The War God’s Favorite
Chapter 32
The Pink Dresses
The winter storm lasted two nights and two days. During that time, Cassandra and Kairen spent all their time together in their tent. It was cold, but their bodies were enough to warm each other up. Evin and a couple of other Imperial Servants showed up from time to time to bring in food, and disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.
It was like they were in their own cocoon, far from the troubles their difference in status brought, far from any concerns about the camp or the Capital.
Though as soon as the storm calmed down, they were both ready to resume their duties. After a long kiss goodbye, Kairen and Cassandra parted. The Prince left to see his men, and Cassandra walked back to the hospital. She had some company on the way.
“Good Morning, Madam.”
“Morning, Evin. Are you okay?”
“We are used to storms such as this, Madam.”
As usual, the Imperial Servant was a man of few words. The black dragon following her every step was more noisy though. Maybe because it had been alone outside for a while, Krai was literally beside her every step, and
g a bit whenever Cassandra ignored it for too long. However, she was glad Krai walked next to her, as she had to hold on to the dragon to make her way through the snow. It was soft like powder, but so high sometimes she would stumble or have a hard time stepping into it. Thankfully, Krai’s hot body made most of the snow around them melt under its steps, though it soaked Cassandra’s dress. It took a long time for them to reach the hospital and Cassandra was a bit anxious. Were the men alright? How many of them would have suffered during the storm?
As soon as she stepped in though, it seemed like everything had been fine, despite her absence. The volunteers present were doing great following the instructions she had left on some papers and actually didn’t notice her before she stepped into one of the rooms.
“Lady of the Mountain! Welcome back!”
“Lady Cassandra!”
A few men ran to her, asking many questions at the same time until Evin ordered everyone to calm down. Cassandra was mostly needed to instruct how to treat complex injuries, which disease they were dealing with, and how to make new ointments and serums. It didn’t take long though. Sadly, as she had feared, the cold brought by the winter storm had killed the men who were already sick. Some who had been injured by falling trees or other accidents had come in too, but nothing major. Cassandra did her best in a few hours, but she was supposed to depart with the Prince before nighttime.
Hence, she left after giving some more instructions to the volunteers present. She was still hoping to find real apprentices, but for now those men were doing great on their own.
To her surprise, when Cassandra walked out of the hospital the Prince was already there putting some bags on his dragon’s back. Krai was calmly resting in his presence, though its eyes followed Cassandra.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Get on,” he said with a nod.
Cassandra could now climb Krai by herself, but Kairen still helped her. Evin watched the two take their places on the dragon’s back. The black beast probably already sensed what was happening since it stretched his wings and got up. Kairen held Cassandra, as the dragon moving around caused her to lose her balance.
Then as usual, the dragon took off, shortly flying high in the grey sky. It was colder than the previous time, and Cassandra felt the bitter wind despite her thick cloak and the Prince holding her. Her cheeks were red and she covered her mouth as her throat started to ache a bit from breathing the cold air. Kairen looked fine, as usual, although he did put on a winter cloak as well this time.
The black dragon had to make double the effort to fly due to the strong wind and the snow. It wasn’t as bad as during the winter storm, but Cassandra couldn’t see any of the landscape below or far away. She even wondered how Krai knew where to go when they couldn’t even see the ground. However, the dragon didn’t seem to mind. It was flying confidently, not even bothered by the snowfall, or the winds challenging its wings.
Yet, it took a bit longer for them to reach the castle, or so Cassandra thought. Maybe it was because of the cold, but she was glad when Krai finally landed on the white coat in the Onyx Castle grounds. Just like before, Patrina hurried out to welcome them, followed by the other servants. Though they did not dare to say a word in front of the Prince, the young girls’ eyes were shining bright in Cassandra’s direction. She could tell they were holding back from running to her.
Patrina stepped forward, bowing to the Prince.
“Welcome back, My Lord. I hope you had a pleasant trip. Several deliveries from the palace have been made.”
“Where is it?”
“It was put in your room, as ordered, My Lord.”
Kairen nodded and walked into the castle. Cassandra thought he didn’t need her, but just when she was parting ways with him to go greet the girls, the Prince turned around.
“Cassandra. Come.”
A bit surprised, she followed after him. Did he need her to unpack or something? She wished she could have greeted the others before going upstairs. The Prince seemed impatient though. He climbed the stairs up to his room so fast she could barely follow in his footsteps. When they finally arrived, five large chests were in the room, as Patrina had said. Kairen walked up to the closest one and opened it.
“Cassandra.”
She walked up to him to look at the contents. She found herself speechless. Jewelry! So many emeralds, diamonds, other gems, and gold she could have gone blind. What was all this? This was worth so much! Kairen frowned upon seeing her shocked expression.
“You don’t like those?”
“What? My Lord, this is…”
“From my father. They said you would be rewarded, didn’t they? It came late.”
Cassandra suddenly remembered the very short moment when two servants had indeed mentioned a reward, back at the Palace, for becoming the War God’s Concubine. However, she only expected a few gold coins, not five big chests full of treasures!
A bit unable to process what she was seeing, she slowly took out a few of the items present, one by one. There were so many, she could barely believe her eyes. She had a long necklace with emeralds in one hand and something like a gold tiara in the other. She tried to count, but the numbers and the thought of the overall price made her dizzy. There was every type of jewelry one could think of. From bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, even toe rings, to tiaras, and hairpins. She had never seen so much in one place. And all of these were meant for her?
Cassandra got up and opened another one of the chests. Unlike the first that she found full of jewelry, this one was filled with dresses, Luxurious, warm, and deep red dresses, all aligned there. She got on her knees and took one out, too curious. This dress had nothing in common with her current attire. They were both red dresses, but
the one Cassandra was currently wearing looked very shabby and dull in comparison. The dress she had taken out of the chest was a deep, beautiful red, and was very detailed too. There were embroideries and thin little gems in it, making it shine subtly whenever it moved.
“It’s beautiful…” she whispered to herself, impressed with the craftsmanship.
“They are all yours. No more dirty dresses.”
He opened the last two chests for her to see. The fourth one was filled with dresses as well, in every shade of red that existed. Apparently, she wouldn’t have to wear any white anymore. The last chest contained little boxes and bottles, mostly perfumes, creams, and makeup. The kind her previous mistress had by the hundreds, and abused everyday to keep herself pretty. Cassandra wasn’t too fond of those, however. Some of the products in the Empire were expensive and not so useful, sometimes having very strong smells but not much benefit to the skin. Maybe she could try to make her own, now that she could access the herbs she wanted. 1
Kairen walked up to her, crouching down to her level.
“You don’t like those?”