Skye let out a small cough and shut her eyes tight. She swatted the air in front of her face, trying desperately to clear the small cloud of dust that she had accidentally created.
Somewhere on the other side of the room, Finnick let out a chuckle. "I warned you. Didn't I warn you? I so warned you!"
Skye cracked open her eyes enough to verify that the dust had dissipated, then shot Finnick an annoyed frown. "Yes, you warned me," she groaned. She looked back at the chest that she had just closed shut for the night. "But it didn't look that bad…"
"Kit, when you've been in the Santa business as long as I have, you just know when something is naughty." Finnick walked over to her and patted the clothing chest, which was nearly as tall as he was. "And this baby? Naughty. Definitely naughty."
"Then why didn't it kick up dust any of the other times I opened it today?" Skye pouted.
Finnick examined the trunk like he was studying the label of a fine wine. "The naughty ones always wait for the perfect opportunity to strike." He pointed at his eyes with two fingers, then flicked his fingers at the chest. "Santa's always watching," he whispered threateningly. "I'm onto you." He had said a lot of silly things today. Skye had assumed it was his way of dealing with all the children, but the way he glared at the wooden trunk now, with no kits in sight, made her wonder if perhaps he was always like this.
Not quite sure what to say, she quietly cleared her throat and started backing away. "So, same time tomorrow morning?"
The smaller fox snapped his head to look at her. "Not so fast!" He stuck his paw in one of the pockets in his bulky cargo pants and felt around. "You're not going anywhere until I've given you what you deserve!"
Skye's breath caught in her throat. Her heart skipped several beats in her chest. Her widened eyes stared at his pocket, unable to look away. Her life flashed before her eyes, and a thousand thoughts tore through her mind in an instant. She stood completely still, petrified with fear. There was no time to run, nor time to lunge at him. All Skye could do was wait, and while Finnick only took a second or two to pull his paw back out of his pocket, it felt like an eternity.
"Here you are. One hundred and fifty."
It took her several seconds to comprehend his words. The fog of dread clouding her vision lifted, and she was surprised to see Finnick not holding a gun or a knife, but two crisp dollar bills. He was staring at her, impatiently waiting for her to take the money from him. Before she could, he rolled his eyes, stepped forward, grabbed one of her paws, and shoved the money into it.
"There. Exactly what you deserve. You earned it."
Skye blankly stared at the cash in her paw, her mind still trying to process what had just happened. For a split second, she had expected Finnick to attack her with a weapon. She had wondered if he had been hired by White Jaws to find her. She had wondered if this whole job was a setup just to further break her. She had even wondered if Nick had been playing her all along, since the moment he had met her, for the sole purpose of making the ultimate betrayal all the more crushing.
She silently cursed herself. Throughout her life, she had been deceived and abused by many mammals who pretended to be her friends, and it had deeply traumatized her—hence, her reaction just now. But Finnick had given her no reason to distrust him. Neither had Nick, nor Judy, nor anyone else she had met since coming to Zootopia. There was no need to react the way she did, and she was ashamed of herself for thinking for even a second that Finnick would betray her.
She was in Zootopia now. This was not Marble Jade. She was safe here. Nobody was going to hurt her. Not anymore.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force her heart rate to go back down to a normal level. Then she opened them again and smiled at Finnick in gratitude. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Finnick walked to the door and lazily waved at her as he left. "See you in the morning."
Skye looked back at the cash in her paw, and she felt the corners of her mouth start to quiver against her will. It had been a long time since she last had any money, and she had not expected so much after working just one day. An involuntary cry escaped her lips when she realized that she still had several days left at this job, which meant that the money she currently held was a small taste of what was yet to come.
She carefully folded the two dollar bills into a small wad. She picked one of her coat pockets that had a zipper on it and placed them inside, double-checking to make sure they were there before zipping it shut. She patted the pocket afterward just to be absolutely sure the money was still there. Satisfied that it was safe, she finally turned around and walked out the door.
The door had no lock. In fact, it did not even have a knob; it simply swung on its hinges and "shut" in the loosest sense of the word. Anyone who walked past could plainly see that it was not secure, and Skye worried for a moment about leaving it like that. But ultimately, she decided that there was nothing of value inside anyway, and if Finnick had wanted it locked, he would have probably done it himself. Besides, the mall was closing down, and it was unlikely anyone would be around again until the next morning.
Skye left the shack and made her way to the front entrance of the mall. Nick had told her he would pick her up at the end of the day, and she did not want to keep him waiting. The mall was much emptier now than when she had first arrived, mostly populated by a few straggling mammals getting in some last-minute shopping before the last stores closed. As such, even though she backtracked the same route she and Nick had walked earlier that day, the walk felt new and unfamiliar to her. She was grateful that there were so few others walking around this late; it helped placate her anxiety, if only a little.
