Days slipped by and she decided to start stealing a few more of her belongings from her room, sticking to the outside of the castle. It had become more interesting and fun to her as the days passed.
She had managed to steal a broom and pan, using it to remove the spiders and sweep the floor. She loathed spiders… Though if she were being honest with herself, she was terrified of them, and any insect for that matter. All those scuttling legs triggered some part of her mind and made her skin crawl. At least the broom made it easy for her to squash them from a distance.
She had made herself a bed out of blankets and pillows. Aside from several of her books and a healthy supply of candles, she left everything else down there. It would have been perfect if she had managed to get her alchemy supplies up there, but she felt that might be pressing her luck too far.
At that stage, 'the powers that be' seemed content to leave her alone, so long as she did not leave. She wanted things to remain this way as long as possible and for the time being, they did not stop her. It would not take the vampire brothers long to find her if they made half an effort, anyway.
She spent her days reading, safe and secluded up in her tower hideaway but none of her books gave her much information. What she needed were the books the lich kept hidden in his room from prying eyes.
It was not worth getting caught sneaking into his rooms and she had to wonder if there was a main library that she could get to.
Deciding to make that her mission for the day, she set off towards the main section of the castle and slipped in through one of the windows on the top floor. She wore only a simple dark grey dress, knowing she did not look the part of a princess, but she did not care. She was on a mission.
It took her the better part of an hour to find anything that even vaguely resembled a library in that enormous place. She found all sorts of interesting things, including a storage room containing nothing but the castle guard helmets, and a couple in the middle of… couple things. She found a supply of linen, and a cupboard with a full suit of armour stuffed in it.
The library was small. It smelled damp and looked dingy but she was willing to give it a go.
Crossing to the first row of shelves, she picked out one, frowning at the title. It was a language she had never seen before.
Flipping it open, the pages stuck together and made a squelching sound when opened. The whole thing was filled with a strange language. It looked more like pictures than a written script.
Setting the book back on the shelf, she tried a few more, but they were all in that same writing.
Cursing under her breath, she turned away only to freeze at the sight of the Princess of Weorene.
She had not seen the ghostly woman since the first day she had been brought to the castle.
"Hello…" Etani said warily, unable to contain a sudden burst of curiosity about the princess and why she was always entirely covered.
"Hello," the princess said gently. Her voice was low and melodic, with an odd lilt Etani could not place.
"You're the Princess of Weorene, right?"
The princess nodded, remaining perfectly still as though she were made of marble between movements.
"My name is Etani," she offered, trying to figure the strange girl out.
The veil that covered the girl moved weirdly, and Etani took an immediate step back, just in case. There was definitely something under that veil that didn't seem entirely human.
"You are able to read that?" the princess asked, ignoring the introduction.
"No, it's in a foreign language. Can you?"
The princess nodded and moved forward, her hands lifting to see the book. Even her hands were covered with thin gloves.
"This is a book on farming in marshlands," she said, reading the cover.
Now that the princess was close, she smelt odd. It was hard to place the smell; reptilian, almost. But it was a gentle smell, light and somehow soft. It was not unpleasant though it was unexpected.
"Is this your language?" Etani asked, and the girl nodded. "Where is Weorene?"
The princess looked up, her head tilting slightly to the side.
"Not from here? Weorene is from the southwest, deep in the swamps." The way the princess pronounced the 's' note made her think she was indeed a reptilian.
"I did not know the swamps had a ruler; I was led to believe it was no-man's-land." Placing the book back, she stepped away and considered the library. Odds were, this was the princess's private library that she had walked in on.
"My father was elected king. Kings like Alaric do not consider that to be actual royalty." The princess's tone when speaking of the King made her smirk.
"Not a supporter of the good King Alaric, I see?"
The princess shook her head and then froze.
"Wait, I recall now. You're the prince's assassin, correct?"
"Yes, I work for Prince Epharis." The princess took a half step back and Etani's cheeks flushed. "I am not here to harm you, princess; I found this room while hunting for a library."
The rigidness in the princess's shoulders eased.
"I assumed King Alaric had sent you to get rid of me. He is under the false impression that I am here in the hopes that our kingdoms will be joined in marriage. I assume my father hoped for the same," the princess said angrily.
"I am sorry to hear that, princess, the men here are… interesting," she said, feeling genuine pity for her.
"Please, call me Nayishma. Everyone here calls me princess and forgets I have a name."
"All right, Nayishma, may I ask why you remain covered?" She could not help but ask, it was nagging at her.
"For modesty, and to keep my heritage private from prying eyes. Few know of what my mother is."
"And what is she?"
"A Gorgon."
The word hung between them for a long moment as Etani processed the turn of events. Gorgons were supposed to be legend, nothing but a legend. Everyone knew the names of the Gorgon sisters, but no one knew if they were real, let alone were capable of breeding with a human.
