by E E Ewer
“Miko, let’s get a move on,” Margery said suddenly. “You take her measurements and I will go pay a visit to the seamstress.”
“Where is that damn clock anyway?” Nire interrupted.
“It’s not a clock, it’s a spell!” Miko exclaimed with excitement.
A spell that rings the hour. Smart, Nire thought.
“If you’re on the castle grounds, you can hear it if you want to,” Miko added.
“If you want to?” Nire asked.
“Yeah, it would be annoying to have it ringing at you all night long wouldn’t it? So you only hear it when you want to. I hear it every morning at six,” she laughed. Nire wasn’t quite sure how the spell knew you wanted to hear it, but she didn’t feel like asking either.
As she stood in the center of the room, Miko began to take her measurements, and Nire continued to look around, mesmerized by the feeling of familiarity. It was a tower room, and windows lined the back wall as it bowed outwards. A canopy bed with green sheets was placed against the wall to the right. The walls were stone, but draped in green curtains, and a fireplace stood to the left opposite the bed, in between two wooden doors. On the floor was an intricate rug, full of greens, ivories and blacks. An armoire stood to the right of the bed, as well as a few tables, a vanity and a chest.
“Arms up please,” Miko ordered, and Nire did as she was asked. Her thoughts were broken suddenly and she began to giggle.
“That tickles!” she cried. The fox girl laughed.
Miko jotted down the major necessary measurements on a piece of parchment from her satchel. Glancing down at her friend with a questioning look, Nire eyed the bag.
“Miko, how do you fit everything into that little bag?”
“I had Neir enchant it for me,” she said as she wrote. “Too hard to carry large bags around. This one is capable of holding about 10 times its actual size… handy when I’m out gathering herbs.”
“How do you… find stuff?” Nire asked curiously.
“You just have to know what you’re looking for. Ok, I think I’ve got everything,” Miko said as she stood and replaced the parchment in her satchel. The sunlight waned through the windows as it dropped in the sky, and as time passed it became increasingly dimmer in the room.
“Um… Miko…” Nire said as she looked around the room, realizing there were no candles, and the fireplace was not prepared. The orange haired girl looked around for a moment, wondering what caused the concern in Nire’s her voice.
“Oh,” she said as she realized the sun was getting low. Walking to the door she paused by a small round table that was positioned at the entry way. “Here, this is what gets used in the formal areas.” Miko dipped her hand into a small dish and pulled out a pinch of what appeared to be iridescent blue sand. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she held the sand on her palm and blew.
The tiny granules suddenly took flight and began to glow, gaining brightness as they seemed to defy gravity and float upwards. Nire watched in amazement as the tiny orbs of shimmering blue light attached themselves to marks high on the wall, which resembled a child’s drawing of the sun. Once attached, the lights grew even brighter and filled the room with a cool light.
“Oh… wow,” Nire exclaimed in amazement at the glowing orbs. “What is that?”
“Glow dust.” Miko answered. “It’s much easier to light large rooms with this than candles. They are in the kitchens as well.” Nire thought back – she had never really bothered to look for a light source, but the kitchens were always very bright and she couldn’t remember ever seeing any candles in them.
“Why not use it everywhere?” she asked.
“It’s more complicated to make than it is to enchant candles to stay lit.”
“Oh…” Nire suddenly realized Miko had been joking when she said she’d hate to have the job of keeping all the candles lit. “How do you get them down?” she asked, looking high above her head.
“They will go out on their own eventually, but if you want to put them out you just use this in the same way,” Miko responded, gesturing to a dish sitting next to the one filled with glow dust.
Inside was a material that seemed to almost absorb the light around it, and Nire couldn’t actually make out a form of what filled the dish. Miko took a tiny amount into her hand, and the area that surrounded the black material appeared to ‘glow’ darkness. Using it the same way as the dust before, the black orbs grew and appeared to be holes of darkness amidst the light. Three black orbs floated to three of the lights, and when they attached to them the light was snuffed out. A few glittery remains fell to the floor, dissipating like snow evaporating in mid air.
