Portal (Nina Decker) (8 page)

“Gorgeous,” I said.

Dani sat down in a large, cushioned chair. “It’s definitely easy on the eyes,” she said. “The bathroom is in the corner.”

I felt a little trepidation as I opened the door considering the rest of the medieval theme going on. But what was inside looked decidedly modern.

Dani explained, “Count yourself lucky. I prodded and pleaded until they finally installed something close to modern plumbing in here. We have running water, hot baths, and most importantly flush toilets.”

“Oh that’s a relief.” I had been dreading that I would have to use a chamber pot or something worse.

“You can thank me later,” Dani continued. “There’s no TP but the toilet does have a bidet function, which is divine by the way. The banquet is a long way off. I suggest you take a hot bath and relax.”

“Thank you. You’ve been very kind,” I said sincerely.

“Don’t mention it,” Dani returned with a smile. “When I first came here I remembered how I longed to have someone show me the ropes.”

She’d been a great help to me so far. But there was much I needed to learn and a lot of it was sensitive. I didn’t know how far I could trust Dani. I asked her, “After my bath, suppose I wanted to walk around.”

“Just tell the guard outside your room. He’ll arrange an escort.”

“And suppose I wanted to go someplace without an escort?” Silently I thought,
Like the tower where they’re holding Severin.

Dani said, “Those guys outside your door answer only to J’Tara or the king.”

“So no go?”

“I didn’t say that. But if you’re going to do something like that don’t ask permission.”

I didn’t really think it would be that easy. although I had hoped it would be.  Now I would just concentrate on getting through the next few hours.

“Is there anything I’m expected to do at this banquet?” I asked.

“Just show up and eat,” Dani answered.

“Is that all?”

Dani chuckled at that.

“What is it?” I asked. “Am I going to have to eat live snakes?”

“No. But the food scene here in general can be a little interesting.”

“Define ‘interesting.’”

“There are other fae realms out there,” she told me. “Each mirrors a culture on Earth, Asian, African, South American. Nightfall mirrors the culture of Western Europe. That wouldn’t be so bad except they are obsessed with this Ren Faire time period.  This place can be like a medieval theme park run by an anal retentive history professor. There are no hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, spaghetti Bolognese, Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, Vietnamese food, Mexican food. But you can find out what humble pie truly tastes like.”

I made a sour face at this.

Dani went on, “I know right. It’s a wonder I don’t binge every time I go back home. But that’s nothing to the drinking scene here.”

“And how bad is the drinking scene?”

“There isn’t one,” Dani said. “There’s nothing to drink except wine and beer and pretty skunky versions of both. They say they have distilled beverages, they lie.”

“That’s okay. I’m not really a mixed drink person.”

“You haven’t heard the worst part. No coffee!” Dani said.

My heart sank. “None at all?”

“Not a drop,” Dani confirmed. “Never even heard of the stuff. And no chocolate either. And they have something they call tea but it’s medicinal.”

I found the bed and sat down. As a nurse coffee was a daily ritual with me. I needed it to think clearly in the morning. And I loved my herbal tea at night.  It helped me sleep.

Dani reached into the bag she carried. “Fortunately I made a stop before I came here. I hope you like it black,” she said and then produced a plastic thermos.

I smiled at her as she poured me a cup. I drank it down, savoring the warm elixir. 

Dani said, “I would have packed some more stuff but I only got the word about, I’m guessing three hours ago. It’s a pain not having my wrist watch. I have to check the sun dial to be sure.”

“Sun dial? Right no iron through the fae portals,” I said.

Dani nodded, “That’s the other bad news.  No cable TV so I hope you set your DVR before you came here. No internet or cell phone service.  No iPods but being a fae has its advantages.”

She reached into her bag and this time pulled out a glass bottle with a stopper.  The bottle was totally empty.

“My second gift,” she said.

“What is it? Bottled air?”
             

She laughed, “No silly. Remove the stopper.”

I did and music suddenly poured out and filled the room with the electronic thumps and thuds of club music.

Dani started grooving.

“It’s sort of like an old fashioned mix tape. Didn’t know what your tastes were so I hope you like it.”

“It’s thoughtful,” I said. “Thanks.”

I wasn’t keen on club music and couldn’t dance to save my life but I watched as Dani flailed about.
             
I was saved by a knock on the door.  A guard poked his head in and said that Dani was needed somewhere else.

“I’ll be back in a little to help you get dressed. Your new clothes are in the chests. I’ll help you pick one out. You want to make a better impression than your entrance,” Dani said.

I remembered all the hostile faces at the court. “Is it that important?” I didn’t think I’d made too many friends at court.

“Sweetie, I’m from LA. Appearance is always important.”

Dani gave me a quick hug and left.

After she left I discovered I’d lost the stopper to the bottle. The music was driving me crazy so I emptied it. The rest of the magic playlist tumbled out like ketchup. I had to smack the bottom a few times to get out the last few beats of electronica.

Still I felt alone without Dani in the room. She’d been the only friendly face I’d met so far. No one else at court wanted me there. And I wondered how many wanted me dead.

Chapter 10

The bath was relaxing. I just lay in the hot water and scrubbed the dirt and grime off my body. I thought of Severin a lot. I wished he could be at my side. There was so much I needed to ask him.  And I wanted him with me and in me. I needed him in a pure animal sense.

After my bath I looked over the dresses that were inside the large chest near the bed. They were soft and flowing. The material wasn’t silk or anything I recognized. The colors were bright and dazzling but none of them seemed cheap or loud. There was a full length mirror in the room and I could check out myself. For a moment it took me back to when I was a child and I dreamed of being a princess. That was before I learned about my mother’s true nature. After I did it didn’t seem safe to dream anymore.