A few minutes later, she exited the mall's front entrance. The sun had set long ago, causing the temperature to drop even further than the night Skye had arrived in Zootopia. Thanks to her new clothes, however, she felt comfortably warm as she stepped through the automatic doors and onto the sidewalk outside. There were no clouds to be seen, but due to the city's light pollution, Skye could not see any stars either. That was fine by her, though, because the lack of clouds meant there was no snow, and she had seen enough snow in Marble Jade to last a lifetime.
Nick was nowhere to be seen. The parking lot was nearly empty, with only a few vehicles left, none of them the size or shape of Nick's car. There was a parking garage a fair distance away, but she doubted Nick would have paid to park there instead of simply driving up to her directly. He was probably being held up by rush-hour traffic, or maybe an emergency came up at the police station. In any case, she was not worried. She shoved her paws in her pockets and patiently began waiting for him.
Skye watched the other mall patrons leave while she waited. Most of them walked past her, straight to their parked cars, and drove off into the night. A few of them stood at the curb, shot off a text on their phone, and were picked up a few seconds later by a Zuber. One, an armadillo, walked out of the mall, opened her eyes wide, and screamed "I knew I forgot something!" Then she whirled around and sprinted back inside, screaming at some vendor to leave their doors open for just another minute.
The most interesting moment came when Skye saw a giant stretch limousine pull into the driveway. She raised her eyebrows when she first saw it; she had never seen one in person before, and it was so huge it almost looked like a small building lying on its side, coming straight at her. What surprised her even more was when it came to a stop directly in front of her. She quickly glanced around, trying to see if there were any other mammals standing nearby whom the limousine could have been picking up, but she was all alone.
The driver of the limo got out and walked to the passenger door directly in front of her. Skye took a step back, not sure what to expect next, but certain that whoever this limo was picking up, they would not be happy if she was in the way. However, as soon as the driver opened up the door, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"Judy?!"
The bunny was standing in the doorway, striking a dramatic ta-da pose. Upon seeing the shock on Skye's face, she lost her composure. She tried to stifle a laugh, but it was in vain, and a second later she leaned forward and grabbed her stomach, and rested her other paw on the door frame, howling with laughter so hard that her face started to turn red underneath her fur.
The tiger holding the door open politely waved at Skye, turning her attention away from the rabbit who was currently struggling to breathe inside the limo. "My apologies, Ms. Frost," he said. "This was Judy's idea. She thought it would be funny to pick you up like this."
"And I was right!" Judy finally managed to take a deep breath, only to start laughing all over again. She collapsed to her knees and pounded the floor of the limo with a fist over and over again, unable to contain her mirth. "You should have seen the look on your face!" she wheezed.
Skye was still staring at her in disbelief. She probably would have found Judy's prank amusing, if not for the fact that it was so extravagant. She looked at the driver, who once again smiled at her. She glanced to the front of the limo, so far away now that she could barely see the rearview mirror sticking out the side. She peered behind Judy and studied the inside, examining the soft purple mood lights and the mini-fridge that was almost as tall as she was. Finally, she returned her attention to Judy, who was finally catching her breath and wiping away her tears with one paw.
"So…" She raised an arm and gestured to the limousine. "You rented this limo, just to prank me?"
Judy managed to stand back up on her feet, though she had to lean against the door frame for support. "Oh, this is real," she assured Skye. "Part of my payment for a job I'm working on." She patted her paw on the seat next to her and gave a big smile. "And there's plenty of room inside for guests, so come on in!"
Skye hesitated, not quite sure how to respond. Not only had Judy come to pick her up instead of Nick, she had come with a limousine—a limousine so shiny and elaborate, she felt bad for standing close to it. She worried that even looking at it would get her in trouble, and yet here Judy was, inviting her inside to enjoy it with her.
Judy noticed her hesitation and wiggled her eyebrows. "There are plenty of snacks in the fridge," she said enticingly. "And the chairs have massagers!"
"And don't forget the big-screen TV," the tiger chimed in.
The bunny's eyes widened. "I did forget the big-screen TV!" She turned back to Skye and flashed an excited smile. "You've got to see it to believe it, it's huge!" She extended her arm toward the fox in invitation. "Are you coming or what?"
Skye still felt a bit nervous, but Judy's enthusiasm was infectious, and before she knew it, she was stepping up to the limousine. The tiger pressed a button on the inside of the door, and a series of stairs popped out from the underside of the limo, perfectly spaced for Skye to walk up. The fox took the bunny's paw at the doorway, and Judy eagerly pulled her inside.
Skye took a seat first and buckled herself in before she took a look around. The inside of the limousine was so spacious, she could almost stand straight up if she wanted. The walls were lined with mood lights and audio speakers, and the fridge was so big that she felt it could hold enough food to feed her for a month or more. Her seat produced its own heat, and she gladly pressed her paws on its surface to try and warm them up after standing out in the cold for so many minutes. She did not see the big-screen TV, but there was so much space, she was sure it was hiding somewhere.
The tiger closed the door and walked back to the driver's side of the limo. Judy sat down in the seat next to her, buckled in, and looked at Skye expectantly. "So, what do you want first?"
Skye was so overwhelmed by everything, she could not even begin to think of what she wanted first. Almost as soon as Judy asked her question, however, a rumble from her stomach answered for her.