“I don’t like that one,” Nire said. The idea that it acted the same way to light as light normally does to shadow was a very disturbing thought. Miko laughed a little.
“All right, I need to get these numbers to Marge, just wait here for me to get back. I shouldn’t be long,” Miko said. Nire nodded at the instruction and Miko left the green room.
Glancing around, the brunette’s eyes landed on the two doors just across the room. She walked over to the one on right, and took hold of the handle. Pulling the door open slowly, she peeked inside. There was a yellow glow from the windows on the far wall, but otherwise she couldn’t see much about the room.
Returning to the front table and taking a small amount of the glow dust in her hand, she did the same as Miko and blew the dust into the dark room. She watched the orbs float higher, until they found and landed on the same type of mark. Glancing around, she found herself standing in a large, stone bathroom. To her right was a cushioned seat built into the wall, and across from the seat to her left was a full length mirror.
A bath was depressed in the stone floor just under the windows, and through them Nire could see the moon rising in the evening light above a dark forest. Opposite the bath was a curtain, that Nire supposed lead to a toilet. She wondered silently for a moment about castle plumbing, but quickly put the thought out of her mind.
As she walked back into the main room she armed herself with a bit more glow dust and set about discovering what lay behind door number two. Opening the door slowly she poked her head in, and let out a small laugh.
“Just a closet,” she said to herself as she swung the door open fully to reveal a stack of empty shelves.
As she shut the door, both Miko and Marge came into the room, arguing about something. When Nire turned her attention to the women they quieted whatever it was they had been talking about.
“All right, young lady, Miko will finish helping you get ready. I have other things to attend to now,” Margery said, handing a folded green cloth to Miko, who was carrying a small basket of supplies. The old woman quickly left the room and Miko set down the basket. Taking hold of the ends of the fabric she unfolded the green cloth and let it fall, revealing the shape of a dress.
“What do you think?” she asked as she held out the dress for Nire to examine. It was fairly simple, with black trim and cinching in the front. It fell smoothly to the floor and ruffled at the bottom.
“It’s really pretty…” Nire said. “But doesn’t it have sleeves?” she asked.
“No, sorry,” Miko said. “It was the best we could find that could be fit to you easily.”
“Oh… ok.” She didn’t like the idea of not having sleeves. Strapless tops always made her feel horribly self conscious.
“Now let’s get you cleaned up and ready for dinner!” Miko stated excitedly as she placed the dress on the bed and guided Nire into the bathroom.
After bathing quickly, Miko helped Nire with a little make up and pulled her hair back with a silver comb that was embellished with ivy leaves. She helped Nire into the green dress, and showed her how to tighten the straps in the front for a snug fit. It was much easier to get into than the laces in the back of the gray dress.
“Ta da!” the fox girl exclaimed as she positioned Nire in front of the mirror. Nire stood staring at herself for a moment. She wasn’t
used to being dressed up and was pleasantly surprised at her appearance. “And just in time too,” Miko added as a partial chime rang out, marking the half hour.
The orange haired girl skipped down the grand hallway as she led Nire to a small, private dining room. There were numerous dining halls in the North Wing, ranging from small and cozy to enormously grand. A few stair cases and hallways later, the two girls arrived at a moderately sized door.
“This is where I have to leave you,” Miko said with a smile while gesturing to the door. “I would come in with you to make sure everything’s ok, but I’m not wearing that awful dress and I don’t want that to be mentioned again,” she continued, glaring at the door. Nire chuckled. She had been growing more and more nervous as they walked, and she appreciated the way Miko always seemed to be able to lift the tension.
“It’s okay, I don’t blame you for not wanting to wear that dress. Do you think he was really serious about that?” Nire inquired.
“No idea. But I’m not chancing it,” Miko said with a wink. “Good luck,” she added as she stood behind the door and opened it, gesturing for Nire to go in by nodding her head to the side.
