Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Shadows - The Palace | June of the Second Year

Parisa tapped her toe in anticipation as she rode the elevator down, anger chiseled into her face. The servant manning the elevator tensed as she stood there, her dress ruined, and a large slit torn up the side of it. She had ruined the dress to get at her knife. How could I have ever agreed to talk to such a pompous, perverted, irritating-

Parisa was lost deep in her thoughts when she came through the elevator doors, and she bumped right into Perseus, who was coming into the elevator at the same time. Perseus reached out his arm to catch her, and when they locked eyes, Parisa saw sadness there.

"Oh," he sighed, a heavy sigh that was laden with nervousness and covered-up disappointment. "Hey Parisa. Where have you been?"

"Talking with Lord Guildenhart," Parisa spat.

"Yeah, he seems like a great guy."

"Great?" Parisa hollered as she paced in front of a painting in the hall, which depicted a geyser that erupted from the ground not too far from the city. Perseus paid her no heed as she stomped, huffing, "I could find hundreds of words to describe him, but not great."

"You mean wonderful, or charming, or tall, or royal, or—"

Parisa laughed, "No. More like gross, rude, and shallow."

Perseus perked an eyebrow up and asked, "So, you don't like him?"

"Of course not!"

Perseus sighed as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Well, that's... um... great. I-I mean, interesting, not great. I was wondering if tomorrow you would maybe help me a little bit."

"Help you? With what?"

"I... I want to fit in. Be like one of you. I hate feeling so low class. People look at me funny."

"Sure," Parisa agreed. "I'll help you with manners and things like that, but there's no changing you deep down. Don't expect that. And I wouldn't dare change you. Not for the whole world."