"Who... Who is your mother?"
"Stheno."
She did not know what to say to that; instead, she could only stare at the girl before her.
"You're the offspring of the Gorgon Stheno…" Finally, after the minutes had stretched by.
"You don't believe me?" the princess asked, sounding hurt.
"It's hard to process. The gorgon sisters were only legend, a story."
The princess nodded and, to Etani's horror, she lifted her veil.
The princess was undeniably exquisite with rich, dark red-bronze skin that melded into small patches of scales around her neck, jaw, and chest. Her hair was a glittering red that started as coils and ended in the diamond heads of snakes. She had full, pouting lips and amber eyes that were slitted like a snake's. Her tongue was human, along with her arms, face and torso. She also seemed to have the legs of a human woman as well.
"May I?" Etani spoke as if in a dream and when the princess nodded, she reached out to trace her bare fingers down the long coil of the snake, cupping its head in her hands.
It was surprisingly light, not like an actual snake at all, and it blinked at her as though her curiosity amused it. That was both creepy and fascinating.
"You're fae?" Nayishma asked curiously.
"Yes," Etani replied simply, utterly captivated by the incredible woman before her.
"I've never met a fae before." The princess seemed just as captivated by her.
"I've never met a half-gorgon before."
"I'd be very surprised if you had," Nayishma said with a giggle. They looked at each other for a long moment and then smiled.
They had both just made a new friend.
***
After that day she spent much of her time with Nayishma in the library, talking quietly and getting to know her. They had both been lonely, and while Nayishma had her maids, it was not the same as having an actual friend.
Etani was just glad she had someone who did not expect anything from her, someone who cared about her, and treated her like a person rather than an object or tool.
They talked about the men in Nayishma's life. Etani learnt that the princess did not desire men. She had not ever met someone who did not find attraction in the opposite sex, and it fascinated her.
It had not bothered her at all, especially given the fae tended to not care what the sex their lovers were. Same-sex couplings were just as common as opposite-sex couplings, and having more than one lover was considered fairly normal, especially for the queens of Faerie. They were expected to have multiple husbands and lovers to ensure there was plenty of opportunities for female heirs. They did not tend to mind if a queen took a female lover, so long as she was still with men as well. There had only been one case of a queen not liking men and they had found a way to work around that, inseminating her when the time came. She eventually gave birth to a girl, two of them in fact, and a boy. It had terrified the court at first.
So, to meet a woman who only liked other women was an anomaly to her, and she had pelted the princess with question after question. After the first few, Nayishma seemed to realise that Etani was not judging her, but was genuinely fascinated. She had been quick to explain the situation in Faerie and that had smoothed it over completely.
When the subject of her own sexual preference came up, she blushed furiously and managed to stammer out that she had none.
Nayishma had been stunned to learn that Etani had not ever been with a partner. Etani learnt that Nayishma had two girlfriends in her past, but neither had worked out. Given that Nayishma was the only child born to the king, it was not a good thing that she was not interested in men.
It was not like a woman like her would not be able to reproduce enough to provide an heir of her own, it just wouldn't be with her chosen lover, given her lover wouldn't have the necessary bodily functions required for procreation.
They were frank with each other, questioning the other about their histories and their bodies, the embarrassment quickly leaving them, and their conversations became rather earthy at times.
Nayishma had been indignant to find out that most fae did not menstruate but were fertile. She had explained that the female's egg did not leave the body every month, it stayed in the womb, ready to be fertilised until conception. Sometimes the womb could be damaged, or the conception could fail, but given how low the fertility rate was with the fae, the fact that the women did not menstruate was a good thing. Most did not even consider children until after they were well over one thousand anyway.
They had discussed what was involved with sex between two women, and the princess managed to wheedle out the fact that Etani liked Jaia. The princess giggled happily at the idea of Etani and the vampire, who she had said looked as though he had a rod stuck up his… They moved on from there.
She told the princess about her sisters and then about Cain, about her history, about the lich and the king, about everything. Nayishma told her everything about her life in return, which had not been all that wonderful.
Nayishma was the only child of an overbearing man who was obsessed with keeping his throne, though he loved his daughter dearly. It had been he who insisted upon the veil and hoped that he could get her married off before anyone found out what she was. By that point, it would be too late.
Etani had not really understood, given Nayishma was an incredibly attractive woman, a fact she had stated blatantly to make the princess blush.
But then the princess teased that any woman who could fancy 'metal rod enema vampire,' as the princess had so lovingly decided to call him, was not in any position to say who was attractive and who was not.
After that their discussions turned to their future plans; neither of them knew what they were. Etani only hoped to escape and get back to her sisters, Nayishma only hoped her father would not marry her off to Alaric.
