Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Clearness in conquest

Proved murky at best.

I stretched on the bed, by far the most comfortable cloud I'd experienced. My jaw cracked on a yawn as I stared at the ceiling.

Then frowned at the ceiling.

My neck craned as I sat. This was not Hotel Vitale.

"Lady Perantiqua." Has Been entered carrying a delicate glass tray, and I could not think of a larger contrast given the size of him.

"Has Been," I rasped.

He set the tray on the bed and passed me a goblet of water.

"Thank you." I drank and cleared my throat. "Why am I in King See's palace?"

Has Been hesitated. "There was somewhat of a turf war."

"I don't follow."

"You looked upon King Bring's princes in their true form. I arrived with Is and Will Be to find you fainted at their feet. We assumed they'd injured you, and discovering the right order of events took some… time."

My gaze darted between his eyes, wondering if time was all it took to discover the truth. Has Been wasn't in his monstrous dusk form now, his true form as he'd referred to it, and neither was I.

"I recall looking upon them." My breath quickened as my mind drew up their bulbous forms and slime.

Has Been waited, eyeing me.

"What is it?" I ventured to ask.

"This is usually the part where you faint for another week."

Another week. "How long have I slept?"

"One month."

I flopped back onto the soft pillows, and I could feel the squeeze and shimmer eager to claim me. Clutching tight to the bedcover, I pushed away the feeling with considerable effort. "I see."

"King See doesn't, but that has its perks as it turns out. For instance, he was blinded to the possibilities of Bring's princes all of a sudden. Something so small as a snuffing share might've escaped him before, but the sudden blindness of you alerted him."

I could thank King See for the rescue. I made a mental note to inquire what a snuffing share was once my mind felt up to it.

"Tell me, what did they plan?" Remembering their wide eyes, I shuddered.

"I will, lady, but allow me to say that your arrangement of words is more intriguing than ever."

I peeked at him. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Naught but that your manner of speaking was always delightful, but since waking, your word arrangement intrigues."

I pursed my lips. "I'm unsure what to do with that declaration, Prince Has Been."

"Must you do something with a compliment, lady?"

My cheeks warmed. "Perhaps not. I'd thank you to tell me what Bring's princes planned for me though."

Has Been's voice sharpened. "They wanted to take you to King Bring. They said you'd asked to go. You must never go to King Bring, Lady Perantiqua."

That was good to know. "I did wonder if I would go to King Bring, but then I wouldn't have gone…" After seeing they were monsters, I silently finished, then felt the hypocrite. Wasn't I a monster too? I wouldn't like to be judged on my patches and stitches, and Toil, Sigil, and Hex hadn't ever done that. Though they did take one-fifth of my bounty. That wasn't nice of them.

"Why shouldn't I go to King Bring?" I asked.

"My apologies, Lady Perantiqua, but King See has given strict orders that your mind should not be tested so soon after encountering three princes in their true form."

I steeled myself. "Has Been, what kind of mon… I should say rather, what is your true form like?"

Did that mean that I was truly a monster, and that my daylight form was the lesser part of me? It didn't bear thinking of.

"I can't defy the orders of my liege, lady. Maybe one day, you will see me." He threw me a look that was almost shy. "I confess that I snuck in here with Will Be one night to look at you. Prince Is has not stopped talking of your beauty."

I pulled the bedcovers higher, though in my daylight form.

"Your unworldliness has no compare," he added.

Tears stung my eyes. "Thank you."

"But I can hear the tears that clog your throat. What ails you?"

"Nothing. I am well enough."

He paused. "Perhaps it will cheer you to know that the kings have collected their tithes from the hotel. The complex is far less cluttered."

I sat. "What did they take from the hotel?"

"Their tithes—their snuffing share."

I choked on my inhale. "That's a snuffing share?"

"Why, yes. If a possibility is snuffed out, each king is owed one-fifth of what remains, whether subject or object, though the land itself was within King See's domain."

My tone was dull. "T-they took their share? How much is left?"

I already knew, of course.

