of my skin," she said, tracing a finger over her delicate neck. "And if we must entertain, and I can only offer her something chaste, then she will feast on my naked wrist," Ashlynn added, gesturing to her slender wrist.
"But, your Dominion," the jeweler protested. "The most prominent people of High Fen City and even the surrounding towns will be present to welcome the Blood Princess back to the city. Even if you don’t dress for her, think of the impression you’ll make on them if you appear so... unadorned. You know what people will say," she hinted, reminding Ashlynn of the rumors that had circulated that she was an impoverished witch from the Vale of Mists, clinging to Nyrielle’s thigh to elevate herself.
"She doesn’t care," Heila said from the couch she’d been resting on. Her ninth victory in the arena had barely felt like a contest and she wondered if Yotsun was saving something special for the final day. Now, however, she was simply grateful that she had the energy to face tonight’s festivities since she knew that there would be a great deal of work to do once she and Zedya were reunited.
"If you have to adorn someone to prop up my lady’s station," Heila suggested. "You can layer as many of those jewels on me as you wish. Talauia too," she added, pointing at the excited Thistle Witch. "That should make it clear that my lady’s lack of adornment is a choice and not a necessity."
"You see?" Ashlynn said with a smile as she looked at the poor jeweler’s crestfallen face. "Every problem has a solution."
Now, the chill air of an autumn evening swept around Ashlynn’s bare shoulders but she hardly noticed as her eyes tracked the progress of the river of torches entering the city. For months, the echo of Nyrielle’s heartbeat in her chest had grown fainter with distance until she couldn’t notice unless she listened carefully to reassure herself that her lover’s heart still beat. Now, however, that they were only minutes apart, the echo of Nyrielle’s heart thundered in her chest like the drums of her army, coming ever nearer.
"I should say ’As expected of my teacher,’" High Lady Erna said as she waited with Ashlynn for Nyrielle’s arrival. "But I don’t think my teacher of so many decades ago could have assembled an army so vast in just a few month’s time. You’ve changed her, Ashlynn," she said with a broad smile.
"We’ve changed each other," Ashlynn said, resisting the urge to stand up on her tiptoes to watch the carriage draw closer. Nyrielle had already entered the city, she would be here in mere minutes but the wait felt so much longer than that. "I like to think we’ve both changed for the better."