Page 56 of Of Monsters Of Kings

Chapter Thirteen

Opulence and riches,

Dripping all of them.

I cared not to see too hard that night.

Istared at the guest’s suitcase flung open on the worn carpet of my studio room. Over the last week, I’d started to see that the suitcase may not belong to a guest anymore, but me.

Every garment fit like a glove, happening to be just my size. I recalled that we’d only had male guests staying at Hotel Vitale before the princes closed it. There was also the matter of the impossible number of garments in the suitcase—I’d never worn anything twice. Added to that matter was the matter of the Outfit of the Day appearing on top each dusk, neatly folded.

Those matters were of no matter against the other impossibilities in my life, really. I had a sentient suitcase, a valet valise. Maybe such things came with monsterdom.

I gripped the shoulders of the burgundy, velvet ballgown and lifted so the bodice and skirt were revealed. We didn’t learn much history in school—history didn’t keep a person warm and fed—but I’d once seen pictures of medieval times in a weathered book that I found crammed in a forgotten corner of our tiny school library. This gown reminded me of the gowns worn by those mythical princesses and ladies. The neckline scooped from the tip of one shoulder to the next. The bodice would hug my torso tight from breast to lower hip. The bottom edge of the bodice was a V shape, and the point extended in front of my pelvis, between my thighs. The skirt took over from the bodice then, voluminous and heavy to the floor where the gown ended in a wonderful peplum edge that might be lost to the casual viewer enamored with louder aspects of the ballgown. The long sleeves ended in a peplum edge too. When I glanced back at the suitcase to see the shoes there, I noticed another small length of peplum. A choker necklace? I wrapped the rippling fabric over the bumpy stitches at the base of my throat, but the length was too long. Then I tried it as a headband—which didn’t work either. On a whim, I draped the length across my eyes and tied the burgundy ribbon at the back of my head. Perfect.

I pulled it off again.

“That is very clever,” I told the suitcase, who jiggled on the spot in response. “Now I won’t be overwhelmed by the sight of new monsters or have to avoid anyone’s eyes.” With the veil over my eyes, I wouldn’t need to worry about accidentally glimpsing myself in a reflective surface either.

Anyone being King Take. Assumedly, I’d be limited in my interactions with him as I was with King See.

King See.

My stomach worked itself into knots again. And I’d just managed to get rid of them after sending a reply to his earlier request. Though request wasn’t a strong enough word for the contents of his message. Demand? Order? Threat?

“He knew that I had plans tonight,” I told the suitcase. “His princes would have told him of the ball King Take is throwing for me, so why did he specifically demand that I attend him tonight to uphold my end of our deal?”

He could look at me for the duration of any night. To me, the sudden appearance of his black-sealed letter had everything to do with stopping me from attending this ball. Quite simply, that wouldn’t do. I didn’t enjoy the subterfuge, and if I allowed King See to make demands of me, then our acquaintance wouldn’t be great nor long-lasting. He was immortal, and maybe I would turn out to be immortal as well. There weren’t many of us monsters—King See had said as much—so I’d like to aim for a great and long-lasting relationship from the outset.

I dressed in the burgundy ballgown, then wrinkled my nose as my fingertips swept over the myriad stitches the scooping neckline left revealed. Until now, the suitcase had helped me to cover most of my body with long sleeves and skirts and high necklines.

My gaze shifted to the very still suitcase. “Is this for a reason then?”

The suitcase flapped its lid a few times in a nod. The urge to ponder how a suitcase could nod did strike me, but that seemed rather pointless when blobs could blink and I could crush metal. For the most part, my mind no longer squeezed and shimmered much with new monstrous detail. Where the need to accept everything without question or reflection had been necessary for my state of calm, I could now accept uniquities like a sentient suitcase with the ease of a more ancient mind. If truth were told, I’d started to greatly anticipate new exposures to the unusual. Monsters were just so very interesting.

I ran my fingertips over the neckline again. King Take might like the sight of my stitches, and I wanted him in good spirits. I’d try not to think much about them until I could change out of this dress.

I slipped my feet into strappy shoes with a long spike under where my heel would sit. “You know, if you are a bit alive, you should have a name.”

The suitcase jiggled.

My lips twisted in a smile. “I was thinking how you’re a valet valise. How about Valetise?”

More jiggling. Big jiggling. The suitcase galloped around the carpet, somehow managing not to lose a single bra, sock, or shoe in the process.

“Valetise,” I repeated. “That’s settled then. Thank you for my wonderful clothes.”

The lid flapped a few times, then fell closed.

How nice to make new friends.

I stood up and waved my arms a few times to balance. Goodness, would I be able to walk in these? I shifted from foot to foot, and my muscles tensed against the foreign wobble from the towering shoes. My new monster strength could manage the shoes.

I ran a brush through my hair, and braided it quickly, hanging the blonde end over my shoulder.

Dusk had set in, and though there hadn’t been a time on the official invitation I’d received this morning, I had to consider that Bring’s princes would try to capture me again tonight.

Grabbing the peplum veil from the bed, I hurried outside and ran smack-bang into Is.

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