Hi lovely readers,
Apologies for going awol these last two weeks, we suddenly had a lot of old friends passing through our city and coming to stay with us, so between that and other life events, I have just been busy :)
To make it up to you - I have two Chapters to upload today. I'm putting the first one up now, and then I'll edit the second and upload it soon.
I hope you enjoy,
Love Daisy x
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Chapter Seven | Abditory
*
'Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me,
Is it breaking free,
wanting to come alive?
Because my comfort would prefer
for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
of who I was born
to become.'
- Brooke Fraser (C.S.Lewis Song)
*
"Does it always rain so much in Aether?"
Iris asked this question as she looked out the window at the grey world beyond, fat raindrops rolling down the glass in front of her face. She shifted a little on the window seat, to untuck her foot from underneath her and relieve some of the pressure on the limb. The uncomfortable heated tingle in her heel told her that she had been sitting on it for far too long.
Adjusting the book, she held in her hands, she turned to glance towards the elderly gentleman who was seated at the dining room table as she awaited her answer.
Raising his head, and adjusting his gold rimmed glasses casually, Balthazar followed her line of sight and looked out the window thoughtfully.
"The city sits within the arms of the Jade Mountain range," he answered easily, glancing back down at the book he was reading, "often weather becomes caught here and takes some time to pass. Summer has not ended just yet, Princess. Now come, tell me what you have found."
Iris looked away from the window and back to the book she held on her lap. She sighed. In front of her, the thick text swam and blurred together, and not for the first time this week she felt a rising sense of impatience build within her.
Six whole days. That was how long it had been since Iris had been banished back to the East Wing after her disastrous meeting with the King.
After two days of isolation in which Iris had been blocked by various guards whenever she attempted to leave her quarters – Balthazar had appeared in her library one morning and introduced himself as her tutor. It had seemed the King had not been joking when he told her she would be taking lessons.
Iris, although frustrated, could not bring herself to refuse Balthazar and the potential acquisition of knowledge that his presence represented. Because she did have questions. Lots of them. And if the last couple of days were any indication, Balthazar was going to be her best bet at finding answers.
Balthazar was of course, a Lycan. And perhaps the oldest Lycan that Iris had yet to meet – both in terms of age and appearance. His actual age was a mystery, but over the past four days Iris had learnt that although Lycans did have incredible longevity, and were incredibly hard to kill, they were still mortal and thus, still susceptible to the ravages of time.
"Lineage still certainly has something to do with it however," Balthazar had informed her sincerely, "his Majesty is a perfect example."
Iris had unwillingly brought Darius's face to mind and agreed that he did still appear much younger than she had expected. To Iris, Arlo's appearance was of one who was perhaps in their mid-twenties, and Darius had only looked a few years older than his brother.
However, the biting coldness that Darius radiated aged him more than his appearance ever could and when Iris had looked into his eyes, she had seen a beast who had withstood the rise and fall of Kingdoms and bathed in the blood of the aftermath. The youthful exterior was merely a handsome casing that concealed a hollowed shell and an iron heart – Iris was certain.
"Princess, focus." Balthazar's lightly reprimanding tone pulled Iris from her thoughts and she looked dazedly down at the paragraph in front of her.
"There are six Royal houses," Iris said, counting off on her fingers the names which – apart from two – still meant absolutely nothing to her, "Titus, Hellion, Thorne, Vidarr, Silvon, and Greyson. The last two of which, obviously belong to his Majesty and I."
"Good," Balthazar, "and?"
Iris resisted the urge to yawn, knowing that it would only incite her tutor's surprisingly sharp sense of sarcastic wit. "The Royal houses are widely spread across the Earth Kingdom – each preceding over a large territory with Shifter packs living on or around the territories. The Royal houses are responsible for the lives of the Lycans and Shifters that take residence in their territories – however, the Lycan King holds absolute power over all of them." Iris snorted, "It seems like a rather empty throne to me honestly. They don't even get along with each other. What's the point?"
Balthazar gave her a look. "The point, Princess, is that the presence of a King quells the instinctual desire that Lycans have, to lead a pack. If there were no King to stand above all the rest, then there would be endless wars amongst the Royal houses over territory and the like. It is that simple."
Iris scowled. "Or everyone could just agree to get along and mind their own goddamn business." She refuted, "The title of 'King' is one that is won off the death of another – only a beast would want such a blood-stained throne."
Her tutor smiled wryly. "Your words, Princess." Beneath his gold rimmed glasses, his cornflower blue eyes were piercing. "We are Lycanthrope after all. And what is that, if not a beast?"
