34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Zyon pulls back the red curtain in front of an enormous glass wall. Inside are pine trees, rocks, and other forest flora. Toward the back of the enclosure is a large cave. “What do you think?”
I walk along the edge of the exhibit and inspect the dirt to find small black insects scurrying over small boulders with tiny morsels in their pincers. “You made it very realistic, but he’s not used to life in the wild.”
“It’s not like there will be predators that he has to worry about fighting, and he’ll be well supplied with food his entire life.”
“He may get lonely.”
“I can get him another typhon if needed.”
“You can just acquire a rare monster like you’re simply ordering breakfast?”
“Yes, and the monster would have a much better life. The Drazer slave market would have some, but they’d be sold for arena battles.”
“That’s terrible.” I notice a door next to the glass and step into the fancy cage. “It smells of real forest in here.”
He follows me inside and rubs my shoulders. “Because it is. I promise you he’ll be very happy here and will never want for anything.”
“There’s enough room?”
“Yes, I researched and gave him triple the size that a typhon usually roams.” He continues to massage my back and neck. “He will have a wonderful, safe life, and I’ll find him a suitable mate.”
“What if he hates the one you pick, or they hate him?”
“They might just need time like we did, but I can get a few and let him pick. There’s plenty of space for a second enclosure.”
“Might be a good idea.” I lean into his touch and don’t move so he can massage me a little while longer.
Zyon has the maids bring Gulzar, and we release him into his new home.
The baby monster stumbles forward and clings onto my leg at first. I pick him up and carry him to the gentle river.
He splashes in the water, and after a while of me sitting with him, he toddles off to enjoy his new space.
I stay for a bit longer, and every once in a while, he comes to find me.
Zyon stays with me until I’m able to leave.
I take one glance back. “You’re going to have servants take care of him?”
“Yes, he will have staff at all times.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Rana throws open the two doors to my large closet and pulls out several racks with wheels on the bottom. Dozens of elaborate gowns hang on the metal bars. “The king wanted you to pick your favorite.”
“Whatever for?” I pull out a few and can’t believe how such beautiful fabric can exist. They're so soft and the most elegant pieces of clothing I’ve ever seen.
“I’m not sure.”
“Let’s have a dress up party, Rana!”
“Yes, my lady, I can fit you in as many as you wish.”
I toss a blue dress at her. “No, I can dress myself, but you should try this one on.”
“Oh, I couldn’t. The king wouldn’t like that.”
“The king isn’t here. Come on, it’ll be fun!” I throw off my pants and shirt, kicking them to the side and lining the pretty dresses up on the bed. “Choose any you like.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, absolutely.” I swish in front of the trifold white mirrors with each dress and twirl around. It makes me think of my sisters, and how much they’d love to do this with me. Fancy dresses might even return a smile to Yedda’s face. It makes me miss them and motivates me to get up the mountain.
Ivelle jumps on the cedar vanity that rests next to the mirrors. “This is so fun! You look gorgeous in all of them. I’ve always loved you in blue.” She lifts her paw toward a gown on my bed.
“I’m sorry you can’t do this with me.”
“It’s alright. I enjoy having to wear only my fur.”
I scratch behind her ears when she nudges my hand. “No, having the seamstress make you a pretty cat dress?”
“No, thank you! But I love seeing all these beautiful things you get to wear, Neera. No wonder the king is so smitten with you.”
I continue looking through the dresses and gasp when I get to the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.
Golden ribbons and threads are stitched into the fabric and frame in the four layers of the skirt.
The bodice is a deep blue, like the sky right before twilight, and that same color makes up the two middle layers of the skirt, and the top and bottom ones are soft white fabric.
The entire dress has so many beautiful golden accents that it looks made of the night sky itself, and the sleeves are short and slightly puffed, but they sit at the midpoint of the arms and not the shoulders.
“This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen in my life!” I pull it out and lay it across my bed to get a full view of it.
Rana, who is wearing a lovely soft pink gown, curtsies. “I can help you put it on if you’d like, my lady.”
“I can’t imagine wearing something like this. It’s a dream I’d never dare to have.” Pretty things always seemed unattainable when the priority is always placed on necessities.
Rana helps me into the dress and over to the mirrors as it’s a lot to walk in. “You’re stunning, my lady!”
“It’s so soft! How does fabric like this exist? It’s such a luxury, like a thousand silkworms spent a millennium working on it.”
