Dani stared down at the bracelet. It would make sure he kept his promise? How the hell was it going to do that? And how did he know that was what it was doing? She glanced at him suspiciously. “How much of this stuff are you guessing, and how much do you actually know?”
He laughed, a deep and rich sound that sent a little thrill down her spine. Damn him and that kiss! What the hell had he been thinking? He may not think the reason he did it mattered, but she wanted to know. Was it just part of a game to him? Or was it something else?
“I’ll admit a lot of this is guessing. That spell looked far more complicated than anything I’ve ever seen before. I’ll admit that magic isn’t my field of study, but even if it was...” He trailed off and shook his head before continuing. “But there are certain clues to what spells do if you pay attention. We know the bracelet connects us, but it reacted when I made you a promise. That would seem to me like it was going to make sure I kept it.”
Had it reacted like that when he had promised not to throw her in the dungeon? She frowned as she thought back to their time in the tunnels, but so much had happened that she couldn’t quite remember all the details. “Alright, and what’s it supposed to do if you break your promise? Give you funny ears or something?”
“That depends on the spell. Hopefully it’s something so benign, but I’d rather not take the chance. I am a man of my word M’lady.” Wulfram bowed, pausing in front of a door whose frame was carved in delicate vines and flowers. Each flower was painted with painstaking detail, making them almost seem real. “And this is your room, should you decide to stay here. For right now, please make yourself comfortable while I change.”
He pushed open the door, bowing again and gesturing into the room. She hesitated, wary of a trap. Was he going to lock her in? No, damnit she could trust him! Right? He hadn’t done anything to hurt her, had even put her in a position where she benefited. He was even being surprisingly nice after she had kneed him in the groin.
She admitted silently that that might have been a little bit of an overreaction. But if he had kept kissing her, she wasn’t quite sure what would have happened. But she was sure it would have gotten her in trouble.
“Dani, it’s alright.” Wulfram said softly, his voice as gentle as the fingers that brushed along her cheek. “You’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you or lock you away.”
A blush rose in her cheeks, and she raised her chin slightly. “What makes ya think that I was assuming that?”
“I haven’t known you very long, but I know that your freedom matters greatly to you. And you’re still paranoid about me locking you up.” He cupped her chin, his hand warm, his thumb lightly brushing against her lips. “I’m not going to lock you up Dani. Here, let me show you the room.”
He stepped into the room, leaving the door wide open for her. She hesitated a moment before shrugging and following him in. It wouldn’t hurt to at least look. She should probably just stay here, it would beat getting kicked by Azra every night.
The room was large, with high ceilings and soft green carpet that stretched from one wall to the other, nearly hiding the rich brown wood of the floor. The main room itself was bigger than Raycor’s entire house, with a luxurious brown sofa and two chairs set in front of a fireplace, and a small table and chairs sat in front of a set of doors that opened out onto a small walled-in garden. She froze as she looked around, her eyebrows raising as she let out a low whistle. “Holy shit.”
“Through here is the bed if you wish to take a nap.” Wulfram pushed a set of double doors open on one side of the room, allowing her to see another room with the same type of carpet as the first, a large four post bed, light blue curtains tied loosely around each post.
“And through here is the washroom.” He opened a second, smaller door, this one leading into a room with a deep inset tub, a wash basin, and what could only be a toilet. She had heard rich people had toilets inside their homes before, but she had never actually seen one. But there was no mistaking it, a chair with a hole for your business, and water to flush it away to gods only knew where. She suspected the mages knew where it went. “The garden is private, so you don’t have to worry about someone coming in from there, and I’ll be just a couple doors down from here to your left. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
Dani couldn’t help but gawk at the luxury of the room, the massive amount of space. Every time she thought she had seen everything she noticed something different: a modest desk set into a corner next to a tall bookshelf, or a windchime which played in the gentle breeze of the garden, or the fact that the handles on the fireplace tools were polished wood and gold. “I could use a drink.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Gods could she ever use a drink. She dropped into one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, sinking into the deep cushions. How the hell did people live like this?
“I’ll have someone bring you a light wine, do you prefer sweet or dry?” Damn him, he was looking far too pleased with himself.
“Uhm... sweet, but not that syrupy shit I guess.” This all felt so unreal. Like she was in some kind of strange dream and would wake up at any moment.