Judy chuckled. "Snack time!" She leaned forward and opened the door to the mini-fridge in front of them. "Do you want something sweet, or something salty?"
The fox stared hungrily at the assortment of snacks and drinks inside the fridge. There were all kinds of sodas and flavored waters on the shelves lining the door, and the inside was stuffed so full of dozens of brands of junk food that she was surprised they did not overflow into the limo.
Her eyes settled on a bag of gummy worms, and she felt her mouth begin to drool. "Salty."
Judy swiped the bag of gummy worms and, without looking, tossed it over her shoulder and into Skye's lap. "Good choice." She grabbed a peppermint for herself, closed the door, and leaned back in her seat. Then she unwrapped the peppermint, popped it into her mouth, and raised an arm high in the air. "Okay, Ricky, let's get this thing rolling!"
The limo lurched ahead at her command, pushing Skye further into her seat. As soon as she fully settled in, the seat started to vibrate. She flinched at first, surprised by the unfamiliar feeling, but after a few seconds, she felt her muscles start to relax against the shaking leather. She let out an involuntary moan, closed her eyes, and eased her back further into the seat.
"I guess you found the massager." Judy's voice was slightly distorted in Skye's ears due to the vibrations, and her subsequent chuckle sounded almost robotic. "Yeah, it's pretty good, isn't it?"
Skye lazily nodded. "I could get used to this," she admitted. "Too bad it's such a short trip back to the apartment."
"Well…" Judy's perky tone caught Skye's attention, and she opened her eyes to find the bunny smiling at her with all of her teeth exposed. "Funny you should mention that."
Skye felt the panic start to return to her heart, which she quickly tried to ignore. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "Are we not going back to the apartment tonight?"
Judy saw the alarm on her face and quickly raised a paw to calm her down. "Don't worry, nothing's wrong," she assured her. "And actually, we could go back to the apartment tonight, or…" Her smile returned. "I could treat you to something even better."
Her curiosity piqued, Skye raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, even better?"
The bunny patted the bag of gummy worms, still sealed in Skye's lap. "You'd better start eating those. It's going to take a while to get there."
Skye took a long look around her while Judy finished checking in at the front desk. The lobby of the Palm Springs Hotel spread out over the entire space of the ground floor, with empty space spreading up several stories to the ceiling far above. The front desk lined one wall, slightly curving away from the center of the room. All of the other walls were lined with giant panes of glass, stretching from the floor to the ceiling and giving the patrons inside an unobstructed view of the city in all directions. Spread around the floor were countless chairs of varying sizes, a couple of restaurants, a convenience store, and even a gift shop selling Palm Springs Hotel merchandise.
Animals of all kinds were bustling about, coming in and out of the lobby through one of the glass elevators lining the far wall. Even though it was below freezing outside, some wore swimwear, ready to brave the cold so they could experience the heated pool. Several of the chairs were populated by businessmammals, some of whom seemed to be striking up important deals and signing contracts. Countless families were wandering around, many parents ordering their children not to touch anything, and many kits and cubs gawking with wide eyes and dropped jaws at the spectacle that surrounded them; Skye was certain that her own reaction was not much different.
Her attention was pulled back by the sound of the deer receptionist slapping a card key on the desk. "Here you are, Ms. Hopps, the key to your suite," she proudly announced.
Judy picked up the card and thanked her, then led Skye away from the desk. Skye assumed she was leading her to the elevators, but after only a few steps, Judy stopped, turned to Skye, and held up the card. "Okay, here you go."
Skye stared blankly at the card. "Here I go what?"
"This is for you!" Judy waved the card, enticing the arctic fox to grab it. "There's a presidential suite upstairs waiting for you!"
Skye was very, very confused. "But you told me the suite is for you."
"It is. And now that I've checked in, I can do whatever I want with it." Judy's eyelids drooped into a sly grin. "And I want to give it to you."
The fox studied Judy's face, expecting for this to be another prank, but several seconds passed and the bunny continued to hold out the card key for Skye to take. Slowly, she began to realize that this was not a joke, and that Judy was absolutely serious. For the umpteenth time today, her eyes widened, and she quickly threw up her paws. "No! I couldn't possibly—"
"Sure you could," Judy insisted. "It's not like it's costing me anything, right?"
"But…" Skye's shock was so great, she struggled to get her words out. "But you and Nick have already done so much for me, and this is…" She lowered her gaze, grasped her paws in front of her waist, and fiddled with her thumbs uncomfortably. "I don't deserve anything," she finally finished in a whisper.
Judy finally lowered her arm, only to firmly grip Skye's paws with both of her own. "Don't say that. Don't ever say that." Skye raised her head again, once again looking at Judy's face. This time, the bunny wore a firm, earnest expression, and when she spoke, her words sounded like they came straight from her heart. "Skye, I don't know what you've been through, but I do know one thing: everyone deserves to be happy. Including you." She offered a kind smile. "From the short amount of time I've known you, I've seen that you are a good person. You're kind, you take responsibility, you're a hard worker according to Finnick, and—Ha!" She leapt back and pumped the air victoriously. "Got you!"