The doorknob to my room rattles aggressively, followed by enthusiastic pounding.
I tug on the zipper of the dress. “Hurry! I don’t want the king to see me in this yet.”
Rana hurries to get me out of the dress and puts it in the closet before Zyon remembers he can unlock my door.
He bursts in as if he expects a clear threat and stops halfway into the room. “What is this mess?”
I glance around at all the dresses strewn everywhere. “You told me to try on some dresses.”
“Yes, in an organized manner. This is chaos.” He looks Rana over. “What are you doing in one of the gowns?”
Rana shakes and bows her head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I will remove it at once.”
I rush over and step between them so he can’t turn her to a pile of bones. “You will not. It’s yours to keep.”
Zyon shakes his head as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re just going to give the dresses I had made for you away to a servant?”
“These are all mine?”
“It seems you knew that with how you offered one up as a gift without asking.”
I spread out the skirt on Rana’s dress. “She looks so lovely. Doesn’t she?”
He gawks with his upper lip twitching a little. “She is a skeletal cat.”
“And a lovely skeletal cat at that. It makes me happy that she gets a pretty dress too.”
“This is setting a terrible example for the other servants.”
“That their king can be generous and kind?”
“Yes. But if it makes you happy, I guess she can have it.” He shifts his stern gaze to Rana. “Do not let anyone expect anything from this gesture. Am I understood?”
“No, I would never, Your Highness.”
He shoos her away. “You may return to your room. I will deal with Lady Neera myself.”
Ivelle jumps down from the vanity, waves at the king like they are old friends, and follows Rana out the door.
I wait for them to leave the room before I pick up the dresses. “Why would you have this many dresses made for me? It’s more than I can use in my entire lifetime.”
“That’s what I hope we have together.” He takes the dresses from me and puts them back on the bed. “Cleaning is what we have servants for.”
“We’ll be lucky to have a week left together.” I pick up the dresses he took from me and place them on hangers. “My mess, so I'll clean it up.”
“That makes no sense when we house and feed servants to do things for us.”
“You mean you house and feed, though it is odd they all try to eat.”
“It gives them a sense of normalcy.”
“It’s messy.”
“Yes, that’s why they only do so in the dining hall that cleans itself."
“You have a dining hall that cleans itself?”
“Yes, a product of the deal I made with the castle.” He picks up a stack of dresses and puts them back on the racks.
“That was kind of you to not make them have to pick up after themselves.”
He shrugs. “Which dress is your favorite?”
“You don’t get to know yet.”
He puts the last of the dresses back and wraps his arms around my waist. “Well, then you can show me tomorrow night.”
“What’s tomorrow night?”
“I’m throwing a ball in your honor.”
I laugh as I push the racks back into my closet. “Why would you do such a thing? You don’t even know if I can dance.”
“Can you?”
“Only freely. Nothing formal.”
“Then you will dance however you wish, and I will enjoy it,” he says.
“And embarrass myself in front of all your guests?”
“What guests?”
“How can it be a ball without guests? Without them, it’s you and me dancing together in a massive room.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, but call it what it is.” I shut the closet door and look around the room to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. “See, no servants needed.”
“Yes, and it would have been just as quick for them, and we could already be off doing other things. But I’m letting the servants attend.”
“To serve us or have fun.”
“Both.”
The weather has warmed to the point that I remove my coat halfway to the apothecary building.
It’s startling, and there are patches of melted snow.
It’s enough to almost panic me into jumping over the wall again, but the rose still has two petals on it.
The stem color is dulling from the vibrant green it first had to a near yellow. We have days until we are out of time.
My plan has become to attend the ball tonight as a goodbye to Zyon since there’s a chance I won’t even make it off the mountain. Tomorrow I will find Lazzus, have him tell me the rest of his story, and head up the mountain.
Aldric hops up onto the standing table in the apothecary shop. “Did you see that the snow is melting?”
“I have. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” I pull Ivelle out of my bag and set her in front of the little bone crow.
He jumps back twice. “Oh! A cat! Oh no! Morvin is terrified of cats. He nearly got eaten by one once.”
Morvin squeaks and scurries behind a bookshelf.
I walk over to the shelves to look at the inventory. “Sorry. I should have given you a heads up.”
Ivelle stretches into a bow. “I won’t eat either of you, I promise. Neera has told me so much about you, and I hope we can be friends.”