Chapter 4: Pet Teacher (1)

1.

Immy was dragging me along by the hand, running seemingly in a hurry.

"The tailor is in the inner circle, we have to hurry before it closes tonight!"

When is tonight? How do you even tell time in this place?

She smiles ear to ear as she picks up the pace.

I wasn't used to running on solid ground, I felt so light, it was actually quite exhilarating.

She weaved in between crowds of people, barely giving me any time to inspect my surroundings.

I did notice a few things though, this place seemed not very friendly, especially towards her.

I saw multiple people trying to trip her over while she was running, but she just effortlessly hopped over any obstacle. It was surprising how she could move so effectively in high heels.

The people here also looked hungry, their clothes looked torn, most of them are just basic fabrics sewn together by a beginner.

I guess class divisions exist here as well, everyone can't have a paradise, but these people were probably living better than I was in that cabin, so I didn't have much sympathy.

"Alllrighty! We are here!"

She stops pulling me, we arrive at a huge wall and a gate, she walks up to what seems to be a knight.

Man, they are really going into that medieval aspect, it all seems a bit silly to me, even though I'm sure for these people it's practical.

"Name and business" the knight said, it was slightly muffled, but the voice was firm.

"Imogen"

She then shows the knight the badge she has on her robe.

"Oh…! well. You, you can go along, hav- have a good day"

"Thankssss" she slaps the knights mask, the knight didn't flinch at all but to me it seemed like immy just did something incredibly rude. Turns out she can get away with anything.

I walk beside her but the knight stops me before I can walk the path through to the gate.

"Name and business" he demands, he is grabbing my wrist hard, the gauntlets he is wearing are pinching my skin.

Damn, okay my name, I can just say Z.

I put my head high, trying to exude confidence, why am I so scared? I can't get hurt right?

"It's Z, my business is-"

"He's my slave, get your hands off him"

Slave? What? Wait slaves exist here? The world really did go backwards; to think we went back to slavery within 18 years.

Even though what she said was a lie, I was more of a research subject than a slave.

It revealed to me that this underground city was probably an awful place to live in if you don't have any connections or money.

The knight lets go quickly, shaking as he does so.

Before I walk away I hear the knight say “welcome to the inner circle of Haven Avante kid. Good luck.”

Haven Avante? Is that the name of this city?

The gate was huge, it was a big wooden door that was encased within a wall that stretched for miles, the door had intricate patterns of gold on it which made it look very fancy.

The sound of a wheel turning, then mechanisms.

What was revealed behind the gate's door was a lush version of the city we were just in, the ground was less jagged and had a smoother stone structure, there was a lot of greenery on the houses, and it seemed to be lit better.

The houses material was cleaner too, a lot of them were made of marble and the same gold-streaked fancy wood.

"Surprised?"

She is watching me intently.

"Yeah… it's, nice"

I’m still getting used to my new surroundings, just this morning I was in a freezing cold cabin.

But now…

I couldn't shake the feeling that I shouldn't go in there, it seems too pristine and royal, I don't look the part.

Immy grabs my hand again, and guides me slowly, she isn't running this time, she is elegantly striding to the destination.

Every person here looks rich, and they all turn heads to look at my ragged appearance like I'm some rare creature found in the wild.

Immy notices and tries to soothe my nerves.

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"It's not too far, don't be embarrassed, I didn't look the part either when I first came here"

I follow her movements, but a question was on my mind.

"How long have you been here? When did you arrive?"

She doesn't even turn around as she answers.

"Around 8 years ago, this place wasn't as nice back then, but I was able to make my way in due to something I had in my possession"

"What did you have?"

"You'll see once you reach my manor."

She smirks, I can't see her face but it's clear she is enjoying my reactions.

2.

We arrive at the tailor, but it seems to be a lot more than that.

Through the pristine glass I can see a cafe and a hairdresser, it seemed empty.

"Is it open?" I ask.

The question must of been funny since she chuckles, "anything's open if you have enough money"

What an annoying thing to say, I'm really not sure how I feel about Immy, she has shown no consistency in her personality, it's scary. I'm not even sure if our deal still holds up in her mind.

"Let's go in!"

Immy takes my hand again and walks up to the front door, she begins to knock on it in a strange beat.