Skye had been so absorbed in Judy's words, she completely missed that the bunny had shoved the key card into her paws. She stared at the card, taking several seconds to process what just happened, then quickly reached it back out to Judy. "I can't accept this."
"You can, and you will." Judy hid her paws behind her back and took another step backwards. "And I'm not taking no for an answer, so you may as well just go up and enjoy your evening." She lowered her eyelids and flashed another smile. "There's a hot tub," she said temptingly, drawing out the last two words.
Skye opened her mouth to protest once again, but Judy shook her head, not letting her say another word. Realizing that any further objections would be useless, Skye sighed in defeat. "All right," she relented. She looked down to the card key again and grasped it tightly with her paws. "Thank you," she quietly added.
The cheekiness in Judy's voice disappeared, replaced once again by a warm tone of sincerity. "You're welcome, Skye." She gave the fox one final smile, then started to walk past her, in the direction of the hotel's main entrance. "Well, enjoy yourself!"
Skye's gaze followed Judy as the bunny walked past. She raised the key card. "Don't you want to come up with me and check it out, at least?" she offered.
"Nah. It's all just for you." Judy waved a paw behind her as she walked away. "Nick will pick you up in the morning!" she called, and a few seconds later, she passed through the doors and disappeared from view.
Skye stood where she was for a while after Judy left, still struggling to accept this extravagant gift. She had spent her whole life working herself close to death just to afford a few scraps of food per week. Soft beds, a roof over her head, warm clothes, and even having someone to talk to were all luxuries for her. She was used to sleeping out in the cold, going for days on end without a meal, and only interacting with mammals who verbally abused her and worse. Her father had drilled it into her head from a young age that she did not deserve anything more—that she was a burden to everyone around her, and nobody would ever be happy she was alive.
But ever since coming to Zootopia, she had been surprised by one act of kindness after another. First from Nick, and now from Judy. She was shocked the rabbit was even still talking to her after what Skye had done the night before, but not only was Judy being nice to her, she had even given her this lavish gift—the latest generosity from her and Nick. She had a hard time comprehending how two animals could be so selfless to her, despite hardly knowing her at all. She wondered what the catch was; surely there was a catch, right?
Nobody can be that kind, especially not to me.
Right…?
She decided to head up to her room. She was only going to be here for a single night, and she had already wasted several minutes standing around. Whether she deserved this gift or not, it was a gift, and Judy wanted her to take full advantage of it.
She turned on her heel and made her way to the glass elevators on the far wall. The lobby was so huge, it took several minutes for her to cross it, but finally, she walked up to one of the elevators and tapped her key card on the touchscreen outside. The transparent doors opened wide, welcoming her. She stepped inside, and a second later, the doors closed behind her and the elevator began making its way up.
She looked through the glass and down to the lobby as it shrank farther and farther into the distance below her, admiring the mammals on the ground as they appeared to get smaller and smaller. After a minute or two, the elevator reached its highest floor, coming to a gentle stop and opening its second set of doors in the back so she could exit. After Skye walked out, she was surprised to find herself standing in front of even more elevators—a whole row of them, lining the wall all the way to the end of the hallway. Electronic signs were lit above each of them, indicating which elevator to use to reach the various floors.
And Skye's room was located on the topmost floor, which had its own dedicated elevator at the very end of the row.
She felt a bit self-conscious walking past all the other elevators, which serviced a number of floors instead of just a single one like hers, but the only other person on the floor right now was a brown rabbit currently distracted by a phone call, and he did not seem to notice her. She quickly rushed past him and pressed the button to call her elevator, breathing a small sigh of relief when the doors opened up immediately. There were no buttons inside, just another touchscreen for her to tap her key card to instead. As soon as she did so, the doors closed, and she felt gravity pull her down as she started to ascend once again.
This time, it only took a few seconds to reach her floor, and when the doors opened, Skye's breath caught in her throat. Instead of another hallway, the elevator dropped her off directly in her own suite—and Skye was so awestruck staring at it, she almost forgot to leave the elevator before the doors closed. She managed to stumble inside just in time, then busied herself taking a look around.
The suite was so big, it took up the entire floor. Instead of the typical bright lights that she was used to seeing in hotel rooms, the suite was covered in low mood lighting, similar to those inside the limousine, bathing the room in deep shades of blue and green. The room was smaller than the lobby in all dimensions, due to the shape of the building itself, but even so, it was still gigantic. It was in the shape of a circle, with half of the walls covered in curved glass, providing an unobstructed view of the city outside and far below. The hot tub Judy had mentioned was pressed right up against the glass, and was so big she was sure she could swim in it if she wanted.
On the far end of the suite was a television even bigger than the one inside the limousine; in fact, it was possibly bigger than the limousine itself. A couch and several reclining chairs were positioned in front of it, as well as several speakers standing on pedestals to provide surround sound. What Skye had at first thought was a fake fireplace nearby turned out to be a real fireplace when she looked at it up close, though there was no fire at the moment. There was a small notice on the side, instructing her to call up her personal butler if she wished for a fire to be lit.
