Take Me Away

Chapter 6

Promptly at a minute to 6, a sharp knock at my door made me jump. Valora was hurriedly cinching me up in the back, a dreadful bodice that she insisted I wear, and I was clutching the bed post for dear life as she sucked the breath out of me. 

"My lady, we must get you ready quickly," Valora whispered in a worried, frantic tone. "That will be Azir. You're going to be late. You mustn't be late. It's only your first day."

"I'm sure Cyril will understand," I answered her, though I could scarcely believe my own words. Cyril did seem to be understanding about many things, but I didn't really know him. I blinked as Valora tightened the vise around my body, making my curves even more pronounced than they already were. 

She slipped a simple dress over my head, helping me to fit it over my body since I could scarcely bend over to help myself. When I looked in a reflective rectangle that Valora called, "a mirror,' I couldn't hardly recognize myself. My green and gold eyes did not stand out as horribly as I thought they would against the pale yellow dress. My wavy brown hair twisted and curled around my neck and bare shoulder, transforming me into someone I didn't even know. This was not the same girl who was sacrificed in her village. There was no way she would appear this pretty, this... normal.

I had never shown this much skin in my entire life. Nor had my eyes seen the world without being obscured by my bangs. She had pulled my bangs back and held them there with a pretty blue comb that seemed to be encrusted with bright diamonds. 

"Put my bangs back," I whispered, unable to tear my gaze away from the reflection of my devil eyes in the mirror. "I can't stand it."

"Master Cyril insisted that you leave your eyes uncovered, Madam. You are beautiful, my lady."

Another sharp knock at the door. I could tell the person on the other side was becoming impatient. 

"Madam, you must go. We don't have time to change anything. Dinner starts at 6 o'clock. Sharp. You must be off," she whispered, gently pushing me towards the door. She moved ahead of me and opened it, revealing a tall, blonde haired man on the other side.

He was dressed like a butler, with a black tuxedo and white gloved covering his hand. He was dashing, with impossibly blue eyes and cropped blonde hair, giving him a rugged, manly appearance though his face seemed soft and childlike. 

"Are you ready, my lady?"

"Yes," I answered, taking the arm that he offered me. He led me through the hallways, escorting me to the dining hall. On the way, I decided to make conversation. "What is your name?" I asked, glancing up at him while consciously thinking of how to walk in the footwear Valora put me in. 

"Azir, my lady. But do not call me by name."

"I'd much prefer it, Azir."

"Madam," Azir turned sharply and stopped, looming over me with a demanding, dominating stare. "Do not call me by name. If Master Cyril were to hear of it," he closed his eyes and gulped, seeming quite scared of my future husband. "He wouldn't be very happy."

"Why?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. 

"Master Cyril would be horribly jealous if he found out that another man's name had crossed your lips."

"He is not the boss of me," I whispered, unable to believe that Cyril was as uptight and jealous as Azir and Valora explained. "We are to be equals."

"No one can equal Master Cyril. His level of pain and determination is what has kept him as the Underworld's ruler for so long."

"He told me I would his equal," I whispered, glancing up at him. 

"One thing about being the God of the Underworld is that you have to be a good liar."