This next dish is one of my favourites. Best served with bread to soak up the juices, slow roasted fhe’rabbit meat falls off the bone.

— 144 Classic Claridian Recipes

----------------------------------------

Duke Alexandre balanced an overfilled cup of herbal tea in one hand and a glowing crystal light in the other. He opened his door using his large horns, walked in, then screamed and dropped everything. Veera was standing before him, soaking wet and with her cloak halfway gone. Her feathers were unkempt and her breathing erratic. The window to Alexandre’s room was open, letting a chilly wind inside.

“I startled you,” Veera said as a matter of fact.

“Spirits, Veera! What happened to you?” Alexandre said, moving closer, but Veera stopped him.

“I will explain soon. I must purge the contents of my cloak first,” she said.

“Do you need help?” Alexandre asked.

“Not immediately,” Veera said, “but you are on the way.”

Alexandre realised he had been standing in front of the door this whole time. He stepped away and Veera moved on. After closing the window and curtains, he followed her into the bathroom. When he arrived, she had already climbed into the large bathtub.

“Do you want me to step away?” Alexandre asked.

“No, stay,” Veera said and added soberly, “please.” Alexandre obliged.

Veera reached for her brooch and held it gently. A great quantity of water poured from her cloaks, filling half of the tub of water. From deep within came a great tail that poured out as if it was forced, slithering through the tub like a serpent so large it could never have fit within a normal cloak. She grew in size as more of her was forced from the safe confines of her enchantment. Her size strained the cloth, which had become woefully inappropriate to cover her entire scaly body.

When Veera settled, she was gazing down at Alexandre for almost twice the height she was before. There were no legs, only thick coils.

A hint of shame was visible on the slant of her feathers, so Alexandre kept a serious face to make sure she knew he was not judging her form.

“Fetch me the erdweave,” Veera said, pointing at a floating bundle of cloth on the sea of water in the tub.

Alexandre and Veera spent hours undoing the damage Celara had produced in seconds. They rebuilt the burnt sections, mended the cuts, added the gold trims and tailored it back into shape.

Once everything was ready, Veera reached for her brooch once again, ready to activate the spell within the cloak again, but she stumbled forward. Alexandre tried to catch her but ended up pinned under her weight. She helped him back to his hooves.

“I am unable to activate my cloak,” Veera said. The embarrassment in her voice was clear now.

“Come to my chambers, rest. I will get you some food,” Alexandre said, but as he went to the door, he noticed Veera hadn’t moved.

“Your servants,” she said with some concern.

“They are sleeping,” Alexandre reassured. “No one will see you, don’t worry.”

Veera slithered to the door and peeked out, quickly made her way to Alexandre’s chambers, checked that the curtains were closed, and finally settled down. Alexandre retrieved all the leftovers he could find in the kitchen. When he returned, he closed and locked the door, offering Veera the key, but she politely refused it.

Alexandre was ready to sit down, but Veera’s coils stopped him. She was twisting her body over itself and around him like a snake ready to constrict its prey — except her coils were gentle. The plumage running down her back was soft, her touch was warm, and Alexandre found comfort resting against them.

“Do you want to use the bed?” Alexandre asked.

“Too small.”

“Maybe I can get some pillows and make a little nest—” He saw her tired eyes staring back at him and gave up.

Veera settled over herself, head upon Alexandre’s chest, and he laid back over the coils, comfortable and safe. Veera ate the food she was brought and was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Alexandre woke up with the morning light, a soft rain peppering the window. Clouds over the sky promised a harsher storm soon enough. Veera was sleeping too. She woke up once Alexandre begun to stir and the two of them rubbed horns together.

“Good morning,” Alexandre said. Veera responded with a shiver of her feathers.

They parted ways from their comfortable coil-on-goat-on-coil set up while Alexandre went to get breakfast. He returned with a smile, happy to see Veera in whatever shape she took. “I instructed the servants to not come in unless the house is on fire,” he said. “You can stay and recover for as long as you like.” While he balanced the plate on the thick coils, on top of the feathers, he sat on the coils. “Will you tell me what happened now?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Veera stared for a few moments before speaking, “Celara and I had a confrontation.”

“Spirits Veera!” Alexandre bleated, unsure what he was more surprised at; the fact Veera was alive, or the fact she had done something so terrifyingly stupid.

“But I didn’t see her in the things that left your cloak,” Alexandre said after some consideration. “You couldn’t have taken her home either. That wouldn’t make sense. So is she…”

Veera’s eyes were ominous. “I defeated her,” Veera said. “By now, she is gone.”

“But how—”

“It is best left unsaid,” Veera interrupted.

“Spirits, Veera…” Alexandre’s mouth moved as if he was about to say something, but no words came out. It took several attempts for him to speak. “Did she electrocute you?”

“Yes. Her enchantment was… adequate,” Veera begrudgingly admitted.

“I know she attacked you, but I worked with her… we spoke just the other day. This is quite a shock—” Alexandre cleared his throat after the unintended pun. Whether Veera had caught it, she gave him no signs.

“We’ll talk about this once you are feeling better. But… I feel like this is wrong.” He was still distraught. Veera reached for his hand, looking at him as if acknowledging that he was correct to feel that way.

“Let’s change the subject.” He cleared his throat, forced his voice back to normal, “Do you have any leads?”