Her jaw dropped when she read that. Her personal butler.
The last wall she explored seemed like a plain wall with wood paneling at first, but upon closer inspection, she found several doors and a series of buttons to press. When she pressed the first button, a giant section of the wall slid away like a garage door, revealing a bed the size of a tennis court. The bed rolled forwards on its own, coming to a stop in the center of the room. Skye stared at the bed in disbelief for a moment; she was not sure why any bed would need to be that large, and even for a suite like this, it seemed a bit absurd. However, her curiosity got the better of her, and she jumped onto the bed to see just how comfortable it was.
She gasped in amazement. Not only was it comfortable, it was the most comfortable bed she had ever laid in. She had thought the bed in the guestroom at the apartment was already perfect, but this made that seem like a cardboard box in comparison. The mattress was so soft she felt like she was floating on a cloud, and the sheets felt like they melted into her fur as she pressed into them. The bed must have had some kind of sensor inside, because after only a few seconds, it started to warm up underneath her, and as if by magic, it stopped at the perfect temperature before getting too hot.
She took a long, deep breath. She was so comfortable, she was tempted to take a quick nap before exploring the rest of the suite. However, she knew that if she fell asleep now, she would most likely not wake up again until it was time to check out the next morning. Begrudgingly, she forced herself to sit back up, climb out of bed, and go back to exploring.
She decided to look inside the doors next. One of them was a closet, which would remain empty as long as she was here since she had not brought any extra clothes with her. One was the fire escape, to be used in case the elevator was not working. The last door, however, led to the bathroom, and Skye once again found herself staring wide-eyed at what was in front of her.
The bathroom was large enough to rival the size of Nick's entire apartment. Closest to the door was the toilet—a high-tech toilet with buttons and all sorts of extra plumbing. Beyond that was the sink, with beautiful marble counters and mirrors that stretched all the way to the ceiling. On the far end was a standing bathtub that looked like something out of an old photograph. And on the final wall was the shower—a giant shower, with frosted glass doors and a waterfall head at its top. A linen rack was next to the shower, stocked full of fluffy towels and washcloths and more, each of them stamped with the Palm Springs Hotel brand.
On the back of the bathroom door were several plush bathrobes, each in a different size. Skye did not allow herself to even touch one of them, for fear of how much Judy might get charged if she damaged them. In fact, the more Skye looked around, the more nervous she felt about potentially harming something. She slowly backed out of the bathroom, making sure not to touch anything, and shut the light off before closing the door.
With all of her exploring done, Skye wandered back into the main room. She sat on the edge of the bed, placed her paws in her lap, and stared out the window aimlessly. People like her were never meant to be in big, expensive places like this, and the more she discovered, the more she felt like a fish out of water. Even if she didn't cause any damage, she was sure she would do something unacceptable, like using the wrong color settings on the TV or the wrong sized towel after a shower. She did not want to make a fool of herself, and if that meant letting all of this luxury go unused, she was willing to make that decision.
The elevator dinged, catching her off-guard. She snapped her attention over to it, just in time to see the doors open and an otter emerge from within. He was wearing a tuxedo with the Palm Springs Hotel logo sewn onto the back, and was walking backwards into the room, pulling a catering cart behind him.
"Good evening!" he called in greeting. "My name is Emil, and I will be your butler during your stay at the Palm Springs Hotel." He pulled the cart further into the room, locked it in place just beside the edge of the bed opposite her, and turned around to face her properly. He smiled and gave a bow. "Ms. Frost."
Skye blinked in surprise. "How did you know my name?"
"Ms. Hopps informed us upon checking in that she was giving you this suite as a gift." Emil straightened himself and smiled again. "Please feel free to use everything you see. It's all included."
Skye glanced around the giant room, gazing at everything it had to offer, and once again felt guilty for even looking at any of it. She could not even bring herself to lock eyes with the otter who was here to serve her every need. "I can't," she whispered. "It's just too much…"
Emil nodded in understanding. "A lot of our guests feel that way." He waved an arm in a circle. "They're not used to living like this, and it can be a bit intimidating." He turned around and started moving some of the metal covers on the cart. "Of course, we have our share of celebrity guests as well. One of them sent this up for you, as a matter of fact."
Skye's ears perked up. "What? Somebody famous?" She stared at the cart in confusion. "For me?"
"For you!" Emil produced a bottle of champagne, nearly as big as he was, and turned around so he could properly show it to Skye. "Courtesy of…" He stuck a paw in his back pocket. "Hang on, I need to make sure I get this right." He pulled out a piece of paper and read what was on it. "Famous Hollywool producer Steve Hoppkins."
"Who?"
