Page 21 of Till Kingdom Come

“Wait—who was that in your father’s bed? Was it your mother?”

He looked down at me oddly. “You’re a curious little thing.”

“I’m not particularly little for a human, you know. And I was just wondering.”

He shook his head. “Then wonder less. Not everything is your business. My mother left my father many years ago and lives now on the Isle of Avalon. The person in his bed was one of his companions. I couldn’t tell which one. His companions are both male and female, depending on his mood.”

“Oh,” I replied, feeling a little shocked, though my own father had quite a history with other women too. The thought of my father caused me to feel a pain in my chest, and I rubbed it unconsciously. Bracca noticed, like he seemed to notice everything I did, and I was shocked when he took my hand.

“You’re thinking about Sir John, but you need to stop.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

He didn’t answer my question but kept on talking like I hadn’t said anything. “Sir John is a worthless man, and abusive to you. I can kill him for you, if you like.”

“What? No, please don’t do that. I-I suppose he’s not a good person, really, but I don’t want him dead.”

“Hm. We’ll see. I don’t like him hitting you.”

He was taking me up the stairs as we were talking, and I had to run to keep up with his longer legs. We came to a big door at the top. “Wait, please, Bracca. We need to talk about this.”

He ignored me, flung open the doors, and we went inside to a bedroom that I assumed must have been his. He snapped his fingers at the marble fireplace and a roaring fire caught up, going to work right away against the chill in the room—too fast really, so I knew it must be another enchantment. The room was beautiful, in colors of sky blue and a paler shade of the celestial color, with rich and luxurious fabrics and dark, highly polished furniture.

“We’ll talk about it later. Go to bed and rest, if you like. It will take the servants some time to prepare a bath for you. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“No, I…please don’t leave me here alone. I can go with you.”

“It’s not possible. I wish to bathe too, but I’ll be joining my men in the communal baths, so I can speak to the captain and brief him on my plans.”

“But I can do that too. No need to bother the servants. I’ve bathed in streams and lakes with my friends before, and I don’t mind.”

“I do. Your body is not for sharing. Is that understood?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts. I have to speak to my father too, so I’ll be a while. Get some rest. You look tired.”

“I am, a little.”

He nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll have the servants bring you supper.”

Then he was gone, and I was alone in that cavernous room. I sighed and headed over to the bed, finding that the servants had already been in the room in the short time we had been with his father and left warming pans on the sheets and heaped them with even more warm fur blankets. I slipped off my boots and climbed in, thinking I’d just lie there long enough for the room to get a little warmer. At the rate it was going—again, it had to be enchantment—it wouldn’t take long, even as big as the room was.

I sank down onto the feather mattress and had enough time to turn on my side before the exhaustion and worry of the last day or so swept over me and I closed my eyes. I knew nothing more until I heard the door closing softly. It startled me, and I sat up to see a small table set out by the fire. It was laid with plates and silverware and several silver-domed dish covers. The smells were delicious, so I got out of bed, pulling a fur with me and went over to sit down with the blanket around my shoulders. I uncovered a dish and moaned at the sight of a grilled beefsteak with golden brown potatoes, all covered in brown gravy, along with some lovely green vegetables I didn’t recognize. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, and I fell on it right away, like I’d been starving for days. The Fairy food was just that good. There was crusty bread and butter and some lovely red wine, and for dessert, there were two kinds of pie made with goblin fruit—blackberry and apple. Again, they were by far the best I’d ever tasted.

I ate until I couldn’t hold any more and as soon as I sat back in my chair, feeling replete, the door opened and three young Fairy women came in, nodding at me and saying something I didn’t understand. I thought they were saying they were there to clear the trays away, so I nodded and got up to move out of their way.

Instead, within moments, the doors opened again and more servants came in, carrying a tub and buckets of steaming water. They filled the tub with aromatic spices and then they descended on me and soon had me stripped of my clothing. I couldn’t fight them because they were young females, and besides they’d probably have killed me. They looked pretty strong, and they were terribly insistent. In the end, I stopped resisting and let them do as they liked. Soon I was neck deep in the blissfully hot water. The young women rolled up their sleeves and went to work on me, and all I could do was close my eyes and endure. They soaped, scrubbed, and shampooed my hair and body thoroughly. Then they stood me up by the fire and dried me with heated towels. I have to admit I had stopped struggling with them some time before that. They were quick and impersonal as they sat me down and put sweet smelling ointments on my skin and used a razor to shave off a few stray hairs from my chin—which was about all the beard I ever had.

One of the handmaids brought in a beautiful robe, in a rich, green satin with gold-colored buttons and a pair of matching velvet slippers. All of it was lined with fur. They finished with me just as the door opened to admit Prince Bracca, looking elegant in a fresh set of clothing. He looked me over and nodded his approval to the handmaids, and they began clearing the room.

“You look more rested,” he said as he led me to some chairs near the fire.

“I am. And I had a wonderful meal too.”

“Good. After a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel even better. My room is just next door if you need anything.”

Hisroom? Was he abandoning me in this strange place? What if I needed him?

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