The Ice Prince: Chapter IX
by Meiran Chang
After a few minutes, Duo got up and started exploring the mansion properly. He figured he should familiarize himself with his surroundings or he'd get lost, which would be uncomfortable and embarrassing. Besides, the manor had more than enough in it to hold his attention. He took off his slippers and held the pair of them in his hand as he wandered around, enjoying the feel of the plush carpet on his bare feet. The walls of the hallways had thick tapestries hanging from them, depicting peaceful things like a glittering lake bordered by white trees. There was the occasional suit of armor or display of weaponry, though it was rare. There were no likenesses of people. The windows were huge, giving a wonderful view of the gardens. It was all very quiet, with an old, wistful quality.
It was also fascinating. Some of the rooms were unbelievable. Duo could certainly understand the Beast's motivation -- if the stories about Beasts were true, and the Beast really did have to spend all of his time in this manor, no wonder he'd chosen to change a few things around. One chamber sparkled like the enchanted mirror in his room until Duo had to shield his eyes on his way out. Another was filled with exotic birds flying around freely, winging their way in and out of the open window whenever they had a mind to. Yet another one had wall tapestries which would show different absurd scenes depending on what pure pitch his voice reached, a trick he discovered when he stubbed his toe on the threshold and yelped in pain, and the picture of a castle on one of the tapestries dissolved into an image of a larger-than-life potato. When Duo realized he couldn't hear himself, he'd gone so high, he eased his way out of the room, grinning at the tapestry of a bear waltzing with a bathtub.
In due time Duo even found his way to the gardens. Gingerly pushing open the glass doors, he slid his feet back into his slippers and meandered down the paths. The slight chill didn't bother him, and the cool breeze was refreshing.
There were all kinds of plants growing beyond the short balustrades separating path from garden. The snow was splashed with bright bits of color, weeping willows shading the gardens from the worst of snow-glare. Duo could even spot black roses here and there -- all the more lovely when viewed in full, healthy, living bloom. He kneeled down next to a delicate cluster of them and touched one of their petals. He had never really paid much attention to flowers before -- in the city, they were usually dead or plastic, and in the country, he'd always been far too busy. Now, though, with absolutely nothing to do, he had the leisure to reach out and feel how soft the petals of a living rose were.
There was a multitude of butterflies. A particularly beautiful one patterned a majestic orange and black fluttered towards him, and Duo stayed still as the butterfly landed on his shoulder, antennae quivering against his cheek. It stayed for only a moment before passing on, but it was a good omen and made Duo smile. Other butterflies stayed amongst the flowers or in the great trees. The garden was springtime in the snow, the best of both worlds.
Sometime in the afternoon, Duo went back inside, his nose and cheeks red from the cold wind. Breathing the fresh air had done him some good and made him feel a lot more cheerful. It had also made him feel rather hungry, and he realized that he had had very little breakfast and that it was more than time for lunch. As the food he'd eaten the previous night hadn't gone down very well, he was looking forward to eating and tasting the food. Considering the wealth of everything else in here, it was bound to be magnificent.
His bright mood dimmed briefly as he thought of Relena's cooking, which he would miss terribly, but he pushed the melancholy aside. He could not return to his home soon, and at any rate, he could always look at his family in the enchanted mirror. After a bit more wandering, Duo, to his pleasure, happened upon the Dining Hall.
He surveyed the food on the table critically, just to make sure that it hadn't been there for days. It looked fine, so he sat down and ate. Once done, he leaned back in his chair, satisfied. He hadn't had food that good since his twelfth birthday party back in White Fang when his father hired the king's chef. Pity about the birthday cake, though. After discovering who was responsible for the beheading of her doll Madeleine, Relena had pitched him into it….
His reminiscing faded as the sound of music permeated his consciousness. Duo strained to hear the faint melody, and his eyes widened as he recognized the strains of his and Quatre's favorite duet, Tokimeite Harmony, played with only flute and violin. He pushed his cushioned armchair back from the table and listened closely, homesick again. As the song reached its end, flute and violin falling silent, he closed his eyes.
It had been beautiful. Quatre would have loved it.
The music decided him it was unlikely that the Beast was going to eat him. The Beast had simply put too much effort into him. Giving him that massive library room, enchanting that mirror for him with a little note on top telling him he was 'prince and master,' giving him clothing and a comfortable bed, letting him crawl all over his mansion, letting him into the gardens, feeding him, and having his favorite song played him during lunch... not even sacrificial victims received that much attention.
