After Mi had gone, I’d soaked in the tub a while longer just enjoying the hot water and letting my mind wander. Apparently none of my men felt the need to intrude as none bothered me. Of course my shields were lowered and they were likely eavesdropping. I’d finally called for Areth who’d taken a look around the sparse chamber and immediately redecorated. Obviously it wasn’t up to her standards and needed to be fixed post haste. There was now dragon and elf art on the walls, thick throw rugs to stand upon, and a plethora of bottles and creams neatly spread across the countertop. For furniture she added several baroque style wardrobes and the matching vanity set. All of the furniture was a creamy pale gold color. I wasn’t sure the men would appreciate the redecorating. But I did believe they’d enjoy the obscenely large number of thick fluffy linens that Areth had provided. The vanity, in all its opulent glory, stretched the length of one wall. All of us had our own drawers, easily identified by a small engraved brass plate affixed to the front of each.
While Areth worked on my hair, I sat with my feet tucked under me, wrapped in one of the huge fluffy towels, and told her all about my visit with Immy. She seemed particularly interested in the stones I’d found on D2 and asked several questions about them. When I explained to her I’d specifically instructed the guys not to lose the clothing, she made a sharp noise and disappeared. She reappeared several minutes later and assured me they would be waiting for me when I returned. I hoped none of our newest members had done anything rash. I’d heard a few loud noises from the bed chamber while she’d been gone. When she assured me all was well, I continued my story. The four princes amused her, and she suggested that perhaps Immy and the Centauresses might not be the only females in the girl’s only club. That got me wondering if dear old Mom and Dad knew anything about the future plans for their newest offspring.
When Immy indicated she was done with my hair, she motioned for me to stand. To my right was a free standing coat rack. Hanging from it was one of the most beautiful gowns I’d ever seen. “Let’s get you into your dress Mistress.” She urged and together we got it on and all zipped up. Ha now she used a zipper, I couldn’t help thinking with a wry smile.
“Wow.” I breathed as I turned back to the mirror. “This is amazing.” I told Areth, as I stared at her creation of palest cream over seafoam green. The dress had a high neck with see through lace and delicate beaded appliques which ringed the chest area. It had scalloped lace cap sleeves, was high-waisted and fitted across the front and hips. It fell in straight lines to the floor in front, while an inset of satin started at the waist in the middle of my back, and flowed toward the floor forming a bit of a train which was intended to make walking easier. Otherwise I’d be taking very tiny steps. A three inch wide inset sash in an inverted v, encircled the gown just below my breasts and accentuated my trim figure. Except for the satin insert, the dress was covered in lace appliques of comma-like swirls and hibiscus. The appliques on my upper chest and shoulders were also covered in tiny stones which matched my circlet and earrings. The back was bare to just above the sash at my waist.
Matching four inch satin pumps came with the dress. I sighed when I glanced at them and had a thought, “Hang on, can you make those heels shorter?” I asked and pointed to the shoes which, while truly lovely, also looked like a broken neck or bunion in the making. Not that I’d ever actually get bunions, but well…they looked like they’d give it a good try.
Areth pursed her lips together and nodded while I tried something I hadn’t done in years. I closed my eyes and envisioned myself several inches taller. The extra material at the floor disappeared as I felt myself literally grow about four inches. I opened my eyes and smiled into the mirror. Areth waived a hand, and the dress, which had not grown to accommodate my slightly longer torso, adjusted itself to conform to my new dimensions. I slipped on the half inch pumps and turned all the way around, walked a few steps then back. The dress went to the floor and should hide the fact that I wasn’t walking on stilts. Hopefully none of the guys noticed. I had managed to avoid being chastised for shifting while visiting Mom, and I didn’t want to remind anyone of the oversight. I was banking on my recent practice wearing heels to keep me from bending over and smacking my head on anything. One of the key reasons I remained my normal height to start with. You just don’t understand how difficult it is to suddenly find yourself inches taller. Of course that was before my life became all about the stilettos. With all my recent practice this should be a piece of cake.
