Lavender & Ice

27. Meeting The Premier

An hour later Ashima shook slightly in fear as the door in front of Teluq opened. This was it, she was about to meet the king and queen of this land. She was about to meet the people who would decide her fate. She took in a long breath and exhaled slowly as she stepped forward, Dran and Teluq on either side of her, as she could barely walk with her injured knee.

Teluq had helped apply cream to the places where she had cuts and scrapes along her skin, the worst of which was a gash under her left eye where Zein had hit her many times. It was so swollen, she could barely see out of that side. She knew the tonic that the mystery woman had given her twice had definitely helped with the pain, it must have been a much higher strength than what Teluq had given her. But she didn't know how she looked. Probably pretty rough by the looks she was receiving in the room they just entered.

She had expected some kind of grand throne room or courtroom. But instead they were in what she could only describe as a medium sized meeting room. A large table with chairs surrounding it sat on the opposite end of the long room, but immediately before her were two sofas facing each other with a sofa table between them. She glanced around. It was a fairly simple room but the taupe walls, dark wood floors, and potted plants surrounding the room made it feel more welcoming than she was expecting.

"The Premier will be here any moment." Dran stated.

"Premier?" Ashima asked quietly.

"The Premier is made up of the royal family and the quadrant representatives." Teluq answered.

As soon as the words were out of Teluqs lips, the door opened and three people walked in. Ashima tensed as three sets of curious eyes fell on her.

"You are dismissed." A woman Ashima had to assume was the Queen spoke to Teluq and Dran, who swiftly nodded their heads and left the room after placing Ashima to stand on her own in front of one of the sofas. Ashima had barely met them but she felt her fear spike as she watched them walk out the door and it being closed behind them. Her eyes darted from person to person, not sure what to do.

"Please, sit." The woman spoke again, motioning to the large couch before taking a seat on the opposite one, the two men sat on either side of her. Ashima slowly sat on the empty couch across from them, holding her left leg slightly in front of her as she held in her wince at the pain in her knee. She forced her breathing to remain calm as she ran her fingers together in knots in her lap.

"I am Queen Thala." The woman said before motioning to the man to her left. "YOu may address me as Lord Thala. And this is my husband, King Japheth, who you may address as Lord Japheth." The man nodded and Ashima subtly nodded in return.

The man, Lord Japheth, spoke next. "And this is Lord Rolph, leader of the Western Quadrant." The man nodded and again Ashima nodded in return. His skin was darker than the others, close to Milleck's color. "The remaining members of The Premier are not able to join us this afternoon but we feel this meeting could not wait."

Ashima just stared in response, both from not being sure what to say and also due to fear and anxiety.

"Let's start by addressing why we were not able to meet with you until now, many hours after your arrival." Lord Japheth started. "Dran tells us you have many injuries and you needed medical attention." He picked up a mug of water from the table and took a sip, as if waiting for her to respond.

Eventually she nodded slightly and he sat down the mug, placing his forearms on his knees as he leaned forward. "Enlighten us as to how and when you acquired these injuries."

Ashima visibly tensed, her eyes darting to each person as her breath quickened and her heart beat fast. Were they concerned for her? Were they testing her? Simply waiting to see if she ratted on Zein before they delivered the final blow? If she told them, would Zein find out and come for her? Fear ran through her, and she sucked in a breath.