Read Online TRAVELLER (Book 1 in the Brass Pendant Trilogy) by Amanda May Bell - Free Book Online
Authors: Amanda May Bell
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the time travel itself was what activated the affliction,” said Harmony, and she shuddered once more. “I don’t know how you do it your Highness. Aaron has told me of the darkness, and of the pain. You must be very brave to time travel as you do,” she said, as she spread a freshly ground paste through my hair to cleanse it.
“I would imagine the courage required to be in personal service to the Queen of Aldiris would be far greater than that required to travel through time,” I said dryly, and Harmony was careful not to respond to this at all, proving to me she was as intelligent as she was talented. I smiled at her. “I love time travel, Harmony. I don’t think of it as something I have to do, but as something I want to do. I’m very much looking forward to joining as many quests as I’m able to once I’ve finished my finals,” I said, and Harmony smiled too before she motioned to some servants who appeared in my doorway with earthenware jugs of water from the well. The servants used the water to fill my bath and one jug was left to the side to be used as a final rinse.
When my bath water had heated to a temperature Harmony decided was perfect for my complexion, she removed the heating rod. She then allowed me to bath and wash out my hair myself while she saw to the delivery of my evening meal. Aldirites, and Denborites too, considered cleanliness and a satisfying meal to be the cornerstones of good health. A hot bath and good food ended the working day for every member of every household in Aldiris, and no one, no matter their station, would attend the celebration tonight unless these two of our most basic needs had first been met.
The warm water was blissful, but I was still restless and I stood up and removed the stopper from the bottom of the bath. The water drained slowly, and beneath the floors, it flowed along a network of drainage pipes that ended somewhere within the gardens that grew around the Palace walls. I poured the cold water from the jug over my hair to rinse it, and when it drained away too, I wrapped myself in another soft cloth. Right on cue, as was expected of her, Harmony reappeared…….
Night had fallen, and my room was lit dimly now by the wall cylinder above my bed. It was almost set seven and I stood in front of my golden edged mirror and stared at myself in surprise. I was dressed in a jade green dress, the colour of which exactly matched the colour of my eyes. The dress was draped over one shoulder and it was edged with tiny green stones. It was fitted above my waist and it hugged my hips before falling softy to the floor. Harmony had persuaded me to retie the thin leather band around my wrist with jade green leather to match the dress, and I’d done this quickly when Harmony had left the room to ask a maid to remove my meal tray. When it had come to my hair, Harmony had braided it away from my face, starting at my temples, before pinning it and letting the lengths fall loosely down my back. I wore leather sandals tied around my ankles and my pendant lay against my dress in all its splendour. Here, it didn’t have to be hidden, and I touched my fingers to its shiny, brass dials.
“You look beautiful your Highness if you’ll allow me to say so,” said Harmony, and she folded her arms and surveyed her work with a satisfied smile.
“You are a worker of miracles,” I said sincerely, as I smiled at Harmony in the mirror.
“There was no need for any miracles, and I suspect the Queen won’t be pleased,” said Harmony, so quietly that I wondered whether she’d spoken at all. I glanced at her as she gathered her jars and hair combs together hastily, and I smiled again when she wished me ‘good set’.
“Good set Harmony, and I wish your husband well in his quests,” I said, and when Harmony was gone, there was a tap on my door almost immediately. I was surprised when it was Mirren who entered my rooms.
“You have a weapons class scheduled
“I would imagine the courage required to be in personal service to the Queen of Aldiris would be far greater than that required to travel through time,” I said dryly, and Harmony was careful not to respond to this at all, proving to me she was as intelligent as she was talented. I smiled at her. “I love time travel, Harmony. I don’t think of it as something I have to do, but as something I want to do. I’m very much looking forward to joining as many quests as I’m able to once I’ve finished my finals,” I said, and Harmony smiled too before she motioned to some servants who appeared in my doorway with earthenware jugs of water from the well. The servants used the water to fill my bath and one jug was left to the side to be used as a final rinse.
When my bath water had heated to a temperature Harmony decided was perfect for my complexion, she removed the heating rod. She then allowed me to bath and wash out my hair myself while she saw to the delivery of my evening meal. Aldirites, and Denborites too, considered cleanliness and a satisfying meal to be the cornerstones of good health. A hot bath and good food ended the working day for every member of every household in Aldiris, and no one, no matter their station, would attend the celebration tonight unless these two of our most basic needs had first been met.
The warm water was blissful, but I was still restless and I stood up and removed the stopper from the bottom of the bath. The water drained slowly, and beneath the floors, it flowed along a network of drainage pipes that ended somewhere within the gardens that grew around the Palace walls. I poured the cold water from the jug over my hair to rinse it, and when it drained away too, I wrapped myself in another soft cloth. Right on cue, as was expected of her, Harmony reappeared…….
Night had fallen, and my room was lit dimly now by the wall cylinder above my bed. It was almost set seven and I stood in front of my golden edged mirror and stared at myself in surprise. I was dressed in a jade green dress, the colour of which exactly matched the colour of my eyes. The dress was draped over one shoulder and it was edged with tiny green stones. It was fitted above my waist and it hugged my hips before falling softy to the floor. Harmony had persuaded me to retie the thin leather band around my wrist with jade green leather to match the dress, and I’d done this quickly when Harmony had left the room to ask a maid to remove my meal tray. When it had come to my hair, Harmony had braided it away from my face, starting at my temples, before pinning it and letting the lengths fall loosely down my back. I wore leather sandals tied around my ankles and my pendant lay against my dress in all its splendour. Here, it didn’t have to be hidden, and I touched my fingers to its shiny, brass dials.
“You look beautiful your Highness if you’ll allow me to say so,” said Harmony, and she folded her arms and surveyed her work with a satisfied smile.
“You are a worker of miracles,” I said sincerely, as I smiled at Harmony in the mirror.
“There was no need for any miracles, and I suspect the Queen won’t be pleased,” said Harmony, so quietly that I wondered whether she’d spoken at all. I glanced at her as she gathered her jars and hair combs together hastily, and I smiled again when she wished me ‘good set’.
“Good set Harmony, and I wish your husband well in his quests,” I said, and when Harmony was gone, there was a tap on my door almost immediately. I was surprised when it was Mirren who entered my rooms.
“You have a weapons class scheduled
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