All my parading about caused the bracelet on my wrist to jingle, which in turn caught Areth’s attention. She glanced between the bracelet and my headpiece and frowned slightly. “Perhaps if the Mistress…simply wished it to change?” She suggested and looked at me expectantly.
Okay, my mismatched accessories needed to be fixed. I glanced into the mirror and leaned in to get a good look at my earrings and headpiece. Hmmm I thought then glanced down at my wrist and closed my eyes. I imagined a bracelet the same seafoam green as my earrings and when I felt movement at my wrist I opened my eyes to see my wrist encircled up to my forearm in the same interlocking circle design as my headpiece. I raised my arm and smiled when I noticed the charms were still there, just flattened and embedded within the large cushion set stones.
Ha! So Kit wasn’t the only one that could make the thing change at will. I glanced at Areth who nodded and told me, “Best wishes for your asseeir this evening Mistress.” She disappeared in a swirl of black smoke before I had the chance to thank her or ask her what she’d meant.
Asseeir? What is that, I wondered as I headed toward the bathroom door. It was like everyone had taken some kind of blood oath or something. No one would tell me what I was supposed to be doing this evening, only that it had to be done. I really hated being the last to know everything. I really needed to get on that and vowed to make a more focused effort on my education. Just as soon as I returned to the real world, assuming I survived whatever plans the court had for me this evening. Frowning, I made my way across the bathroom. It must be early afternoon by now I thought, as my stomach rumbled and I realized I should probably eat something soon or I’d be passing out. A nice thick steak and baked potato sounded really really good and I could use the calories. I’d never worried about being under weight, but meals recently had been few and far between and having my hip bones enter a room before the rest of me wasn’t all that attractive. There weren’t labels on the clothing I’d been wearing recently. But I was pretty sure if I had to go shopping, I’d be browsing the kid’s section to find something to fit the new ultra-svelte me.
The door opened silently as I approached, and Lira took a second to look me over. “Lovely as ever Princess.” He murmured then dipped his head and stepped back just far enough that I had to bush against him to get through the door. I was considering smacking him when he leaned in and whispered, “The new Emissaries are fine, but your parents….are extremely vexed. I do not believe your Father appreciates the Queen’s ….attention to detail. Well done.” He continued in a voice so low I had to strain to hear him.
Hmmm I thought, and quickly glanced up and into Lira’s eyes. Guess that answered that question. With my parents focused on…other things, my earlier transgression might go unnoticed. This was cause for celebration I thought and gave Lira a wicked grin then stood on my toes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” I whispered and he eased back to let me pass. I took about four steps and stopped in my tracks, my eyes going wide as I glanced around the newly redecorated bedroom. Obviously Areth had taken the opportunity to make some changes in here too. The bed linens were now shades of gold and the huge bed transformed into a four poster canopy with a light wooden headboard covered in beautifully carved flowers. The walls were cream colored and hung with more dragon and elf art as well as some truly beautiful landscape scenes. Thick throw rugs covered the floor and defined the various spaces occupied by coffee tables and deep leather arm chairs, all of which matched the bed. Most of which were inhabited by my men who were
sitting in groups chatting and just noticing I’d joined them. The smell of food hit me and I glanced at the large dining table occupying the area closest to the door. A table thankfully already set and covered in all sorts of yummy looking dishes containing items not just of the vegetable variety. And even better, I hadn’t had to play my flute to procure any of it.
Around the room chairs scraped as my men stood and stared back at me. “Finally!” Kit remarked then walked to the table, yanked out a chair and literally plopped himself down in it.
Gareth glanced at Kit and frowned. “Lexi you look absolutely beautiful.”
“Yes yes can we please eat now?” Kit grumbled.
Uh oh, I thought and then moved to the table. “Apologies,” I told the group, “I didn’t realize you were holding lunch for me.” Kit made a rude noise and I walked to the back of his chair and ran a finger down his cheek. He stilled then tilted his head and looked up at me from one very annoyed red eye. I didn’t say anything just lifted an eyebrow in return then walked to the seat at the end of the table which Cursed had moved to and was holding for me. On my plate was a huge steak and a potato covered in butter and sour cream. They were both piping hot, the steak running with juice, and I quickly glanced around the room then at Owen when Amras nodded in his direction.
