Chapter 7: A Beauty at the Window

The beauty increased the pace of her walk, it's better if she settles this thing with Irene as soon as possible.

Her black eyes scoured the area. Certain citizens wore jewellery and her sharp eyes couldn't help but notice them when they gleam. Shops that had chimes shone in silver and emit a melodious little tune that drew her in. So although she wanted to be quick, her feet unwillingly stopped every few steps to get a proper look and see for herself the worth of an object.

Thankfully, none of the objects had caught her eye like Irene, so it didn't take much for her to grow desensitized. The scent suddenly grew stronger, so she changed her direction from the shops to a street with more establishments. Those that caught her eye were the barbershop, the tailor, and the shop of enchantments.

The scent brought her to the front of a building named, "Mirum Dux Learning School". It was a squared block of a building with some barren dirt area in front of it. There were no guards nor gates protecting the building, there was only an entryway. She could faintly hear the voices of children and a handful of adults in the building, but there was no way to pick apart the words because too many people were speaking at once.

She sniffed again and deduced that Irene's scent was prevalent, but at least two days old now. She can't have returned here yesterday. But her scent was strong enough to suggest she came here often.

She had to look elsewhere, so she turned to leave. However, just as she did, an earsplitting ring nearly made her jump three feet in the air. She jerked back towards the building in shock, her body was poised to attack when a bunch of children started pouring out the moderately sized entryway.

She quickly sought refuge in a tree, away from the prying eyes and the wave of children.

"Jill, you're coming over today, right?"

"Eh? It's today? But I have something to do!"

"What? You promised!"

"… play a game."

"Just copy Tim's homework."

"I'm so hungry."

"… noodles, sandwiches, anything!"

Her ears caught the stream of words from the children as they walked their separate ways, some of them grouping together in a certain direction. She could easily see Irene among the children, playing, speaking loudly, and laughing without restraint. As if someone had heard her thoughts, she heard a soft mumble.

"… Irene didn't come today?"

Her eyes flew over to the source.

There was a male and a female child walking side by side. The female child was shorter than the male. They both shared similar features in their eyes that were doe-like and messy brown hair. The boy's hair was like a bird's nest while the girl's ponytail stuck outwards like the edge of a broomstick.

They were in no rush, and the female child appeared to be rather down. "I asked the teacher, but he said Irene fell sick and couldn't come to school today."

The male child immediately became saddened at the answer. "Oh. We were supposed to train together today, I wanted to lend her my new sword."

The female child rolled her eyes at this. "Both of you, all you ever think about is training. We should try and visit her, maybe we can cheer her up."

The male child agreed instantly. "Let me go home and grab my sword. She'll definitely get better once she sees it."

Before he ran off, she grabbed him by his elbow. "Wait, do you know where she lives?"

The girl in the tree began to strain her ears, she unknowingly leaned closer, as if she couldn't afford to miss the precious information.

The male child frowned in thought, he looked a bit uncertain when he said, "Just down Battory Road right? The one behind the clocktower?"

The girl released her hand. "Yes, but I think we'd better go together. It'd be so embarrassing if you got lost although you've visited many times."

The male child looked ecstatic, he flung himself towards her, engulfing her in his arms as she squirmed.

"Hey! Behave yourself!"

"You care so much about me!"

The beauty left the children and the school behind. She needed to find this clocktower and settle matters with Irene before these children got there.

She leapt off the tree and searched for the clocktower. It wasn't that hard, as it was a large, tall building near the square of the city. There were many streets branching off from the clock tower, but there was only one street directly behind it.

The beauty took off with a blur. Her heart was thumping in her ribcage as Irene's scent became stronger. She instinctively knew when she'd arrived as she stopped by the front of a house that strayed a little further from the path and connected to a huge patch of green. It was as large as the school, but it had a proper wall and several guards. They didn't wear full armour, nor did they number as many as the royal guards, but it pleased the beauty that Irene had more protection around here. She didn't know why, but her mood was significantly elevated.

It was child's play to sneak past the guards who weren't used to confrontation. They were even chatting amicably amongst themselves, unaware of the brazen beauty who leapt high above their heads and landed soundlessly on the tiled roof.

With her sensitive sense of hearing, she heard an all too familiar whine coming from the room below. She effortlessly leapt onto the windowsill; her knees tucked in her chest as she had one hand supporting her on the wooden surface.

There, behind the glass window, was Irene lying on the bed, looking as if her soul had been sucked out of her body.

Her golden head popped up from beneath the white sheets as her silver eyes glared at something that wasn't really there.

She barely concealed a smile when she knocked on the window and Irene's eyes widened similarly to their first meeting. Her tiny mouth parted silently as her human brain slowly registered the beauty's presence by her window. She wanted to break the window, it would be easy, but she might alert Irene's parents or the guards. She came here incognito, it would be best if it remained that way.

