Heart of Stone

Chapter 4

Niwen hung the dresses and arranged Patrice's bedroom in preparation to assist her. She didn't know much about humans but knew that they were not aware of the realms. That meant that she would not know about royal protocols.

Niwen's attention turned to the door. Patrice was standing there with a stunned expression.

"You're not used to such luxury?" she asked.

"My entire apartment is the size of the living room."

"Oh," Niwen said softly. "I'm sure this must be quite daunting for you then."

"It is, and I hope that I am not here long enough to become accustomed to it."

Niwen remained quiet. She had pieced a few things together, and upon her return to the castle with the items the prince requested, she asked questions. Their discussion was brief, and the prince asked for her complete silence regarding the subject. If she had questions, Niwen could ask him but no one else. Evander was the human's caretaker, and it was his responsibility to ensure that everything was okay in her life while she was in their world.

"Would you like to select your outfit for the afternoon, milady?"

Patrice looked at the items, giving Niwen a shrug.

"The red one, I suppose."

She tried to play it cool, pretending that the outfit was not the prettiest she'd ever seen. Moving behind the screen, Patrice smiled. It had been a long time since she'd been in new clothes.

"There are new undergarments for you to use."

"Oh, I don't think that's appropriate," Patrice said as she held up the bloomers that were far too short.

"Milady, the prince has extended a generous financial grant for you to utilise while you are here at the palace. There are expectations that those who attend court are dressed in a certain way, and he wants you to feel comfortable and to obey the rules of his race. Aside from that, would you want to sit with the king in a dirty dress?"

Patrice could easily say that after his rude behaviour earlier, it would be fitting. In fact, she might find the closest pig pen and roll around to annoy him.

"To annoy him? Sounds positively interesting."

Hearing silence, Patrice glanced around the screen. Niwen stared in shock.

"You don't like His Highness?"

"I take it you do?"

"Of course. He is a wonderful leader. Our world prospers under his leadership and has done so for many years."

"Right, so I guess he's only rude to me then. Interesting."

Niwen pulled the shirt and long red skirt off the rack and hung them on the screen.

"I know that this is difficult for you, but understand that His Highness will be concerned about why his stakalis left him and bonded with you. This is not normal. In fact, I don't think it has ever happened before. Did anyone tell you what will be happening to him?"

"Wither and die."

Patrice turned to dress in the undergarments while Niwen remained on the other side of the screen.

"That is what eventually happens. Currently, he would be experiencing mood swings and internal pain that can be quite brutal."

"Hang on," Patrice interrupted as she moved to look at the maid. "How can you know this if it's never happened before?"

"It has never willingly left an elf. However, there have been many who have broken or lost their stakalis. The process to replace them is extremely difficult, and many die before they can reach the temple. Which, for the record, is nowhere near here. If His Highness were to choose this path, it would take quite some time to get there. The body begins to shut down,"