Moonshadow (29 page)

The Naphalei apparently didn’t use the “refreshment station” as often as humans did, either. Darien rarely used the facilities, probably having excused himself a total of three times since they had started dating. It made Diana feel self-conscious when she had to go.

Leaving Darien with the luggage, Diana stepped through the open doorway into the central building—which appeared to be a passenger check-in and waiting station filled with chairs and sofas, all of which looked a great deal more inviting than the furnishings of the human equivalents. The room was fairly empty at the moment, save for a cheerful blond Naphalei woman behind the far check-in counter that smiled to Diana as she walked in.

Diana found the emptiness peculiar. Perhaps they’d be the only people traveling today. To be honest, she had no idea how many elves actually lived out among humans. There must not be many, or the stable would be much busier.

She turned left to look for the refreshment station and stopped short, seeing two doorways labeled with unfamiliar elven symbols—she had no idea which led to the ladies’ room.
I guess I should have read more of that book, after all.

To her great relief, a Naphalei man walked out of the left doorway and Diana swiftly went through the right.

Stopping short again, Diana stood, even more confused than before, in an odd circular room. Seven smaller rooms, partitioned by red curtains, surrounded a square pool in the center. With its porcelain tiled floors and walls, and the hot, steamy, atmosphere, Diana felt very much like she’d just stepped back into her high school locker room.
This isn’t a bathroom—it’s a bathhouse

Filling with intense curiosity, Diana stepped into the curtained-off stall to her right. Inside she found a small pool of steaming water, with what appeared to be flower petals floating on the surface. The pleasing fragrances in the water immediately filled Diana’s nostrils—it smelled of lavender mixed with blackberries. A wooden bench sat along the far wall, next to a rack filled with white towels, and a full-length mirror stood in the corner.

Where’s the toilet?

Taking a quick peek back in the main part of the room, just in case she had missed something, Diana found nothing that appeared to be a common toilet.

Feeling the sharp, uncomfortable, pains of nature’s call, Diana was in no mood to mess around with strange elven bathrooms and marched back outside.

She found Darien standing next to the newly readied coach, waiting impatiently for her return.

“Ah good, are we ready to depart now?” he asked when he saw her approaching.

“Oh no, we’re not,” Diana declared, irritated. “There’s no toilet in there. How do you people go to the bathroom?”

Darien flushed with embarrassment and began to look uncomfortable. He had obviously overlooked the fact that Diana had no idea how to use an elven restroom.

“Um—I will show you,” he said, leading her back the way she came.

“Shouldn’t you just tell me?” she asked once they stood before the entrance. “This is the ladies’ room.” She found Darien’s lack of restroom etiquette confusing, to say the least. He was usually super-polite about that sort of thing.

“This isn’t the ladies’ room—it’s the entrance. The other doorway is the exit. Men and women use the same refreshment station.”

“Well, that’s weird,” Diana replied, declaring her opinion on the matter as they walked into the nearest curtained room with the pool. She certainly didn’t like where the situation was headed.

Darien, who looked to be dying from embarrassment, walked to the far side of the little pool and gestured with his hands. “If you look closely, there is a seat here with a small drainage-hole and you simply—go.”

Diana’s face contorted to reflect her mixed feelings of confusion and disgust.

“You people go to the bathroom in
pools
?” Diana cringed as visions of the swimming pool in the Shepherds’ backyard filled Diana’s mind. “That’s so gross. I can just go in the woods.”

Darien smiled with a smug, but still embarrassed, looked of encouragement. “I assure you, it’s much more sanitary than your modern human refreshers. The waters have magical properties that cleanse impurities and refresh the person immersed in them.”

“Every time you go to the restroom, you go in a hot tub of magic cleaning water?” Diana shook her head, astonished by her own words.

“Of course,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

“Doesn’t that seem a wee bit inconvenient to you? Every time nature calls, you have to take off all of your clothes and soak in a bath?”

“We don’t quite—how do I put this?” Darien replied, thinking it over a moment. “Our bodies don’t
make
us cleanse like yours do. We simply choose an opportune time to go through the process, much like choosing when to eat, or bathing. Most of us incorporate it into our morning and evening purity rituals.”

“Ohhhh,” It all began to make sense. “That’s why I hardly ever see you use the restroom.”

Darien nodded, and then stood uncomfortably for a moment, before Diana shooed him away.

“Okay—I get it,” she declared through a chuckle. “You can go now.”

“Right, forgive me,” Darien replied, still mortified by the situation. He left swiftly, pulling the curtain shut behind him.

Now quite alone, Diana’s gaze went to the pool of steaming water. She shook her head again, marveling at how humans and elves seemed so similar yet lived such different lives. Letting the pleasing aroma sooth her as she inhaled deeply through her nose, she slowly exhaled and prepared for “refreshment.”

After removing her clothes, folding them nicely, and placing them on the wooden bench, Diana dipped her foot into the hot water to test the temperature—it was just right
.
Slowly easing herself in the rest of the way, Diana sat in the body-contoured seat. After a moment, she had to admit, it was a rather comfortable and relaxing experience. Even so, the entire business still felt strange.

After she felt adequately “refreshed,” Diana got out of the water, dried off with one of the provided towels, and then quickly slipped her clothes back on.

Now ready for departure, Diana walked outside fully expecting to find Darien impatiently waiting next to the coach—which she did—however, it was Endymion Stoneheart’s sparkling gray eyes that lit up as she approached.

Darien had dropped his magical disguise and changed his wardrobe, giving Diana her first true glimpse of the reluctant elven lord. Dressed in the fashion of his people, he wore a dark blue frock-overcoat, similar to those worn by the Europeans of the late 18
th
century, over a loose, V-necked, white blouse, and tan breeches that tucked into polished, black leather riding boots. The sword hanging at his side completed the ensemble.