Wulfram chuckled, tracing a hand along her shoulder as he walked back to the door. “Not that syrupy shit... understood. Get some rest, I’ll be back shortly.”
And then he was gone, leaving her alone in a room that dwarfed Raycor’s entire house. They could all sleep comfortably in here, hell, even the floor felt soft enough to sleep comfortably on! She turned a little in the chair to look at the bed. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she stood up and walked over to it. It couldn’t possibly be that different from the beds she’d been in before, could it?
This was stupid, what the hell was she doing? It was just a damn bed and here she was obsessing over it! Dani rolled her eyes at her own foolishness, and laid down on the bed.
“Oh shit....” She whispered, her eyes widening as she sunk into the soft mattress, the faint smell of flowers engulfing her. It was like sinking into a cloud! A soft, comforting cloud. “Oh shit, I’m in trouble.”
“You most certainly are!” A sharp voice cut through her short-lived relaxation. “Get out of that bed this instant!”
Dani closed her eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. Leave it to some random woman to come and cut into what was damn near a religious experience. Wulfram had barely been gone five minutes, and this random woman shows up. She cracked open an eye to see who she was dealing with. The woman was short and slender, wearing one of the dark uniforms she had seen on the staff as they came in. She was a pretty older woman, with her hair pulled back into a simple bun and her hands on her hips.
Dani let out a snort and rolled over to put her back to the woman. “Nah.”
The woman sputtered behind her, and Dani smirked, picturing the look that had to be on her face.
“You have your shoes on! You’re going to get the bedspread dirty!”
Dani wiggled her boots off, letting them fall to the floor with two muffled thuds. “Happy now?”
“Most certainly not!” Even with the soft carpet she could hear the whisper of footsteps approaching the bed. “Who are you? Why are you in this room?”
“I’m resting while Wulfram gets dressed. Do you sleep in a bed like this? Maybe I should get a job here instead of with Mrs. Haversaun.”
“Wu- you mean his highness Prince Wulfram? You can’t just call him by his first name! Who are you? Get out of that bed!”
“I can if I want to. What kind of life is it to have people always calling you Prince this and your highness that?” Reluctantly she sat up, meeting the woman’s gaze squarely. “That’s no way to live.”
“It’s a show of respect!” The woman looked Dani over from head to toe. “You don’t look like a noble, how do you know his highness?”
“You sure got a lot of questions.” Dani slipped her feet back into her boots and stood up. Gods getting up from that bed was hard. Maybe she should take Wulf up on his offer to stay here, if just for the bed! She just bet that had been his plan... to woo her with the bed. “I’m Dani, and I saved his life. Granted he saved mine too, but there you have it. Who are you?”
The woman’s mouth dropped open, and a bit of the color left her face. “Y-you’re her? You’re the one who saved him?”
“Sure am.” She might as well go with it now, he had told too many people to back out. And she supposed if they stretched the truth a bit she did save him from getting crushed by the collapsing building. “He said this was my room if I wanted it.”
“I- I apologize, I didn’t realize! My name is Hannah, at your service M’lady.” Hannah dipped into a curtsy, her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry for my rude behavior.”
That was a quick turn around. Dani watched the woman, her eyebrows raising at the curtsey and sudden politeness. It made her squirm a little inside. “Don’t worry about it, how were you supposed to know? I could have just been some random woman sleeping in the bed.”
“Just so, Lady Dani. That’s very generous of you. Is it- is it truly Dani?” Hannah asked cautiously, glancing up at Dani.
“I prefer Dani, but my full name is Daniella.” She suppressed a sigh, resigning herself to her fate. What did people have against Dani? It was short, simple, and didn’t immediately peg her as a girl. That had been more important when she was younger, or at least more effective. But that was back before she had started to develop breasts. Those made it a lot harder to pass as a boy, but a lot easier to get free drinks.
“Ah, Lady Dani then, yes. Is there anything I can get for you?”
“Wulfram said he was going to get me some wine. And you don’t have to call me lady.” She was right about the title making things much more awkward. Who wanted to be called lady all day long?
“Oh! Yes.” Hannah blushed and curtsied deeply. “I’ll make sure that’s brought right away M’lady.”
“Thank you.” Oh gods this was getting awkward. Dani looked at the door. “You can go now if you want....”
“Thank you M’lady.” Hannah couldn’t quite hide the relief on her face. She let out a soft breath and hurried out the door. Dani pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes.
“I really need a drink now.”