by R. J. Lloyd
He watched me. "Everything honestly, and well, we can minimize your impact if you stay in my castle in the North." He waved to the server.
I had been in the middle of taking a drink when he replied. Spitting half of my sip across the table as I gasped, I grabbed up my napkin, trying desperately to clean up the spray. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry." I dabbed the table after hastily wiping my mouth. "But did you say... castle?" I looked to him, waiting for him to laugh as if it were a joke.
“Well it's carved inside of a cave, so if that counts? But yes." He shrugged casually. "Unless that stuff bores you, then of course I can just arrange a room for you here."
I cleared my throat, pushing the glass away from me slightly, almost in defiance so as not to embarrass myself again. "Well, I mean, who doesn't want to stay in a castle, right? But I don't want to be a burden or raise any alarms. So, it's up to you." I looked around wondering why he was even there if he had his own castle… until I recalled him claiming to own the tavern.
He smiled. "You will be fine as my guest. I would be happy with you there.” He paused when the woman arrived at the table, taking his order for several items to be wrapped to go. “It's a long walk if you are able, or I can get a carriage for you." His eyes scanned me, taking me in, almost as if I were a treat.
I adjusted in my seat, my nerves unsettling me. He really needed to stop looking at me like that. He was making it incredibly hard to stay behind my walls, guarded. Damn. I had to make a decision. Going to a castle was appealing, but I would be going with Kane. And it was his castle. None of my options came without risk. "Walk or carriage. What? Not going to offer to carry me?" I joked. "I can walk, but if you don't want to tire your royal tootsies, we can get a carriage. I'm fine either way." I bit my lower lip. "Then again, how far of a walk is it?"
"Oh, it is a long way from this town. I would of course carry you if you can handle being that close to me." He smirked and drank from his flask a bit more. "Walking for me isn't a big task. You seem rather short legged on the other hand."
I gasped. "Short legged? What..." I shook my head, not sure if I should be offended. But offended I was. "I'll do my best to keep up either way. It is your choice what mode of transportation we use."
"Well we need to shop for you along the way. You will need cold weather clothes for sure. As curvy and delightful as you are, I don't wish you to freeze," he notes blatantly.
I nodded, my smile gone. "So, I’m short legged and curvy. At least you added delightful." I audibly huffed. "I have very little money. Probably enough to pay for this meal. So, I will have to make do. And if we're going far enough to go from this warmth to a cold weather clothes climate, I doubt walking would be wise."
What smile he might have had grew with my response to him. "Oh, did I offend you? I love short women personally… and curvy. Forgive me if I caused that frown. I can cover the cost of clothes just as I’ve said I have your meal covered. We will be taking portals to travel through most of the ground, so don’t you worry your pretty little head about the distance. You will see." His smirk revealed how much he seemed to enjoy the fact that he riled me.
A slight hint of red stained my cheeks as I blushed. "Oh. You do? Sorry." Now I was doubly embarrassed. "Portals?" I was apprehensive about that, yet, once again, saw no other choice. "Well? You lead the way. But I hate to put you out even more for clothes. I really am starting to feel like a burden. Are you sure you're not just trying to clean me up to sell me off?" I half joked, pulling my bag into me once again.
"Oh, I am just trying to take you home with me first, then I might sell you." He laughed hard. "Relax a bit. If you can't tell, I can more than afford some clothes. Appreciate some Naelyraian hospitality." Kane got up and stretched. He moved his hair from in front of his blue eyes and cracked his neck as he eyed me over once more, holding his hand out to me. "Shall we?"
I swallowed hard as I stood, dropping my napkin on the table. "Okay." My eyes ran over the other patrons and the workers as I stepped around the table and up next to him, taking his hand.
I was dwarfed compared to his towering frame. A sizeable difference between us. He was tall, thick with muscles, lean, statuesque. I… short, petite, slender. Our only similarities were that our faces were both sharp in features, and we both had long hair. But even in the latter, they were opposites with him being blonde and me sporting dark brown, almost black hair.
He smirked and nodded to me as he walked us out of the tavern, taking the boxed items he’d requested as we exited. We walked around Eldercairn, and he told me about the city - a city that was made entirely of broken-down pirate ships, near what was formerly a large body of water. But when it dried up, the ships were rendered useless. Now it was more of a merchant city with more wealth then it knew what to do with, built on scrapping, selling and trading. The pirate ship builds being something of an attraction for many.
I followed alongside him, my eyes still wandered around, taking in the scenery with my mouth slightly agape. I didn’t speak despite the thousands of questions running through my mind. I merely walked with him, occasionally stumbling over something, but he caught me each time with a chuckle, and we would continue on as if I hadn’t embarrassed myself. In stride with each other, he pointed out several aspects of the city out to me, and I intently listened.
Never in a million years did I think when I got up that morning that this was how the day would end.
Chapter
Two
Nirevale
Kane walked me over to the portal center. Each portal arch was guarded by the race that set it up. To the tall, armored, Viking-esque guard at the portal we walked up to, Kane tossed some gold, and they gave the go-ahead nod for us to go in.
"Ready, little one?" He reached out for my hand.
