Tea was a disaster. I could not even hold the tiny handle of the cup properly in my big fingers. Hands made for fighting and good for climbing trees, but not for holding the fine china at a formal tea befitting a lady. Still, I did my best, worrying more about Freya.

We sat at the small round table in the centre of the room. Through the windows, I enjoyed a clear view of the trees on the ridge in the late afternoon light. The ridge Freya and I had walked down just three days ago. It felt like a month had passed since the carefree life in the mountains. But seeing the wild nature of the ridge and remembering the last two miserable days in the rain brought me back to my senses. 'I am not an animal, I enjoy civilisation. I will show them,' I repeated in my head, trying to set the cup down gently, while it was almost hidden by my large hand.

Dame Grendel and Count Radel talked about many things unrelated to me, as far as my limited vocabulary could tell. Freya was silent, more like a trapped animal looking for the first chance to escape. Her courage when she had comforted the beast in front of the mirror was gone. I laid my tail in Freya's lap and she stroked it feverishly with trembling hands. "Freya, dear Freya," I whispered several times. But only a change in her stroke indicated that she had registered my words.

I was no beast. Even if I looked like one, I did not feel like anything other than a human being. But I was far from the higher classes. Even Count Radel behaved differently in front of Dame Grendel, almost like a different person. Before our meeting with Dame Grendel, I thought he was rather an exception, low in rank, curious and relatively down-to-earth. Well, young and handsome too, with his red hair and freckles. Honestly, in my previous life, I could see myself spending an evening in a bar with him, followed by karaoke, not as a count but as a friend. Maybe even more. However, Dame Grendel was like a 58-year-old head teacher to a first-year primary school child: A distant and probably well-meaning deity but out of touch with the needs and concerns of the people in front of her. Hopefully, I did her wrong.

"Freya, dear," I whispered with as much strength as one could muster. She turned her head and I smiled. "Better?"

"No!" she sent in mindspeak. Which was an improvement on her silence.

"Here!" After taking one of the sweets first (since I was the lady), I fed her another. They were cinnamon cakes! Fate showed a strange taste. But cinnamon seemed to be good medicine for Freya.

"You taste better," she sent.

I could not answer here. So I just smiled and Freya finally stopped shivering.

I took another one and put it on Freya's plate. She ate it herself.

"Cake is good, thank you," I said when there was a long pause.

Dame Grendel smiled. "Lady Kiara, I see you have regained your composure. Very well. Please follow." Freya translated and then almost jumped up in her chair, my tail still firmly in her hands.

I tried to move it to make it look as if she had not deliberately grabbed my tail and rose as well. We followed Dame Grendel into another room across the corridor, first Count Radel, then me, with Freya trailing behind.

It was a mystery to me how Dame Grendel, without leaving the tea room and in conversation with Count Radel, had organised the large garments hanging on a wardrobe. They were, of course, there for me to try on.

I took a closer look. The first was sort of a red uniform. I changed behind a folding screen. But I had to sit on my legs so as not to show my upper body above the screen. At least the modesty of the higher classes was on my side. I was not sure what Dame Grendel would have done if she had discovered my lack of underwear.

The uniform was right on the shoulders and right in length, but too short on the arms and too tight around my breasts. My guess was that it had once belonged to a male guard. It definitely had a faint masculine scent.

Hesitantly I turned to the mirror. And suppressed a grin: The alien looking back at me was an oversized mascot of a Canadian lumberjack team. Only missing a matching hat and beaver teeth. Not human at all. Apart from the appearance, the seams made dangerous cracking noises when I moved my arms a little more. Overall, it was too confining and stiff. I would probably not be able to climb a tree without tearing it apart. Not that one would expect that from a lady. I still walked in front of the screen.

"Very harding," I said.

Dame Grendel shook her head slowly.

I went back behind the screen. The next garment must have once belonged to a female sumo wrestler. The shoulders were fine, the chest area was even loose, and the rest of it hung on me like a too-loose nightdress. No need to look in the mirror.

