The tour was boring for the most part. Marcelle showed me all around the floor that contained my bedroom as well as the throne room. There were a lot of public areas, all of which were populated by beautiful women.
“Who are these people?” I asked as we passed the third room. “Are they my sisters? And why don’t my menus work?”
It would have been an easy task to identify them if I could pull up their traits and look for the M bloodline. Marcelle steered me through the door to yet another room. “These women aren’t related to you. They were chosen to be consorts for your father.”
“That reminds me,” I muttered. “Why does dad need so many girlfriends in the first place?”
Marcelle froze which caused Ulli to crash into her. She cleared her throat and started walking, not bothering to look back. “We don’t talk about that. Let me show you the bathhouse. While there are usually no men up this high outside of your father, you have unrestricted access to all facilities on this floor.”
Steam leaked into the hall as we approached the sprawling bathhouse. My eyes bugged out of my head when I ducked through the curtain that served as a door. Inside the crowded bath were dozens of naked women all in various states of undress. Some looked up at me before going about their business, apparently oblivious to the fact that I had entered the room.
I beat a hasty retreat, my head spinning. Ulli giggled and Marcelle had to shush her before moving on to the next location. “I would have thought you’d be more excited about the bath. Perhaps you aren’t his son after all.”
I had a feeling I knew what she meant. Dad was a player. The concubine suites, as I’d taken to calling them, consisted of four major parts. The main section contained the throne room where he sat on his throne surrounded by what I guessed were his favorite women. Then there were the lounges for the rest of the women.
The third looked like a large restaurant, big enough to seat hundreds. It was the first time I saw another man since I arrived. He stood behind an army of comparatively plain women in white outfits and aprons barking orders like he was Gordon Ramsey. Everyone hustled to prepare meals with systematic haste.
Marcelle weaved a path through the room to a grand table raised on a dais. “This table is always reserved for you. All you need to do is take a seat and the head chef, Achemes, will make you anything you desire.”
“Even Earth food?” I asked as my stomach rumbled noisily. If I wasn’t going to be able to edit up some food, I was likely going to have to learn the system if I wanted to eat.
Marcelle nodded, holding out a chair and inviting me to sit. “He can make food from every known world in every known dimension. Some of it isn’t suited for humans though, so I’d advise caution when looking at the menu.”
Achemes, who had been watching me as I made my way through the room, began wading over the moment my butt hit the seat. Both Marcelle and Ulli stood quietly behind me. When Ulli’s stomach rumbled, I laughed. “If you’re that hungry, take a seat. Eat with me.”
She hesitated but Marcelle answered for her. “Go on, you can sit. The young lord invited you.”
“You too,” I said, motioning to one of the empty chairs. The table itself was a full-sized banquet table with enough seating for twenty.
“If you insist,” she replied, her tone sounding much more pleased than her words.
Achemes ignored both of them when he arrived. “Welcome, My Lord. It is an honor to serve you this evening. Tell me, what is your pleasure?”
I looked at Marcelle and Ulli, hoping one of them had conjured up a menu from somewhere. They both hesitated. Not getting any help from either of them, I said, “Ladies first. I’ll order after.”
Marcelle smirked at me and said, “I’ll take an Ulvian Special.”
Ulli fidgeted and whispered, “I’d like the taco plate.”
That gave me some options. I could take the safe route and order Earth food, or live on the edge and try something new. I locked eyes with Marcelle and said, “I’ll take an Ulvian Special too.”
Achemes lip curled up in a smile. “Very good, sir. And to drink?”
Again, both girls turned to me. I grinned back and replied, “Give me a type of soda I’ve never tasted before.”
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The smile grew wider. “Consider it done.”
Marcelle ordered some wine I’d never heard of but Ulli surprised me by saying, “I’ll have what Lord Melvin is having.”
We sat in silence for a while after the chef left. Finally, when I could take it no more, I asked, “What exactly is the Ulvian Special?”
Marcelle’s mouth fell open. “You mean to say you ordered it not knowing what it was? I hate to tell you this, but it’s not exactly for everyone.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Ulli whispered. “She means it’s spicy.”
Marcelle decided to make it a teaching moment, “The people of Ulvar have very weak taste buds and can only taste extremely strong flavors. Their favorite taste is heat. Don’t worry. Surely you have ways of handling spicy food. The Creator certainly enjoyed it the one time he dined with me.”
“You had dinner with my dad?” I asked, wondering what kind of relationship they shared.
The look of dejection on her face told me it hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped. “Yes. I was invited to brunch with him once on my birthday.”