Nire took a deep breath and walked into the dining hall to find that she was the only person there. The table was set, and on the opposite wall there was a long fireplace, nearly the entire length of the table. Glancing behind her she watched as the door closed, and she stood alone in the dimly lit room.
There were also doors on the walls to either side of her, and anxiety began to creep in as she wondered what she should do. Should I sit down? She wondered to herself. Or would that be impolite? She thought again.
After what seemed like an eternity Nire jumped when she heard the door to her left open, and saw the tall gray demon enter the room. Closing the door behind him he walked swiftly to the far side of the table.
“Please forgive my tardiness,” he said in a low, steady tone as he pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit. “I was caught up with… other matters.” Nire quietly walked over and sat down. She was startled when her chair was pushed forward with ease, and held in a squeak that threatened to escape from her lips.
Making his way to the other side of the long table, he took his own seat and made a quick gesture with his hand. Suddenly three servers came through the door behind her, and arranged an array of foods on the table in front of them. Since she had been at Eastcastle, she had only ever eaten what Miko had brought from the kitchens, and none of it had been like this.
Nire felt extremely uncomfortable as she realized she had no idea how to behave at a formal meal. Dishes were served and the butlers bowed before exiting, leaving Nire alone in the room with the Lord of Shadows. She sat quietly, waiting for him to make the first move. It then occurred to Nire that it might be polite to let the guest begin. The silence was deafening, and the butterflies in her stomach were running a rampage.
“Please, eat,” the demon finally said after a long silence as he gestured to the table.
Right. Okay. Nire thought as she picked up a spoon and carefully dipped it into the bowl in front of her. The feeling of being watched was grating at her nerves. Having someone watch you eat was uncomfortable enough, but this was a whole new level of awkward.
Finally after she brought the spoon to her mouth and tasted the hot soup, the demon across the table joined her. Relief filled her as the moment passed. He was just being polite and waiting for me to start, she told herself. On another note, the soup was quite good.
Everything was quiet for a few moments, and she knew that his golden eyes had been fixed on her the entire time. Attempting to ignore it and pretend she didn’t notice, the jittery girl focused on her soup, and not spilling, slurping, or anything else that might be embarrassing or rude. At long last, the Demon Lord spoke.
“Nire,” he began, “please, tell me about yourself.”
Well. That was vague.
“Um, I wouldn’t really know where to start…” she admitted as calmly as she could manage. She internally rolled her eyes at herself for sounding so mousey. There was silence as he waited for her to continue. Just say something… she told herself. “I like… art…” God, that sounded stupid. She glanced up, and his eyes caught hers.
“Yes, I recall you were drawing flowers when we met in the garden earlier today,” he said with a slight smirk on his face. “They were nicely done,” He added. Nire blushed wildly. What a dumb thing to say. Of course he would have noticed that…
“Um…” She tried to think of something else to say. “I… really just want to get home…” she stated finally, looking down at her soup.
“Hmm. Yes.” His expression turned serious. “I’m not exactly sure how to deal with your problem. There are many details that come into play with this sort of thing. I will have to do a bit of research on the subject before I can give you any sort of useful information.”
All turned quiet again for a moment. Nire looked sadly into her soup. A look of concern quickly crossed the face of the gray demon, before returning to his usual, unreadable state. “I hope that we can make your time here comfortable, please let Margery know if there is anything you need,” he said.
Nire nodded silently. She felt as if she were going to cry. She had hoped that he would be able to take her home, but instead it seemed like the one person in the entire world who might be able to help was just as confused about it as she was.
“Thank you… My Lord…” she said quietly without thinking.
“Lucian, please.” He frowned. Nire blushed a little. As uncomfortable as she was addressing someone as “Lord,” for some reason she was even less comfortable calling him by name.
“Um… can I ask why?” She poked at her soup curiously.