Unexpectedly, her criticism had been turned against her. Iris frowned, opening her mouth although she was unsure of what she was about to say. Before she could speak however, Balthazar had waved her off, returning back to his impatient self.
"Continue."
She glared at him and he gave her an amused look. Huffing in annoyance, she looked back to the page and her densely packed notes that lay to her right side. She paused as she read through a paragraph she had written yesterday.
"Throughout time, the Houses have had their ups and downs," she said slowly, speaking half from memory and half from the text in front of her. "The Houses of Vidarr and Thorne have a better relationship than the others. Their territories are the closest to each other and overlap slightly in the middle. At the centre of the overlap is one of the largest Shifter and Lycan cities in the Earth Kingdom. This co-existence of both species is largely due to the peacefulness between both of the Houses."
"Good," Balthazar praised her, "It is unlikely you will ever meet any of the other Royal Houses, but if you did, these two would be the friendliest towards you – however, that does not necessarily mean that you can trust them.
"Vidarr and Thorne have never sought after the power of throne, but neither have they openly supported any King who has taken it. You should know Princess, that to stand back and do nothing, is a power move in itself. Both of these Houses have the largest remaining royal families out of all of the others, simply because they have very rarely lost lives to war."
"Sounds smart to me," Iris grumbled.
"However," her tutor continued sharply, "in times where great change is imminent, or the actions of those in power are unjust – is it not also a crime to sit back and do nothing when one has the power to initiate change?"
Iris tapped the sharp nib of her pen against her paper thoughtfully. "Are you talking about the previous King?" She wondered, "Or what's happening now?"
"Both, Princess," Balthazar said mildly. "Would you not agree?"
"Do you mean to say that Vidarr and Thorne have sway over the shifter population?" Iris asked, vaguely sensing what her tutor was trying to imply.
The elder lycan gave a shrug. "Both Houses are responsible for the largest, peaceful settlement of lycan's and shifter's– that city in the centre of their territories sits under their protection by some agreement, either silent or contractual, but in reality that does not matter. Do you think that the current rogue shifters would have been allowed to run amok and stir up such trouble had either House stood up and spoken against their actions?"
"So, what you're saying," Iris said uncertainly, "is that they are waiting to see how it plays out? Do they wish to take the throne from Darius?"
Balthazar's eyes gleamed as he shook his head. "No, Princess, that is what I am saying. They simply do not care to act."
Iris looked at him blankly. "But people are dying," she protested weakly, "surely two Royal families who are responsible for such large populations would care about the lives of those who they protect?"
Balthazar shook his head. "No. They do not care. As far as they are concerned, it does not affect them in anyway."
"But the ones who are dying are Lycans," Iris's voice was a little stronger this time.
"So?" Her tutor raised his brow, "Their families are protected, as long as they remain on the side-lines. The actions of the other Houses has never swayed them."
Frowning, words that Iris never thought would leave her lips escaped into the air. "But Darius is their King," Iris said studiously, "shouldn't they care about that at least?"
"And there you have it," Balthazar leaned back in his chair with a look of satisfaction on his face. "This is the crux of the matter. The Houses have never been unified, even though the presence of a King is meant to symbolise just that. Each King that has ruled, has never asked for the help of other Houses – for the sake of their own pride. If one of the other Houses is unhappy with how things are run, then they issue a challenge and the right to rule changes – as it did with the House of Titus."
"Titus was the House that ruled before Darius, right?" Iris looked down at her notes. "Darius was unhappy with how quickly the shifter population was expanding," she said from memory. She had had this conversation with Arlo back in the woods.
"Yes." Balthazar nodded. "But enough history for today – you told me that Arlo has covered the House of Titus with you the most, so we will stop there for now. The rest of the time is for you to use as you wish."
Iris sighed, leaning back as she glanced out the window. The rain still thundered against the glass outside, blurring the world beyond in a waterlogged lens. "We might as well continue," she muttered sourly, "it's not as though I can do anything I really want to do."
Behind her, her tutor smiled lightly as he folded his book closed and pushed himself from his chair. "I was under the impression that the entire Palace, bar the Kings quarters in the West Wing, was open for you to explore Princess. May I suggest you try to locate the main library if you have time?"
She turned to look at him in surprise. Balthazar had paused in the doorway, eyes twinkling behind his glasses. The gold chain that held them in place, disappeared into his chin length white hair, and as he tucked his hair back Iris caught the light jingle of the chain. He smiled. "I will not tell you where it is, least I ruin your fun," he said knowingly. "Good day, Princess."
