Merlot's Eyes

Chapter Four

Bathing was immaculate—a luxury I'd never had before. The water was boiling, yet not too hot... just enough to soothe my aching muscles and limbs. The fresh smell of spices and herbs clung to the walls as I dressed, my skin red and coarse from scrubbing hard with a horsehair brush. Though it had felt like needles had scratched off layers of my dermis, the aftermath was that of a new body, priceless and unscathed. Before the bath, I was surrounded by short tailors who drew my sizes and left in a hurry, no doubt to get started on my clothes.
On the bed laid a turquoise-colored gown, jewelry and a pair of heeled shoes. I'd never owned something so fanciful. Guilt showered me as I remembered those I grew up around: poor and penniless, splitting a loaf of bread for the day's meal. I shook my head. I was away from that now. Living my life how I saw fit. This was simply one of the many benefits.
Carefully, I slipped into the gown, gasping at the softness of the silk as it whispered and hissed on my skin, clinging and shaping to my hollow form. The gown left my shoulders uncovered, yet covered my upper arms and flowed down into a stylish neckline. I noticed it was a close fit, the neckline meaning to draw attention to my breasts, but in a graceful and elegant manner. The sleeves split halfway down my arms into a flowing fishtail-like pattern, swooping around my wrists and hanging albeit more than my fingers. Luckily, there was a set of golden bracelets. I put one of them on my wrist hastily to cover my scar.
The gown's waistband was broad but a comfortable fit. I thanked the gods I hadn't been brought a corset to squeeze into. I wrapped the cloth ribbon around my waist and smoothed out the pleated skirts and train.
Click, click, click. The heeled shoes made clacking noises as I walked over to the full-length mirror near the armoire. Admiring myself, I realized I barely recognized who I was looking at. I needed to promise myself that living richly wouldn't change who I was. Even if it was for the better. This time, I heard the door open. Swinging around, I nearly tripped over the gown train and my heels.
Nilou stood in the threshold, arms behind her, chin up. "Are you quite ready, fél?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, käsi," I answered. I did not know much Zile, yet I picked up as much as I could since it was a common language amongst the rich in the Threefold Realm. Zile was said to be an ancient language created by the Threefold themselves, but others claimed it was the first language spoken when our lands were created by the gods. I cared not for the history of the language, simply to be fluent enough to seem less vacuous.
I followed Nilou down halls and down staircases. Each hall was significantly more grand than the last as we entered the royal family's part of Heartland Castle, away from the servant's quarters. My eyes took in everything I could; mapping where the staircases went, where there were viable exits and what windows could possibly open. Why was I doing that? Chuckling at myself, I pointed my eyes ahead and anticipated the dinner I was about to have with the King of Korath.
"Here we are," Nilou said softly, gesturing to two large double doors. "His Highness awaits you."
Nervous tremors bit at me. I suddenly forgot my manners, how to hold a fork, where to put my napkin, how to properly drink wine—
Nilou pushed the doors open and announced me before I could steady myself.
Heat blasted me in the face upon the door opening. Looking around and seeing past the sizable table, I saw a large fireplace roaring with white-hot flames. It looked as if it was carved from a wyvern's skull, yet I noticed it was simply carved stone by the hands of a skilled artisan. I immediately began to sweat.
"Merlot!" Dren exclaimed, standing from a seat at the head of the table and coming over to me. He wore a tailored vest of black velvet over a cream-colored tunic. It was nothing fancy, but the aura around him made him look priceless. I met his eyes and noticed the shift of his features. Dren's eyes had narrowed and gotten larger, a pair of fangs like Nilou's glistening behind thin lips. I almost yelped as a tail snaked its way in front of him, wagging as if belonged to an excited pup. With taloned hands, King Dren took my hand and lead me to a seat next to his.
"There we are," he said excitedly. "Serve yourself whatever you'd like. It's all yours to devour. Hells knows you need some meat on your bones."
"Thank you, Your Highness," I said.
"What did I say about that? Call me Dren."
"Careful, now," a woman's voice said from the opposite side of the table. Looking at the source of the voice, I met the eyes of another nymph who was seated at the other head of the table. "This mortal should address her king as any other would." Her golden eyes fixated on me, sharp as a dirk.
"Ah!" exclaimed Dren, pointing to the other nymph. "Merlot, meet my sister, Lex. Lex, meet Merlot. She is to be our new baker and head chef."
"Shouldn't she be dining in the servant's quarters?" Lex asked, fiddling with her knife as if imagining gutting me with it.
"She's not just a servant," Dren said, winking at me. "Get off your high horse, Lexy." He leaned towards me and cupped his hand over one side of his mouth and whispered, "She'll get used to you. It takes a while for her to get used to changes. Especially the pretty ones."
"You know I can hear you, right," said Lex, seemingly unfazed. Her large, pointed ears twitched to and fro. "Whatever. Welcome, my brother's plaything. I hope your short stay is worthwhile."