The last garment was very different, to say the least. It was quite colourful, red with golden bands and lots of patterns on the short sleeves. Almost like the short-sleeved jacket of a super broad-shouldered, well-endowed dwarf ringmaster. As such, it was the complete opposite of the previous piece, barely covering my breasts. However, it fitted very well, despite the lack of a cut-out for my mane. Hesitantly, I walked to the mirror, wondering if this much cleavage and belly-free was acceptable even for just a beast lady to wear in this era without risking stoning.

Huh, wow. Kiara! Strut around downtown in this and you will be the centre of attention. And not because you are four-legged. That would certainly distract people from my ears (and most of my other body parts). As I stood in front of the others, Freya grinned and Count Radel blushed and looked down.

Dame Grendel frowned while smiling. "I do not find this very appropriate for a lady," she sighed, and after a pause, she added, "but it suits you surprisingly well and, er, certainly, hrmph, enhances your feminine qualities."

With a pat, I placed my tail in Freya's hands for translation and then bowed to Dame Grendel. "Thank you. But I no money."

"Dear, please." Obviously, money was not discussed here. "I regret to say that this jacket was formerly the costume of a monkey from a travelling circus."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I swallowed after the translation. Ringmaster had not been such a bad guess then. However, I still had trouble imagining that kind of well-endowed animal.

"But it is a huge improvement over your old shirt, even if it is too revealing for a proper function. I think you are the only one who could ever wear it," she continued. Somehow the 'apart from a monkey' part of that sentence lingered in the room.

But yes, I smiled as hard as I could. This was great, even though it was flimsy, it had lots of support and almost no restrictions on my movements. No one needed to know where it came from. And besides, monkeys are also excellent climbers.

Freya was still smiling madly and had forgotten her fear of the nobility. This jacket really did work magic.

"Now, may I have a look at your fabrics?"

I bent down and took the fabrics out of my left saddlebag and put them on a small side table. Because the big package might be too heavy for Dame Grendel.

She felt the fabrics. "Very rough, dear."

I nodded. "That's why I bought the soft fabric for the inner lining of the breasts and shoulders," I said louder than the usual whisper. It was the first time Dame Grendel had heard my native tongue, and although Freya translated immediately, she still stared at me.

"Lady Kiara, I think this jacket suits you very well if it makes even me forget your alien origins for a moment." She felt the soft fabric. "But I must praise your choice. This is fine Cereb silk, befitting a lady. However, instead of an inner lining, I would suggest you make an undergarment out of it."

I bowed. "Thank you."

She looked critically at the green fabric. "Hmm." And turned it back, which of course was the same. "How do you intend to combine them?"

I tried to explain. But was quickly brought back to the reality of medieval tailoring. You could certainly have sleeves in different colours. Or have a coloured motif embroidered on the shirt. But a diagonal green stripe was not easy and, according to Dame Grendel, would look ridiculous. Not having a very clear idea, I listened to her suggestions and they all sounded very good. Or, to be honest, even mindspeak had its limits, as there were concepts that somehow found words in my mind that meant nothing to me in terms of clothing. Like garish, pinto or barred. I now understood better Freya's frustration when I explained to her new concepts.

After so long, and having just been fed two cinnamon sweets, my stomach chose this moment to growl once. And then again. I turned dark red, tore my tail from Freya and curled it up underneath me, as if the tail could muffle the growl.

"My dear, I am a very poor host," Dame Grendel said nonchalantly. I am not sure what gesture she made, but a servant appeared like a ninja and took her command. She smiled. "You will stay for dinner."

I nodded reflexively and bowed. But with the new jacket, I felt bold. "Dame Grendel, before dinner I wanting seeing Hall of Mirrors of Krenburg Castle. Is here?"

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. A servant appeared. I swore I felt the breeze of his presence just as he stood beside me. Frightening.

"Dear Lady Kiara, please go ahead." He held the door to the corridor open and pointed to the left, where a staircase led up.

