Chapter 19

[Author’s note: These images are AI generated. They are not exact, but “close enough.” Check my blog for the details.]

Wrapped up in Roan’s cloak from the previous night, Cylthan followed him through the many halls and courtyards of the giant castle. A small city in and of itself, she was already lost after so many turns. It wasn’t like she was really paying attention to where they were going.

There were just so many people! Every curious eye that followed her made anxiety flutter around in her chest. She had never hated her own ears before, but she was keenly aware of them sticking up so far while she tried her best to shrink down into the cloak. At least her hair was dingy– more gray instead of silver-white and sparkling in the sun. That would have drawn even more attention.

A few people called out to Roan, happy to see him back. He gave them a wave of acknowledgement but stopped for no one.

Finally, they left a large hallway and went through a swinging door with a sewing needle and thread weaving through antlers carved on a wooden placard above it. A chime made certain their entrance was known. Cylthan only got to glance around at the piles of clothes and stacks upon stacks of bolts of cloth before a young man with a well-trimmed goatee and goat horns growing from his hairline stuck his head out from a doorway behind the counter and grinned.

“Well, hey, Roan! Glad to see you back. What can I...? Oh! Who is your adorable friend? Galanix! Hey! Galanix! Come see who Roan brought!”

The young man came into full view, revealing his lower half was certainly not human. Petite in form and only reaching Roan’s shoulder, he had golden blonde hair, soft fawn fur from his hips down, and green eyes that bordered on ethereal.

Stepping entirely too close with crisp clacks of his dainty hooves, the satyr unclasped her cloak, and tugged it from her shoulders. Just as she gasped, he vanished in a puff of smoke, appearing beside her with a critical, expert eye before poofing to her other side, then again to another angle, then back to where he had started standing before her.

Hugging herself in modesty, she flinched each time he changed positions. “D-Did he just ... shadow step?”

“Oh, ha ha, yes, so sorry about that, darling,” the satyr waved his delicate hand dismissively before reaching out to take hers. His skin was so soft with manicured nails compared to her rough palms and cracked nails. “Do forgive me. My name is Alistar, I’m a druid, and I already have just the thing for you, doll. But first, tell me who to address it to. You’re clearly new here.”

“Send it to my room ... and make sure to include something nice, ” Roan replied for her with a salacious lilt.

Alistar shot him a glare and clutched at his chest with a deeply dramatic gasp of outrage. “Cr-ass, sir! Besides,” he added with a flourish of his hand before indicating his colorfully embroidered silk suit, “everything I make is nice.”

He gave her a playful wink with a charming little smile. It somehow put her at ease. Before she could speak, another figure came through the doorway. A copper Draago dressed in a patchwork pair of slacks and bare chest, he exuded a quiet, discerning reserve in stark contrast to the bubbly satyr.

“Oh! Galanix! Galanix! Look at this absolute doll Roan brought with him!”

His golden eyes snapped to her before he glowered at her warden. “Why is she naked, Roan?” The Draago’s inhumanly deep voice tickled the ears even at a distance–and sounded positively accusatory.

Her eyes popped wide as a hot blush shot straight to her ears, shrinking further into herself. It made Alistar’s grin stretch up to his own slightly pointed ears and laugh.

“Oh, she’s adorable!” he all but squealed, pressing his hands together.

“She’s not naked!” Roan defended. “She has a shirt on! And she had a cloak! Blame your boyfriend!”

“Shhh-Shhh-Shhh!” Alistar hushed Roan with a flicking of his supple wrist before returning to Cylthan. “Darling, don’t mind these git. What was your name? Cylthan? Well, my dear, let’s get you fixed up with something more appropriate so you’re not stuck in that god awful drab any longer.”

“You were the one who made it,” Roan muttered playfully at him with a roll of his eyes.

Alistar ignored him entirely. “Come along, doll, come along! Right this way!”

She didn’t have much choice. The satyr was stronger than he looked. He spun her around and marched her towards a doorway, glaring back over his shoulder at Roan and shaking his head with disapproval.

Cocking a brow, Roan smirked and mouthed, “something nice.”

Giving him one more overly exaggerated gasp of outrage, Alistar’s head snapped forward with his nose in the air, and he vanished into the changing room.

“His mouth always makes the cutest ‘O’,” Galanix uttered out loud, gruff and dreamy.

Peering up at him from the corner of his eye, Roan smirked and nodded in agreement. “So does hers.”

The Draago’s glare snapped to him. “Why was she naked, Roan?”

Alone with the satyr in the small room, Cylthan hugged herself with one arm, anxiety fluttering in her stomach.

“Um,” she started, but Alistar gave her another of his sweet, disarming smiles and waved his hand.

“Oh, doll. No need to fret. This room has more anti-scrying spells than the Council chambers. And if you’re worried about me, well, you saw Galanix out there, didn’t you? That’s my man– my own big, buff battle shaman.” He fanned himself with a hand. “And what they say about Draago dick is true. It can wiggle at the tip!” He winked.

She couldn’t recall ever feeling so hot in her face. It made Alistar downright titter.

“Oh, you’re so delightful. Wherever did you come from?”

“Oh, um...” She hesitated. It wasn’t the first time someone had asked her that. Looking away, she muttered, “uh, fr-from really far away.”