“You are lovelier than ever.” Owen assured me while the rest of the group found seats, “Ensuring you remain so is my pleasure.”
From his seat down the table Kit muttered sarcastically, “Of course if she eats all that her dress won’t fit. And we’ll likely be left twiddling our thumbs again while she curls into a ball to digest it.”
I managed to hold my tongue while I seated myself then picked up my knife and fork and began cutting a piece of my steak before asking, “Kit was there something you wanted to share with the group? Or were you just going to sling verbal daggers while we all try and eat this lovely meal?”
Jace seated on my left, softly cleared his throat, “Perhaps Kit, like the rest of us, is merely surprised by your recent activities.” His voice sounded calm but his face looked to be tightly controlled.
Down the table Kit made a comment which was too low for me to hear but which caused Cam to laugh sharply and the others to frown.
Vowing to actually get some of the food in me, I nodded to Jace and tried to ignore the sideways glances coming my way. After my third or fourth bite I offered, “This steak is excellent.”
“Probably horse.” Kit informed me with a nasty smile.
My silverware hit the plate as I gasped and glanced at Owen in horror. Owen, caught in the midst of swallowing immediately choked and turned red. Amras jumped to his feet and gave a couple of whacks to Owen’s back. When he’d recovered enough to breath normally, he narrowed his eyes at Kit and growled, “Its beef…from a cow you jackass.”
I opened my mouth to say…I’m not sure what, but the door flew open and Tdem stalked in followed closely by his three guards. They looked like they’d been hard pressed to keep up with their extremely vexed King. Tdem made a beeline for the table, yanked out a chair and much like Kit, just flopped into it. It was the most ungraceful thing I’d seen him do. Cursed froze halfway between sitting and standing. Everyone else just stared in surprise, much as I found myself doing. After a moment, Cursed just sort of eased back into his chair when Tdem locked eyes on me and refused to look away. Not sure what to do, I reached for my fork and started playing ‘push the food around the plate’ since I’d seemed to have lost my appetite.
“Did you enjoy your nap Princess?” Tdem asked, his tone extremely polite and completely at odds with the look in his eyes.
I swallowed and nodded. I wasn’t sure what was going on with him but I wasn’t stupid enough to forget who he was. “Yes thank you.”
He nodded back at me. “Good…good. And I see you’re dressed. An improvement over how you were returned to us earlier.” He continued then picked up the knife next to his plate, leaned his elbows on the table and began tapping it against the table. Not sure where he was heading, I remained silent. “I suppose you’re looking forward to this evening?”
Um…I thought, not sure how to respond to his question. My lack of response seemed to ratchet up his irritation and he pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes.
Gareth clearly had enough. Seated at the other end of the table, he stood and moved to my end, plucked me out of my chair and seated me crossway in his lap with my back to both Kit and Tdem. Ignoring my sharply inhaled breath, he removed my fork from my hand and started feeding me. When he was satisfied that he’d stuffed enough food in me, he lifted me into his arms and left the table walking to the door leading to the hallway. Lira scrambled to open for us, and we quickly moved past the ten or so curious guards standing at attention in the hall.
“The Princess will be vising the caverns now,” Gareth informed them, then instructed, “Remain here.”
Over his shoulder I watched as the rest of my men stood from the table and followed us out into the hall. Lira continued holding the door then closed it behind Tdem and his guards, when they brought up the rear. Royal slipped up beside us and without a word, took the lead. Gareth adjusted his pace and followed along in his wake.
“I can walk.” I told Gareth, several corridors and many turns later.
“Can you? Because it seems to me you’ve grown several inches in short time I was gone.”
“I…was tired of wearing spiked heels.” I muttered, dropping my gaze and feeling uncomfortable.
“Did it occur to you that a change like this might impact your ability to protect yourself? We are still within the Sidhe, and not everyone is pleased with what occurred last night.”
