Page 89 of Null & Void

“What was the strange coincidence that worked out?”

“It’s a long story. First, she betrayed me, but it got out of her hands, and she ended up risking all of us. But I wasn’t her friend then. And she had…valid reasons, albeit misinformed. Then she ran away and got here first. Came looking for the princess, hoping to save her but was caught instead.”

“Betrayed you?”

“I forgave her. Please make sure it’s clear to the others when you find them. I have forgiven her, and they should give her the opportunity to explain.”

“Is she in love with the princess?”

I look at him, blinking in response, connecting the dots that she can’t have lied about looking for the person she loved.

Tovi is in love with Amarilyss?

“You have spider webs in your hair,” I say to Tovi, hanging my cloak.

“Put on some clothes that cover you so I won’t see what you had for breakfast, and come check out the ceiling hatch. It’s too small for me, but I think you’ll fit.”

“What I had for…Oh Tovi!”

“That lace barely covers you. If you start climbing, I’m going to see more of you than I ever need to. Hurry up!”

I grab the set of silky shorts and shirt we were given, putting them over the lace underwear and sheer nightdress for now. When I come out, she’s already moved into the washroom, so I follow her in.

“You know, you’re going to get your own set of doxy clothes too. You’re going to see Eryn next time.”

She gives me a dark look and gestures to the hatch impatiently.

It’s lucky this ugly cabinet is large, as we can climb it easily. I pop open the hatch, and it's pure darkness inside. I turn to ask Tovi for a lantern, but she’s already standing on a chair and handing one to me.

Inside are what look like tunnels, only big enough for someone to crawl on their stomach and elbows.

“There are pipes, and they’re hot, so try not to touch them,” she says as I look inside.

I see the pipes she’s referring to, going up into the floor of the next level. I push the lantern in first and crawl all the way in, trying not to shudder at the spider webs tickling me. Pushing the lantern, I pull my body along on my stomach and hope I’m not making my clothes filthy.

I pick a direction and make sure I’m keeping track of where I’m going so I don’t get lost. After crawling for about ten minutes, I find what looks like another hatch. I rest my ear on it, trying to listen, but I can't hear a thing.

Still, I’m excited at the prospect. This could lead us to the doxies or at least to other rooms. And I backtrack, hoping I haven’t gotten lost. Seeing the open hatch is a relief, and when I stick my head down into it, Tovi blows out a loud breath of air.

“It’s dark and a fucking maze in there, but I found at least one more hatch.” I grin at her, and she grins back.

“Now, did you remember to ask about the king’s eyes?”

All excitement from the hatch is immediately sucked out of me. Climbing down awkwardly, I tell her everything except Eryn’s speculations. Tovi tries to speculate as well but falls short of anything beyond it being a random coincidence. I cannot think of any reason why Eryn and I can see them, but no one else. If anyone else had seen them, there would surely be stories. Too many stories for him to silence.

“We need to try and map the tunnels out,” I say to our brooding silence. “You should ask Eryn for some paper and charcoal when you see him in a couple of days.”

Maybe Tovi wasn’t lying when she said I looked hot in my doxy attire, because, standing there in her own, she looks incredible. I whistle at her, waggling my eyebrows in appreciation as she does an exaggerated twirl, finishing with an offensive gesture. I roll my eyes, and she leaves.

Alone, I run myself a bath.

Soaking in the slightly too warm water, only a dripping sound to distract me, my mind wanders all the way back to Petia, Katla, and Niesha.

They were normal little girls, who liked normal little girl things. I liked all those things too at first. But those girls certainly had no interest in fighting with boys in the mud or having competitions to climb to the top of the tree first. Unlike me. Their bullying didn’t start in earnest until we went through puberty.

The children’s compound had many communal bath houses, and we were all forced to go to one together. One day, while I was in one of the more private baths, the girls busted in. We’re all naked, and Petia points to my newly growing pubic hair and screams, “I told you so!” to the other two.

While Mievaborn are blonde, it varies from white blondes to light golden blondes. The three girls loomed over me with their budding new breasts and light blonde pubic hair beginning to grow, laughing at me mercilessly.

---