Chapter 33: Below the Palace

Sylph startled awake, closed her eyes again and fell back into the fluffiest and softest feathers she had slept on in her whole life. Snuggling in the embrace of a cloud, a slight pounding and pressure intensified in her head and she massaged the space just below her horns to ease the pain. She vaguely recalled downing an entire pitcher of cool water on her great journey through the palace last night, the one thing that saved her from a terrible hangover. Even drunk Sylph had enough cohesive thought left to stay hydrated.

“Brandon?” she turned to the rack. There was nobody there, but she could never be sure with memories of drunk nights. The smoke added an unfamiliar layer of mind fog, one that particularly clung to her sense of balance and imagination. She reached for the center of water in her torso and balanced it through a hasty morning routine. It obeyed her once again. The smoke interfered with it last night. She should be more careful; Unlike her mother, who had inhaled the swirling tendrils of smoke and blown them out through her nose.

Sunlight, from the small windows up top, drenched everything in a solemn orange. Sylph stretched once more and looked around the room. It was triple the size of her room back in Carthia, the bed alone large enough to fit several dragons. Paintings of mountains and ravines lined the walls and ceiling, an odd choice for the desert. This was not a cabin in the woods. She stretched her sleep fatigued muscles and tail, and wiped the dried spit from her face. She should get up, but nobody could stop her from turning around and sleeping in. With her still aching head pushed into the sheets, she decided against it. She needed to see Brandon and confirm that he was well as agreed.

Sylph crawled out of the sheets and stepped onto the softest carpet she had ever stepped on, a welcome change to the sand and stone, but it felt odd, unnatural, to have so many soft things around. With a last, solemn gaze to the sheets, she debated jumping in once more.

The door opened behind her. “I see you are awake.”

Sylph spun around. “Have you ever heard of knocking?” she snarled at the crimson red Sol in the doorway. Only slightly larger than her and a little plump, he smiled with a sharp confidence in her direction. He strutted into her room as if invited, trying to radiate the aura of authority that Nahana wielded, but falling short and merely looking like a cocky trespasser. “Nahana sent me to wake you.” His voice was higher than Nahana’s, lacked the added emotion, and barely matched the confidence of his looks.

“I asked if you ever heard of knocking.” Sylph raised her head to face him at eye level.

His eyes darted away from her gaze. “Sorry?” Apparently, he saw nothing wrong with barging into her room. His stout face flicked through several emotions before catching himself and producing the same smile as earlier. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Farron.” He bowed to her.

“Sylph.” She took a step away as he took a step forward, evading any accidental touching. She kept her gaze fixated on him. Farron did not hold himself like a servant. He should not get the impression that she gave him space out of respect or fear. This was her room, her territory.

He bowed once again. “I am her apprentice. I hope she talked about me. And dare I say, you match her with all beauty and ferocity.” His head remained bowed, but his deep red gaze found hers, a playful glint shimmering within.

Unsure of what to make of this strange flattery, she stepped past him.

He remained where he was. “I see. She has not mentioned me, has she? She hoped you would return one day. I challenged her for this position years ago.” He raised his voice, but the confidence was not there. He bluffed.

Sylph stopped next to him. “I don’t believe that you challenged Nahana, especially not some years ago. You look like I could pin you to the floor in five seconds, maybe less.”

Instead of growing defensive, he grinned and cocked his head. “You sound like your mother. Guilty as charged. It took all of my bravery to simply ask her. She had her reasons, I had mine, and thus this relationship works out.”

Farron was her age. Nahana must have had doubted her return. “You’re like the brother I never had.” Sylph watched his expressions shift into one of confusion as his tail drooped to the floor.

“While I’d be honored, I have no affiliation to your family. I am a simple apprentice to her. You will be above me in status soon, but call upon me at any time, even now.” He flicked his head upwards fast enough that the singular golden earring on his left plunked happily. “Nahana is waiting for you down in the foyer. Follow me.”

The corridor was much less lively this morning. The carpet stayed seated and the walls firm. Even though Farron said to follow him, he slowed down to walk beside her. “If you are even a little like your mother, you will love the baths.”

“What is so special about the bath?” Sylph did not share the excitement that lacquered his voice.

“We are not talking about a simple tub.”

Nahana’s voice echoed upwards. She talked to a sand colored Sol that bowed after every answer he gave. Their conversation was not very interesting. A shipment did not arrive in time and he was very, very sorry about somebody else’s fault. But it left her a great opportunity to concentrate on Nahana’s voice. It shifted in tone drastically to give every sentence an obvious emotion, almost a command. Sylph was sure Sol could not feel the emotion, but judging by his reaction, it worked anyway. Nahana’s words were the law, and she made him know.

‘This is your home now,’ Sylph remembered. When she recalled the words and intonation, it sounded less like an observation or friendly offer, but an order. A hollow spark of dread flared up deep inside of her, but she shoved it aside. Her mother’s tone changed when they were alone. “Farron, where is Brandon’s room?”

