Tar and Rumors

~Pani Rastra is exactly where I wanted to go... So why do I feel so unhappy?~

I couldn't shake the feeling. I tried to smile at Cai's words but I think even he noticed something was up.

"Would you rather me return you to the Duke?" he asked with raised brows.

"No!" I shook my head, "Of course not..."

~That's not what I want... To be honest I don't know what I want though... I mean I only got to this world like a week ago.~

"Good." Cai stood from the floor and wiped the dirt from his trousers, "Because I would hate to have to kill you."

I cringed at his words, and as I did the door to our room flew open, and Naomi entered.

~Seriously, do people not know how to knock in this world?~

"Hope you two aren't doing anything indecent." She joked but neither Cai nor I laughed. I simply stared at her and Cai walked past her to the doorway.

"I'm going out to get some food." He spoke to no one in particular then left us alone.

"What a fun guy." Naomi said under her breath after he left, then she looked to me, "Alright, lets get to it."

"Get to what?" I stood from the floor, but didn't attempt to brush the dust from my dress.

"Well," Naomi gestured to the bed and I sat down on it, "We need to make you look less like you."

"Less like me?"

"Yes." she answered, "Anyone could guess that you're the duke's fiancé from 10 li away."

My shoulder's stiffened at her words. How did she know I was the Duke's Fiancé?

"Don't worry," she must have noticed my unease, "The prince told me. And I won't tell anyone, unless I want to die by his hand."

"Oh," I attempted to relax my shoulders but it didn't seem to work, "Thank you."

"Yeah yeah." She pulled my cloak from my shoulders then began to take my hair down, "all in a days work."

I don't think Naomi had much experience as a hairstylist, but perhaps she liked to think that she did. She hummed to herself as she put my hair into a ponytail then cut it off with a dull knife. When she was done, my hair sat in tighter curls and hung around my chin. I was grateful that my hair was curly, because if it was straight it would probably show off her terrible cutting job.

"And now to fix this color." she spoke more to herself than to me.

"You're going to dye my hair?" I asked and her eyebrows pinched in confusion at my words.

"I'm just going to put some black oil in it to change the color." She answered.

~Black oil? what is that?~

I didn't have time to ask what it was or if it would be bad for me before she dumped a container of a black tar-like substance on my head and began rubbing it in. It smelled like burnt rubber and was thick enough that it hurt when she ran her fingers through my hair.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Naomi laughed, "If you're running from the Duke of Kiziljer, you'd better take every opportunity to hide yourself from him." I didn't respond this time, I just closed my eyes to stop them from burning from the fumes. "You're lucky Cai is helping you, honestly," she went on, "otherwise I'd say there is no hope for you."

"really?" I opened my eyes.

"Your Duke is known for getting what he wants." She answered, "and he'll do anything he can to get it done."

I thought about her words, but to me it didn't sound like she was describing Altan. He had been kind and compassionate to me, and he had never done anything without my consent....

~Besides forcing me to marry him...~

Naomi stopped brushing her hands through my hair briefly and looked at my face. She frowned, "What was he like, then?"

"Huh?" her question took my by surprise.

"Your face says that you don't agree with how I described him." she elaborated then went back to rubbing the tar into my hair.

I sighed at the question, "To be honest, I'm not sure either. I only ever saw a kind and sweet side of him... But the more I think about it, maybe he was just being that way to trick me into marrying him."

"Mmm," Naomi acted like she understood, "Men are two-faced creatures, aren't they?"

I laughed sourly, "Yeah."

"Except Cai." she added, "He only has one face and that is 'sexy-angry-Prince-boy'"

I genuinely laughed at this. Although I knew very little about Cai as well, her words seemed true. "How long have you known him?"

"Oh, just a few years." she grabbed a towel and began to wipe the black from her fingers and I was grateful that the scalp massage was over. "He always stops by my tavern when he's travelling through the Ot desert."

"Do you mind if I ask how you became indebted to him?"

Naomi began to wipe at my neck and forehead to try to get the black off my skin. "Oh, it was nothing big," she shrugged, "He just saved my ass when some of the duke's men tried to take me in for questioning."

"Questioning? for what?" I turned to her.

Naomi sighed, "All kinds of people come through my tavern," she put her hands on her hips, "Some good, most bad, and the bad ones usually bring their trouble with them. That particular time, a man brought a lot of trouble and tried to blame it on me."

I blinked at her semi-vague answer, "So how did Cai help you?"

"Beats me," she through her rag on the floor and I saw that it was stained black, "He probably used some of his princely powers."

~Princely powers? Does that include flying through rain?~

"Did you ever worry about being indebted to him?"

Naomi laughed and sat down on the bed beside me, "Of course I did! haven't you heard the rumors about the people indebted to him?"

My eyes widened, "No... what kind of rumors?"

Naomi pinched her lips to together as if unsure if she should tell me, "Well, I don't know if any of them are true... But I have heard stories of people taking the blame for crimes he committed and committing crimes for him in his stead, stuff like that."

If possible my eyes widened more, "How do you know if-"

My words cut short when Cai appeared at the doorway and cleared his throat. He gave me a look as if he knew we were talking about him, and I swallowed.

~What kind of plan does this man have for me?~

"I have food." he spoke and leaned against the doorframe. "Come."