Somehow Duo reached his room again, and he spent the remainder of the afternoon looking through it. There were books on every imaginable subject, his wardrobe was fit for a peacock king, and once he steeled himself, the enchanted mirror was a fun toy. He wandered through the aisles of the library which took up most of 'Beauty's Room' and drew out books with interesting titles. There were quite a few: 'Eloquence in War and Peace' and 'God's Perfect Soldier' by Treize Khushrenada, 'Machine' and 'Metal Savior' by Tubarov, 'Split in Two: An Autobiography' by Lady Une, 'My Stint as a Revolutionary' by, of all people, Quinze the instrument-maker, and 'Lone Healer' by Sally Po. He would have picked out 'Zero Visions' by Tranto and 'An Empire Mine' by Mariemaia Khushrenada-Barton, too, but by that time his arms were loaded -- the books were heavy -- and he figured that the volumes should be enough to keep him occupied for quite some time.
Duo returned to his little corner of the room and placed the books on the night table. Then he examined his wardrobe. One of his pet fascinations back in White Fang had been clothing and design -- well, until the bards became so annoying that he'd had to resort to a Shinigami priest's frock to try and make them go away -- and after his family had moved, he hadn't been able to indulge himself the way he'd have liked to.
The Beast, it seemed, was prepared to indulge him all he wanted. The variety of his wardrobe was dizzying: long robes he'd trip over if he ever wore, plaid and pinstriped bathrobes, zoot suits with padded shoulders, outrageous hats topped with feathers and fruits and stuffed birds and trimmed with ribbons and lace and all sorts of fripperies, capes and half-capes in every color of the spectrum, lavishly decorated tunics of silk, velvet, and cashmere in colors bright and dark and shimmering with narrow sleeves and wide sleeves and button cuffs, skirts (!) with petticoats, sleek shimmering skirts, skirts which swirled easily, skirts patterned with birds and flowers and blocky geometric figures, skirts that were solid blocks of color, miniskirts, pants (phew) with wide bottoms, loose pants, tight pants, just-right pants, pants which needed thoughtfully provided belts, pants with drawstrings, pants with suspenders, pants which rode low on his hips and pants which, when pulled up all the way, reached to halfway up his chest. There were even dresses. It was bewildering, as if the Beast weren't quite sure if Duo was a boy or a girl.
There were other accessories provided, too. Slippers lay beside stilettos, bandanas hung beside gloves, thick winter socks and skinny dress hose lay tangled in an amorous embrace, and in a massive velvet-lined box, Duo discovered enough jewelry to keep the court of White Fang happy for a year.
Amazed and delighted, he took nearly everything out of his closet and spent hours trying on his new wardrobe. For a laugh and because he was feeling mischievous, he even tried on some of the women's clothing included, complete with tiara and peacock-feather fan. He threw his braid over one shoulder, fluttered the fan, swirled his skirts around, and grinned -- he made a very believable girl -- as the mirror set his reflection off with pink and purple sparkles.
As amusing as it was disturbing, eventually he recognized the fact that he needed to put the clothing away or he'd end up sleeping on it, so covered was his bed by the apparel. The thought of ruining such marvelous clothing by rolling all over it -- the thought of even wrinkling such wonderful garments -- was blasphemy to Duo, who went about putting the clothing away. Occasionally he would allow his fingers to linger over soft fabric or pause to admire an exceptionally lovely pattern, but he managed to discipline himself and got the clothing back in the wardrobe in a minimum of time.
After finishing the Herculean task of putting everything where he had found it, he folded the clothing he had chosen for the next month and put it in the chest of drawers. He wanted to put the next day's clothing on a chair near his bed for easy access, so he looked around and discovered that a rather plushy armchair had conveniently materialized to his left. He didn't waste time wondering where it had come from and instead quickly folded his clothes and put them on the armchair. Then he glanced outside the window.
The sky was bathed in a red and orange glory of a sunset. It looked like White Fang's famous Tropical Passion Fruit Punch. The food analogy brought his attention to the fact that he was hungry again, it having been several hours since lunch.
He asked the mirror where the Dining Hall was. Duo had grown quite fond of the enchanted mirror because it insisted on framing his reflection in sparkles color-coordinated with his outfit. The mirror sparkled obligingly and showed him a first-person view of the long corridor outside, then a turn to the right, then another long corridor, then a turn to the left, open the first door on the right, go through that room and open that door, and there was the Dining Hall. Duo realized that he had eaten there when he arrived and that he'd eaten lunch there and that it was really shameful that he hadn't memorized its location by now.
"Er… could you run that past me one more time?" Duo asked, scratching the tip of his nose. "Don't think I quite caught it…"
The mirror sparkled happily and obliged. It took three more renditions before Duo was certain he had it all down. He thanked the mirror, which blossomed in the blush-pink sparkles Duo had come to interpret as its version of giggles, and went off on his way.