He walked into the dining hall and the sight that greeted him seemed to immediately bring him to a stop. Cael stood frozen for a moment, trying to make out within himself, the next action he could take that would make him seem, even to the slightest, worthy and commendable in the midst of these other young men who were already settled in the dining, and having their meals served before them.
And again, he couldn't see the four young fellows that he may well call his people and who could make him feel less un-belonging being among the young men in the hall. Well, Cael wasn't ready to act timorous or display what they would call "inferiority complex" in the presence of these other young men. Just as them, he also made it to be among the Princes' Escorts, and no matter how they might put it, whether it was sheer luck or due to some divine intervention, he was still chosen to be one of the escorts. Thus, he's supposed to lift his shoulders up high and move boldly to one of these chairs, or just like Jorai, move gracefully with pride and supremacy in every step, towards the table without feeling any iota of subordination.
This was what he should do, walk with grace, chin up and shoulders high. Cael was now determined within himself. If he was to show others that he wasn't to be looked down on just because he was from the Mountain Tribe, then he might as well begin it right here and now, starting with his body language. So, heads raised up high, jaws up, and shoulders braced, Cael was ready to prove himself to everyone. He was going…
'What are you waiting for?'
Mikneiah's voice suddenly came behind him as he gently pated Cael on his back, and Cael's shoulders which was once raised high, trembled greatly and instantly deflated back to their normal length.
'Were you waiting for us to arrive?' Haniel's voice followed as he also appeared with Jorai and Unni following closely behind.
'Uhh…yeah yes' Cael replied and after giving them an awkward smile, he followed them silently towards the table, trying hard to conceal the shame that had overwhelmed him.
They were all now sat by the table, all twelve of them, courteously and almost quietly digging into their meals, and Cael? Trying all his best to eat in a less uncivilized manner.
And just then, a middle-aged man pranced into the hall, a wide and prideful smile on his lips, as he moved in front of the table where the young men were all seated and dining. Another younger man was trailing behind him and Cael noticed the young man to be Temoa, the fellow who had introduced him to the places within the citadel.
Master Heber moved and stood before the twelve young men, with his hands nobly clasped together as he watched each of them patiently, waiting for everyone to drop down their spoons and pay him their keenest attention.
'I know you might have not been formally welcomed to the Palace before, allow me to do that today. I welcome all of you to this divine and sacred dwelling of the Imperial Family. I also welcome you to the fountain court, the place you all have currently been quartered in.'
'…most people would call it the castle, some refer to it as the citadel, but this is the fountain court. And as you might have noticed, many of the Imperial offices are within the court, many of which I do not expect you to enter without firstly receiving permission.' He continued sternly before wearing on his wide gawky smile again.
'And I'd wager that you do not need a second confirmation to understand that you are now within the Palace premises, and any habit of moving around and wandering to places forbidden should immediately be addressed. There are places that could get yourself and your entire generations to come from off the face of this earth, just by stepping a foot on its soil, within the Palace.'
The Master expounded on and this time around, his eyes were wide open, almost seeming to scare the younger escorts in their midst, even Cael himself was instantly made afraid. He knew that Haniel had at some point made known to him the same things the Master had just said, but now he was hearing it from the Master himself, he was frightened to his core.
The Master continued with telling and instructing the young men of the dos and don'ts in the Palace, and the activities they would most definitely get involved in now that they were in the Palace as escorts to the twelve princes of the land. It took a while for the Master; as it has been concluded that he was undeniably the talkative type, to finish up with his speech. The food on their plates was already getting cold, the younger escorts were also already feeling sleepy; Raphael couldn't stop yawning and picking his ears, Haniel kept tapping his spoon on his plate, and then the Master rounded up his speech.
As soon as the Master pranced again out of the hall with Temoa, relieved and tired sighs came from almost every young man in the hall, and as some of them lifted up their spoons to continue eating, one of them; probably the most gallant-looking of them, rose up to his feet and started for the door.
'Where are you going, Jezer? You haven't finished with your meal'
Eshek; the second oldest among the young men, observed to Jezer; the oldest of them all, who was walking towards the door. Jezer then stopped walking and turned his head slightly to face Eshek.
'Can't you see the food's gotten cold? I wonder who can eat such anymore.' He replied, his voice very deep and hoarse, accenting the disdain and derision that was in his tone. Then he turned and continued moving for the door.
Eshek remained still for a moment, watching as Jezer moved out of the dining hall, then he sighed, stood up to his own feet, and walked away from the table. No sooner had he ambled out of the door than the younger escorts, the three of them apart from Raphael; the one assigned to the Ninth Prince, they all got to their feet and walked out of the dining hall too, following after Eshek.
The rest of the twelve left behind in the Upper-Room, and who were also observing everything that was happening immediately the Master left the hall, stayed motionless on their chairs as if they were waiting for someone to signal them what next they should do.
Well, the signal came; Raphael's heavy scraping of his spoon against his plate as he was trying to gather the remaining crumps of the food on the plate and shove them all at once into his mouth. When he did, he then picked up his plate and attempted to lick-clean the surface of his dish before he noticed the other young men watching him with unbelieving expressions on their faces.
Then he dropped his plate slowly to the table, and with a guilty face, cowered back into his chair and lowered his head.
'…I was hungry. I don't know what the big guy meant when he said we can't eat the food anymore seeing it has gotten cold, but, I was very famished'
He defended himself, trying not to meet with anyone's gaze. Well, every of the young men still present in the hall, were likewise trying their best not to burst out into a hearty round of laughter at the little fellow's unexpected behavior.
'No one's indicting you for doing so little guy. I mean, if he feels that the food is no longer edible because it's gotten slightly cold, that doesn't mean we all feel the same. I don't know why you should feel guilty for that'
Jorai put in reasonably and the other young men nodded in agreement.
'Back in the Northlands, eating cold food in some areas is even as usual as eating a hot steaming dish' Haniel put forth too and the guy who was seating opposite him, immediately raised his head with a surprised glare.
'You're a Northerner?' he asked and Haniel looked to him and nodded positively.
'Yeah…why?'
'I…I'm also from the Northlands' Jehiel revealed.
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