After an awkward few minutes of silence, Ulli leaned over and whispered in Marcelle’s ear. “You never told me you ate with The Creator.”
Fortunately for me, my hearing was still enhanced enough to make out what she was saying. Marcelle shook her head urgently at Ulli and said, “It doesn’t matter. We’re with Lord Melvin now. He’s our priority.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about being someone’s second choice. Fortunately, I didn’t have time to dwell on it when three platters were delivered to our table along with a variety of beverages. While the food scared me, the drinks looked delicious. Achemes went overboard, lining the table with glass bottles filled with various colors of carbonated beverages. Ulli hesitated but I could see her excitement as she looked over the selection. I motioned to them and said, “You pick first.”
“Can I?” She asked, reaching for a purple bottle that I decided must be grape.
“Sure,” I replied, hesitating between a red and a blue one. While blue was my favorite color, red reminded me of Kalli.
I picked up the red bottle and nursed it for a minute while the other two started to eat. The red soda had a sweet flavor that kind of reminded me of strawberry but there was something bitter in it too. It helped the fruity beverage not be too sweet.
Marcelle explained. “That’s raddiberry soda. From the planet Herschwind. It’s quite popular.”
Deciding I could hold out no longer, I hoisted the domed top off of my platter and was met by a wave of steam. Immediately, I knew I made a mistake. My nose burned like I’d just taken a mouthful of wasabi. I slammed the lid down and wiped my eyes which were already watering from the heat. Ulli let out a giggle and somewhere on the edge of my consciousness, I heard Marcelle try to silence her while I fought to regain control of my senses.
After several bottles of soda and half a pitcher of water that was hastily brought out, I finally felt normal again. We agreed to give my plate to Marcelle and Ulli, who had switched places with her to sit between us, shared a taco with me while I had the chef make me a plate of my own.
“What’s Earth like?” She asked as I savored the taco. “The food is so good that I imagine it must be wonderful.”
“You’ve never been to Earth?” I asked her. “What planet are you from?”
“I was born here,” she explained. “I’m not one of his kids, so I managed to work my way up the tower. Marcy tells me I did pretty good to make it this far even if you claim me.”
“Claim you?” I asked. Ulli seemed like she was about to reply when Marcelle elbowed her. Then she made a show of choking on a taco and didn’t answer.
I had a strong feeling dad was trying to set me up with replacements for Kalli. It was too bad he didn’t realize Kalli was irreplaceable and I had every intention of finding her. Death wasn’t going to stand in the way of that.
----------------------------------------
After dinner, we concluded the tour and arrived back at my room. I realized I hadn’t seen any other bedrooms. “Where do all of those women sleep?”
Marcelle answered. “That depends. Most of them sleep on the floors below this one. They are good enough to visit this floor during the day but must sleep elsewhere. The floors above this are reserved for The Creator and the lucky few he chooses to claim. Those who ascend are typically only there for less than a year. Nobody knows why but he usually doesn’t settle on a single woman for very long. While it’s not uncommon for chosen women to be with child, nobody knows what happens to them after that. They usually vanish. The popular rumor is that they move off-world. We know his children lead privileged lives, so it’s assumed the mothers do as well. This is the reason so many women aspire to gain his favor. It’s rare for his children to ascend. Some say he intends to train you to be his heir. That’s just a rumor though.”
I sat on one of the many chairs in my room as I took it all in. Was I being groomed to take over for my old man? Was that why he brought me to Origin? There was one thing that was confusing. “Why did you call him The Creator? Are you saying he creates life like some kind of god?”
“Not exactly,” she explained. “He doesn’t create life. He created the system.”
While I knew my dad had something to do with it, I didn’t know he created it. I was overwhelmed and needed time to think. There was so much new info to digest not to mention I needed to come up with a plan to rescue Kalli.
“I think I’d like to take a bath and go to bed.” I began as I rose from my chair. “Can the two of you come back later?”
Marcelle shook her head. “We’re assigned to you. I’d be more than happy to wash your back if you’d like to enjoy a bath. As for the two of us, we live with you, so we don’t have anywhere else to go.”
My shoulders slumped as it dawned on me what my dad had planned for the two of them. “I can bathe myself thank you very much. Just make yourselves comfortable I guess.”
“As you wish, Lord Melvin.” She said dutifully, standing by the door.
I stared at the two of them for a moment. “If you’re going to live here, you can’t just stand guard all the time. Relax, both of you. Consider it an order.”
Ulli heaved a sigh of relief and made her way to the nearest couch where she slumped over. Marcelle sat daintily in a nearby chair. “Very well. We will be here when you return.”