Blessed by the Gods (Gods & Dark Creatures Book 1)

Chapter five

Amaya woke up at the sound of footsteps. They were coming from the reception lounge. She quickly got out of bed and went to find out who was around in her rooms.

She walked through the door to the lounge. She saw a woman in a modest lavender dress hugging her body. The maid immediately bowed before her. Amaya looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the delicious-looking food served on the round table by the balcony.

"You are awake, Your Highness," the maid spoke. "My name is Mareena. I will be your lady-in-waiting."

"Nice to meet you, Mareena," Amaya said.

"Breakfast is ready on the table, Your Highness, and I have also brought you a new dress sent to you by His Royal Highness, Prince Ciaran."

Her trousers and red blouse were neatly folded in the chair. Amaya smiled involuntarily. He did as he promised. He allowed her to keep her pants.

"Anything else you would like, Your Highness?"

"No, that's all. Thank you." Amaya told her. "You may leave, Mareena."

Amaya sat down to her breakfast. A gentle breeze blew from the balcony. The country came alive with the morning. The sun slowly rose into the turquoise skies and welcomed the day. The birds sang beautifully. She was enjoying the variety of fruits that she didn't even know. Fruits of all kinds of colors and shapes. One was amazingly sweet, the other pleasantly sour and fresh. She was putting grapes in her mouth.

Zariah joined her.

"I see you're enjoying it here," she said as she saw Amaya basking in the morning sun and feeding on orange moonshine.

"We're kind of stuck here, so you might as well start enjoying it, Zariah, until King Mael decides to burn us at the stake."

"Didn't you say it would be good if Prince Ciaran was our friend?" Zariah reminded her.

"Prince Ciaran is not exactly his father's favorite son," replied Amaya, putting another moong of the sour snack in her mouth. "I'm afraid if we end up in flames, he'll burn with us," she said with her mouth full.

"In that case, we have to run away from here. You have to get out of here." Zariah said.

"How?" Amaya asked her. "If you haven't noticed, we are in enemy territory surrounded by soldiers. There are also guards in front of my chambers."

"I know you're good at running away. Do you think I didn't notice how you managed to escape from the monastery in front of the guards?" Zariah remarked. "This shouldn't be a problem for you."

Amaya was stunned. She had no idea that she was so bad at secretly sneaking out of the monastery. How many probably knew that and why didn't they stop her from doing it?

"I never told anyone, Amaya, but I was keeping an eye on you," Zariah said.

"Even if I could do it, we're still in Deira, and Amorite is too far. They'll catch us before we even get close to the nearest town." Amaya said.

"I believe you can, Amaya," Zariah said. "You were able to hunt dark creatures and survive. The gods are on your side and will help you."

Amaya rolled her eyes. "However, it will take time. Determine the standing of guards, their rotation. To find inconspicuous ways out of the palace." she said.

"Most of all, you need to get out of here as quickly as possible," said Zariah.

Amaya decided to explore the prince's castle. Herself. The high priestess was, as every morning, at her prayers. She also invited Amaya, worried that she was losing faith in the gods, but she refused because of her curiosity. She never stopped believing in the gods, but she had long since detached away from them.