Chapter Thirteen

The next day Jay woke later than normal. Katie had somehow discovered his false relationship and he had spent several hours the previous night avoiding attempted assassinations as he tried to explain the situation to the woman. She calmed down once he revealed in private it was all a ruse to avoid royal attention. He didn’t understand why she, of all people, was so upset. He had never expressed romantic interest, and was starting to rethink all of those combat lessons as he finally dozed off.

He groaned as he blinked awake. Katie was knocking on his door. A messenger from the governor was waiting in the common room. Why did she sound angry? He’d figure it out later. Jay quickly threw on a layer of casual clothing before heading down to greet the waiting individual. He would return upstairs and finish his morning routine after, or so he thought as he rounded the corner to find Princess Elise perched atop a stool at his bar. Jay froze in mid step, eyes wide in surprise before his brain began signaling fight or flight responses, leaning heavily towards a strategic withdrawal. He wasn’t running away he rationalized, he was simply regrouping in order to attack from a different direction.

Unfortunately, she had witnessed the entire thing, a hand going to her mouth to hide an uncharacteristic smile as Jay quickly backed around the corner. His next training session with Katie was going to be a painful lesson, he mentally swore to make her pay for this. It was a small wonder she had been pissed. Jay returned to his room and made himself presentable.

Elise was basking, replaying the moment over and over in her head, a silly little smile hidden by her petite hand. The look of complete surprise mixed with the still sleep ruffled hair had made for a remarkably cute image. She was surprised at her own reaction. It was amazing what a little bit of mystery did to her. All of those nobles from the court were completely transparent in their desires. This new man who apparently lacked any feelings for her at all was quite refreshing.

Jay returned shortly thereafter, his hygiene and appearance more suitable for the present company. He still wore his day-to-day clothing, foregoing the more fanciful dress that he had worn the previous day.

“Princess Elise, what a pleasant surprise.” Jay couldn’t help but mentally gripe; Surprise? Definitely. Pleasant? Debatable. He was sure he wouldn’t have to deal with these people for another day, and this sudden visit was throwing a wrench in his day.

“Master Trinity, apologies for the sudden appearance. My father sent me ahead to inform you the rest of my family will be visiting your lovely establishment shortly. We are all quite curious about your tamed Drenz.” Jay couldn’t help but frown slightly and quickly gave instructions to Heidi for preparations to receive their guests.

“Princess, I should warn you now, I did not tame my companions. They listen to me only because they are fond of my presence and view me similarly to an alpha of their pack. They usually do not appreciate other human adults. Also, my apologies, but I will also be unable to entertain guests for longer than an hour. I have prior engagements and preparations to make before the event.” Jay was succinct, yet courteous. Everything he said was true, but he may have twisted it slightly to give him an escape route. He definitely had more than an hour’s worth of time, but dealing with the royal family for longer than sixty minutes exponentially increased his chances of saying or doing something to get himself in trouble every minute beyond that limit.

“That will be more than enough time,” King Darius said as he strode through the entrance, queen and prince in tow. “We simply wish to see the notorious beasts. I’m sure you know, but Drenz have long been considered one of the most dangerous predators on Drask, so the opportunity to see one in person from relative safety is a great treat.”

The princess hopped off her perch at the king’s entrance as Sille, the few customers and the inn’s staff bowed and curtsied to the royal visitors. “Your majesty, thank you for honoring our establishment with you and your family’s presence. Can I offer our guests any refreshments? We have beer, wine, various teas and water available.” The king waved the pleasantries away. “All of you rise, I am simply a visitor in another’s home. We will pass this time, Master Trinity, thank you. Now then, we won’t take up much more of your time, please lead the way, Jay.”

Nodding his assent, Jay walked through the kitchen into the inn’s backyard. Bane could be seen curled up, dozing lightly in the far left corner. Kara wasn’t present. She was most likely either with Katie in her room or lounging on his own bed. Jay strolled up to Bane, plopping down and pulling the big cat’s head into his lap while rubbing and scratching his head and ears.

“This is Bane. Kara appears to be hiding at the moment.” Bane took this opportunity to crack an eye and yawn, conspicuously revealing his razor sharp teeth, each easily as long as a dagger, before nestling his head further into Jay’s lap and purring contentedly sending deep vibrations into the surrounding atmosphere. The royal family kept their distance, warily eyeing the large beast that Jay so brazenly doted on. “I don’t know if you were aware,” Jay continued after a moment, “But Drenz are immensely intelligent. Both of them understand our language and can communicate on an even level with humans.” Bane snorted, as if to say humans were the stupid ones, much to Jay’s internal amusement.

“I see. That is indeed quite interesting. Thank you for taking the time to indulge our curiosity.” The king nodded his head in preparation to depart. He too, had much he still needed to accomplish before the celebration. As they turned to leave, the prince boldly strolled forth to a few paces away from the cuddling pair, only stopping when a deep throated growl of warning rippled out.

“Your pets are impressive, I would like to purchase this one. How much would you like for it? Cost is no problem.” Jay schooled his face to what he hoped was a neutral expression. He wanted nothing more than to sneer at the arrogant little lordling. Stealing a glance at his relatives, the princess was as stony faced as ever, rolling her eyes inconspicuously, as if this stupid request was the norm. The queen held a wide-eyed, surprised expression with a slight side of horror while the king held only irritation.