During the weeks that passed with the princess, she had spent most of it in the tower and had quickly learnt that the stairs did not actually end in a dead-end but rather in a trick door that was hidden behind a tapestry. She had found it purely by accident when a spider dropped down on her. She had fallen backwards down the stairs, landing in a heap, upside down, at the bottom of the stairs. She had looked up to see a small indentation in one of the stones.
It opened the wall, and she peeked out, finding the hall empty, and then she closed the wall again, delighting in her find. The wall, not the spider.
Nayishma found the story highly entertaining, especially when she learnt of Etani's deep-seated fear of all things in the category of 'insect' and had laughed, given that Weorene was in a swamp and insects were everywhere. The thought made her cringe in horror.
***
A month passed since they had accidentally found each other and she was surprised when the princess came stalking into the room, her posture irritated, and thrust a small envelope into Etani's hands.
It was an invitation addressed to 'Her Royal Highness, the Princess Etani' and had been delivered to Nayishma, to be given to her.
"It would appear that Alaric is aware of our friendship," Etani said dryly, confused as to why the princess would be given the invitation.
It was written on very heavy parchment and really was quite pretty, with gold lettering.
"He is trying to make me jealous," Nayishma said, settling herself down on one of the cushions, her veil flipped up over her head to reveal her striking face.
"Jealous of what?" she asked, holding the heavy envelope between two fingers away from her body as though it were going to bite her.
"He is trying to show he favours you over me."
Meeting the eyes of the princess, the two exchanged a 'men' roll of their eyes.
"Does he see himself and his kingdom as such a fine catch?" the princess asked, looking down at the invitation. She took it back and slit it open, her expression waspish.
"Apparently so," Etani said in amusement.
Nayishma opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, giving it an expert flick to open it up.
"To the Princess Etani. You are cordially invited to the Masquerade Spring Ball. The ball will be held on the full moon of this month." The princess read aloud, inflecting a pompous voice that made Etani laugh. "The full moon is only a week away, isn't it?"
Etani nodded, looking at the invitation with distaste.
"Short notice," she said. "Maybe I was not originally invited and Epharis made him?"
"No, I only got mine today as well, they came together."
She made a soft 'hmm' sound as she dropped her attention back to her work.
"Why a masquerade ball? It's not as though everyone won't be able to tell who everyone else is," she said finally, frowning as she shifted her weight. Holding the handle of the blade between the arches of her feet allowed her to get a better angle, but the blade was stubbornly refusing to slide into the groove. It was an invention of her own and she was not even sure it would work.
"I believe it is for the fun of pretence. Courtiers get off on games. Will you go?" Nayishma asked, her attention caught by what her friend was doing.
"I doubt it. I have better things to do than prance around being groped by strangers, if I wanted that I'd just go to dinner with Alaric."
Nayishma laughed, low and husky. "I get the feeling it's not that much of a choice. We could go together, really rile up the savages."
Etani looked up from her work. Her eyebrows lifted.
"Two women? I'm sure they will be foaming at the mouth." She thought about that for a moment, considering the reactions. "All right, let us go together. What shall we be?"
Nayishma frowned, tapping her finger against her full lower lip. It was a gesture Etani found endearing.
"I'll have my ladies make us something and surprise us both. Come to my rooms to get measured? I'm sure they'd love the challenge."
Etani was not so sure the ladies would be as eager as the princess suggested, but when they arrived the ladies were ecstatic at the sight of her.
"We have heard so much about you, come in, please!" they cried.
There were three of them, two dark elves of some form and one reptilian.
They were all dressed exceptionally well, all smiling and bright-eyed at the turn of events. Etani had never felt so welcome in her life.
The tallest of the ladies was names Sthiss. Her skin was an exotic green with white and brown stripes. She looked very much like some species of tree goanna, sharp teeth and a very, very long tail. She stood on her back legs, with long fingers and even breasts, a narrow head with black eyes, and a flat snout.
The other two looked remarkably similar to one another, and it turned out that they were sisters. Venorth and Odvihe. They both had deep blue-purple skin and bright red hair, big silver eyes and even bigger smiles. All three were dressed in neat black uniforms and the two elves wore black boots, which Etani found unusual until she realised that they lived in a swamp and tall boots were probably wise.
It seemed that Sthiss was the leader of the trio.
***
As they began to contemplate what they were planning to do, the two princesses were ordered to strip to their undergarments.
Obediently, they did so. Etani's were simple, made for function, but the ones Nayishma wore were both beautiful and seductive.
"Where did you get those?" Etani asked, flushing when she saw Nayishma staring at her form with a hint of jealousy.
Taking a moment to examine the princess, she noted that the patches of scales covered her from head to toe and glittered very slightly in the light coming through the windows.
She was not overly well-endowed, but she was perfectly proportioned. Slender, streamlined and curved just enough to catch the attention of any man, or woman in her case. The patches of scales only added to her air of exotic beauty. There was no denying the princess was exquisite and that left her wondering at the jealousy.