Iris watched as the door shut snugly in place, remaining still for a moment longer before collapsing back against the pillows with a groan. "What a tease," she grumbled. She closed the heavy book on her knees, with her notes trapped inside as a bookmark, and heaved it off her legs with a sigh.
Pulling herself from the window seat, she straightened and stretched, yawning widely. The grey weather was contagious, and it made her feel incomparably lazy. For a moment she wavered between going back to bed and sleeping the rest of the day away – but Balthazar's comment lingered in the back of her mind and finally she found herself swaying towards the door, unable to resist the bait he had laid out for her.
She stepped out into the hallway, leaving the warmth of the crackling fireplace in the room behind, and ventured towards the door at the end of the hall that led to the rest of the palace.
If she was honest, after being barred from leaving in the first few days, it had not occurred to Iris that her ban may have been lifted since – a fact that Balthazar must have realised, hence his suggestion.
Arlo had not visited her either, and this had only added to Iris's stubbornness. She refused to seek him – it was not she who needed to apologise. Arlo was the one who had kept secrets from her. It was Arlo who should be asking for forgiveness. And yet, six days had now gone by and he had not shown his face to her once. To say she was fuming would be an understatement.
But if she was free to roam, why should she be the one cowering in her room as though she was scared to see him – as though she had committed some great sin. She would go out. And if she ran into him, unless he began with an apology, she would ignore him.
As Balthazar had suggested, Iris left the East Wing without any guards appearing to block her way. If she had been raised by anyone else, Iris might have believed that she had freedom – but it had been Arlo who had raised her. And Arlo had taught her better than that.
Iris kept her expression light and innocent, as she wandered down the hallway, pausing every now and then to look out of the window at the landscape below before carrying on.
Sure enough, after a short time, Iris was able to pick out the quiet stop and start of feet on carpet as whoever was tailing her made sure to keep enough distance to remain unnoticed. She did not dare turn back to look, but as she hurried down a flight of stairs, she managed to glance over her shoulder under the guise of peering down the banister, only to find the hallway empty.
This did not bother her. Arlo and Ezekiel had both warned her that the King would most likely assign someone to guard her. She had kicked up a fuss at the time – but now she was not sure which was better, a guard that hid, or one that she could introduce herself to.
Part of her hated the fact she had to be guarded at all. Did the King really think her so incapable? However – if she chose not to acknowledge the guard, it would easier to lose them if she needed to.
She frowned. Wait, no – that wouldn't work. Gabriel himself had taught her just how incredible a Lycan's sense of smell was. Losing her guard would not be so simple.
She pondered over this, as she explored the ground floor of the castle. Every time she came too close to a door that led outside, the footsteps would draw closer to her, and when she moved away it would be a moment before she heard them start again.
Obviously, she was not supposed to be leaving the palace. She decided to test the waters a little, picking up the pace as she continued her library search. She opened and closed doors down the hallway carelessly. All of the rooms on the ground floor were dark and unlit and Iris wondered yet again, who actually lived here.
Without a backwards glance, Iris suddenly ducked into one of the rooms, shutting the door firmly behind her with a satisfying click. She found the lock and locked that too and then released the breath she had been unconsciously holding.
Stepping a few paces away from the door, she paused again and listened quietly. The footsteps that had been following her outside picked up and then stopped. Straining her ears, she heard the slightest sound of skin brushing metal as the doorhandle was tested and found to be locked in place. There was no more movement, and she assumed that the guard was waiting outside.
Assured that she would be left alone for now, Iris ventured further into the room, genuine curiosity outweighing her initial desire to give her guard the slip.
It did not seem that this room belonged to anyone in particular, there was no bed, nor any sign of recent inhabitation. White cloth covered the majority of the furniture, adding to the feel of disuse, and the large stone fireplace that stood against the stone wall was dark and empty.
Rain battered at the large arch windows – their style the same as the other rooms Iris had seen so far. There was a desk in the far corner, but when Iris opened the draws she found them to be empty and like hollow bones, they rattled as she pushed them back into place.
Straightening, Iris wandered to the window and peered out of it. She was on the first floor of the palace but surprisingly, at this particular section, the ground was surprisingly not far below her. Out of the window, there was a pleasant courtyard and Iris unlatched the window quietly – pushing it ajar so that she could have a better view.