“Our human visitor, I heard what happened. He is up in the second room to the right.” He pointed along the upper floor of the foyer, to the other side and towards another spiral staircase that wound up from below the floor. “Right above the baths.”

“Then I’ll go see him.” Sylph stopped halfway down the stairs to take the path along the upper foyer, but Farron stepped in front of her. “Best to not make Nahana wait. She has a tight schedule.”

“I just want to see if he is fine.” Sylph tried to slip past, but his tail barred her way. He flicked up his earring. “Why would he not be? He has already requested half the library’s worth of alchemy books.”

“I have noticed that humans are not welcome here.”

“Indeed, they aren’t. But your friend is not the first human visitor. We conduct business in half of the eastern desert. Accommodating humans is a must for a beneficial partnership. Humans have deep pockets.” His tail twitched. “A euphemism, meaning they are rich. But money and politics do not have to bother you just yet.”

It was an answer, but only seeing it for herself and hearing it from Brandon would convince her he was fine. And yet, Nahana’s words were law and she could spot no other meaning in her order to treat him like a guest.

Her mother had finished up her conversation downstairs and turned towards them. “Good morning, little one.” Her voice appeared warm and homely, but not less forced than any other. And being called little was not as endearing as Nahana might think.

“Now, please excuse me,” Farron said and turned to leave as Sylph headed downstairs, “unless of course you want my company, in that case just call for me.” He gave her a last chin up nod.

Nahana studied Sylph’s face for a second. “You haven’t seen a bath in a while, I bet.” She smiled down at her. Sylph looked at the dust between her scales, bits of dried blood stuck under her claws and unidentifiable gunk in all ridges. A bath sounded great.

Her mother lead her down the staircase below Brandon’s room until they reached a cave. The previously neatly tiled stone merged into natural rock. Small lightglobes inserted into the wall barely illuminated the wide stairs. “Living above the two rivers means we have no shortage of water here, even this deep in the desert. And we have an intricate heating system.” Her voice sounded genuine this time, proud about having a cave bath.

“I heard about the great Sol public bathhouses,” Sylph added, and the echo from deep within answered her.

“Those are a real treat, but this is not public at all.”

The air grew warm and heavy with moisture the deeper they went. A thick wooden door the size of two adults at the bottom stopped their descent. Light squeezed through the gaps. A soapy smell filled the air as soon as Nahana pushed through. The corridor was empty except for a few copper pipes and a rope pulley system running along the ceiling that reminded Sylph of the open engines she sometimes saw in Carthia’s harbor.

“The first three doors are my personal baths. The one in the back belongs entirely to the servants.” Nahana turned to face her. “Who do you prefer? Dragon, dragoness, both?”

Sylph missed a step and stumbled into the corridor. “What?” The question was extremely nonchalant, as if asked for a favorite book or food. Perhaps she misheard. “In what context?”

Nahana cocked her head and her ears peeked forward. “Bathing is a very personal experience. Most have a preference. Or both, of course, who likes to commit either way?”

Sylph processed what she heard, and it suddenly did not sound like bathing at all. “I can bathe perfectly fine on my own.”

Nahana’s tail encircled her, never touching, but closing until there was no way out. “You are my daughter, the soon to be heir to Senbo. You don’t have to bathe on your own and deserve to have your needs and desires be taken care of. Some of my servants are very experienced in dealing with the inexperienced.” Her voice was both enticing and forceful, as if disagreeing was no choice in the first place, and the added emotions of soft warmth and something uncomfortably sensual brushed past her. Farron had also sounded far too excited about her calling on him in the bath.

“I told you, I do not want anybody to touch me or help me bathe.” Sylph carefully stepped away from her mother’s tail and faced the wall with her back. She would have to be chained to the floor before she would let somebody bathe her.

“Alright,” Nahana said, “We will work on that little problem of yours later.” A strange determination echoed in her voice. Doctors tried to fix her before, and at this point she did not want to know what Nahana meant by that. Sylph gazed up at the distraught look on her mother’s face. “I’ve dealt with this ever since I became a dragoness. I am used to it. It will probably fix itself later. No need to work on that ‘little problem’,” Sylph hissed.

“I see. If there is something you want to talk about, I’ll listen.” Her expressions softened, but Sylph was not so sure which of Nahana’s emotions was even trustworthy at this point. They flicked over her voice and face like wyverns scurrying around a dropped piece of bread. Of course, she wanted that problem to vanish and as an Aer, maybe she knew things that Veria and Oasis could not, but those were not questions to be asked right now and after meeting for half a day.

Nahana smiled. “Sawaila has a reputation of being quite prude. It’s not becoming for an Aer. You’ll come to like it here at some point.” Her words sounded like an order once again.

Nahana flicked her tail against the wall once, and a servant opened the door to the first bath from within. She pointed at the second door. “That one is yours. I will not call for anybody. Should you change your mind or require anything, pull the rope next to the door.”