Chapter 32 Fiza’s Story
Fiza’s Story
When she returned from her morning ride, Elizabeth groomed Draugr, whistling a merry tune.
She meandered slowly back to the castle and couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
Her thoughts drifted to the beautiful moments she had shared with Caspian last night.
Gods. She closed her eyes and sighed, her whole body coming alive at the memory.
A part of her felt guilty, knowing she could never tell a soul she had made love with a monster. Charlotte certainly would tell her she had taken leave of her senses.
But he … wasn’t a monster.
Not always.
He had a good side, she was certain of it. His moral compass was buried deeply, but it was there.
Elizabeth cringed; she hadn’t known last night would happen and hadn’t had the foresight to find a contraceptive tonic. She wrinkled her nose, imagining being stuck with a witch child, or worse, an ugly, cackling demon baby.
She needed to get a tonic as soon as possible.
Not that she intended to sleep with him again, but just in case.
“You woke up on the right side of the bed this morning,” Fiza mused, as she styled her hair.
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth replied innocently.
Fiza gave her a knowing smile and finished her hair. “I see the Master dotes on you now,” Fiza said slyly, pointing to a pile of parcels on her writing desk.
“Nonsense, I’m sure he’s just being friendly.”
“Mhmmmmm,” Fiza said. “He’s ordered some more dresses for you. The footman asked me for your measurements again.”
“That was kind of him,” Elizabeth said shyly. Quailing under the demon’s raised brows, she added, “We’ve become friends.”
Fiza smiled lightly. “Well, miss, these are for you. And that big one on top is from your friend.”
There were two large parcels and a small stack of letters on her writing desk.
One package had her mother’s handwriting on it, and the other was a large, round package tied with a string. She opened the flat parcel from her mother first and squealed. Lemon squares. Her favourite.
Elizabeth grinned. Her mother always knew lemon squares were her greatest weakness. A peace offering, perhaps?
“What is it?” Fiza asked, not understanding her glee.
“After we’re ready, I am forcing you to take tea with me so I can show you one of the delights from my kingdom,” Elizabeth said happily, showing her the box.
“No, no, it wouldn’t be right, miss,” said Fiza, shaking her head. “The servants aren’t permitted to dine in the great hall. You go enjoy them.”
“Nonsense, you’re a lady’s maid, you said so yourself. If you get in trouble, you can blame it on me.” She wrapped the treats and pointed to her closet. “Borrow one of my gowns if you like, I have too many as it is.”
Fiza opened her mouth to say something, but Elizabeth cut her off. “You must, I insist. Wear whatever you like.”
Reluctantly, Fiza began rifling through her hangers. Touching one, then two others made of heavy silk. Then she glanced at her practical homespun dress, her throat bobbing. “Lady, I cannot.”
Elizabeth smiled brightly. “Please. I insist.”
Fiza bit her lip and looked back at the closet. “Where is that pretty plum one you wore a few weeks ago? I don’t see it in here.”
“I don’t know, it’s in there somewhere,” Elizabeth said distractedly, eyeing the large package from Caspian. The wrapping crinkled as she picked it up and slipped the note out from under the twine.
He had not given her a note in any of his gifts before. His handwriting was neat and angular, and read,
For future adventures.
-Caspian
She undid the twine and gingerly pulled open the wrapping paper, revealing a cloak made of treated leather and lined with soft blue-gray fur.
The cloak had a leather strap and an elegant silver clasp.
The fur was impossibly soft and would keep her warm on even the coldest days.
She’d said over a month ago she would need to buy a new cloak.
The faintest smile played on her lips—he had remembered.
“What is it?” Fiza came up to her and made a face upon seeing the gift.
“It’s a cloak … so I can ride outside all I like when the weather gets colder,” Elizabeth said by way of explanation.
Fiza raised an eyebrow. “I liked the dresses and jewellery he bought you better.”
She laughed and agreed. Secretly though, Elizabeth had never been more touched. He would have had to have bought it a few days ago, before they had slept together, for it to have arrived today.
She held the cloak to her face for the briefest of moments, hoping Fiza would not comment on her being silly. She inhaled the rich scent of the treated leather and smiled.
Perhaps last night had meant something to him after all.
Elizabeth watched while Fiza tried on some of her dresses and cheered her on.