My attention snapped back when he addressed me, blushing slightly, realizing his name for me was a reference to my size. "Not really?" I replied nervously. The last time I’d gone through one, I left my own planet behind. And he’d already mentioned something about the portals not working right. So, needless to say, I wasn’t sure what I would find on the other side of this one.
Kane reached down and offered me his hand again. "It won't hurt. It just feels like you are falling mostly. Then you land back on your feet like you walked right into another room." He waited for me.
"Well? Unless you have my coordination. I literally fell through the one that brought me here, but I didn’t feel anything. I was just here and picking myself up off the ground.” I looked at the portal for a long moment, my hand making its way to his before I said anything again, my gaze fixated on the watery oval framed in a metal arch before us. "Alright. Now is good a time as ever, I guess."
Kane smiled down at my warm hand in his as he pulled me into him. I went to look up at him to nod that I was ready when I realized something I hadn’t earlier. This entire time, I held his hand, but this time, my mind registered that something was different. His hand was not the same temperature as mine... not by a long shot. But before I could say anything, he wrapped his free arm around me, told the portal guard to send one of their representatives to his home, and we stepped. Together, he walked us into the portal, lifting me off the ground slightly as we went through.
As if no time had passed, we landed. He looked around and set me back down on my feet. “We are in the town of Nirevale, the social center of the Doshanesh, the prominent race in the far Insakappen region. It was over a week’s journey from Eldercairn if we had traveled by carriage, drawn by what you would consider a horse-like creature; albeit a taller and more muscular version than the ones you would be used to seeing on your own planet.”
“Well then.” I blinked, wrapping my arms around myself as the cold seeped in through my thin clothes.
"Not so bad right?" He smiled, still holding my arms as I steadied myself.
I pulled into myself and started to shiver. "Well? The trip was fine, but..." My teeth started to chatter a bit. "You weren't wrong about needing more
clothes. But I now know why the cold doesn’t bother you."
Kane pulled off his fur lined, long, leather coat and handed it to me. "This should help. It will be big on you, but we can get you some clothes here if you would like." He waited for me to take it before he started to walk.
I took the coat and wrapped it around my shoulders, trying to bundle the fabric up so it wouldn’t drag on the ground like some wedding dress train. "Clothes would be good. Especially before I ruin this beautiful coat." I offered a weak smile. "Thank you." But I didn’t budge from my spot.
He stopped and turned back. “Are you wanting to stay there and freeze to death?”
“Are you not going to say anything about my comment?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh. Yes. Sorry.” He bowed to me mockingly. “You are most welcome, my lady.”
I huffed. “No. My comment about your ability to stand the cold.”
“That? Because I am from the north and acclimated to the colder climate? Yes. Very observant. May we take our leave now?” He turned to keep walking again.
I still did not move. “No.” I wanted him to acknowledge it, not just pass me off like a naïve human.
This time, he spun back and, in a blink, appeared right in front of me, bent over slightly so we were eye to eye. His voice low, almost a growl. “If you are referring to me being a vampire? Then yes. You would be correct. And while the people are aware of my kind and of my status, I do not care to remind them of it. Humans do not rule this planet, little one. And you’d be well advised to keep that in mind. So, if you would kindly join me in getting you some winter clothes so we can proceed, it would be in your best interest.” He kept his stance for a moment, his face inches from mine. Then, he let out a quick breath and stood back up, turning and walking again. “Unless you enjoy hypothermia.”
Still planted, I pulled his coat in tighter. “Would they attack?”
He roared with laughter. Turning around slowly this time, he smirked. “I am a king, Auri.”
“Auriena,” I corrected him again.
“Auri,” he chuckled. “They know who and what I am. And they respect both my race and my status.”
“Then why should it not be said?” I asked pointedly.
He came back to stand in front of me once more. “Because. Beyond respect, they fear what I am. And I would rather have them compliant and casual rather than full of fear. I choose not to exist with them fearing me with the constant reminder. Subjects with fear on their minds plan revolts. And I would have to slaughter an entire city again and rebuild. I do not want that at this time. Things are better when we all just go about our lives and I feed quietly.”
His words sank into my mind like a heavy, wet blanket, covering my thoughts completely. Suddenly, I had flashes of the city before me, under attack as he raged through the streets, killing being after being while buildings burned, and women and children screamed. There was something different about the people, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Everything was so frantic. Then, I saw him sitting on a mountainside throne, flanked by others of his kind and two majestic dragons. My heart stammered. He was just as majestic as the dragons by his side.
“Auri?” He touched my arm. “Is something wrong?”
I stood as the visions pulled me in, not hearing him calling my name.
He gripped my shoulders tightly. “Auriena?”
“Yes?” My voice was steady even if my nerves were shaken. I rarely had visions like that. At least, not while awake and not to that intensity.
“Are you alright? Are you suffering from the cold? We should get you to the tailor and get you suitably dressed.” He started walking again but with his arm around me this time, tugging me along with him.
I complied, nodding, avoiding talking about what I had just experienced. “Yes. Warmer clothes.” While I knew I should fear him, there was something about what I just saw made me feel more than fear. Something other. Something I liked very much.
