Rell and The Rose

Ch. 13, Batman and Bacon

Rell

The door to the tiny beautiful lagoon opened, and Bastien stepped into the hallway. His long hair was gathered high on the back of his head, and beads of water ran down his neck down his lean body, sculpted like an arrow. He was naked to the waist and dripping water over the hallway I'd just cleaned. I looked him up and down. With shoulders like that, he would have been a knight in the Dark Realm. Or maybe a Beast Slayer. He was walking the opposite way, and I couldn't resist calling out, "Good morning, Bastien. How was your swim? Enchanting?" I still wasn't wholly sure I trusted the enchanted looking water. How could it be so clear and clean all the time?

Bastien froze and turned. His dark hair was slicked back against his head, and he glared at me, which made me smile more.

"I thought I made it clear you weren't welcome here."

I walked all the way up next to him. "We really need to stop meeting this way, you know."

He flushed red, and I skipped away before he could respond, a grin on my face. So maybe I was poking a dragon. But I couldn't help it. Today was my first day of high school!

After a refreshing four hours of sleep, I'd spent the early morning helping Clara prepare breakfast and clean the rather incredible "bathrooms" of the house, enchanted to produce tiny waterfalls and whirlpools with a simple lever. Clara had explained my duties as a mix of cleaning and yard work, though I silently vowed to assume the task of castle defense as well. The next intruder might not be so harmless. Or handsome.

More than that, I needed to be ready to find the Blood Rose, and, if what James had said was real, then whoever had taken it was now cursed to become a Beast. I'd spent a lifetime learning how to track Beasts, and those cursed to become monsters, but the problem was I had no idea what sort of Beast I was looking for. A dragon was easy; follow the smoke. A bog goul obvious; find a bog and then wait till night and follow the screaming. I'd studied countless tracks and trails, and even if I didn't know what or where to find this Beast, there was one thing all monsters had in common.

Where monsters were, bad things happened.

If it was anything like the stories, high school would be a hub for local gossip. All I needed was to befriend a few high schoolers and find out if anything strange was happening around town. And if I made a few friends on the way, well, that was just icing on the monster cake.

Morning duties completed, I made my way back to my room and changed back into my black pants, dappled gray shirt and heavier black jacket. The dark elves had woven them from shadows and spider's webs, and they were soft, yet strong... though I worried looking into the mirror in my bathroom that they might not be the current court fashion in high school. Bastien hadn't given me much to work with for comparison (that was, unless I should show up to school topless, which seemed unlikely). Still, I forced the thought away and smiled at my reflection. After all the tales I'd heard of high school, I was sure no one would judge me based on my appearance.

"Good morning, great people of the castle!" I announced as I made my way into the kitchen. Dasan looked up and grinned— "Good morning, Rell!" — while Bastien fell into a surly silence. Though I'd found a massive dining hall, Clara had told me Dasan prefered to take his meals at a small table in the kitchen with a spectacular view of the forest beyond. Today the trees were a stunning mix of green, red, yellow and orange. In the Dark Realm they only turned varying shades of gray, then black.

In the light of day I was surprised I hadn't immediately identified Dasan and Bastien as family. Dasan's face was weathered, a map of lines and groves, but with the same high cheekbones, strong nose, straight nose, and deep-set eyes. They both had rather beautiful black hair; Dasan's gathered back in a neat braid, Bastien's a unicorn-tail. Dasan's eyes sparkled with laughter, and he sat straight backed at the table, while Bastien slumped a bit, his arm held protectively over whatever wound he bore from last night. I'd spent much of the night wondering how he'd gotten it, and if maybe this castle needed me more than I'd thought.