"Silence yourself," Dren groaned, spooning a ladle-full of brown gravy onto a mound of mashed sweet potatoes. "Eat, Merlot. You need lots of strength for baking and training your new staff, of course."
"Do... do you still wish for those seventy-five pies, Your Highness?" I asked.
"Ha ha! Of course!"
"What the fuck are you going to do with seventy-five pies, you hany."
I stifled a chuckle at Lex's brashness.
"Eat them, of course," answered Dren, stuffing a leg of pig into his mouth, groaning at the taste. "If you've tasted dear Merlot's cooking, you would understand." He winked again at me. My mind began counting how many times he'd done it, tallying them until the end of the night. "Now, Merlot. Do eat and tell me about yourself."
Grabbing a slice of crow's meat pie, I poked at it with my fork, suddenly losing my appetite despite all of the delicious food in front of me. "There's not much to tell, Your Highness," I mumbled. "I'm surprised I hadn't seen you in my bakery sooner. I've dwelt in Korath for some time."
"I usually would send others to fetch orders for me."
Of course. He was royalty, after all. Why would he have to lift his finger? "Why did you come." I asked. "Yesterday. After I disrespected you in the monastery. Housing and hiring is the last thing I deserve." I needed to play the groveling girl. I wasn't sure why. It just seemed right to. Especially since the man I was talking to could have me beheaded in less than a second.
"No one had ever spoken to me the way you had before," Dren said. "Except Lex." His sister made an inappropriate gesture at him and went back to eating and minding her own business. "You didn't seem to recognize who I was, and to be fair, that was good. I'd gone out on the town in a disguise, hoping for peace instead of throngs of people praising me."
"Do you know how dangerous that is, you fool?" Lex burst out, shoving her chair back, her tail whipping out of its way as it fell to the floor. "You could have been kidnapped or assassinated! Do you take none of your role seriously? Being one of the Three Rulers isn't always women and pies. You have your duties and expectations! What good will they be if we find you skinned in some sewer?"
Before Dren could answer, Lex stormed from the dining hall, yelling "Hany!" and slamming the doors shut behind her.
I turned and looked at the king.
Dren's face was red, yet he slapped a smile on his face. "Pay her no mind," he told me, scooping a spoonful of cold peas into his mouth and yet again, winking. "She has the largest twig up her ass, I swear to the daemons."
Uncomfortable with the situation, I quieted myself and took small bites of the lukewarm pie. Being alone in a room with a humanoid creature made me tense and on guard. I know Dren didn't go through all this trouble to bring me to his home just to murder me, so why was I actually tense?
"I'm, sorry," he suddenly said. I looked at him. "Lex can be a handful sometimes. Seeing as, what we are"—he gestured to himself—"it's hard for her to find a partner, or friends on that matter. She refuses to use the necromancy Samsara has offered, saying it was a... stain on our family name. So she's stuck in the castle all day and then sneaks off to gods knows where at night."
"I'm sorry to hear," I said politely, not pushing to ask questions, yet one inquiry getting the best of me. "Excuse me if it's not my place to ask... but necromancy is unholy, is it not? The Threefold daemons decreed it not be used and if so, only by the ungodly."
Leaning close again, Dren said, "People don't know what goes on behind the closed doors of the Three. They simply use the Threefold as a coverup and a means to reign together the humane society. There is to be a meeting between the Three Rulers of the Threefold tomorrow night. I will be gone, but Lex will be here. Don't let her push you around." With that, the king scooted his chair out and stood.
I grabbed his sleeve. "Wait," I said.
Dren glanced down at my hand. Immediately, I let go. "A-apologies," I murmured. "But, the Three are supposed to follow the decrees of the daemons. Are you telling me they don't?"
"They're sadistic monsters," Dren said, his face seriously set. "They hide behind their towers of power and use it to twist things to their pleasure. War with Köd Kunta is just the tip of the iceberg. Not even the Threefold daemons stand a chance against the Pale King and his army of serpents."
"War? I overhead some Sentinels talking of it... Calanthe had started it?"
"Calanthe pushed the idea and after agreeing, Iakkethis adjured I do as well. It was two against one. Never would I send my soldiers or Sentinels into a battle I know they wouldn't win. It's a fool's errand."
Shaking my head in disbelief, I prompted, "Could you possibly negotiate with the Pale King? He doesn't need to fight Korath if the war was encouraged by Iakkethis and Calanthe. It isn't fair."
"The real world doesn't run on fairness, csitri," Dren said. "It can only find ways to even the scales. Evil or holy, right or wrong, it doesn't matter."
"What will happen to the cities, to the realm?"
The burdened king sighed. "That will be enumerated tomorrow." That fake smile appeared once more on his tired face. "Eat to your heart's content. Sleep soon—you must wake early in the morning to begin my meals."
"And your pies," I added, hoping to lift his weak spirits.
Something told me that his crooked  grin was true to itself. "And my pies." Turning to walk away, he said, "Sleep well, Merlot Elfhallow." And I was left alone in the dining hall, shaking and scared with what the morrow would bring.