Kane walked me across to a large hunting lodge with what appeared to be a claw buried inside the side wall of the building, near the roof’s edge. I pointed up. “Is that what I think it is?”
He followed my stare then looked back at me with a smirk. “A dragon’s claw? Yes.”
We entered the build, but I was unable to keep my eyes from following the claw until it was out of sight, thinking about the vision I’d just had. My mind was trying to piece it all together. The fires. The screaming. The throne. The flanking dragons. My gaze went to him once again, and I smiled.
He led us to a vendor that sold tailor made clothes, seemingly unaware of my awe of him and what I was starting to believe had transpired there in the past. "If you see anything you like, just point it out."
The tall Doshanesh woman grinned. Her size almost made Kane look small with his head only coming up to her shoulders. “What an adorable little thing.” She looks to Kane. “Wherever did you find such a creature? She’s not like the other humans here. Did you bring her as a treat from the Berolilith Forest?”
“She is my guest, Ida. If you could provide her with whatever she chooses and be quick, I will pay generously as always.” Kane’s reply is flat.
She chuckles. “Ever the serious one.” Ida turned to me. “What can I get you?” Her tone toward me was far less playful than it had been with Kane.
I did my best not to stare at the giant woman. It was then that the final piece slid into place, and I realized what had been off in my vision. While I had thought they were humans, they were all tall… very tall. They were all this woman’s race. If my vision was real, I had just caught a glimpse of either something that was in their past or something yet to come. I just didn’t know which.
Setting that aside, figuring it was something to investigate later, I leaned toward Kane and whispered, "Are they going to have anything that'll fit me? Or should we look for a store that caters to her kind’s children? Wait... don't tell me... the children are taller than me, too?" I smirked. "I honestly don't know what fashion is here. Or even what I will need. I mean, I like..." I pointed at a few items, all in a variety of earth colors. "Maybe you should choose? Unless you're a typical male that doesn't know what's in style. Or should I be less concerned with fashion and more with utility?" I knew I was overthinking it, but that seemed better than focusing on the vision of him destroying an entire city with a vampire legion and dragons by his side.
"If it were my choice, I would rather you wear nothing under my coat. However, I would get you home and you would be frozen." He quirked an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth lifting.
The slow burn was now a flame. A raging flame. Clearly thrown by his obvious flirting, I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The only thing that surfaced was a blush that radiated across my cheeks.
"They make sizes for humans and all other races. Just say you want something in your size to Ida. Beyond that, just make sure you get stuff that is warm. Even my castle is not setup well to accommodate humans. At least not in the portion I inhabit. As you know, the cold does not bother me." He left my side and stepped outside, leaning on the wall outside.
I watched as he walked away and wondered if he might be expecting something from me in return for his generosity. A thought that only served to deepen the redness in my cheeks. A thought that quickly made me wonder if I actually wanted to. I couldn’t deny my reaction to him, nor the fact that it was growing.
Nodding at Ida, I went to the counter where the seamstress waited, stopping half way and doubling back to the door. "Kane? How long will I be here? Will I be able to wash this to re-wear it if I'm here for more than couple days? Or should I get more than one outfit?"
He chuckled. "I can have my servants wash anything you need. I can have things delivered as well." He pointed out some fur lined coats just inside the doorway. "Perhaps your stay will be a week.”
I nervously took a breath. A week. I wasn’t expecting that. But I wasn’t expecting to be in a different world either. "May I g
et two outfits and two things to sleep in then? Just to be sure? Then one can be washed while I wear the other."
He looked at me with an amused expression, but instead of saying what might have been on his mind, his expression returned to his regular, stoic one. Kane stepped back inside and waved to the Doshanesh. "This coat and help her decide on the rest.”
Ida smiled and nodded to him. She walked me all around before taking me back to a private room to try things on. Kane waited back outside in the marketplace where the stalls were, letting us work on my small wardrobe.
As instructed, I tried on several items, settling on two outfits, shoes, undergarments and sleepwear, one more of a lounge style that I may be able to relax in to read if I could find some books. I wasn’t sure if that would be possible, but I was hoping to see what his world offered for literature. The clothing was a bit more versatile and comfortable than I anticipated considering that so much of it was leather.
Ida made a comment about my traveling companion that puzzled me as she tossed in a few extra items of clothing into my bag, "You must be in his favor. A lucky thing. Just be cautious of being a stranger in north lands. Not everyone will approve."
“Thanks for the advice,” I replied and took the bags, struggling with their weight as I walked outside to find Kane.
Kane set down the dagger he had been examining and watched as I walked across the stone path toward him. "Why have you not changed into the warmer clothes? Do you dislike them?" He eyed me over curiously as I tried to handle the bags and not trip on his coat.
I dropped a couple items as I fumbled. "I just figured... I mean she was so... She said..." I bent down, failing to balance everything as I tried to pick up what I had dropped. But the awkwardness of not only the items and my own inability to balance caused me to topple down. Finally, I let go of the bags, pulled his coat up and started picking up things one by one. "I didn't want to make you wait longer."