“Ooh! That one I like.”
Fiza tried on several gowns while they discussed their preferences for each.
“You can keep that one,” Elizabeth called as Fiza admired herself in the mirror, having chosen a gown with an exceptionally low neckline.
Fiza chose to keep her hair in its usual limp bun.
Fiza had a slender form and plain-as-mud features.
Her lips were thin, and her nose was too large for her face.
Elizabeth was struck by a sudden curiosity.
Why would a shapeshifter demon choose to appear so plain?
Perhaps it was better to appear non-threatening as a lady’s maid?
Or maybe she wore the form of a woman she had met once and liked her look?
If Elizabeth could change anything about her appearance, she would make herself ridiculously beautiful and erase all her flaws.
She would have given herself the longest eyelashes imaginable and made it so she never had to remove the hair on her legs.
She would have given herself poreless, radiant skin that never blemishes.
But perhaps to each their own, maybe Fiza did not prize those things.
Maybe looking like a human in general was boring to demons.
In the great hall downstairs, they sipped tea, and Elizabeth had the pleasure of introducing Fiza to her favourite dessert. The water demon took one and nibbled at a corner, wrinkling her nose.
“Might be an acquired taste,” Fiza said wryly.
“Fair enough,” she said, only slightly crestfallen as she realized there would be more for her. To that point, she gobbled up two entire squares.
“You must try at least a couple, though. If I eat them all, I’ll lose my figure entirely,” she said, chuckling.
“You look healthier now than when we first saw you, not so skinny. I don’t think you need to worry about these things,” Fiza said, smiling.
“Oh, but I do! My mother would lose her mind if she saw me right now. She used to smack my hands with a measuring stick if I had a large portion of dessert. Or too much bread at dinner.” She chuckled. “How about your family?”
“Maud is well, as you know,” Fiza said, smiling. “And my household is doing well back home. Thank you for asking. And how is your family? Are you on better terms now that your mother is sending you treats?”
Elizabeth gave her a look, and Fiza chuckled. “My mother came around, but my father may never be on speaking terms with me again. It’s surprising, though. I thought it would be the other way around.”
“I am sorry. You mentioned you and your father were close.”
“It is what it is,” Elizabeth said, shrugging. “Anyway, tell me more about your family and your life growing up. I know nothing of the Underworld besides what Asmodeus and Caspian have told me.”
Fiza hesitated for a moment, then said, “It is as beautiful as it is harsh. We live in a part of the Underworld that is covered in water and ice. Our cities are built entirely underwater. They are made of rock and coral and polished until they are like this.” She rapped her knuckles on the hard, polished wood of the table.
“How big is your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters? I don’t think I’ve ever asked.”
“Vast,” Fiza said with a smile. “We do not have families, like humans do, and are not particularly attached to our offspring. When we are young, our elders leave us in the wilderness to see if we survive. My elders put me on the surface where my gills seized up, and I couldn’t breathe.
I had to learn to shift as an infant or die.
Then, I had to hunt demons off the surface or become the hunted.
Maud is my sister of heart, as all the water demons are, but we are not related like you are thinking. ”
Elizabeth gulped. “Do many demons live very long then? If that’s how they must prove themselves?”
“The place I grew up prized survival of the fittest. Many places in the Underworld are like this. The strong survive. There are so many demons that it must be so,” Fiza said.
“The Underworld would grow overpopulated if we were allowed to create offspring at will and all survived their first century. The lows we keep, because we need servants and underlings, but their life expectancy is rather short.”
“Lows?”
“Iago, the butler, and most of the servants are low-level demons.” Fiza shrugged. “Usually small and incapable of human possession. They are not very powerful. Meant to be loyal to their house and serve as entertainment for us.”
Elizabeth kept her expression neutral but was taken aback by the knowledge that demon lows were basically considered worthless.
“I don’t mean to pry, but you said your home was covered in ice … but isn’t the Underworld, well, hot? It’s usually described as fiery pits of chaos, torment, and doom.”
Fiza laughed. “Is Earth entirely green and covered in land? There are many different regions and climates here too. In the Underworld, it is mostly hot, but there are parts of it that are covered in ice. The waters I call home are inky black and cold like ice.”
Elizabeth shuddered. “How do you see in black water?”
“We are born there. How do you see with blue skies and so much light in the air?”