"I made them," Sthiss said gently, coming up beside Etani with a long and knotted measuring rope.
She was an efficient woman, murmuring the measurements to her fellow ladies who were quick to jot them down.
Lifting her arms obediently, Etani looked to Nayishma. "What do you suppose the point of the ball is?
"I don't know, but knowing King Alaric, it can't be all that good."
"Perhaps he just wants to enjoy a night of festivities." Venorth said gently.
"Perhaps so, but I doubt it," Nayishma said, exchanging a doubtful glance with Etani, who had to agree. She did not see Alaric as the type to waste time like that.
"So long as his plans don't include us, I am fine with it." Etani said, watching as her bust was measured, and then her waist. "I'll be glad for more time to avoid the politics around here."
"Have you seen the prince recently? He's been in a right mood prowling the halls day and night," Nayishma shared, smirking when Etani threw her a dirty look.
Stepping to the side obediently, she allowed her inseam and thighs to be measured.
"Don't be mean, Nayishma," Odvihe said, the princess looking put out by being scolded.
"He can prowl around all he likes. I like my hiding spot and I am not sharing. I might be his pet, but I insist on a bit of privacy. I will not be kept by his side like a well-behaved dog."
"Good for you, men need to be put in their place, or they'll get all big-headed. We women rule this world, regardless of what the menfolk think," Sthiss said.
The two princesses exchanged a grin as Etani's arms were measured and she dropped them back to her sides. Her head and neck were measured last, and she was permitted to get dressed again.
"What of King Alaric? What has he been up to?" Etani asked, pulling her pants back on, watching her friend's measurements start at the chest, just as hers had.
"He is as polite as ever, but I get the feeling something is going on behind closed doors. He has to struggle a lot with his anger." She was then poked in the belly and told off for trying to hold it in and she giggled.
"You mustn't do that, you are perfectly proportioned, stand naturally," Sthiss said.
"Perhaps I should start joining you in your exercises." Nayishma said, looking at herself in the mirror.
Etani gave her a more critical look, blocking out the bias for the woman being such a precious friend.
"I do not claim to know the male brain, but from what I have observed, the men in this city prefer the plumper woman," she said slowly. Nayishma looked crestfallen. "However, you are not a particularly tall woman and your weight is proportionate. If you wish to become more toned, then I welcome you; however, it seems men are sometimes intimidated by a woman with muscles. You are a lady; you are beautiful and you have exquisite colouring. Any man would be ecstatic to be your husband. As for women, I do not know what they would prefer when it comes to a mate. But I think you are gorgeous." She had spoken clinically; the three ladies had first exchanged conspiratorial glances and then smiled.
"Well said, princess," Sthiss said happily.
"That was lovely," Venorth agreed, her smile soft and warm.
Odvihe was looking at Nayishma with concern, but the moment passed and Etani skimmed over her words to try to find what bothered them. She could not place it.
Letting it go, she smiled, and waited for the work to be done.
"I am thinking mostly black for the Princess Etani. It will enhance the colouring and eyes. We can counter with silver and white for the Princess Nayishma with her warmer tones. Do you feel you can stand to be without a veil, princess?" Odvihe asked, giving the two princesses a sly, conspiratorial smile.
They wanted hints, and the ladies knew it, but she was not giving up any information, and when Nayishma agreed, the plan was set.
The two princesses finished getting ready and headed back out into the castle, Etani about to head for her tower.
"Come with me to dinner with the king." Nayishma blurted out, fidgeting with her veil now that she was hidden again.
"Yish, you know I can't stand the man." The nickname slipped out, and the two stood in silence for an instant, watching each other. It had been the name she had called the woman for weeks, but only in her own head.
"Please? Then we can spend the evening making fun of him."
Grateful that the name had been accepted, Etani affected a pout and shook her head.
"Pretty please? I'll get you a present if you do."
Etani narrowed her eyes at her friend. That was low. Lower than low, that was cheating. Nayishma knew full well of her weakness for gifts. She had not received a gift since their mother had been with them, and she cried when Nayishma gave her a small brooch Etani had been pining over. After that, she had to explain, and the girl then took to bribing her. It was also part of her fae heritage; Fae liked shiny things.
"Cheater..." she said finally, and Nayishma clapped. "Go get changed and meet me outside the hall."
Grumbling, she obeyed nevertheless, swapping out her pants and blouse for a nearly black modest dress that covered her from collarbone to toes and wrists. It fit her well. She pulled her long hair up into a messy knot. She slid two sharpened sticks into it and pulled on a pair of black sandals with gold painted vines that Nayishma had given her. Deciding she was ready, she headed back out.
Slipping out into the hall, she froze at the sound of yelling. It was none other than Epharis himself, and she took off at a run in the opposite direction, leaving the curtain to fall still as she fled.