Alistar’s eyes narrowed, but he smiled warmly. “Ah, a woman of mystery. Well, wherever you’re from, you’re now among friends.” Tugging up his left sleeve, he showed her that his entire forearm was covered in nearly invisible seals, and on his wrist shined the same seal Roan had placed on her shoulder. “Roan trusts me. So does almost everyone else here, and those that don’t, aren’t really worth knowing. Now, let’s get you into something fashionable. I have the feeling a soft green would compliment your eyes.”

When Alistar threw open the curtains and led her out, Roan and Galanix were arguing over the pronunciation of a spell. Roan turned to look, and his smirk made her blush.

“You always impress, Alistar.”

“Of course I do!” he replied as though insulted by the implication, placing a hand on his chest. “I’m the best damn tailor the Seekers have ever had!”

Roan’s lips twirled just a little further and that hunger in his eyes made her body tingle with an unbidden desire of its own. “We’ll see.

“Come along, kitten. I think we’re ready for breakfast.”

The click of a hoof was the only warning Roan had before Alistar pinched his ear and jerked him down. “It better be food on your mind, Roan. I’ve never seen ribs on a living elf.”

Galanix’s face tightened, scowling at Roan.

Glaring at Alistar from the corner of his eye, Roan rolled his eyes and casually flicked the satyr’s hand away. “Yeah, yeah. I’m taking her to the cafeteria now that the rush is over. I’ll see you two later.”

On the way, Cylthan kept looking down at the light green blouse and picked at the loosely folded neckline. She really did like it with its pearlescent buttons and blue-green accents, and the soft cloth pants were more comfortable than the leather leggings she’d made for herself. She just wished it didn’t attract so much attention as nearly every head turned to watch her follow close on her warden’s heel.

Roan peered back at her. “I’d almost think you’ve never worn clothes.”

She glared at his tease. “I just...” She looked down at her pale chest revealed by the V of the blouse. “I’ve never had anything made for me. I ... always had to steal everything.”

He laughed under his breath at the guilt in her voice. “And something tells me you felt worse about it than I ever did.”

Her nose wrinkled up in irritation, but she couldn’t deny it. She also couldn’t deny that the smell of food was making her stomach rumble.

Through magnificent arching hallways, they entered into a massive room. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. Long counters stretched on forever, covered in trays of food, from freshly baked rolls and pies to every sort of fruit and vegetable from places far and wide. The slices of meat were all raw, but she could smell meat cooking through all the other sweet and spicy scents that filled the air from every direction.

They walked past the lingering crowds to a well tended and partially covered courtyard. Along the sides, great arches were drenched in vivid vines, creating frames for each alcove. Each one had a table and its accompanying cushions with a small window to see the manicured courtyards on either side. In the middle of the stout stone table was a low, magical fire in a bowl with a metal grill over it.

Only a few of the alcoves were taken, and Cylthan noticed that the Seekers who occupied them were cooking their chosen cuts of meat as they talked and laughed.

Stopping at an empty table, Roan held out his hand to indicate that she sit. Once on the soft cushions, she glanced around. “What do we do?”

“They supply the ingredients, and we cook our own food, if we want to. They also have food ready made. Is there anything you want?”

Glancing back at the crowd of people milling about the food displays, she shrank further and shook her head. Anxiety was stealing her appetite and making the air feel so thin.

Staring at her for a second longer, he nodded and waved his hand to indicate she stay. “Wait here.”

As soon as he walked away, she pressed herself against the cool stone wall. If she could have crawled under the table, she likely would have. Being stuck in this place with all of the noise and movement and her instincts telling her everything was dangerous, all she wanted to do was disappear. Without the grounding presence of Draen in her mind, always leading her thoughts away from the things he didn’t let her think about, she had no idea how to banish the feelings on her own.

She didn’t even notice Roan’s return until he touched her. Jerking with a gasp, she looked up at his concerned face. “Are you alright?”

Struggling just to breathe, she shook her head in small, jerky movements.

There was that expression again, like he was feeling sorry for her. Sitting cross legged beside her, he took a meditative breath, so calm compared to her trepidation.

“Look around you for something– anything–that brings you some sort of joy.” When she didn’t respond, he glanced around them. “Look at the vines and the moss, at the river stone that makes the walls.” The touch of his hand on hers made her gasp a little, watching as he led her hand to feel a leaf. “Breathe slow and steady. Feel what’s under your fingers. Focus on it. Is it hot? Is it rough?”

Realizing he said something that didn’t match up with her experience, it snapped her to the present moment since her mind wanted to prove him wrong. The leaf was cool and waxy between her fingers, with vivid veins that spread out like a ribcage.

“Feel better?”

Her face tightened in irritation, but she kept her focus on the vine climbing along the cracks between the stones. “I ... I guess. Why do you care?”

His brow with the scar cocked up and his deep breath seemed to come from another time and place. “Because I was new here once, too. I remember being overwhelmed. I curled up in a corner just like you– only, when I wanted to disappear, I actually could. I begged Silver Eye to take over. He was scared, too, but he was willing to protect me. Luckily, Jorsam has always had a great deal of patience, and he’s gotten a few scars from us to prove it. Can you imagine chasing a panicked rat the size of a person through this place? We found our way into the kitchen and ... I spent the next three days helping clean the mess.”