"Yeah, I've never heard of him either." Emil shoved the paper back in his pocket and picked up a cork extractor from the cart. "Can you keep a secret? Half the people I interact with think they're famous, whether they are or not." He stuck the extractor in the cork and began to turn the knob. "But every once in a while, someone comes here that I am a big fan of. Just last month, for example! Gazelle herself stayed with us!" The cork popped out of the bottle and Emil smoothly turned back to the cart to start pouring the champagne. "She stayed in this very suite, as a matter of fact! And let me tell you, she was even more beautiful in person, and one of the nicest celebrities I've ever interacted with."
Emil placed the bottle back on the cart, grabbed the glass of champagne, and gave it to Skye. She clumsily took it, not quite sure how or where to hold it, and stared at the bubbly drink for several seconds. "I don't know who Gazelle is, either," she admitted. "I don't really watch any movies."
"Gazelle is a singer, actually," Emil politely corrected, before shrugging dismissively. "And if you don't know who she is, that's fine. You're not here to talk about celebrities anyway, you're here to enjoy the presidential suite." He turned back to the cart and moved around some more metal covers. "And these hors d'oeuvres that Mr. Hoppkins sent up," he added with a chuckle.
Skye held her champagne with both paws, rubbing the lip of the glass with one of her thumbs. She knew that Emil was right: she was free to enjoy everything around her. But she had a hard time accepting that. Not only was it all so much, it was only the latest gift that she had received from Judy and Nick. Nick had given her a job and a night in his own home, and Judy had given her this hotel room—and they did not even expect to be repaid for any of it.
What's the catch? She gripped the glass a little more tightly. There must be some kind of a catch… Right?
Emil raised one of the plates off the cart, ready to announce what food it contained. However, he noticed the strained look on Skye's face, and he slowly lowered the plate down to his waist. He adopted a cheerful smile, walked over to Skye, and came to a stop directly in front of her. "Let me guess: you feeling a bit guilty right now, staying in a fancy place like this?"
Skye nodded with embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"
"A little." Emil raised the plate and presented it to her. "Do you like deviled eggs?"
She could not remember the last time she had deviled eggs, and as soon as her eyes saw them, she felt her mouth begin to salivate. "I do!" She grabbed one of the eggs off the plate and tossed it into her mouth. The taste was even better than she remembered, and she had to hold back a moan of pleasure as she indulged in the savory snack.
Emil kept smiling as she ate. "They're all yours." He set the plate down on the bed beside her, then motioned to the room around them. "All of this is yours, Ms. Frost. You shouldn't feel like you don't belong here. The purpose of this suite, just like the rest of the Palm Springs Hotel, is to give our guests the opportunity to get away from their normal lives, and to enjoy a level of luxury that most can only dream of." He pointed at the hotel's logo stitched on his breast pocket. "You might think I am nothing more than a slave to the rich, but to be honest, people like you are the reason I love my job. I love giving mammals a once-in-a-lifetime experience." His smile widened. "And sometimes, I get to meet Gazelle," he added.
Skye chuckled at that. Besides his last quip, Emil's words did help her feel a bit better. She still struggled with accepting such an extravagant gift from Judy, but the bed was comfortable, the butler was friendly, and the deviled egg she had just swallowed was delicious. She finally brought the glass to her lips and took a sip of the champagne.
It was only after she swallowed that she remembered she had never had champagne, or alcohol of any kind, in her life.
Emil chuckled as she choked on the drink and started to cough violently. "That's not usually the reaction most mammals have." He waited a moment to make sure that Skye was all right, then reached out and took her glass from her. "Perhaps you'd like something else? Something less strong?"
Skye pounded a fist against her chest and forced out one final cough. "Lemonade, if you don't mind," she replied in a hoarse voice.
The otter walked back to his cart and returned a moment later with a bottle of water. "I'll have to go back downstairs and grab your lemonade. You can have this in the meantime."
Skye snatched the water bottle out of his paws and started drinking from it immediately, taking several gulps to try and clear out her throat. She downed half the bottle before she finally lowered it and stared down in embarrassment. "Sorry," she softly apologized. "I've never had champagne before." She looked back up and once again stared at the room around her. "I've never had any of this before. I don't know how to enjoy any of it."
Emil raised a paw to his chin and stroked it. "I might have an idea that could help, if you're interested." Skye turned to him and raised an eyebrow, silently giving him permission to continue. He pulled a smartphone out of his pocket and spent a few seconds navigating the screen, before turning it around and showing it to her. "This is my favorite Gazelle song. Pay attention to the words. I think it might help you."
Skye looked at the smartphone. It was paused at the beginning of a EweTube video, which Emil started playing as soon as he finished speaking. Immediately, the screen lit up with a kaleidoscope of colors, dancing in rhythm with the music. A female vocalist sang off-screen to the beat for a few seconds, before she walked into frame and revealed herself to be a beautiful gazelle. She danced around and started singing the words to the song, which immediately resonated with Skye.
"I messed up tonight, I lost another fight, lost to myself, but I'll just start again…"
The scene changed. The gazelle was now standing in an open field, surrounded by tigers that stood in exaggerated, intimidating poses.
"I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground…"
The camera zoomed in on her face. She was not the least bit scared of the tigers; instead, she stared at them in defiance, puffed out her chest, and raised her arms straight to the sky.