He patted my hand. "Well, I'm afraid the place isn't quite empty. King See doesn't care for his share, you see. But aside from King Bring, who probably won't breathe a word of you, the others came and went and know nothing of your existence."

That was something, but very little, really. "Why won't King Bring breathe a word of me?"

"That I cannot answer, lady."

I asked as casually as possible. "Will King See mind if I claim his abandoned tithe?"

"I'm unsure, lady."

"I'll ask him."

Has Been stood, hands raised. "King See won't see you unless your mind is more robust. He… I cannot rightly say why he ordered that. Robustness of mind hasn't bothered him before." That seemed to confuse the prince greatly.

Now I'd pushed back the shimmer, I felt fine as could be. "My mind is robust enough for a conversation."

"You see, a king's true form is far more than a prince, even three of them. Far, far more."

I could see the sense in his words. "I only slept for three weeks, and that really wasn't long enough, was it?"

Has Been grimaced. "Perhaps not, but I am glad you are here. And you've just slept a month more. That must help matters, so do not despair of yourself, lady."

I was rather good at seeing the bright side, but I'd lost a month of time and four-fifths of my survival fund. "I shall try not to do that."

Will Be appeared at the door, and I'd been so focused on Has Been that the rest of the room met my senses at that moment. I'd never been in a room so large. The arc openings in the walls to the outside allowed a wonderful breeze, and a darkness filled the corners in a manner that suited the space. Aside from the enormous bed, rug, and tall wardrobe, the room was stone, cobwebs, and a glittering chandelier dimmed with dust.

"Lady Perantiqua, you have awakened for good?"

"I think so." I'd slumbered more than I'd remained waking in the last two months. I would need to take care not to look upon more monsters. King See was right to order me apart from him.

Will Be bowed. "King See kindly requests that you leave. He has endured great blindness this last month."

I covered my mouth. "Goodness, he would have."

A strange look graced Will Be's conventionally handsome face. "Indeed, lady. He did, and I can't fathom why he might've chosen such a path, though you generate wonder in all who meet you. The choice is out of character for him."

I flushed and covered my cheeks before recalling they wouldn't see any midnight blush during the day. "Please pass on my sincere apologies. I wish you would have left me at the hotel instead. I'm sure King See detested every moment of the last month."

Has Been said, "King See would not hear of leaving you at the hotel for the other princes and kings to discover. He is furious that King Bring learned of you, and more furious again that the princes would be so foolish as to let a new monster look upon them after dusk, and three of them to boot."

I stared at my hands. My smooth, single-toned, stitch-free hands. "I wish things had not made him so angry, though I'm thankful for his generosity in protecting me."

"But of course, lady. Blind him you may, but all who glimpse you recognize the rarest of jewels."

I climbed out of bed to cover my awkwardness, noting that I still wore the gown I'd fainted in. I preferred when the conversation was on anything other than my appearance. "Please pass on my thanks, too, Prince Has Been, Prince Will Be. I will go now, but please could you ask King See about the tithe and whether I might not have a portion of what remains to get on with?"

"Yes, lady. We can do that. But what will you do now?" Will Be asked.

Just like my first slumber, I felt no weakness or thirst.

I halted beside the prince in the entranceway. "I must protect myself better, and I must know about myself too. You've said King Bring is not someone to acquaint myself with, but his princes did seem certain he might help me. Do you?—"

"No," the princes said in unison.

Has Been muttered, "King See will be furious, lady. You had better not."

I worried at my lip, thankful for the smoothness and lack of stitches there. "I do thank King See for a lot, but I wonder why he'd be furious at my wish to know myself more." I didn't venture further to call that an unkindness because we spoke about a king after all.

"Our liege wouldn't object to that," Has Been was quick to say. "More that King Bring would be the one to do it."

"Respectfully to King See, I must go on as I need to survive. If you could pass that on, and ensure he knows I don't mean to purposefully anger."

The princes shared a look.

"We don't perfectly comprehend," Has Been said.

