Perspectives

Chapter 36

Jed had left a short while ago, promising to let them know which day he managed to obtain the 2am to 7am shift. Piper had expected Kalen to follow him out, however he had made no move to leave at the time, and now remained in the sitting room with Celia and Devon. Piper on the other hand currently stood on the counter of the bathroom across the hall. She was faced with an array of clothes neatly laid out across the counter in front of her. Devon clearly hadn't spared any expense on getting her some fresh clothes.

Piper eyed the articles of clothing critically. All of it was clearly made to reflect the style trends of Amasis, meaning it all had a Victorian-esque look to it that differed greatly from the jeans and sneakers Piper was currently sporting. While there were several non-skirt options as she had requested, they were still a far cry from anything she'd ever consider wearing in a normal situation.

With a sigh, Piper picked up a pair of navy blue trousers with white pinstripes. Deciding against the matching jacket, Piper instead chose one of the white blouses with minimal ruffling around the neckline. "When in Rome, I guess." She grumbled as she pulled off her own clothes and exchanged them for the doll clothing.

While Piper couldn't quite put her finger on it, there was something about the feel of the doll clothes that was different from real clothes. It was as though she could tell that the articles weren't meant for people, but for small inanimate objects. Piper shoved that particular thought aside as she began to look for a bearable pair of shoes.

The footwear options were almost entirely limited to heeled shoes, besides one solitary pair of light brown leather boots that lacked the high heel that seemed to be in high fashion in Amasis. Piper considered just keeping her sneakers on, but they were already beginning to show significant wear and tear from all of the walking and running she had done the past few days. Reluctantly Piper replaced her Converse for the boots, completing her new vintage look.

Piper took in her appearance in the reflection of the giant mirror in front of her. While she looked clean from recent bath, there were clear dark spots beginning to develop under her eyes, no doubt from the lack of sleep and heavy amounts of stress she had been undergoing of late. Her hair, though washed, still remained frizzy and untamed.

Though she had neither the interest nor the ability to imitate the impressive hairstyles she had seen the women of Amasis wearing, Piper wasn't content to leave her hair as it was. Pulling a ribbon off a particularly frilly gown, Piper did her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head with the ribbon wrapped around to substitute a hair tie.

Piper's reflection stared back at her uncertainly. It definitely wasn't her best look, but given the circumstances and what she had to work with, it wasn't half bad. Besides, she figured her appearance was the least of her current concerns.

Just then there was a small rap on the bathroom door. "Are you doing alright?" The voice of Celia called through. 

"Yeah, I'm ready." Piper shouted back. A moment later the giant door was opened up as Celia stepped inside.

A soft smile formed on Celia's lips as she took in Piper's new look. "I know it's not your preference, but you do look quite lovely in those clothes." She commented kindly.

Piper shrugged. "It could be worse." She admitted as she stepped onto Celia's offered palm. 

"I'll have Devon put your clothes somewhere safe." Celia assured her.

While giant hand travel was still horribly unpleasant, Piper felt as though she was beginning to get somewhat accustomed to it, at least to the point where she didn't feel like hyperventilating every time. It helped that being carried by Celia was a massive step up from the way Kalen had always done it. 

Piper fidgeted uncomfortably as two sets of eyes instantly fell upon her when Celia entered the sitting room. "How did I do?" Devon asked with a grin. 

"Not bad." Piper replied. "It's definitely not something I'd normally pick out, but at least I don't have to wear a ball gown or something." 

Glancing at Kalen, Piper could see a clear smirk on his lips, likely due to his imagining of Piper in a big fancy ball gown. His smile grew slightly as their eyes met. Piper quickly turned away. 

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful, consisting mostly of Piper and the giants exchanging various questions about the others' home. As much of a grudge as she had developed against Amasis, she still possessed a certain curiosity about it. After all, she may very well be the only person to ever get to ask these questions, hopefully at least. Around 5pm, Kalen headed back home to prevent any suspicion being risen by his parents. Piper joined Devon and Celia for dinner. Having sent their cook home early, and not left enough time to prepare anything themselves, Devon and Celia decided to have some food delivered. The meal was incredible, and Piper was sure to eat until she was absolutely stuffed. 

While Devon cleaned up in the kitchen, Celia had taken Piper up to a guest room on the second floor, across the hall from the master bedroom. The room had a style similar to that of Kalen's bedroom, however it seemed to have a stronger focus on comfort than luxury. 

"Let me see if I can fetch you some more appropriately scaled bedding." Celia said after placing Piper on the table beside the massive queen sized bed. 

"No it's fine, I can make it work." Piper told her. "You've already done so much for me." As hard as it was for Piper to trust the Bradfords after what had happened with Kalen, Piper now knew with almost one hundred percent certainty that Devon and Celia could be counted upon. They were risking so much by harboring her against the council's orders and helping her to get back to Earth. They took her in and helped her when she had been at her lowest point, and Piper was eternally grateful for it. 

"Piper, truly it is the very least we can do given--well given everything that's happened to you." Celia promised, an unknown sadness in her kind voice.

Before Piper could protest further, Celia was on her way out the door. "I'll bring some bed clothes for you as well." She announced before heading off. 

~

By the time Kalen got back to Stenton Estate, Rothgard's search teams had finally cleared out. Upon his return, Natali had informed him that his parents had gone out to dinner with some political ally of theirs. The news was unsurprising. Kalen couldn't remember the last time he had sat down for dinner with both of his parents. 

As Kalen sat alone at the dining table, he found his mind consumed with thoughts of Piper. As dangerous as it was for her here in Amasis, Kalen knew Earth would be even worse once the SSD figured out how to send Amasisians their at full size. He could only imagine what Rothgard planned to do with all the humans. After what he had heard at the council meeting, his hopes weren't high. 

"What do they even want with the Earth dimension?" Kalen muttered to himself. As far as Kalen was aware, there was nothing particularly special about Earth, their technology was primitive and the humans themselves were seen as inferior by most Amasisians. So why was Rothgard so adamant on seizing control of it? Was Rothgard really so desperate for more power? Kalen had thought he understood the head of the Sovereign Council, at least on some level, but it seemed he had been sorely mistaken. 

"Sir, are you finished?" Kalen jolted at the voice of his assistant from across the room. He realized he had stopped eating his dinner, and had been sitting there practically motionless for several minutes. His appetite had gone.