What happened last night? I wondered then felt my face turn pink as I remembered what my Mother had intimated. Maybe I should be a bit more worried about that than I currently was? “Do they others know?” I asked softly.
He gave me a slight squeeze and nodded, “They do now. You aren’t exactly hiding your thoughts.”
I chewed on my lip for a moment and mulled it over. “If I fix my height my dress isn’t going to fit.” I told Gareth and even to my own ears it sounded like I might need some cheese to go with my whine.
Gareth came to a halt behind Lira who had stopped and was waiting for everyone to catch up. “We can deal with it later, where we’re going it’s probably best you aren’t teetering around on heels.” And with that he set me on my feet and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Just promise you won’t run off with any four legged creatures while we’re in here. The group is still trying to come to grips with your earlier disappearance. And you might want to raise your lower shield now.”
I nodded and did as he suggested and immediately felt a lessening of the pressure on my mind. It had been growing steadily since we’d left our room but hadn’t yet reached the point I felt the need to grit my teeth.
The guards to either side of the portal jumped and reached for their hilts when the group rounded the corner. Cursed stepped forward and their hands stilled, postures relaxing back into that, ‘I can stand here forever’ stance while their eyes took in our group. Like all the others, they seemed to zero in on me, while I did my best to simply ignore them.
“Their Majesties would like to view the caverns,” Cursed prompted the nearest guard, who pulled himself up sharply and reached for the door handle. After the customary nodding and kneeling we made it through the door, which closed quietly behind us. Inside, we were met with a truly beautiful site. My Mother had said caverns, and I had envisioned stalactites and stalagmites, but what spread out before me made Amras’ room back at the den look like a city park. A warm sun shown down upon a lush meadow which stretched out for miles and miles, abutting a forest of thick tall trees which seemed to contain every shade of green imaginable. A stream wound through the meadow feeding into a large lake that shimmered in the distance, its crystal clear water and light sandy beach visible from where we stood. The ground sloped down slightly so that it app
eared we were looking into a huge bowl. In the distance snowcapped mountains could be seen edging the horizon. Down in the valley a herd of white horses grazed peacefully, a hawk soared above us, and birds sang sweetly somewhere in the nearby trees.
Kit looked around and whistled appreciably, then set off down a magical trail that just appeared beneath his feet. I glanced around at the tall oaks fanning out from either side of the door and started after Kit while the rest of the men followed along behind. Tdem suddenly appeared beside me and offered his arm. He still seemed annoyed but perhaps our walking would allow him to get whatever it was off his chest. Gareth had turned to say something to Lira so I rested my hand on his sleeve and we followed in the direction Kit was heading. I smiled as the trail widened to accommodate the two of us.
“What is this place?” I asked in wonder, watching as the local fauna poked their heads out of the grass to watch us stroll past. The masked eyes of a raccoon peered out on my side of the trail and I stopped and stared down at the cute little bandit while it stood on its hind legs and looked back at me. I could have sworn it was as curious about me as I was of it.
“Drop your shield, your Majesty,” Tdem advised and thinking it might make his upset decrease, I did so. In my mind I heard Greetings to the Dragon Queen and glanced around wondering who had spoken. Tdem’s eyes widened and he looked at me sharply. While the voice whispered it’s greeting once again and I finally turned back to find the raccoon staring at me intently and holding up a paw to me.
“And greetings to you, Master Raccoon,” I replied in an awed voice, and then dipped a curtsy which seemed to please the raccoon. He flashed his toothy grin at me, dropped to all fours, and then scooting off into the tall grass. A gentle roar rose up in my brain with the suddenly pressure of my men’s minds. I turned back to find them all staring at me in shock. “What?” I asked, my smile dimming somewhat when no one immediately spoke. I swallowed and turned to look where the raccoon had gone and then back at the men. “You didn’t hear the raccoon, did you?” I asked, and to a man they all shook their heads. “Oh well ah… he said, greetings to the Dragon Queen and I was just um… replying to him,” I told them and forced myself to smile, though I’ll admit it felt a bit shaky.
Dragon Envy Page 32
