Nia massages the oil very gently into Kiara’s skin, she moans in pain when Nia’s hands touches her sore ribs, or her arms that had taken the beaten from her aunt’s slipper as she tried to protect her face. It occurs to her now, that the henna decorating her skin serves another purpose other than announcing that she is a royal bride, the intricate lines and swirls also cover the bruises on her skin. Nia’s tour of the castle was overwhelming for Kiara, she couldn’t even remember the name of the rooms or what they were for and they had only gone through half of the East wing before Nia had declared that it was time for lunch. Kiara did not eat with the Emperor, a small mercy she is grateful for. After lunch, Nia and Kiara take another walk through the remainder of the East wing, at the end of it all, Kiara feels she has been in a maze, she knows she will certainly get lost if she comes here alone. They had a light evening meal by the window where Kiara watched the sun set. Afte

Nia takes her through a corridor different from the others because of the absence of windows. Lamps line the walls and burn brightly even though it is only noon, the other wall is lined with paintings depicting violent war and bloodshed. Kiara sees soldiers getting impaled on sword and spears, she sees an executioner in the act of beheading a man, an overflowing basket of heads beside him, she doesn’t realize Nia has stopped to talk to another servant. She turns around the corner and sees a man sitting on a throne made out of skulls, his golden eyes and wild golden hair reminds her of an older version of the Emperor, now that she thinks about it, she realizes the resemblance is uncanny. Before she can contemplate further, she sees a soldier coming out of a room by the corner, she looks into an open room and sees the armour she had knocked over during the squabble with her aunt. “Isn’t that…” She breaks away from the company and follows the men into the large room. If she tho