Diana swooned at the sight of him.

“All good now, I hope,” Darien said with a smile as she drew near.

She silently nodded her affirmative, continuing to look him over.

“You didn’t mention anything about a George Washington convention,” Diana said with a grin. “What, no white powdered wig?”

Darien smirked at her, apparently not amused.

“While I was waiting on you, I took the time to change into more suitable clothing. Our taste in fashion is a bit more
classic
and doesn’t evolve as quickly as humanity’s.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Diana replied. “Considering centuries to you are like decades to us.” Her attention caught by the hilt of Darien’s sword, Diana inspected the weapon. Forged from a peculiar dark metal, with a grip surrounded by woven purple cords, the sword suited its owner. The guard, made of the same dark metal with silver accents, was fashioned into the shape bat-like wings, pointed towards the end of the blade, flanking an emerald jewel in the center.  “Is that sword real or just for decoration?”

In answer, Darien took hold of the sword by the hilt and unsheathed it with the unmistakable sound of metal sliding on metal. Like the hilt, the metal of the blade was forged from the same graphite colored metal and slightly narrowed in the middle, giving it a sleek, unique, design. All thoughts of peculiar ores and shapes immediately fled Diana’s mind when she beheld the strange, arcane, runic markings etched along the length of the blade—they were simply indescribable.

When they began to glow with soft green light, Diana jumped back a foot

“What on earth kind of a sword is that?” she asked in amazement.

“A Runeblade,” Darien replied with pride. “Very rare weapons that are extremely difficult to forge, even for a grand master runesmith. Its name is
Satelvir—
the Heartseeker. This sword has been wielded by the Archon of clan Stoneheart since before the Sundering of the World.”

“What does it do?” Diana asked, eying the eerily glowing markings.

“The runes imbue
Satelvir
with the ability to drink the essence of magical creatures, eventually rendering them powerless for a time.”

“Wow,” Diana said in awe as Darien re-sheathed the Runeblade into its scabbard.

“We should be on our way in a moment,” he said, looking beyond Diana. “The stable masters are bringing the sharifon out now.”

Diana tore her gaze away from Darien’s sword and turned around, only to be awestruck by an even more otherworldly sight. The sharifon was a creature out of a dream, with the core of a great feline—like a lion—and the head, back, and tail feathers of a giant eagle. Its front paws had characteristics of both cat and bird—strong paws with sharp bird talons that appeared quite deadly—while the hind legs were mostly catlike. With their leashes in tow, the stable master ushered the four fearsome and noble beasts away from their pens towards the carriage.  With feathers and fur of a variety of colors and combinations, no two looked the same. One had the dark black body of a panther and feathers that were white as snow, while another had a spotted body akin to a leopard and the blue-green feathers of a tropical bird. 

When they drew near to the carriage, the black and white sharifon reared up on its hind legs and spread its wings. Frightened by the sudden movement of the great beast, Diana instinctively stepped away and marveled at its wingspan—it was the same as a small airplane.

Carriages be damned—she wanted to ride on the back of that magnificent creature.

As the stable master hitched the sharifons to the coach, Darien opened the door for Diana and helped her to ascend the small steps. Once inside, she was startled to find the carriage not empty—a Naphalei couple would be joining them on their journey.

“Oh, hello,” Diana said in surprise as she sat down. However, from the woman’s look of polished indifference and the man’s smug irritation, Diana knew her greeting to have been pointless. Feeling the awkward tension twisting her insides into a knot, she tried not to look at them as Darien stepped in and shut the door behind him.

“Good day to you both,” Darien finally said once he was sat. “I am Endymion Stoneheart and this is my companion, Diana Selene.”

The man returned Darien’s gaze and muttered something in elvish that Diana couldn’t understand, though she didn’t need to know the language to interpret the man’s arrogant and demeaning tone of voice.

Whatever the meaning, it caused Darien’s anger to boil to the surface.

“My companion is a
lady
—and has just as much right to respect and civilized behavior as any of Elberon’s children.”

The man’s unknown two-word reply and smug smile made Diana want to jump across the coach and slap him. Darien, sensing her state of animosity, placed a calming hand atop hers as his lips twisted with his own arrogant smirk.

“Let me guess,” he began with a tone of condescension that could rival the most self-righteous of noblemen. “Mercantile branch? And most likely just a Tanar liaison at that.”

At Darien’s accusation, the man’s haughty superiority coalesced into intense anger as the red of embarrassment flooded his pale cheeks. 

“Thought so,” Darien said with an amused grin.

The man began to say something in reply, but his female companion took hold of his arm. With a forced smile, she whispered something in elvish that kept him from embarrassing himself further.

“Forgive my husband’s rudeness,” she said, turning to Diana. “He has been in human realms far too long and has forgotten his manners.”

“It’s okay,” she said with her own forced smile, knowing full well that it meant nothing to him.

Still fuming, the two males locked eyes in an unspoken battle of wills, each waiting for his opponent to turn away in defeat. From his smug indifference, Diana could tell that Darien viewed the man as nothing more than a bug beneath his boot. The look was familiar; not only had she witnessed it numerous times displayed upon Terra’s face, but on Darien’s as well when she’d laid eyes on him the first day of class.

When the other man finally looked away in defeat, Darien smiled to himself and gave Diana’s hand a squeeze of assurance. It didn’t soothe her emotional state. She couldn’t help but feel this particular encounter would not be the last of its kind. Did all elves treat humans like rubbish? Andrew and Miri certainly didn’t. Was it so much to hope that a good many of the Naphalei treated humans as her friends did? How was she going to be treated at the
Zen’Naphalia
ball?