The little courtyard seemed to be accessible through an open walkway that was opposite to where Iris stood now. However, just from looking, Iris could not figure out how the hallway outside the room she stood in now and the walkway joined together. She wondered if the access point was actually inside another of the many rooms.
The more she pondered, the more an idea began to form in her mind and her lips curled mischievously as she glanced back at the closed door behind her.
Pulling her head back inside, she left the window open as she began to move around the room once more. She ran her hands over everything, sat down on each piece of furniture – even the desk – and ran around the room dragging her fingers over the walls. She made sure that her scent covered every single part of the room before turning to the stone fireplace and touching that too. It wasn't until her fingers dragged over a brick near the upper corner of the left side – accidently pushing it inwards – that she drew back in surprise.
Curiously, she felt along the side of the fireplace and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. But the brick that was pushed in remained that way – it's shift so smooth that it was impossible to attribute to old age.
Taking a gamble, Iris muscled up her strength and pushed against the side of the fireplace, praying that the sound wouldn't alert the guard outside. Nothing happened. She frowned and stepped back, glancing towards the window. Maybe it would be better to stick with her original plan of sneaking out of there after all.
But this current puzzle had piqued her curiosity and she put off all other action for the time being as she tried to figure this out. Suddenly, she had an idea and she started forward, bracing her hands against the top of the fireplace. If it didn't shift sideways, then maybe ...
Heaving, Iris pushed forward, her face growing a bit red as she braced her feet on the floor and willed the wall to shift.
Beneath her hands, there was a sudden inch of movement, and encouraged, Iris redoubled her efforts.
Slowly, and smoothly, the fireplace began to slide backwards into the wall. When Iris took a first step forward, she realised that the structure was now moving on its own, shifting inward to reveal a dark staircase that opened up in the floor below. A cool gust of air breathed out of the passage, and Iris inhaled. The air was fresh, which meant that the stairwell undoubtably lead somewhere, instead of being a mere dead end.
Feeling rather thrilled, Iris left the fireplace for the moment to initiate the rest of her plan. She headed back to the open window, and leapt out of it nimbly, landing steadily on the ground and starting off at a run to the open walkway on the other side.
Jogging down the stone path of the walkway, Iris quickly tried the door at the other end. It was locked – but that did not matter – her scent would be there, and that was enough. She ran back to the window that was still ajar and vaulted quietly back into the empty room.
She had gotten a little wet, but she snagged a cover cloth from one of the armchairs in the corner to dry her shoes and brush the excess water from her hair and her clothes. She wiped the windowsill dry to hide the sign of her return into the room, and then stuffed the used cover cloth under one of the couches before heading for the fireplace.
Without a second thought, she headed down the dark steps and into the passageway beyond. When she reached the fifth step and passed directly under the fireplace, there was a quiet click and the fireplace above her head slowly began to slide forward until it had reached its original position and the light from the room beyond was cut off completely.
Iris's eyes were already trained enough to be able to see through the gloom in front of her, but she circulated her energy as Arlo had taught her and her vision brightened further still.
The steps in front of her continued downwards for a little way before the floor evened out again, and Iris continued forwards without hesitation, resisting the urge to laugh with glee. More and more distance was put between her and the room, and her heart raced with excitement as it became apparent that her means of escape had not yet been found by her guard.
She was exhilarated as she realised that this discovery opened up a whole new realm of possible outlets for exploration. Just how many hidden passageways did this palace conceal? How many people knew about them? Did Balthazar know? Could she trust him enough to ask him?
Thinking of Balthazar made Iris realise that she had almost forgotten her original purpose for her outing, and she came to this realization at the same time as the hallway she was travelling down came to an end.
In contrast to the entrance, the exit of the passageway was rather unexciting, although a little strange in terms of position. There was a dead end, and then the door was situated against the wall on her left side. The door itself was also a rather strange shape, skinny – at least half the width of a normal doorway. A light breeze whistled up from the space outside, and Iris wondered where the door would take her.
She waited for the count of ten without hearing anyone, and so leaned down lightly on the doorhandle to edge it open. It did not move. She frowned and tugged it inwards instead. This time there was movement, but not the way she had expected. The door slid sideways slightly and realising the direction it needed to go, Iris tugged it to the side and slipped through the gap that opened up.
Stepping out into the hallway beyond, it became more apparent as to how the door worked the way it did. The door was not really a door at all, but part of a false wooden beam that supported one of the archways in the ceiling. The part of the beam Iris opened, was around the side and could not be noticed by anyone walking a straight path down the centre of the hall.
