On Our Merry Way
I had not slept in my room since the night before the Queen’s tea party and I hesitated to sleep in there until Dorothea showed up at my doorstep again. She asked if I would allow her to cast a protection barrier around my room. She told me that it was only temporary but it would hold until her sister Zebinezer showed up. I was grateful since my hesitancy was due to the fear of that assassin breaking in again. I was still unsettled knowing that The Order was somehow using my family’s blood to send me threats. I had tensed up when Dorothea and Panshad had told me that they were checking up on my family to ensure that they weren’t kidnapped and being bled. Even though all family members were well and accounted for, I couldn’t help but wonder how it is they got blood from my family. It occupied my thoughts for the better part of the night so I wasn’t looking to well when I got up in the morning. I walked over to my bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket and got punched. Dana saw me and gasped, “Your Grace, if you don’t mind my saying so, you look like hell.” I side eyed her, “Thaaaanks. I wasn’t aware that I look like I lost a fight with a prize fighter.” She shook her head, “Sorry, I will draw you a bath and fetch a nice potion that will take the tiredness out of your face. You can’t show up in Mesha looking like that, your mother would be appalled.”
I didn’t argue because, despite it being Blake, she would hate that I didn’t present my best self to a member of the Royal Family. I nodded at her, “Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’m sure the Duchess of Blackwood would find out hastily if I looked like this at the party. I don’t need that heat.” She curtsied and walked to the tub and started to fill it and placed rose oil in the bath then left the room. I went into my room and pulled out the lavender chiffon dress that I had picked up yesterday and pulled out the lavender strappy heeled sandals. I decided not to wear any jewelry and I would wear my hair in a ponytail. I understood, from Blake, that it would be an outdoor garden type of party and it had been a little hot in Vellum lately. I didn’t like my hair to fall on my neck when it was hot. The black hair drew in the heat with insulated my neck with caused me to sweat profusely. I didn’t want to be the noble who sweated the Niagara Falls at Prince Blake’s party that he was throwing in my honor. I heard a knock on my door, “You can come in.” Jess poked her head in and smiled at me, “Xan, you didn’t get sleep. Did you? I bet you were overthinking again.” I sighed, “How is it that we’ve known each other for two months but I feel like you’ve known me for a lifetime. Is that some magical power of yours?” She giggled, “Well it has something to do with being an observant introvert but also my mother is half-psyche so I have a little of those empathic abilities. Those two things make it easy for me to read people. Anyhow, I came in to see if you were awake. I will leave you to it and start to go get ready.”
I waited until I heard the door close to shed my pajamas and slip into the bath water. I sighed as the tepid water glided across my skin and scent of the rose oil reached my nose. Nothing eased my mind quite like a steamy bath with the additive of scented oil. The scent tended to invigorate my soul and the only thing that would make this better would be some relaxing music. Dana came into the room and shouted, “Your Grace, I am going to leave the potion on your vanity. You just need to apply it to the cotton pad and swipe it around your face like those toners that you brought from Terre.” I opened my eyes, “Thank you Dana.” I could hear her feet plodding across the floor before I heard the click of the door. I closed my eyes for a little while longer and decided that I would wash my body and hair. I got out of the bath and walked into my room and pulled a cotton t-shirt out of my dresser. I wrapped the shirt around my head to dry out my hair since my hair it was naturally wavy. I picked up from some video in Terre that cotton t-shirts were the best way to dry your hair when it is textured. Ever since I tried that, my hair was not so frizzy. I still had to style it with product but this lessened the amount I had to use. I got dressed and put my shoes on before I unleashed my hair from its cotton prison. I dried it out with the hair dryer with diffuser attachment and used mousse before I pulled it up in high ponytail. I opted not to go with makeup so I picked up the potion and swiped the formula across my face. I decided I would put a clear gloss on my lips and as soon as I finished swiping it across my lips, I looked up to see my whole face in the mirror. The potion worked miracles in making me look less like a sickly dying person. I nodded, pleased at how minimalist I looked.
I walked out of my room where Derek was waiting for me by the banister and he whistled as I came out of my room, “You look very pretty today, Lex.” I chuckled, “Well you should have seen me when I rolled out of bed. I looked terrible.” He shook his head, “I highly doubt you could ever look terrible.” Jess giggled behind me, “Oh trust me, she looked terrible. I say this in the nicest way possible.” I laughed, “I don’t think there’s a nice way to say someone looked like crap to be honest.” Just then the conversation was interrupted by the soft clicking of small paws on marble. I looked down into the foyer where Sebastian was licking his jowls. Derek said, “It looks like Bash had a truly satisfying meal.” Sebastian looked up at the group of three that were staring at him, he disappeared in a wisp of black smoke which drifted up the stairs and swirled on top of my shoulder. I suddenly felt a wet tongue on my cheek and sweet little bark. I looked over and smiled at him, “Did you eat well my friend?” He smiled and nuzzled my neck. I reached up to grab him and he nestled into my arms and closed his eyes while we walked down the stairs. Jess stuck her index finger out and scratched him behind the ear. He opened his golden eyes just a slit to see who disturbed his sleep and licked her finger. He fell back asleep promptly.
The front door was being knocked on just as we reached the foyer. Dana hurried into the room and pulled open the door to reveal Dorothea standing on the other side. The short old woman looked up at me and smiled, “Your Grace, I hope the barrier held.” I nodded at her, “Yes, it did. Thank you for helping to ease my mind just a little.” She nodded and then her eyes landed on the small pup in my arms. She looked back up at me, “Is that a shadow dog?” I nodded, “That’s right. How did you know?” She chuckled, “I studied mythical beasts in an effort to perfect my potions. There was a little bit of information about these heavenly creatures. I never thought I would see one in my life.” Sebastian opened his eyes and regarded her. He yawned and went back to sleep. I told her, “I think he’s comfortable with you which is strange because with everyone else he needed to crawl on them and sniff them first.” She smiled at me, “I have a natural aptitude for creature taming. He must sense that in me.” I looked around at the group assembled at the foyer, “Well, should we get going? I don’t want to be late for my own party.” The three of my companions nodded and we left the house and got in the carriage. I looked across to Dorothea, she was sitting really close to Derek who had a look of panic in his face. I giggled at the sight of this old woman openly flirting with a man who could have been her grandson and him not wanting to piss her off. I cleared my throat, “So Dorothea, how will this portal work.” She smiled, “We have to clear a way away from your home but I wonder if we can see Vanessa. The brat has asked me to invite her last minute.” I widened my eyes at her announce but knocked on the roof and instructed to head over to Vanessa’s cottage. We pulled up to the cottage and Dorothea hopped out. A few minutes later she had Vanessa in tow, she was wearing a flowy red dress and matching heels. She smiled at me as she climbed in, “Alexandra, you look lovely.” I smiled at her, “As do you. I do wonder what possessed the Prince to invite you to this occasion. I know you two aren’t fans of each other.” We both looked at Dorothea who shrugged, “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.” She then winked a Derek and snuggled into his arm. The next thing I heard was the whoosh of a portal being opened and the flash of light that indicated that we were passing through. Just then I heard, “Nice to be able to contact you again, my child.”