I folded the dresses neatly and left them in the ornate chest.  Then I thought about my father. How was I going to track him down? My mother had taken him to Nightfall with her. She was here in the palace. Did that mean my father was here too? It didn’t seem that way. I just had a feeling he wasn’t around. But then where was he and how could I get to him?

I couldn’t come up with any answers. So I was in a depressed funk when Dani came back to my room. I saw R’Agan and N’Tasha waiting outside the door.

“Time to get ready.” Dani nodded towards the other two. “I think the two of us can handle getting you into your dress.”

“Go on enjoy yourselves,” I said to my two very reluctant in-name-only ladies in waiting. The pair left without giving me so much as a “thank you.”

“Those two really don’t like me,” I said.

“Those two only like what they see in the mirror,” joked Dani. “Come on let’s get you out of this GI Jane get up and into some proper princess clothing. As they say on Rodeo Drive, look the part, be the part. Did you make a selection?”

“I couldn’t choose, they all look amazing.”

“You mean they all look the same to you?”

“Yes,” I confessed.

“They’re not all the same.”

Dani kicked open the chest and rummaged through it. “Men have it easy, they have suits and then everything else,” she said. “Girls have a lot of choices. Here. This one is perfect.” She held up her selection. “Elegant, slightly formal but not too formal, bright but dignified.”

“If you say so,” I muttered.

“Trust me. If you want to make an impression, this is the dress to do it in.”

I hoped she was right. At that moment I felt less like a princess and more like an infection everyone wanted to cure.

The dress was a mix of blues, one dark and deep, the other a perfect turquoise that made me think of the waters off an island beach. It slipped over my head and laced up at the waist. Slits in the back allowed my wings to poke through.  Dani pulled tight on the laces. Soon my waist felt like it had a python wrapped around it.

“I was hoping to avoid the corset,” I wheezed.

“Fashion is a Catch 22,” Dani explained. “With our fae blood we have dress sizes and curves that would make most mortal women weep. But in Nightfall that’s just par for the course. And the elite must be better than average. Because otherwise they’re not the elite.”

I sucked in my breath. Dani finished cinching me in then stepped back to admire her handiwork.

“Now that is what a faerie princess should look like.”

She pointed to a full length mirror near the wall. I saw myself for the first time.  The dress was like a blooming orchid. It made me look otherworldly, which I suppose I was.

“Fantastic.”

My hands slid down my waist which was laced up tight. “How am I supposed to eat?”

Dani said, “The banquet is a social and political event. Eating is a secondary matter.”

With that we strolled out of my chambers and back towards the great hall. The banquet was by then under way. Long tables had been brought in. One was along the dais and two more lined the hall. Dani and I went to the table on the dais. There were seated Lord and Lady Wolfstriker, Dashrael, my other two ladies in waiting. I didn’t see my mother.

Lord Wolfstriker stood up and addressed the hall. “After many years my granddaughter has returned to Nightfall. I give you Princess N’Lina Wolfstriker of the House Wolfstriker.”

The cry of “All Hail Princess Wolfstriker!”  echoed through the cavernous hall. I made a graceful bow to acknowledge them. The queen strode over to me and took my hands.

“It does my heart great pleasure to see you,” she told me. But I felt no pleasure in her words. There was no warmth. And she squeezed my hands tight and wouldn’t let go until I winced.

“Where is my mother,” I asked.

“Princess A’Lona was taken ill and won’t be joining us,” said Lady Wolfstriker.

I was seated at one end of the table with my ladies in waiting. The king and queen sat at the center well away from me. There was little chance I could strike up a conversation with them.  At the other end were Dashrael, J’Tara and a man I hadn’t met before. He was squat, bald and wore garish orange and yellow robes. He barely looked fae.

“Who is that,” I asked.

“Simeon, the court wizard,” Dani answered.

I shook my head.  All we needed now were some hobbits to dash across the room and it would be a full on Lord of the Rings party.

I was interested in J’Tara’s costume. Some of her guards were milling about out of their armor. The men wore typical late medieval dress, a short blue and white tunic with matching blue and white hose that ended in a cod piece. J’Tara and the female guards wore the same except their tunics were longer and terminated at mid-thigh, making a kind of miniskirt. It looked a lot more comfortable than my dress, though I wouldn’t have made nearly as big an entrance. When Lord Wolfstriker announced me every eye in the hall was on me. The guests were noticeably impressed. I didn’t see too many smiles but I didn’t see any glares this time. That is except from the queen who continued to stare daggers every time she looked my way. 

I took the opportunity to study the guests. They were all fae but there was more variety of skin tone. These were obviously guests from the other realms, the fae who reflected the Africans, Arabs, Asians, Aztecs, Native Americans, Indians.

Dani’s pinkie pointed towards the Asian table and said, “That’s where you’ll find the best food in the fae realms. But travel there is pretty hard.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Old wars. Old grudges. The fae tend to stay out of each other’s business and that might be for the best. “

Servers came around with the food. A brownie carrying a roasted pig passed by me and I flagged him down. Despite my constricted tummy I was starving. The brownie served me a portion of soft roast. I noticed every set of eyes on me. The room was now deadly silent.

“Is something wrong?”  I asked Dani.

She answered, “The meat dishes are for the guests. The royal family eats the specially prepared vegetable dishes. The ones with flowers in them.”

I saw the other brownie servants nearby with stews, salads, and soups covered in flowers and flower petals. I considered apologizing. Instead I popped a piece of crispy pork crackling in my mouth and chewed.