As the door slid closed, even Iris struggled to discern where the exit was, so clever was the construction. If she really stared, she could pick out the slight hairline that indicated the top of the door – a fault that was unavoidable. But stepping back a few steps, even her Lycan eyes were unable to see it at a glance.
She glanced furtively up and down the hall and quickly counted the beams from the beginning of the hallway to the one that held the secret door. Her internal compass immediately told her which way her East Wing lay, so if she was coming from that direction, it was the fourth beam along.
Committing the detail to memory, Iris resolutely chose to walk in the opposite direction from the East Wing. Although the décor in this part of the palace had changed slightly, she did not know for sure exactly how much distance she had put between herself and her guard. It could not hurt to increase the distance a little more.
Her mood was cheerful as she continued forwards without worry – she did not meet anyone as she ventured down hallway after hallway and climbed back up to the second level of the palace, nosily poking her head into random rooms as she passed them.
It was with this rather careless attitude, that Iris actually stumbled upon the very room her tutor had challenged her to find.
She had reached the end of yet another hall and was starting to feel a little bored. Having just rummaged around yet another empty room, (she must have been through at least ten so far,) she was beginning to wonder if anyone even lived in the palace at all.
"What were all these rooms even used for?" She grumbled to herself, "there are so many. Surely they couldn't have all been occupied at some point?"
Coming to the end of the hallway, she found yet another white jade lion statue waiting for her. She had come across a few of these as she had poked around, and she noticed that they almost always seemed to be holding something under their paws.
She had spied two at the top of a grand staircase that had been a little too imposing for her to venture up, and from what she had been able to see, both of them seemed to have some sort of spherical object trapped under one paw.
This one – curiously – had what appeared to a be a scroll, crushed under its weighty foot. Iris paused for a moment, to admire the craftmanship now that she had an opportunity to view it up close. The lion's hefty body was heavily muscled, it's mane thick and full as it cascaded down its solid chest.
Iris reached out a hand and half expected to feel the satisfying warmth of fur beneath her fingertips, but her skin touched nothing but smooth, cool stone. She traced a finger gently down the lion's nose, smoothing her thumb across the curve of the beast's brow. It really was beautiful.
Glancing down, Iris inspected the curl of parchment that had been carved into place under the lion's fleshy paw. The beast's claws were extended, but they trapped the scroll, rather than puncturing it as Iris had first thought – as though the lion was guarding the secrets inside.
Lifting her head, Iris gazed at the door in front of her musingly, before reaching out to try the handle.
There was a gentle click and then a section of the wall that was far larger than the door shifted inwards. Iris was surprised. Surely she couldn't be so lucky as to discovered two secret passageways in one day. But then no, she frowned, this was too obvious to be a secret.
The massive door swung open, and Iris realised that the outside façade had merely been created to downplay the extravagant room concealed within.
Iris let out a breath as she stood in the entrance, her hand still hovering on the door handle as she took in the massive circular room, the floor to ceiling bookshelves, and the winding staircases that led to the higher balconies which wrapped around the interior like thick wooden serpents.
The ceiling was so high that Iris had to tip her head all the back in order to observe the gigantic chandelier that dripped from the roof like a thousand stars – easily as impressive as the one in the grand entrance hall.
If Iris had thought her small library impressive, it paled in comparison to the splendour in front of her now. She wondered which part of the palace she was in – and was amazed that such a room was concealed so cleverly within the overall structure. Nothing she had seen from the outside of the palace suggested that such a room existed, and surely the ceiling was high enough that the library must transcend all three floors.
The ceiling was flat however, which meant that if the library was in the main tower, there must still be something above it, as all of the towers Iris had seen from the outside had pointed rooftops. The thought of yet another concealed room excited Iris.
"It took you longer than I thought it would."
The sudden voice had Iris looking up in search of its owner, and it took her a moment to locate the familiar face that was smiling down at her from the third-floor balcony.
Balthazar beckoned for her to join him, before disappearing without another word and Iris only hesitated for a moment before starting forward to find that staircase that would lead her to him – the library door closing behind her with a quietness betraying of its size.
It did not take her long to find the way up and she wondered at her tutor's words as she reached the spot where she had seen Balthazar standing. He had been waiting for her, so then he must have known she would take the challenge he had issued her earlier. She could not help but smile slightly – it appeared that even with Arlo not around, she would still be find herself entertained with the company of others.
Peering around, she saw that Balthazar had completely disappeared, and she frowned for a moment before realising that there must be a concealed room close by.
