I was suddenly pulled from my state of unconsciousness. Enveloped in a mysterious floating sensation, I opened my eyes to see a thin gauze canopy before me.
Now that looks familiar...
I thought back to the previous night. I had accepted the letter and its contents had sapped the strength from me. It’d taken my last drop of willpower to pull my bed and partitioning screen from my infinitory before I’d promptly fallen asleep. I was grateful now that the bed had been the first piece of furniture from my room that I’d decided to store. It was a bit of a slipshod arrangement, but thanks to that, the partition, and the makeshift curtains I had hung up to block out the light, I had managed to create a comfortable space for myself.
“Hey, m’lady! You up?” came a bright, bouncy greeting.
I followed the sound to find Salamander with his fiery fin flickering and his vermilion eyes staring in my direction.
“Why Salamander, I hadn’t realized that you were sleeping here too.”
I could have sworn that there was a hint of amusement in his thin, needlelike pupils. I poked his forehead lightly and told him he shouldn’t wait upon a lady in her own bed, and that earned me a markedly insincere apology. That said, he was just a reptile—appearance-wise, at least. He likely wouldn’t even see a problem if I were to cuddle him like a stuffed animal as I slept. Either way, when I told him I was going to get dressed, he had the good grace to slip out through the canopy. Perhaps he was more of a gentleman than I gave him credit for.
I took off the soft cotton dress I had been wearing in lieu of pajamas and changed into another one that I had taken from my family’s estate. It was a little too simple to be considered fancy while also being a little too showy to be casual. Unfortunately, the clothing I had on hand was limited, especially when it came to items that were easy to move around in.
“It might’ve been useful were I able to order clothing as well. Perhaps there are aprons available if nothing else...”
There was no use yearning for the impossible, however. I twirled in front of the musty full-length mirror I had also pulled from my infinitory, and the ample hem of my skirt fluttered as I did so.
This one shouldn’t impede my movements too much.
I put my “pajamas” away into my infinitory, and with that, I was ready to face the day.
Tying the canopy back, I sat down on my bed, which was when I felt something dry and rough brush against my hand. That something was the very cause of the anxiety that had been afflicting me since yesterday.
I sighed. “Oh, grandfather...”
The Vaielindt crest had been pressed into wax a deeper red than blood, and it stood out against the elegant hue of the high-quality envelope. In the bottom right-hand corner of the envelope was my grandfather’s name—his signature a majestic scrawl that also belied a discomposed mind.
“What’s all the sighin’ for, m’lady?”
Salamander must have realized that I had finished changing once the rustling of clothing had stopped. He had slipped silently through the “entrance” to my room, meaning the curtains. Indeed, I was finished, but it would have been polite of him to confirm as much verbally...
I gave the fiery lizard a hard stare, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. “Hello, Salamander. Let us just say that I have run into an unexpected bother.”
He hopped onto the bed and studied the envelope in my hand curiously. “Does this ‘bother’ of yours have anythin’ to do with this here paper?”
“It does,” I said. “It appears that my grandfather is rather angry.”
I doubted that he was attempting to hide it either. The eyes of the fire spirit beside me burned with curiosity—and, to his credit, slight concern—as I waved the envelope in front of him. My grandfather had spilled his heart out onto the page, and it was just about clear from the state of his writing that he’d done so in a hurry. It was a letter filled with apologies and regrets. He’d written that he would love me no matter what, and that he was sorry for not being sensitive to my feelings. He’d also accepted that, in continuing to believe that my father would have a change of heart, he had hurt me. He had then declared that he was no longer willing to be merciful. There was a powerful intent behind his words: he would come to retrieve me, even at his own expense, and even if he should be reduced to nothing but a pile of bones.
“I am in a bit of a fix... I have come to look forward to my life here more than I had expected.”
“Ya look down in the dumps now, m’lady! What’s going on? That letter really got to ya, huh?”
“I think it’d be more accurate to compare it to receiving a burdensome gift.”
I still loved and respected my grandfather... Was I really happy to just cut off my family for the rest of my life? Though I did suppose that it was better to learn his intentions through this letter now before he did anything too rash. Either way, there was just one option before me.
“I must write a reply to my grandfather,” I said. While I didn’t think I would convince him of anything, I preferred to voice my feelings than say nothing.
The first step to doing so would be to retrieve the mildly wobbly desk from my infinitory. I took it out and set it beside my bed.
“I wonder what we should eat today?” I asked my stomach. I would never say no to desserts, of course, but I needed to have proper meals too. I supposed I needed to give thought to doing some cooking of my own too.
Oh. I was thinking about my future here.
Whatever was going to happen with my grandfather, I found myself hoping that I could stay put instead of going back home. That isn’t like me...
“Those fried...um, doughnuts were swell! Whaddya think Lord Alkerag liked best?” Salamander asked excitedly.
I giggled. “Excellent question. I suppose we shall have to ask him what he’d like today.”
My mind was alight with visions of an enjoyable future as I dipped the tip of my pen into the inkwell. But my letter had to take precedence right now.
My hand hovered over the page as I tried to decide where to begin. Salamander was making a game of flitting his tongue and was chuckling to himself beside me.
Perhaps I ought to let my grandfather know that my life here is more fascinating and fun than I had thought it would be. I could describe it to him.