After repeating the same pattern of knocking for what seemed like 2 minutes a man opens the door.

He looks young, probably around 16, his hair is messy, and his eye bags are incredibly pronounced. His baggy clothes giving him a laid-back look.

He was slumped over as he opened the door, hanging on the doorknob, was he drunk? He moved his black dark greenish hair to the side and groaned.

"Hello Theo, I want the full treatment on this boy over here please!"

She moves her body so the man can see me, he looks me up and down then back at Immy.

"This is weird, even for you, please don't tell me you two are in a relationship."

She chuckles, she looks back at me to make sure I'm embarrassed by the whole situation.

"So, the full treatment then? Tonight preferably, thank you Theo."

"Right..."

Theo looks at me again.

What? She isn't even going to deny it? Is she trying to kill me with embarrassment? Is this the first experiment?

"I'll be waiting in the cafe, have fun you two!!" She barges her way through the door, pushing Theo slightly, he stumbles out the door to shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Theodore, a blessed child in fine motor skills"

A blessed child? Why does that keep coming up, I've heard it multiple times but I'm still not sure what it means, doesn't matter anyway, for now at least.

"I'm Z, nice to meet you Theodore"

I shake his hand, he lets go and wipes his hand on his pants, then walks inside, I quickly follow him.

Upon entering the building there were three doors, one on the left, one on the right and one straight forward at the end of a hallway, this entrance had a ton of waiting chairs, and the roof was incredibly high.

Placed at the top of the roof was a large chandelier, which had the same gold colour as the linings on the walls, but the actual walls were painted an eggshell white.

He entered the door on the left, so I did too.

The left room was full of the hairdressing equipment I had seen through the windows, there are chairs which seem to be made of leather and tools for cutting hair, it's all very posh.

"Take a seat Z."

I take the seat closest to me, in front of me was a mirror, I hadn't seen my face in ages, so I was expecting a huge difference, but nope.

Same face, same everything.

Sucks, was hoping for facial hair soon, but maybe I just can't age even a little bit, one thing I did notice though, my eye colour was significantly brighter than it used to be.

It used to be dark brown, basically black, but now it's just brown with a tinge of red, it's not that interesting though.

My hair was also longer, reaching close to my shoulders, I normally cut it with a knife every few months to make sure it didn't get in the way while I was hunting rabbits.

Doing that made my hair cut very very rough.

An apron gets tied around my neck to make sure my clothes don't get wet or damaged, which doesn't make much sense since these clothes will be discarded soon.

The apron then quickly gets removed.

Cough cough.

"When was the last time you showered?"

Oh right I probably smell awful.

"Uhm…"

"It's fine don't tell me, have a shower, it's at the end of this room, please use soap, I'll discard of these clothes too, there will be some basic clothes left out for you when you finish"

I get up, this is the most embarrassing moment of my life, I had completely forgot about the fact that hygiene existed, I guess Amelia never really complained, nor Immy.

I walk into the shower, it's decently big, probably used for quick showers for the customers, it had basic soap on a little table near the head of the shower.

I slide the glass sliding door and step into the nice tiles of the bathroom.

It takes me around 2 minutes to take off all my clothes, but once I do I excitedly turn on the shower, full heat.

Aw man an actual heated shower, this is heaven.

The water felt euphoric, the years worth of dirt and grime on my skin begins to deteriorate as I use the soap on my body.

I spent around 20 minutes in the shower, a bit more than I should've, but it took a lot of will power to turn that shower head off.

I slide the door again, I see white pants and a white shirt, my actual clothes are gone, probably to be burnt or something.

Nostalgia wafts over me, I had had those clothes for years, they helped me fend of the cold for ages, and what do they get in return? Thrown away.

I put on the new clothes and instantly begin not caring about old ones, the silk like texture on my skin felt like I was floating through the air.

3.

Theodore was waiting outside, the chair I had sat in had been removed.

Guess they really care about hygiene here, makes sense.

I sit on the second closest chair and without a word spoken the hairdressers apron gets put on me.

"So,you’re from the outer circle I'm

guessing?”

Outer circle? Like the place Immy's cave research centre is?

Should I answer truthfully? What's the harm in saying I'm from the wilderness.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm from the outer circle, lived there all my life"

Yeah, I'll just lie, it's easier.

