(The Encounter)

CLAUDIA

The carriage rode into the black wrought iron fence of the Jamba Royal palace. The building was a terrace, and the building is finished in a simple black and white color palette on the facade.

It was my first time at the Jamba palace, and I was loving everything about it.

The exterior lighting was provided by street lamps and a pair of iron lanterns mounted on each side of the front door. I could see the name “JAMBA PALACE” written boldly with paint on the top of the building. It was well above eye level.

The garden that surrounded the pathway the carriage rode caught my attention, there were flower beds, potted plants, shrubs in neoclassical urns, statues, and many more I couldn’t recognize.

“Claudia, it’s time to get off.”

I looked at Mom with a huge smile on my face, she was out of the carriage while I was feeding my eyes with the palace’s beauty.

“I was examining the environment.”

I climbed down the carriage with the help of the coachman, he held me by my right hand and I lifted my dress with my left hand.

Mom looked at me with a broad smile.

“You like it?”

I nodded as we both walked up the stairs that led to the large front door. Two servants stood at the door, one at the left and the other at the right.

As we drew closer, they held onto the brass door handle and opened the door for us to walk in. There were lots of people already, the musicians were playing, and some couples and choreographers occupied a large amount of space in the ballroom.

My mouth fell open once more as the interior decorations were mouth-watering.

The floor was made of polished wooden floorboards and the chalk art on the floorboards was already marred by the dancers that had arrived earlier.

The ceiling was very high and a huge chandelier was hung on it which provided beautiful lightning to the ballroom. The Chandelier was a beautiful piece of extravagant cornucopia and irregular scrollwork made up of bronze.

There were large curtains on the giant windows which were separated into halves by curtain knobs. There were Candelabra in front of each window and they had lighted candles in them.

I would never leave out the gigantic mirrors built on the wall which reflected the lights from the candles and Chandelier.

It was a great sight to behold.

I was still checking out the designs of the ballroom when I heard someone speak behind me,

“Hi, May I have this dance?”

It was a young-looking man in a white linen shirt and a black coat, which was cut away in front and had a long tail behind, and tall standing collars.

He had black hair with a short hairstyle, his mustache had an upper loop just like a bicycle handle.

He was about three feet away from me.

He extended his left hand to me, his palm was up above his waist level and he had a smile on his face.

His approach was quite welcoming, according to what Ma’am Petra has always taught me.

“Yes.”

I handed my right hand to him and while holding me, he pulled me slightly towards him and placed his right hand on the middle of my back.

We got to the dance floor, and he started by giving me a little one-handed spin, he pulled me into a closed position afterward.

I placed my left hand on his upper arm, and my feet were to his left side. I looked above his shoulders and watched other dancers as we began to sway gently.

“What is your name?”

I turned my head slightly to look at him, he had a broad smile on.

“Claudia.”

I let out a broad smile too. He seemed like a very gentleman.

“I am Joachim… Is this your first time here?”

I gave him a nod and kept my eyes above his shoulders.

As we danced according to the beat of the music, we made a slow 360-degree turning so we could see the whole ballroom as we danced.

As we turned, I saw Thorsten.

The booming was fierce and chronic, it was my heart that seemed to swell into a mallet and swung against my rib cage. It felt like my heart was going to burst at any moment.

I watched him dance with another lady. They didn’t just dance, they also whispered things to themselves and laughed after every whisper.

I lost concentration and I began to watch them closely.

“Are you alright?”

Joachim noticed I was far absent from the dance. I smiled faintly and let go of him.

“Excuse me please.”

I lifted my dress and ran off the dance floor, I kept running not knowing exactly where I was headed. All I knew was that I wanted to stop seeing Thorsten.

“Claudia!”

I heard my mother call but I didn’t look back. I ran out of the ballroom and into the passageway. I saw a door which I knew not where it led.

I opened the door, and luckily for me, it wasn’t locked.

I looked around the room and I noticed I had entered the women’s dressing room. The room was empty, and I was the only one in it.

The wall was decorated with light-colored paper, window curtains, and furniture covers. There was also a huge drawing hung on the wall.

I closed the door and rested my back on it, I was panting hard. I placed my hand on my chest trying to stay calm. I got uncomfortable in my corset and I began to untie it.

I walked away from the door and headed to the standing mirror that was at the edge of the room. It was in front of a large wardrobe.

I stood in front of it and looked at myself. My eyes were red, and tears threatened to fall out of them.

I removed my corset and threw it on the chair next to me. Tears rolled down my eyes as I thought of Thorsten again.

How did he move on so fast?

Still deep in my thoughts, I heard the door of the room flung. I was startled and I quickly picked up my corset.

I placed it against my chest and hid behind the wardrobe.

I began to hear strange sounds, I wasn’t sure what was making those sounds.

I peeped through the space in between the wardrobe and the wall, and I saw two people. A man and a woman.

I could see the face of the woman, but then I couldn't see the man's face because his back was turned to me.

He lifted the young woman and she wrapped her legs around his Torso. He pinned her against the wall and pulled out her dress.

I gasped and shut my eyes immediately. I think I could guess what was going on.

Thorsten and I had always discussed mating.

I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I shouldn’t be there at that awkward moment.

I should leave before they get into it.

No! I shouldn’t… I would ruin their moment. I should wait here. I stood upright and heaved a sigh.

I could hear the woman making different kinds of sounds. It wasn’t a sound of pain, it sounded like she enjoyed it.

I leaned against the wall and shut my eyes tight. I moved my corset away from my chest weakly.

The night wasn’t going the way I wanted it.

All of a sudden, I felt something strange. I wrinkled my face trying to discern the feeling.

“Who are you?”

I heard the voice of a man in a very close range. My eyes sprung open, I quickly covered my chest with my corset.

It was the man mating with the lady!

I felt electric shocks all over me as we stared into each other’s eyes.

He had brown skin, a narrow face with less fat, he had blue eyes and full and symmetrical lips. He was pretty tall, a little above 6 feet if I was correct, and had broad shoulders.

He had steampunk hair and was with no mustache. He was different from the other men. He wasn’t from the Jamba Kingdom.

What is going on?

The woman he was with rolled my eyes at me. I couldn't be more uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry… I…was leaving.”

I bowed my head and wanted to walk away when he held my arm. My heart raced immediately as his hands touched me. I felt electric shocks all over my body.

“It is you.”

I arched my brows trying to understand what he meant, and after a few seconds, I did.

It was him! The prophecy! My eyes widened and I yanked my arm away from his hand.

I ran out of the room with my heart thumping against my chest.

My mate was mating with another woman in front of me!!