"I must know myself better. That is clear. But even if I'm allowed to keep King See's tithe, I will require the others back to insure my future. While I feel thankful for his help, and particularly thankful for the way he endured blindness, I will need to speak with all of the other kings in time—certainly their princes—though I'm mindful of King See's likely irritation with my action."

Has Been's jaw dropped.

His reaction didn't bode well, and perhaps my choice wasn't smart. King See could easily take the one-fifth I had left. I did know that while I was a monster from dusk until dawn, I was still a creature without specialized skill to get by with. I couldn't plan for five years. I had to plan for a lifetime.

"King See has somewhat claimed you, Lady Perantiqua," Will Be mumbled.

Has Been shot him a look.

"She doesn't know enough to prevent a misstep. We must uphold his purpose," Will Be replied to his silent admonishment.

Claimed me? "Like a good seat at the circus? Like a bargain deal on slightly stale bread?" How did a person claim another?

Prince Has Been grimaced. "Not in such degrading terms, lady. He's somewhat claimed you, and so you have somewhat of his protection."

"I'm unfamiliar with this concept of claiming." I looked between them. "If he's somewhat claimed me, then I'm somewhat unclaimed."

Will Be fidgeted in the door. "I can see how you could come to that result. But while he's only somewhat claimed you, he's unofficially completely claimed you in a sense, and so if you were to go calling on other kings, it may… infuriate him."

"We're not supposed to test her," Has Been hissed. "It's too much."

I was really putting them in a spin as well as myself. Somewhats were vague things to deal in. "How about we go back to the part where King See asked me to begone? I'll oblige and return to the hotel."

The tension in their shoulders didn't dissipate.

"Now we know what you mean to do," Has Been said crossly.

As for that, I wasn't a seat at a circus or stale bread and was therefore unclaimable, so whatever King See had decided about unofficially completely claiming me to somewhat a degree was just that—his decision. Not mine.

"Kindly thank King See for the idea of claiming, though I can't accept at this time. I thank him for his protection during the last month as I slept and apologize for his lengthy blindness. Remember to ask about the tithe, please. Don't forget, I implore you." I walked from the chamber, then glanced back.

Just one thing bothered me. Two things, but they seemed in the same avenue. Why did King See get so angry at the idea of me meeting King Bring? I asked the second aloud, "Why did King See somewhat claim me?"

Will Be had the look of a defeated someone. I wonder what ailed him so.

He said, "He can't be sure what you mean in the scheme of things, lady. He is the king that sees, and until he sees what possibilities you bring to the fate of the pulses, our liege will not risk a single precious hair on your exquisite head."

Has been was as confused as Will Be was defeated. He whispered, "He did not need to be blind for a month. The lady could have done as well elsewhere."

"Any number of things might've happened," Will Be answered him, then threw me a serious look. "You need to leave now."

"My, I never guessed things were so dire," I said, my heart sinking at how I'd put them all out. "I'll leave right away." I took a step, then hesitated. "Just… King See's caution when it comes to the blindness I bring makes perfect sense. He'd like to keep me safe until he knows if I am important. I wonder at the rest of it, however, the part about not risking a single precious hair."

"His words, not ours, Lady Perantiqua," Has Been told me. "His words exactly."

My face warmed. Such an utterance put a rather different spin on his reasons for enduring blindness to keep me guarded. An entire month. Whisperings of "precious" and "exquisite" made a claiming seem far less associated with stale bread and far more associated with courtship and romance of times long gone.

But then he'd asked for me to leave the instant I woke.

King See has somewhat claimed you.

Best not to read too much into the whole affair. My ignorance in this world seemed without limit, and I had far greater concerns at present.

"I must disagree with King See on one point," I mused. "I feel this is a time for risk instead of caution. Though, perhaps I feel that way because I've never been blind, except to the world of monsters."

The princes watched me, expressions solemn.

I quickly walked down the grand hallway as they exchanged furious whispers.

Will Be called out just as I reached the stairs, "Lady, our liege will expect that not a single precious hair on your exquisite head is harmed despite your return to the snuffed space. Just to be clear."

To be clear with them , nothing had been less clear in my very unclear life.