She did not have to look for long however, as Balthazar suddenly appeared – seemingly straight out of the wall – and beckoned to her.
"Don't just stand there, hurry on up," he said impatiently, before disappearing again.
Iris stepped forward to the spot where he had been and realised that it was only an illusion that had prevented her from seeing where her tutor had gone. Some of the bookshelves were set slightly in front of the others, but from the outside, they matched up perfectly, giving the appearance of a flat wall. The small hallway Iris found, lead further back behind the shelves, curving around to open out into a small, light filled room.
The grey light from outside filled the room and the rain still pattered on the windows outside. In the corner, a fireplace crackled merrily, and Iris found Balthazar sitting on a red armchair in front of a low table that was cluttered with books, parchment, and pens.
Teetering on a stack of parchment and seeming to double as a paperweight, stood an elegant sand timer, and as Iris settled down in the chair opposite the older Lycan, the last grains in the timer trickled through to the bottom.
"Like I said," Balthazar nodded to the timer, noticing her line of sight, "it took you longer than I thought it would."
Iris thought of the guard that she had dodged as smiled a little guiltily.
"I got side-tracked," she said sheepishly. "And anyway," she continued, her tone a little affronted, "if I had known that you were timing me, I would have been quicker."
The old man grunted. "You young people are full of excuses," he grumbled. "I am impressed you managed to lose one of the King's guards though," he appraised, a flicker of respect flashing through his eyes, "even if it was only for a moment."
"What do you mean-" Iris began to say, but suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she sat up in her seat, turning just in time to see the figure that stepped out from the shadowed hall.
"Princess," Gabriel acknowledged, dipping his head in a light bow before offering the same courtesy to her teacher. "Balthazar."
Balthazar waved a careless hand at the other Lycan. "You don't need to be so formal with me, boy. Find somewhere to sit or go and fetch me a fresh pot of coffee. I drank all of my other one waiting for her Highness here," he teased.
Iris's cheeks flushed red as she glared at her tutor, casting a glance back towards Gabriel.
"You were the one following me?" She asked incredulously, "Why didn't you say something?"
She could not help but feel slightly hurt. Gabriel hadn't been so distant from her earlier, but since then she had been incredibly rude to his King. She suddenly felt a little bit ashamed – it was only natural that Gabriel would not be pleased with her.
However, his reply was not one she had been expecting. "Back in your room, you expressed that you did not wish for a guard to be following you." Gabriel's green eyes were steady, his tone sincere. "His Majesty insisted however, that someone be assigned to you – so I thought that if I offered myself, I would at least be able to fill the role, while abiding to your wishes also and remaining out of sight."
The corners of his lips ticked upwards suddenly. "I did not expect, however, that the Princess would be so evasive. It has made for a rather eventful morning, I must say."
Iris felt her cheeks redden slightly and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble-
Gabriel interrupted her apology, holding up a hand to silence her. "Please Princess, do not apologise. I must admit, I had heard that Arlo had trained you – but I did not expect much. It was my fault for underestimating you." This time, he gave her a small, but proper smile. "I hope you will continue to entertain me in the future."
Iris was stunned for a moment but then she could not help but laugh. "I will take that as a challenge," she teased.
Gabriel's smile reached his eyes. "Please feel free to do so."
"Once you two are finished, I am still waiting for that coffee," Balthazar interrupted impatiently from his chair. His expression didn't match his tone of voice however, and Iris thought that he looked slightly smug.
"Yes," Gabriel nodded amiably, "excuse me. I will return shortly."
Iris watched him go, feeling that it was slightly unfair to assign him with a task that was so obviously unsuited for someone of his position. She turned to Balthazar, intending to say something, but the old lycan flicked aside her concern with a careless hand.
"Don't let it bother you," Princess," he said distractedly, as he peered down at the book in his hands. He glanced at her over the top of his gold rimmed glasses, "I assure you; he is used to it."
Iris hesitated, before nodding once. She still felt slightly uncomfortable though as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction Gabriel had gone before settling down in her chair and changing the subject.
"So, you knew I was coming ... what now?"
"What do you mean 'what now'," Balthazar remarked offhandedly as he turned the page to continue reading, "I told you before that the rest of the day is yours to use as you wish. You're in the main library, go and explore. If you find yourself bored in here, I'll eat my hat."
Iris laughed. "You're not wearing at hat," she pointed out.
Her tutor smiled at her smugly. "Exactly my point."
*