Of course, this palace had no spiral staircases for its former royal inhabitants, only wide ones. Stairs as wide as the corridor, with an illuminated chandelier at each landing. Straight ahead was the Hall of Mirrors. It was as wide as the entire palace, with windows on either side and mirrors filling the spaces between the windows. It was breathtaking, the reddening sky outside was duplicated by the mirrors on the opposite wall. And there I was. I really rocked the jacket. With it and a matching mini-skirt, an evening with Count Radel in my previous life would have easily ended in more than just karaoke. No skirts for me here, no karaoke and most likely no evening with the count. The last thought made me look for Freya.

She was still standing next to the servant at the entrance. "Freya coming!" I waved. "Mirror not breaking looking!" I struck the most seductive poses, and the jacket worked its magic on Freya too. Until she saw her many reflections in the mirrors. She stopped and stared, stunned. Back then, when she first told me about it, I had no idea what a Hall of Mirrors would look like. I had imagined something like a glass labyrinth. But this Hall of Mirrors was so much better.

I grabbed her from behind (although she must have seen me in the mirrors) and threw her into the air. Many Freyas sailed through the mirrors until I caught her. I did some high jumps too. Then I got up on my hind legs and did a simultaneous hip and lower shoulder gyration, belly dancing to the extreme. We were childish.

"Hrmph," warned the servant, who by now also had a very red face. Caught in the act, I dropped to all fours and silently admired the setting sun in the glowing sky and its reflections as Dame Grendel and Count Radel entered the Hall of Mirrors. When I smiled at the count, he struggled to keep his eyes on my face. I enjoyed teasing him.

* * *

Soon after, a servant announced that dinner was ready. It was served in a smaller room on another floor. Only the four of us were seated at the large table. I sat on a very comfortable cushion and each of us had a private server, even Freya.

While she was still wary of Dame Grendel, the sweet wine loosened her tongue. Her answers to Dame Grendel's questions were more than a few sentences long. She told of our journey and much more.

"Where are you from?" Freya had been asked by Count Radel.

I literally turned my ears in her direction, even though I was relying on her mindspeak translation.

"From Gertenfort." And after a second, she added. "Count Radel." Another pause. "So, the domain of Price Pellic."

No one said a word for a while. Only I didn't get the implication. "What?" I began carefully.

"Do you know the law of the first night?" Huh, Freya got angry. "Yes, Freya, the royal bastard. When my mother didn't agree, he killed my father on the wedding night and raped her next to him."

Dame Grendel inhaled and Count Radel was shocked. So was I. Welcome to the Dark Ages. After a while, Count Radel asked, "And you are sure?"

Freya pointed at her hair. "Blonde. My mother is a redhead, her husband was black. Lots of blond children in Gertenfort." She slumped on her chair. "My mother was not allowed to leave. So I fled to the healers at age six. Even Prince Pellic could not stand up to them. So I have not seen her since."

I was still confused. How could a prince do such a thing? "Is Gertenfort not Kren Republic?"

"Yes, it is," said Count Radel, "and Prince Pellic was finally stripped of all his titles and then hanged after a trial. The first noble ever to be condemned by the Kren Republic. And he would have been the king, were Kren still a kingdom."

Freya nodded. "Praise the Republic! Last year they finally hanged that monster. He killed hundreds for fun. Years too late. So many dead."

I swallowed. This was why Freya had a problem with nobility.

"Freya is more lady as I?" I asked, louder than I intended.

Freya shook her head hard, almost soberly. "No, never. I am a healer. Not a lady, never. Healers are always good. No politics."

That had effectively shut down the conversation. In the long silence that followed, Dame Grendel ordered dessert.

We tried to make meaningless comments about the fruits in the pudding and where they came from. But as soon as it was finished, I stood up and bowed to Dame Grendel. "Thank you for good eating. Sorry for late. Thank you for cloth." And bowed again, supporting Freya with one hand, who almost fell over trying to stand up and bow.

"Shank you for sha hoshpilatity, Dsham Grenschel," Freya slurred.

I gently guided her out of the doors. The stairs down, I steered her like a marionette. Had we not been in the palace, I would have hoisted her over my left shoulder and carried her down. Here she stumbled forward as I held her upright by the shoulders.

Finally outside, I put her across my back next to the saddlebag and just moments later we were back in my room. Despite the mildly rough handling, she did not barf on my hide.