"I always get up now, see what's next."
The camera zoomed back out, once again showing the tigers. This time, however, they were no longer threatening Gazelle, but bowing down to her in submission.
Skye stared at the phone for several minutes as the music video continued to play, completely mesmerized by what she saw. Gazelle soared through the air while singing about birds, she walked down a busy city street while singing about making mistakes, and she sat in the audience of a wedding while singing about two characters loving each other.
But what stuck out to her most was when the scene cut to a live concert performance of the song. The camera was above Gazelle, and followed her as she rode along the top of the crowd, being passed from mammal to mammal while she kept singing her song. The chorus rang out, filling Skye's heart with a sense of wonder and awe that she had never experienced from music in her life.
"I won't give up, no, I won't give in, til I reach the end, and then I'll start again. No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail."
The chorus repeated itself several times, etching the words permanently into Skye's memory. The song continued on for a few more minutes, before coming to the final scene. Once again, Gazelle was in an open field with the tigers. As the song came to its end, the tigers faded, leaving Gazelle all alone. She looked straight at the camera, made a heart symbol with her hooves, and gave a big smile to the viewer as she sang the final words.
"Try everything!"
The video ended, and even after Emil pulled his phone away, Skye continued to stare straight ahead in astonishment. Never in her life had she listened to a song that she had resonated with so strongly. It was almost like the song had been written specifically for her, and when Gazelle sang, it was like she sang straight to Skye's soul.
Emil saw her stunned expression and giggled. "Yeah, that's what I thought of it, too." He cleared his throat and waited for Skye to look back at him before he continued. "Now then, Ms. Frost, what would you like to try next?"
Skye once again glanced around the room. Nothing about it had changed; it was still a luxurious, extravagant suite, and she still felt out of place for being here. However, after hearing Gazelle's song, she no longer felt so guilty for being here. This was a gift—a selfless gift, from a bunny that she was beginning to consider a close friend—and now, she intended to use it as best she could.
She turned back to Emil and proudly proclaimed, "I want to try everything!" As soon as she said it out loud, however, she immediately cringed at just how cliché it came out. "I mean…" She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. "Could I please see a menu?"
Skye let out a long, relaxed sigh. She stretched her arms out along the edge of the hot tub and sank further in, letting the water come all the way up to her chin. She pressed further against the jets of water that shot out from the sides and massaged her back. She leaned her head back, rested her neck against the rubber pillow, and closed her eyes in pure bliss.
She had never been in a hot tub before—in fact, she had rarely even had a warm shower in her life—but in the five minutes since she had stepped inside, she had decided that it was now one of her very favorite things.
She reached over and grabbed another deviled egg from the plate beside her, tossing it into her mouth and chewing slower than necessary so she could savor the taste. An involuntary smile spread across her face, and a quiet hum sounded from her throat. She opened her eyes again and stared out the window beside her, admiring the countless bright lights of the cityscape below and the faint twinkling lights of the dim stars above.
For the next several minutes, she was content with simply sitting still and watching the nighttime world pass by outside. It was rare for Skye to have the opportunity to relax like this, without having to worry about running away from White Jaws, or struggling to find a place to sleep at night. Right now, she was safe, she was happy, and most of all, she was very comfortable.
The elevator dinged behind her, and a second later, Emil came walking up to her, a plate of hot food balanced on one paw. "Here you are, Ms. Frost!" he announced. "Your tamales!"
Skye sank a little deeper into the hot tub, self-consciously hoping that the bubbles on the surface would shield her naked body from her butler. "Thank you," she called. "Can you please bring it over here?"
Emil dutifully did so, humming a merry tune as he did. He set the plate down next to the plate of deviled eggs, picked up the empty glass that had once been full of lemonade, and took a few steps back to give Skye her privacy. "Would you like any more food?" he asked.
Skye closed her eyes again as the water jets attacked her back with a fresh wave of pulses. "I don't know if my stomach is big enough for much more," she admitted sadly.
"Then is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked.
"No, I'm…" She couldn't even finish the sentence, her body was so relaxed.
Emil chuckled. "Very well." His voice grew fainter. "Just use the call button if you need me!" he called as he left. A few seconds later, the elevator dinged once again, signaling to Skye that she was alone.
Skye remained still for another few seconds, then begrudgingly lifted herself out of the water enough to grab the plate of tamales before they grew cold. She had only ever had tamales once before, many years ago when she was a kit, and it was an embarrassing memory because she had first tried to bite into one without unwrapping the outer husk first. But she remembered absolutely loving them, and when she had seen them as an option on the menu, she couldn't resist asking Emil to bring her some.
And after unwrapping the husk and taking a bite out of the beans and cheese inside, she knew she had made the right decision. With her very first mouthful, she felt like she was transported back to one of the few times in her childhood where she was happy.
She made an effort to engrain this moment into her memory as well: another time in her life where she was very, very happy.
