This is a lot more dialogue than I expected, umm…I really like dialogue haa…I guess this was a bit of a wait…but I've been fidgeting with it. I made it longer and I promise the next chapter will be more description heavy. It has to be considering the setting.
"Your majesty!" He blurted as soon as he stood…well, caught his breath before me. I gave him some time to collect himself before questioning his arrival.
"Camio what could you possibly need more for at this hour?" I was curt and harsh, even though it wasn't intended.
"….Well, a few letters arrived and I thought you might want to take a look at them." He fidgeted with the tassels on his robe and looked up at me expecting me to respond.
"What's going on?"
"There's been an upset amongst the farmers of the west region. Something has to be done, we can't have them stopping mid-season." His eyes pleading with me to take some kind of action forced me to cut my time here short.
Reluctantly I replied, "…Give me some and I'll be in shortly okay? At least we'll be able to formulate a plan before dawn thanks to you informing me."
He beamed, and said before leaving, "You know, not many are aware that this is where you go for privacy. It is truly odd that a King would find such solace in a garden."
"Y-you know what there's nothing wrong with it! Besides I like taking care of these plants; it's very relaxing when I'm stressed." He said nothing more leaving me to a bitter silence after my own defense of such a hobby.
"Wow, even he thinks what you do out here is weird?" said the beast.
"It's not weird! It's—Beast, where were you hiding anyway?"
"My name is Emilia. Don't you dare continue to call me a beast or I'll really act like one." She appeared before me, landing surprisingly softly for her size.
"I'll keep that in mind…you do recall that I have magic of my own though." Throwing her weight around, uncaring of who I was was frustrating enough, but to disregard my magical ability? That'd be an error on her part if she continues to ignore it.
"I don't care how much magic you have, you shouldn't threaten me. I'm still a civilian you know."
"Oh, so you're going to use that on me huh? You think I care that you're a civilian? I could still execute you for threatening me. And why is it okay for you to threaten me only? Just because of your situation? My helping you is more out of a charitable desire on my part than from your efforts to control me."
"Yeah, whatever. You were still scared, your majesty." She flashed a toothy grin as the last word rolled off her tongue.
"I'd imagine anyone would be if they were assaulted in the middle of the night by something as unexpected as you." I made sure to emphasize the last word to display my contempt. It hardly carried any weight though. "The way you address me is very grating, and if I can help it I'd rather you lessen the syllables that come out of your mouth."
"Oh, but that's the most respectful way to address you. Sure, I could call you sire, but that's not quite the same. How about Jacob?"
"Don't even begin to think I'll let you call me by my first name alone. We're not equals."
"King Jacob it is! My, my, you're right that is less wordy! But still so respectful don't you think?" She smiled, relishing in the frustration that her behavior caused.
"Stop talking…I have things to attend to and you're only dragging this conversation out."
"You're not leaving until I get to go into that castle with you. I scoped the area when you were talking with that guy and there aren't too many people wandering the grounds and from the windows I looked through, certain corridors too."
"Unbelievable…" Before I had a chance to oppose she started pushing me forward with that large head of hers towards the double doors that Camio had recently walked through.
"Someone could be standing by the doors on the inside and you're just going to push me in and wait for me to tell you 'oh you can just step right in Emilia!'"
"Not quite, but you're pretty close. And in you go!"
Being pushed against the frame of the door I searched for the handle and pushed downward to open the door. Nearly falling through the open space due to the force of Emilia, I somehow failed to land my face on the stone at my feet. Looking over my shoulder I saw that she caught my mantle between her teeth.
The thought of her teeth ripping through the violet coloured fabric mildly irritated me, but I stood up waiting for her to release it.
"Lucky for you, no one was standing here." I dusted myself off and held the door open for her saying, "Follow me." I took one of the lit candles near the door and used it to light the lamp placed atop a small iron stand and carried it with me. The only thing that reminded me of Emilia's presence was the sound of her claws against the brick flooring. Peering behind me I noticed her eyes darting in every direction she could manage as she took in the vast expansion that was my castle.
"It actually looks…pretty in here. Considering your clothing sense I assumed it wouldn't look nice in here. It's pretty gothic outside to be honest."
"And what's wrong with that kind of architecture?"
"Nothing. Just, not the most inviting I guess. I wouldn't expect a King to be focused on the design of his castle this much either."
"Why not? It's technically my home, so I should care. Besides, I designed this anyway."
"Why didn't you hire someone to do it?" She picked up her pace meeting my gaze.
"Well, why would I when I could design it myself? Saves money, and I'll be ensured that it looks the way I want it to."
"There are so many different hallways and you keep taking sharp turns. Are you sure you know where you're going?"
"But of course." 'You obstreperous woman…' is what I would've said. However she could've lashed out at me, or worse, so I continued walking with a faint smile.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence after my last remark, I made it to the door I'd been searching for. Behind it, lay a set of rooms for those of my own to stay. I supposed in a way, she was very much like them.
Taking the handle with both hands, I pulled it open. The dust picked up indicating it's underuse and I tried to stifle my own coughing from the inhalation.
"You're going down there. Hardly anyone passes through this way so you don't have to worry about anyone opening this door but me."
"Does this have anything to do with that conversation you had earlier? And what exactly lays beyond these stairs?"
"Yes, and down there is a room for you to sleep in. It's not exactly the most kempt, but it'll suffice for you."
"Suffice? I told you before. Just because I look like a monster doesn't mean you should treat me like one."
"It's the best I can do for you right now. And I hardly think a huge mess of pink fur with green eyes, the horns of a goat, and the body of a wolf merged with a bear who runs her mouth in the most profane way deserves to be treated any better."
"I was still originally human!"
"This isn't my fault you know. And at least I'm giving you a place to stay."
"I know you have better rooms than whatever this is."
"This isn't meant to be comfortable for you. I'm hiding you! It's not as though I can just exactly walk around saying, oh hello, don't worry about her, she really used to be human you know."
She shuffled her feet, staring me down instead of fighting anymore. Her tail whipped about in silent frustration as her mouth remained closed.
"If you have nothing more to say, take this lantern and go down the stairs. The room that's the cleanest will be to your right straight down the hallway."
I stepped out of the way to let her descend. Her eyes showed disgust and her lips curled up into one last snarl before disappearing. As I continued to watch her, earlier I'd been too preoccupied to notice, but she clearly had a set of horns that angled backwards and up with a curvature to them. I smiled, happy that she didn't have the chance to see me this elated over something so trivial…much less for it to be something about her.
Closing the door, I made my way back to my private room. Usually no one was allowed in, but I'd been willing to make exceptions for Camio more than once. Upon entering I noticed my most trusted friend asleep in one of the side chairs. The papers were laid out in an orderly pile atop my desk. Sighing, I used my magic to light the candles around me and began to read the mass of papers that I needed to sift through.
I don't really know what to say here, beyond thanks for reading and review if you want. 'Till next time!