DEMENTED | Romance | Fantasy | Slight Thriller

Chapter Six: Shelly's

Chapter Six: Shelly's

The sun cast its light through the chamber's navy blue drapes, slowly stirring Ebony from her dreams and begrudgingly sitting up.

Then she remembered what she was going to do, and jumped out of bed in a hurry.

She stripped herself of her nightgown in about ten minutes, unused to having to dress herself without any help from servants. Then she opened a box on the top of the parcels Adelia had brought her, tied together with a rosy-hued satin bow.

She untied the bow and cast the box's lid aside at once. And she gasped at what she saw.

Soft lavender silk spilled forth from the box, and as Ebony lifted it out of the box in uttermost care her awe nearly doubled.

Ebony was not one for fashion, yet this dress she loved.

The sleeves were see-through, made of a gauzy purple material that shimmered with golden flecks. At the bodice was an arrangement of gold leaf and faux flowers, while the rest of the gown spilled out in a way that reminded Ebony of a flower in full blossom.

It was absolutely gorgeous. Yet it was not suitable for traveling.

Oh, how much Ebony wanted to wear that dress. She'd always worn dark dresses back in Absinthe; dresses of stuffy midnight black rimmed with gold lace, eggplant purple and dark grays, but never one such as this. She'd surely thank Adelia for that later.

She opened the other boxes and untied the ribbons and soon her room was a mess of pastel, cream colored and fantastical confections and boxes and lace.

Thankfully many of them could be worn for travel.

Ebony selected a dress that was a rich purple--not nearly as light and delicate as the lavender of the first dress, but still lighter than what she'd worn at Absinthe.

It fitted her waist, and just barely reached the knees. When she lifted it out of the box she also saw knee-high laced boots; perfect to walk around in. Adelia outdid herself, she thought happily. As soon as she put her outfit on, she looked at herself in a tall mirror set in a corner of the chamber, and smiled. There's just one thing missing.

Everyone in Auria wore hats, it seemed, save for the Prince of course. But Ebony didn't want to stand out like the Prince did with his unique hair in a crowd. Instead, especially for the work they were doing, she needed to blend in.

And in the box she found exactly the right hat. It matched her dress, adorned with black feathers and lace. She set it on her inky black hair off-center, and looked in the mirror. Perfect.

She spent the next twenty minutes braiding her hair and collecting her newly acquired things. Adelia must've known she needed something to carry them in, because she found a black leather bag perfect to hold all the dresses, shoes, and accessories along with extra room.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she walked out the door and off to find the Prince again, much as she wanted to leave him behind.

She could no longer sense him in the building, and as she ventured out she had no idea where he was. And Ebony had no idea how to navigate the unfamiliar realm of Auria.

So she decided to wait it out. He'd end up coming back sooner or later, she thought.

Across the street was a tavern bustling with people. Shelly's, a weather-beaten sign read.

Unsure of what else to do, she entered the tavern.

It was even busier than she'd expected inside.

A group of loud businessmen Ebony could tell were drunk wore black fitted suits with gold and silver brass buttons, and collectively they clinked together glass mugs full of foaming beer. They sat at a small table to her right, and as she entered the tavern she could feel eyes on her. She could've sworn one whistled.

Her eye twitched in disgust. Men were never this bold at Absinthe, and most definitely not to its Princess. But she wasn't at Absinthe, and these were no Absinthian men.

One of them sidled up to her in a drunken haze. "You wanna drink?" he slurred, offering a wad of cash.

Ebony considered taking it and running. But on quick calculation she assessed that even in a drunken state, one good swing from that man and she'd be severely injured.

"No, thank you," she replied, stepping up to the bar and leaving the man behind. Thankfully he didn't follow her, and she let out a small sigh of relief as a middle-aged stout woman with magenta hair and wrinkles came up to her.

"Hey there, what kin' I do fo' ya? I'm Shelly," she said, gesturing to a nametag pinned on the left side of her wrinkled and worn maroon uniform.

Ebony tried her best not to wrinkle her nose. These were nothing like the conditions she'd been used to, and yet she'd have to try her best to get used to them. "It's nice to meet you," she mustered. "I'm assuming you own this place?"

"Sa' right," Shelly exclaimed proudly. "Been runnin' this old thing fo' at least twenny years."

Then she stared at Ebony. "You talk an awful lot like them aristos," she pointed out a little angrily. "If you one of them gover'ment folks you ain't welcome hea."

"Oh, no!" Ebony denied her accusation hurriedly. "Not at all! You see, I'm simply... well... a traveler, I suppose."

Shelly's frown lifted immediately. "Oh good, I was gonna be real upset if we couldn't be friends. Where you visitin' from? Lyria? Nah, you don't look anything like them water nymphs. Maybe Gaia? Those underground creatures don't get out much."

When Ebony realized she was waiting for a response, she paled a little. "Well... uh..."

Shelly's frown reappeared, and Ebony internally began to panic. Shelly wasn't someone she knew if she could trust, having met her just a minute ago, and when her frown grew deeper she shrank back a little.

Then Shelly's rosy cheeks paled to a pallid grey. "Wait a second--"

This was when Ebony knew she needed to leave. She began to dart for the door, but Shelly caught hold of her arm and held it tight. She was much stronger than she looked.

"Come with me, miss," she said in an unreadable tone. And she pulled Ebony with her until they were in an empty back room at the tavern.

Shelly slammed the door shut behind them and Ebony backed into a far corner, unsure of what she would do. She'd realized she was an Absinthian, and they were banished from the other realms hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Surely this woman wouldn't let that slip.

"How the hell'd ya get here?"