“Yes. There are living Crystal Owls in Cajuara—”

“Living owls!?” Alexandre interrupted, then realised he had interrupted and motioned for her to continue.

“—These Crystal Owls destroyed a shipment meant for the Barons.”

“What are the next steps?”

“I will study the documents I retrieved and leave for Cajuara,” Veera said.

“Oh! Wonderful, I’ve been meaning to visit Safe Port again and—”

“It will be far too dangerous to take you,” Veera said.

“No. I have to make sure you won’t get into any trouble. Also, my title might help you get around. It’s best if we are both away until the heat dies down from fighting Celara, yes?” Alexandre offered with a smile.

Veera’s feathers shifted and Alexandre knew that meant she had relented. “Acceptable, but you must promise to stay out of danger.”

“I have to promise that?” Alexandre said, looking at Veera’s sorry state. Her tongue slithered out in begrudging defeat. “I’m going to make some plans and—”

There was a hurried knock on the door.

“Duke,” Irma said from the outside, “some guards are at the gates to see you. I told them you were unavailable, but they won’t listen!” She begun addressing someone outside, “Hey, stay away from the door! The Duke is not to be disturbed!” She yelped.

A forceful knock on the door followed. “Duke Alexandre, open this door immediately by order of the Barons!” It was Master Enchanter Percival.

“Just a second! I’m looking for the key!” Alexandre said, feigning a casual tone. He peeked out the window and saw several fully armoured guards all around his estate. “Veera, what do we do?” He whispered.

“They must be here after me… I must have left some evidence but…” Veera sounded distraught, confused. Alexandre snapped her out of it.

“How much do they know?” Alexandre asked.

“Unknown. I might have been spotted, or they might have a vague suspicion,” Veera said. “I cannot allow them to believe you are an accomplice.”

“What is done is done. You should hide and—”

“Alexandre, open this door immediately or we will tear it down!” Percival ordered.

“They cannot see me like this,” Veera said. She tapped her brooch and, wish some effort, began to retreat back into her cloak. Alexandre saw the strain on her face; she needed more time to rest before spending so much energy. The knocks on the door grew more and more aggressive while she shrunk away. It took several seconds, but she was contained within her cloak once more, projecting the outward appearance of a biped.

“Let’s escape together! It’s going to be quite the adventure—” Alexandre was interrupted.

“Tear it down!” Percival screamed. The knocks turned into slams.

“You will not suffer for my mistakes,” Veera said. She drew Celara’s sword, held Alexandre against her body, and placed the tip of the blade against his neck. “Apologies, I must exonerate you. Play along.”

“Veera, please, don’t,” Alexandre begged, trying to break her grip, but she held on. “Shove me in your cloak, take me with you!”

“I cannot guarantee your safety.”

“I’m not safe here either!” Alexandre exclaimed.

Veera’s eyes darted around in consideration. They settled on the door, feathers slanted back with certainty and she said, “The inn where you chipped your horn in Safe Port, I shall report on my endeavours. Leave Clais as soon as you can. We will meet there. But do not waste your short life waiting for me, there is no guarantee I will be successful.”

“I… I will be there,” Alexandre resigned.

The door hinges popped off.

“Look up to find me. When I am successful in retrieving the Crystal Feathers, I shall take you into the sky.”

The door was kicked off the frame and Percival rushed in, followed by several guards. He was a tall human with a strong build, outfitted with a mix of armour and cloth that served no practical purpose. On his back was an oversized blue cape that dragged on the floor. When they saw Veera pointing the rapier at Alexandre, the guards held off.

“Master Enchantress Veera, you’re here. This saves us time from questioning the Duke,” Percival said. “Get away from him. I have orders to interrogate you about the disappearance of Archenchantress Celara. Come with me and you will be offered a fair trail.”

Veera pressed her sword on Alexandre’s neck as she retreated toward the window. The guards backed off.

“You are arrogant and foolish, Master Enchanter, but not even you are this ignorant. Celara is dead. She knew nothing of the Crystal Feathers, and neither does this useless Duke. I will kill him if you do not withdraw,” Veera growled.

“Let’s all just calm down,” Alexandre said.

“Silence!” Veera growled.

The guards were slowly closing in and Veera ran out of space to move. She had her back against the window.

“Can never trust a lizard…” Percival grumbled under his breath. “Let go of Duke Alexandre and we will talk,” he said.

Alexandre was pushed and suddenly found himself in Percival’s arms. He looked at Veera as she jumped off the window and hurried after her. She landed on top of a bush and headed away from the manor, toward the gates. Before she was too far, she looked back at Alexandre. They exchanged a brief look of trust, friendship, and a hope of seeing each other again. She turned and fled.

Three guards approached her. She tripped the first one with her tail and stepped over him, allowed the second one to pierce through her with his halberd before snapping his elbow with a swift motion. The third guard approached, and she removed the lodged halberd, shielded herself from a blow, and then stabbed the halberd on his neck. The guard collapsed seconds later in his own pool of blood. The way clear, she disappeared in the narrow streets.

Percival cursed and bossed the guards around. He said something to Alexandre, but he tuned it out. Nothing mattered now, only meeting Veera in Safe Port again. His whole being had one purpose, and the rest of the world was grey and meaningless if it couldn’t further it.

Was this how Veera felt about the Crystal Feathers?