“Apologies, Prince Darius, but as I explained earlier to your sister, they are not my pets, they are my pack, my family. I did not tame them, they adopted me. I cannot sell to you what I do not own, and would not part with them even if I could.” Jay repeatedly stamped out the anger slowly building in his chest, attempting to distract himself from the arrogant insect’s posturing and insults. The king, with a now equally neutral mask, suddenly cut in before his son could dig a deeper hole for himself.

“That’s rather unfortunate. It must be nice to have such dependable companions. Darius, you heard the man, we have business to attend to as well so we must depart. Thank you again, Master Trinity.” With an icy look in his eyes, the king once more turned and departed, trailed by an angry son and an embarrassed queen. The princess stayed a moment longer, curtseying once in thanks before following her family.

“Such a troublesome family,” Jay murmured to Bane, who grunted his agreement. He sighed deeply. He was already tired and ready for a nap, and he still had to go shopping for an appropriate garment for Talli. Absentmindedly, Jay continued scratching under Bane’s chin for several more minutes before finally removing himself from beneath the massive beast.

After retrieving his purse of coins, Jay left Drenz Rest and headed to Market Circle. The best tailors in the city could be found among the numerous shops and stands crowding the area, and Jay knew only the most beautiful dress would work for his date. Anything less would be both an insult to Talli’s beauty and serve as a detriment to his plan to appear invested in a relationship.

He searched for hours, stopping only for a brief lunch, to find the perfect dress. He started at the most famous stores, known throughout Drenna as high tier boutiques and patronized only by the very wealthy. Jay searched and searched, but nothing fit the mental image he held in his head. Most dresses were too bright, or contained too much fabric, or looked more like a torture device than an actual article of clothing; and so Jay continued searching.

The sun was well on its way in its descent to the horizon, casting the sky in various shades of pinks, purples and oranges, when Jay trudged into a low class, somewhat ramshackle store. It was well off the beaten path and located deep within the labyrinthine backstreets of Shren. He had located the store purely based on a bit of luck and good timing.

As he glanced around, Jay could see multiple piles of precariously stacked clothing, looking almost as though they would topple over at a slight breeze, scattered throughout the store. Most were in incredibly poor condition while others of a bit finer quality could be seen hanging in groups. He was mildly surprised to find several well-made pieces hidden among some of the groups of clothing. As he made his way through the store, he came across the clerk manning the counter. A young girl, no older than twelve, sat stitching a linen shirt on a stool at the back, barely giving him a glance as she resumed her work.

“Hi, welcome to Valiz Tailoring,” she droned with a bored, well-rehearsed tone. “How can I assist you today?” Jay paused, momentarily thrown off balance by the complete lack of emotion and apathy in the girl’s monotone expressions.

“Ah! Yes, I’m hunting a dress. Something formal and well-made.” Jay had long since stopped requesting ball gowns specifically. With the current styles, none would have done Talli any justice, so he had modified his requests to more accurately accommodate the image he held. The girl stopped mid stitch, giving Jay a look that seemed to scream, ‘Are you an idiot?’ and ‘Why me, God?’ at the same time.

Sighing, the girl set her needle and thread aside and hopped off her stool. “One moment, I think I have the thing you’re looking for.” Jay cocked his head at the curious phrasing as the girl stepped into the back of the shop. A few minutes passed as Jay patiently waited, mostly out of idle curiosity, when a rather dusty and irritated young girl came traipsing back through the door. She held out a small, wrapped bundle, which Jay gingerly accepted.

Carefully unwrapping the parcel, Jay held out the most beautiful dress he had ever laid eyes on. Shimmering sapphire blue rippled like a briefly disturbed deep lake. The sleeves ran down to just above the elbows, while the top was form fitting, releasing a flowing layer of fabric that loosely spread from the waistline. The material was smooth, the softest and most supple fabric he had ever seen, yet somehow still managing to seem firm and unyielding. It was almost identical to the image he held, and may even be better than what he had envisioned.

“How much?” This was it, there was no question and no price would dissuade him. The little girl could be seen hesitating. “Fifty gold. The material itself is made from spider magical beast silk but it’s also been enchanted with auto-cleaning, self-repair and auto-fit, so it won’t need any adjustments.” Jay blinked. “Honestly, selling it for that little is something close to a crime, but Granny’s word is law,” the child muttered under her breath.

Jay ignored the additional comment, pulling the gold from his pouch and placing it in a small pile on the counter. Fifty gold was nothing to the several hundred he now possessed, and the girl was correct, this was nearly robbery at that price. Jay was passingly familiar with enchantments, as he had once wanted to enchant the basement of his inn with an ice rune to help preserve the food and drinks stored within. However, enchantments in this world were incredibly expensive, and the price of a hundred or more gold at the time for a single ice enchant was a luxury he could not afford. Having three on an already rare material made this garment nearly priceless. He would not look a gift horse in the mouth, silently paying and then bowing low to the back room in gratitude for the gift, where he felt ancient, yet mirthful eyes watching him.

Rewrapping the dress and stowing it carefully in his bag, Jay beat a hasty retreat, excitement building within as he made his way back to Drenz Rest. Tomorrow would be an amusing day. Talli’s and the noble’s reaction would be a memory he would not soon forget.