Raya: [Though Celestia is a city in Artenia, it doesn't fall within the spheres of influence of Duke Lagrimas or Duke Drogo. And since it's incredibly far from the capital city, Solaris, they are effectively self-governed,] she explained. [Officially, their stance is neutral, but really they are on the Royalists' side because of their secret dealings with the crown. In short, Celestia is mostly closed off, effectively a fortress, and politically against Lagrimas and Drogo, making it easily the safest place for us to stay (now that Charlotte has abandoned us). The only thing we need to do is convince Count Telantra to shelter us.]
One day before arriving at Celestia, Raya and I ironed out our plan over lunch.
Adam: [Alright, you've convinced me!]
I threw my hands in the air as if giving up after a long debate. Really, I didn't care about the reasoning behind Raya's actions.
Raya sighed and narrowed her eyes in annoyance, so I came up with a real response.
Adam: [We should try our best not to be seen until we meet the Count then. Do you have a plan to get an audience with him without anyone finding out who we are?]
Raya: [Well, it's simple really…]
- - - - - - -
Adam: [I'd heard stories, but I didn't think it would be this bad…]
People dressed in dirty rags lined the streets. The foul stench of piss and shit was omnipresent here. Even though it was daytime, it was still dark and dingy due to the tall buildings and chunks of floating rock covering the skies.
The slums. Supposedly Raya's "contact" could be found here. They were supposedly an information broker that worked under Count Telantra.
After following Raya around for a while, she walked up to an unassuming door and knocked in a specific pattern. A sketchy man appeared, talked to Raya for a second, then opened the door to let her in.
Raya: [Wait here for a moment, Adam.]
Oh… Well now I just feel useless...
I kicked a rock that was sitting on the side of the road.
Piss, shit, or people
Who is worst, I wonder?
Oh the travesty
Indeed, in no time at all, I was so bored that I ended up writing a haiku.
Maybe I should retire from being Raya's servant and become a poet. Sounds less stressful.
Soon enough, Raya reappeared and nodded to me. I followed her as she walked down the street.
Hold on, am I just some kind of dog or something, not her servant?
...No, I get it now, I'm just her bitch.
Raya: [Our audience is this afternoon. For now we should get cleaned up and get new gear. I've heard that Count Telantra is something of a neat freak.]
Adam: [Okay…wait, so we're going shopping?!]
Raya: [Yes…]
For some reason she went into deep thought at my response. I assumed that she was wondering what she should buy. I too wondered what would be best, considering our limited funds. Luckily, I hadn't dropped my wallet back when Rock sent me flying, so we weren't completely broke.
The two of us were finally able to take a break and have fun for once. And once we were out of the slums, and in the market area, Celestia finally showed us some of its beauty. Floating carriages carried people about as we walked through the sea of colorfully dressed people. The sun shone nicely on the open stone streets. When we finally entered what looked like a clothing shop, we were shocked at how the layout of the store used both the ceiling and floor to hold items. It seems that clothing for men was on the floor while clothing for women was on the ceiling.
We separated at first to find our respective things, but when I looked up our eyes met and after a moment we both smiled.
Raya: [We only need one dress, so come here and help me pick.]
We?
I jumped up and gravity reversed for me. Spinning midair, I made a graceful landing and then accompanied Raya to the dressing rooms.
After she changed, I gave my thoughts on each one.
The first was red and frilly, to which I responded, "cute".
The second was green and simple, to which I responded, "cute".
The third was blue and a bit more mature than the second one, to which I responded, "cute".
Shit, I need better words to describe these kinds of things.
As I thought about my uselessness, Raya asked the dreaded question.
Raya: [So which one do you think is best?]
The gravity of the situation I found myself in was finally dawning on me. Honestly, they all looked the same to me, but Raya's eyes were telling me that there was a correct choice. I wanted to run away, but I knew Raya was much faster than me.
No, I think I can clutch this up.
Adam: [I think...]
Obviously, the red one with frills was automatically disqualified. Raya's personality directly clashed with all of what frills stood for. That left things between green and blue…
Yes, of course… I see it now. It was right in front of me all along.
Raya's hair color is dark blue, which would clash with clothes of the same color! Meanwhile, her eyes were green, which would stand out if she matched her dress's color to it.
All of that deliberation happened on the spot within a single second.
Adam: [It's a hard choice but definitely the green one. It matches your eyes.]
I said that with all the confidence that I could muster, but inside I was shaking violently for some reason.
Raya puffed her cheeks and frowned for a second.
Shit-
Raya: [If you say so, then I'll go with that one.]
I released a sigh of relief.
Raya: [Let's see what you chose for yourself.]
Adam: [uhhhhh...]
So apparently my picks were terrible. After Raya picked something out for me, we paid and left the store. It ended up being more expensive than I'd thought, burning about 3/4 of our funds just like that. With so little money left, we couldn't afford any other equipment, so we just ate some food instead.
After just walking around and burning some time we went to a bathhouse, cleaned ourselves, and changed into our new clothes. Honestly, I was just happy to be wearing something without bloodstains on it.
Sadly, we had to return to the slums once more.
- - - - - - -
???: [Here, put these over your heads. We can't have you seeing this.]
The shady man from earlier handed us cloth bags inside the building we had visited earlier. After Raya and I looked at one another, we put the bags on our heads.
The shady man led us down some hallways and then into some box where we were told to sit down. After a moment, the box started moving. After what felt like an hour and multiple changes in directions, it stopped and we were let out. After walking down some more hallways, the bags were taken off our heads.
???: [Wait here until Count Telantra is ready for you.]
With that, the shady man left the room. It seemed to be a waiting room, but it was more lavish than anything I'd seen in quite a while. A maid stood in the corner and watched us.
Raya seemed uncomfortable as she sat on the expensive couch, so I moved to sit next to her. We waited in silence until a butler ushered us to the audience hall.
It was unnecessarily large and sitting at the end of it on a throne was a man who could only be Count Telantra. He was lean and dressed in exquisite garbs that could rival a king's. Then he narrowed his fox eyes and smiled as he spoke.
Telantra: [So the Dragon's runt is alive after all. I had expected your brother to come here with you, but instead you've brought me this pathetic little boy.]
Great, I hate him already.