She joyfully finished the tamale, as well as the other two on the plate, then went back to relaxing in the hot tub. By now, however, she had been under the water for more than half an hour, and she felt that was probably long enough. She got out of the hot tub, pressed a button on the wall to turn it off, and grabbed a towel that she had placed there earlier. She only dried herself off enough to not drip all over the floor, then wrapped the towel around herself and walked across the room to the bathroom on the other side.
Skye's fur was full of chlorine, and she needed to wash it off. She left her towel on the floor outside the shower, hopped inside, closed the frosted door behind her, and turned on the water. The waterfall head came to life, pouring a cascade of water evenly across her body. She took a few seconds to appreciate the perfectly tuned pressure and flawless temperature of the water, but since she had already spent so long in the hot tub, it was not long before she grabbed the bottle of Palm Springs Hotel-branded shampoo and began to scrub her fur. The shampoo had a sweet scent to it, and once it washed out, it left her fur feeling as smooth as silk.
In contrast to her time in the hot tub, Skye only spent a few minutes in the shower—as long as was necessary to properly clean and rinse her fur. As soon as she was done, she shut off the water, opened the door, and grabbed a fresh towel from the linen rack. This time, she stayed in the shower and properly dried herself completely, making sure that she would not leave a single drip of water when she walked away. After she was dry, she spent a few minutes in front of the mirror grooming her fur with a hotel brush, which was probably the only thing she had come across so far that felt anywhere close to "average". Finally, when she finished, she took one of the bathrobes from the back of the door and put it on.
The bathrobe was so light and comfortable, she could barely even feel it against her fur. The plush material felt similar to memory foam, which reminded Skye of a marshmallow, except this marshmallow was wrapped around her entire body. Just like everything else this place had to offer, it was the very definition of perfect, and she had to remind herself that she was allowed to enjoy it as much as she wanted.
She stepped out of the bathroom, then came to a sudden halt. A realization came to her: she did not know what she wanted to do next. If she wanted to be responsible, she would go straight to bed and get as much sleep as she could before it was time to check out in the morning. But there was still so much left in the room that she had not tried, and after thinking it over for only a moment, she made her decision.
Try everything.
She walked over to the call button beside the bed and pressed it. Emil's voice sounded from the built-in speaker a second later. "Yes, Ms. Frost?"
She lowered her head so she could speak directly into the microphone. "Hi, Emil. Can you please come up here and make a fire for me?" A smile crossed her face. "And can you please bring a bucket of popcorn, too?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Emil responded. A burst of static ended the call.
Skye wandered over to the couch in front of the TV and made herself comfortable on it. Just as she did, Emil arrived in the elevator and walked over to her, a big bucket of popcorn cradled between his paws. He placed it on the empty seat beside her, then made his way over to the fireplace. She watched with fascination as he retrieved a log from a compartment hidden in the side of the fireplace, placed it inside, moved a lever near the top, and finally turned a knob near the bottom. Instantly, a fire emerged from the bottom of the fireplace, setting the log ablaze and immediately bathing Skye with radiant heat. It felt amazing against the damp fur on her cheeks, while her plush bathrobe did a fantastic job of absorbing the heat and redistributing it evenly across her body.
Emil stepped away from the fireplace and turned to Skye. "This will last around two hours," he informed her. "If you need anything else, please let me know."
Skye smiled in gratitude. "Thank you, Emil, but you've already done so much for me."
"And it has all been my absolute pleasure," Emil insisted with a short bow. He turned on his heel and walked away, once again leaving Skye alone.
Skye crossed her legs on the couch, grabbed the bucket of popcorn, and placed it in her lap. Then she picked up the remote control from the end table beside her and used it to dim the lights in the room, leaving only the crackling fire to keep her company. Then she set her sights on what she had really come to this couch to enjoy. With the press of another button, the television came to life, and she was welcomed with a short introductory video from Palm Springs Hotel, explaining how to navigate the various channels on offer.
She felt a little nervous. She had never seen a movie before in her life, and she was not sure what movies were considered good or bad. But she was not here to critique films; she was here to enjoy herself. She went straight to a movie-streaming app, picked the first film that was recommended to her, and set the remote back on the end table.
The surround sound kicked in immediately, and the screen flashed an array of colors. A lion in a tuxedo appeared on screen, lunging forwards and letting out a loud roar that rattled the couch and made Skye almost want to cover her ears. Her eyes opened wide, and she allowed her senses to be overwhelmed by the movie. The story surged, and the music swayed, and she became so invested in what she saw that it no longer felt like she was watching a movie, but experiencing the story herself firsthand.
It was only after it was over that she made an amused realization: all of that was only the studio logo.
Skye could only laugh at herself as she settled back into the couch. The fire continued to flicker in the corner of her vision, her cozy bathrobe kept her comfortable and warm, she munched on the buttery popcorn contentedly, and she knew when the movie was over there was a wonderful bed for her to crawl into to go to sleep. As the night went on, Skye forgot all about Marble Jade, and White Jaws, and her father. She forgot all the hardships she had gone through in life. She forgot everything, except where she was right now.
It was all perfect. Just so utterly, beautifully, absolutely… perfect.