“You are not one of my subjects, so there is no reason for you to address me as such,” he explained shortly before bringing a glass of wine to his lips.
“Oh…” Nire tried not to fiddle with the napkin in her lap. He frowned.
“I hope you don’t find my appearance too unpleasant,” he stated with a raised eyebrow, trying to pinpoint exactly what the cause of her discomfort was.
“Uh, no I….” Nire started. “I’m sorry. It’s not that…” She didn’t know how to explain.
The meal had ended a while ago, and the longer she sat the more uncomfortable she felt. It’s not like he was ugly… he was just so… intense.
“Perhaps I can ease your anxiety some,” he suggested as he rose from his seat and approached her. Nire choked as she watched him walk towards her, his long strides devouring the length of the table. When he stood next to her, he held out his hand. Entirely unsure of what to expect, Nire did her best to hide the fact that her stomach was in knots, as she took his hand and he helped her out of her chair.
Once standing he offered her his arm, and she hesitantly took it before he led her through the door he had previously entered from. Through his jacket she could feel the strength of his arm, and the knots in her stomach twisted themselves even tighter and flipped summersaults. She tried not to look at up at him as they walked through the hall. The brown haired girl had no idea where they were going, and it set her on edge.
The pair reached an arched doorway and Lucian eased it open with his free arm as he guided Nire through. She stepped out into the cool night air and looked around, but it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The night sky was filled with stars, and the moon was high above her head. Even with the light from the nearly full moon, Nire found herself feeling increasingly uneasy. She had not been outside at night in this place since Miko found her in the forest.
“Um…” She tried to speak as Lucian began to walk across the landing. “It’s kind of hard to see…” She shuffled her feet across the stone paving. It was the best excuse she could find aside from: Hey, the dark terrifies me. Can we go back inside?
“You’ll be fine,” he said confidently. “Step,” he instructed as the landing came to an end. Nire looked at her feet and step
ped down. She could see where she was going at this point, but her nerves were getting the better of her. Her legs shook beneath her, and as she took another step down she lost her footing.
Her small voice began to cry out as she clang to the arm of the demon beside her, but when she realized she wasn’t falling, her voice caught in her throat. Lucian hadn’t moved an inch, and holding his arm had been the equivalent of bracing herself on a wall. She was holding onto him with both hands as she glanced up, feeling more than a little silly.
He was watching her with eyes that seemed to almost glow in the darkness. Nire swallowed. He must think I’m a complete idiot… She thought to herself, feeling sheepish.
“All right?” he asked steadily. Nire nodded quietly as she stood up straight. Glancing in the other direction she rolled her eyes at herself. “Watch your step,” he added with a small smile that went unseen by the brunette. How is this supposed to ease my anxiety? She wondered as he continued to lead her along a stone pathway.
“Um,” she said quietly, realizing that for the entire night so far almost all of her sentences had begun with Um, uh, or some other sound that was not actually a word. “Where are we?” she finally asked.
“The Eastern Courtyard,” he responded shortly. Nire realized quickly this was not a man who offered up information that was not specifically requested.
“And…” she began, “what are we doing here?”
“Walking,” he said with a small smile. Nire couldn’t read him at all. Is that it? She wondered. Are we literally just going for a walk, or is he being a smart ass and just stating what we are currently doing? Eventually, Nire spotted an area in front of them that appeared to possibly be their destination.
“Ohhh….,” she said as they approached the pond. Its waters were dark and still, reflecting the star filled sky perfectly. The way it shimmered in the moonlight seemed almost unreal, and without thinking, Nire released the demons arm and walked ahead of him towards the pond.
The Demon Lord maintained his pace as the young girl ahead of him knelt down at the water’s edge. A partial smile crossed his lips for a moment as he watched her. She sat on her knees looking into the dark water at the sky’s reflection, when the image of Lucian suddenly appeared on the surface above her. Pulling back she looked up at him standing behind her, his yellow eyes looking gently upon her.