From the Streets to the Suites
After some more sightseeing and street food snacking, Rayla gets her formal clothes and we order a family bath at the bathhouse.
Inside the bath, Rayla keeps looking at me weirdly, “Hey ane?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you stop staring? It’s a little uncomfortable.”
“Ah! Sorry, I guess I was staring a bit, wasn’t I? It’s just…It’s hard to imagine that you’re actually a little girl behind the curse.”
“It’s not that easy for me either, you know…I thought all this time I was wrong and that I have feelings I shouldn’t show to others. But now that it’s confirmed that I’m actually female, even if only behind the curse…It’s weird…”
Giving me a compassionate look, she says, “Hmm, I know you can’t really act like you want to act with strangers but at least with us you can be comfortable, right oki?”
“I…It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“...”
“Sigh When I didn’t speak uni yet Rhaast often used violence to train me how to act. So, even if I try to be more how I think I was back then…I can’t because I’m scared I’ll get hit again.”
“Wait what!? You never told me he hit you!”
“Well…That’s because I thought it was normal. But neither of you hit me even when I do things wrong so…I think maybe it’s not normal.”
“It’s definitely not normal! That’s abuse! How often did he hit you?”
“Uhm…I’m not sure, I didn’t count. At the beginning probably about ten times per day. Later when you and me met he didn’t hit me anymore because I did what he told me.”
“Oh Thoma…”
Feeling Scarlet's hand tap my shoulder I turn around, she looks absolutely furious. Her draconic features are even more pronounced and even though she is still in her polymorphed form most of her body is currently covered with scales.
Trying to suppress her fury, she forces a smile and in a kind tone asks, “Could you tell me more about where this Rhaast lives? What does he look like?”
“I can tell you but you have to promise that you won’t harm him. He might not have been the best person but he did still take me in when no one else would.”
“Fine, I promise I won’t harm him.”
“Hmm…Okay I’ll tell you when you’re a bit less angry then.”
Rayla picks up my hands and says, “Thoma, I want you to know that no matter what, you’re okay the way you are and you don’t have to act differently for us.”
“Yeah…I know. Thank you ane.”
After a bit more talking and relaxing, we leave the bath in freshly cleaned clothes.
I then ask, “Where are we going now? It’s still a few hours until dinner time.”
Scarlet answers with a smile, “Rayla and I will be going to the library while you take a nap.”
“I’m not tired though.”
“You might not feel tired but if you don’t take a nap now you’ll be sleeping through dinner.”
“It’ll be fine and it’s not like I could just fall asleep when I’m not tired.”
“How about we do a little challenge then?” Scarlet says while sitting down on a chair, “You put your head on my lap with your eyes closed for ten minutes. If you don’t fall asleep by then I believe you.”
“Ten minutes? That should be easy.”
Lying down on some chairs and putting my head on her lap, I fall asleep within three minutes.
When I wake up again, the sun is already down and I’m being carried by Scarlet. We’re in front of a huge building a decent amount taller than all the others surrounding it.
“Damn…I lost, didn’t I?”
Ane chuckles, “Yep, you didn’t even last five minutes, oki.”
“Are we having dinner here?”
“I have no idea. Scarlet said it was a surprise.”
“Is this it, manya?”
“Yep!”
“Can you let me down then? I’m awake now.”
“Nope.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I don’t wanna,” Scarlet says confidently while carrying me inside.
“But manya…If we’re going to a restaurant people are gonna look and think this is really weird.”
“I don’t care.”
“Is there a reason you want to carry me then?”
“Yep, today we’re going out as a family. So, I want to treat you the way you deserve to be treated as my little sister and tell you a bit about our family.”
“Our family huh…I guess technically your parents are my parents too if we’re related, right?”
“Not just technically they literally are! And it doesn’t matter that we’re blood related, they would have been your parents too if we weren’t because either way you’re my little sister.”
With pep in her step, Scarlet carries me inside the building. The inside looks like some sort of lounge and very shortly after entering, a Deer-Beastkin with big antlers wearing a suit walks up to us, “Hello, welcome to Lottie’s Old Kroy Palace. How may I be of assistance to you?”
“We’d like a private table for three at the sky view restaurant and a suitable room for the night.”
“Do you have a reservation?”
In response Scarlet pulls out some sort of ring with a flower on it, “Do I need one?”
“Of course not your Highness, follow me.”
He then leads us to what looks like a big closet which opens by itself when we approach it. Behind it, is a small room with glass walls. Going inside it, there seems to be some sort of crystal ball on a stick that the Deer-Beastkin puts his hand on top of. After a few seconds the ball begins to glow brightly and the room starts to move upwards.
“What’s going on manya!?”
iving my cheek a lick, she answers, “Don’t be scared, this is an elevator. It is a magical room that allows for quick travel between floors.”
Rayla, who also has a scared expression on her face, asks, “So what happens if the magic runs out? Do we just crash to the ground?”
“Pfft, don’t worry about that. They have many safeguards both magical and mechanical to make sure that doesn’t happen. And even if it does happen, I’ll just fly us out of here before we crash.”
Looking through the windows, I see us slowly ascending above street level.
“Woah…Look outside ane, it looks like we’re flying.”
Having her tails tucked between her legs and her ears flattened, she answers, “No thank you I’d rather not, I’m not great with heights.”
As we go higher and higher I stare in awe at the outside world getting smaller and smaller beneath us. There is a little bell sound as the room stops moving and the doors open again. Leaving the elevator, we come into an extremely expensive looking restaurant full of people that look like nobles.
“Are…Are we really going to eat here, manya?”
“Pfft, of course not. This is where the low ranking nobles dine, we’re getting our own room.”
“How…How can you afford this Scarlet? And why did he call you ‘Your Highness’?”
“I’ll explain everything once we’re in private.”
“Okay…”
We are then led through the back, up two flights of stairs, into a room completely surrounded by glass and a small terrace for us to walk onto. It has a perfect view of the city, I can even see middle park from here.
“Wow…This is so beautiful.”
“You’re right, oki. This is absolutely breathtaking.”
The Deer-Beastkin asks, “What may I bring for your Highness to drink?”
“A pitcher of water and something sweet for now.”
“Understood, you can find the menu on your table please feel free-”
“Oh that won’t be necessary, for now we’d like one of everything. No alcohol though.”
“Understood. Would you like it brought out all at once or would you like us to start with the appetizers?”
“Let’s start with the appetizers, then the main menu options followed by dessert.”
“Very well, I shall take my leave then to inform the kitchen, your Highness. There is a bell on the desk. Please ring it if you need anything else.”
The Deer-Beastkin then bows and leaves us alone.