Instead, the beauty patiently waited for Irene's shock to subside as she said, "Open up."

X

Irene noticed the beauty's mouth moving, but she was caught by complete surprise and reacted very slowly. Her room was on the second floor of the mansion, although it wasn't as high as the 56th floor of the clocktower, it was still reasonably high enough that one had to use the stairs!

The beauty's mouthed something a second time.

Irene realized then in order to hear her, she should open the window. She pushed herself off the bed, albeit a little slower than usual because of the body aches. The wounds at her knees hurt when she stretched her feet to stand, but she stubbornly pushed through the sensation and tried to walk towards the window as if nothing was wrong. Her hand gripped the metal window handle that felt cold to the touch.

"I have to push the window, you have to move aside," Irene said.

Their faces were close to one another, simply separated by a glass window that had watermarks from the rain. The beauty surprised her again by simply jumping backwards and falling from the second floor. Her blurry figure was the last thing she saw as Irene forcefully pushed the window open and her hand shot out at lightning speed.

"No!"

She peeked out the window, her heart was hammering in her chest at the thought of the girl in a splatter of blood on the ground. However, nothing like that happened. Instead, the beauty stood safely on the ground on her two feet, her black eyes gazed at her inquisitively as if she was waiting for Irene to open the windows fully so she could enter.

Irene exhaled shakily; her shoulders sagged in relief at seeing the girl in one single piece. With a grunt, she pushed the windows open fully and stepped back.

Within a blink of an eye, the beauty was at the windowsill and climbing into her room. The first thing she did was observe the human child.

Irene looked very different from what she met yesterday. For instance, her hair was neatly combed down her back and glistened under the daylight. Her face was fair and clean, and so was her dress. Today, Irene wore a white nightgown held by strings that flowed freely behind her back. It reached the tips of her ankles, but since they were indoors, she could see Irene's bare feet. Her toes were tiny and pink at the tips, like a flower petal.

"Hey, what are you doing here? How did you find me?" Irene decided to take the first move since the beauty remained silent. Those black eyes were void of hostility, so Irene didn't feel as threatened, but she still didn't dare to get too close.

The beauty raised her brows, her face spelt the words "Isn't that obvious?"

"You did not show up at the palace," the beauty explained.

Irene fumbled with her fingers, they felt sticky and weird from the salve that was applied to the cuts on her fingers.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't allowed out of the house."

The beauty stepped closer to Irene, who couldn't help but stagger backwards. The beauty suddenly stopped; her black eyes darkened with a certain emotion that Irene couldn't decipher.

"You're sick?" The beauty asked.

Irene nodded. "I can't leave until I'm healed."

The beauty sniffed the air, her chin raised upwards. "Is that why it smells so bitter here? Do all humans secrete bitterness when they are ill?"

Irene's mouth parted in the face of that question. "Uh… Oh, you mean the smell of this salve?" She stretched ten fingers outwards, the beauty watched with a barely hidden fascination. She leaned forwards, her sharp nose only a couple of centimetres above her hands.

"Hm, yes," the end of the sentence was slightly elongated.

The beauty stretched her own hand towards Irene's, and with surprising gentleness, she cupped it in her own. Her thumb rubbed the purple bruise on Irene's wrists, no doubt caused by her own hands yesterday. Since Irene mentioned salve, it must've been to heal the bruises on her skin. The bitter scent was unbearable to her sensitive nose, she couldn't imagine having to sit in this stuffy room until the bruises fade.

Humans heal slower than dragons. So there's no telling how long Irene would need to recuperate.

"I'd like to apologize," The beauty said solemnly for condemning Irene to this fate.

Humans really are fragile, she thought. Just a little grip left such an ugly mark, she secretly hoped it wouldn't scar.

In that afternoon alone, Irene had three heart attacks in one go. She didn't expect the beauty to take the first step, but it pleased her greatly. A beautiful smile curled on Irene's cupid lips, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.

"It's fine, I understand. We both love the King, it's only natural that we're worried for his majesty," Irene said.

The beauty nodded approvingly. It was clear now that the human child only had the best intentions, though it was carried out in a dubious manner. The beauty supposed it was normal, Irene was a child, and most children do foolish things.

Although she's already observed Irene's wounds, she continued to hold her hand. She'd never felt a hand that was so small and soft, like a little lamb's.

"Are we alright now?" Irene asked softly. Her chin automatically tucked inwards out of nervousness, her silver upturned eyes peered at the beauty, awaiting her response.

"For now, yes. You are not at fault," replied the beauty in kind.

Irene sighed, "That's good."

Something in Irene's brain clicked as she said, "Ah, you're a guest." Her mother's decorum lessons kicked in; she pried her hand away to offer the beauty a seat at her study chair by the bed that her mother sat in previously when she visited. "I, um, would you like tea?"