The apron gets tied tighter around my neck.

"So why is Imogen so interested in you? There's plenty of outer circle peasants she can take."

I'm not sure I like this Theodore guy.

But I do remember something that ginger fellow said when I was captured, asking if they were sure I wasn't just a blessed child instead of a monster.

So I came up with another lie.

"I'm a blessed child, I can heal super quickly"

"Oh!"

Did I say the right thing? I hope so.

I hear scissors being grabbed, oh god is he going to stab me to find out if I'm lying?

Snip snip.

Oh he is just cutting my hair, of course.

He begins to hum, not another word was spoken between us as he cut my hair.

Until.

"You know, goldish blonde hair is pretty rare, I haven't seen anyone with this hair colour before, since blonde people's hair turned white after the snow."

"Oh really? That's interesting"

"Yeah, it is, I originally thought it was white but looked gold because of all the dirt in your hair, turns out I was mistaken"

"Okay?"

It feels like I'm being threatened.

"Anyways, have you heard the news?"

Snip snip, he is working super quickly, his hands are flowing like water as he cuts my hair to be a little shorter and cleaner.

"The news?"

"A new creature was documented, well not officially but there’s rumours, recently actually, like today, has the ability to heal itself from any wound I'm told.”

"Oh really?"

Yeah, I'm being threatened.

He continues to cut my hair, but his hand seemingly slips, and he cuts a piece of my ear off, only a tiny bit.

"Oops. Sorry"

The part of my ear that was missing grows back quickly, I watch it happen in the mirror.

"That blessing of yours, such a rare one."

He cuts my hair a little more, keeping the length pretty long, giving me an almost androgynous look.

"Imogen researches creatures you know, she even wrote the book documenting all of the different types there are in the wild. Such a high-class individual, it would be worrisome if she were to let one roam the streets and play dress up with it"

He taps me on the shoulder with the scissors.

“That would be some serious jail time, maybe even the death sentence.”

I'm frozen, is Immy in trouble? I don't get this at all.

He leans in closer to my ear.

"Want me to dye your hair black? it would save you a lot of headaches, being mistaken for a golden-haired monster."

I'm frozen for about 10 seconds trying to absorb the information.

"Yes please" I sigh.

5.

I look into the mirror, my hair is black now, it feels a lot more natural, guess because I can now recognise myself as the person in my memories.

Theodore undoes the apron and walks to the exit of the hairdresser room.

"Stay here, I need to talk to Imogen about what she wants you to wear."

That went well considering the circumstances.

Ill just wait now, I'm guessing Theodore is also going to talk to Immy about my whole being not human situation.

I pretty much accept there's something severely wrong with me, I mean I have the memories of myself, but I don't age, nor can I get hurt, it still comes as a shock though.

The door opens again, Theodore pops his head out "follow me."

I quickly snap out of my daze and get up, following him down the hallway to the door at the end.

He opens it and it reveals a bunch of wardrobes with pre-made suits and clothes, some look modern and some look medieval.

"Take a seat, Imogen was pretty direct on what she wanted you to wear."

Oh god is it going to be something embarrassing? Like a maid outfit? I really hope not but my few interactions with Immy showed me that that is definitely something she would do.

He brings out a suit.

Oh, it's just a suit, a nice one at that, it's a black blazer with a grey cardigan below it and then a white button up long shirt below that, and some black silk like pants, along with some leather shoes, something I'd never ever wear unless being told to.

"Tell me if it's too big or small, but I can usually tell the dimensions just by looking at someone"

He ushers me to the changing room, and I put on the clothes.

They fit perfectly, but it's a bit cramped, I'm not used to wearing any other clothes other than my loose-fitting jumpers I layered on top of each other in the cabin.

I walk out and Immy is standing by the entrance and spots me walking out.

"Oh my you look sooo cute!!“

She runs up to my and grabs my hands.

"Absolutely stunning, like a little servant!!"

She moves in closer.

"These are perfect clothes for the perfect tutor, isn't that right Theo?" she ruffles my hair.

Wait tutor? That wasn't part of the deal? What could I possibly teach?

"Tutor?" I question

"Yes!! For my daughter, the old one was killed last week and as if fate brought us together, I get something new to research and a tutor that cant die!"

Oh god. This is a nightmare.

End of chapter 4.