Book 3, chapter 6

A short, pudgy, grey-furred Allevark tailor in a stylish grey and white suit darted around her. He held a rope with small knots in one paw and a notepad in the other.

The tailor, finally finished with his measurements took a step away. "I am guessing by your sword, and aura, that you are a melee combat class user?" He asked.

"Yes sir," Zee said, lowering her arms to her sides.

"What is your fighting style?" He asked, scribbling in his notebook.

"I mostly use hit-and-run tactics." She said.

"A smart choice with your size and dominative build." The tailor said, his ears twitching in approval.

"Any preference for colors?" The tailor asked.

"Any suggestions?" Zee asked.

"Hmm. I have a few selections of fabric that you may like." The tailor said, disappearing into the back.

Yukna gave her a smile and a thumbs-up. "Don't be so tense, he won't bite."

Zee shifted on the stool, glancing down at the sensible black pants and white cotton shirt she had borrowed for the occasion.

Her bronze Tesh and Co copper necklace hung around her neck, draped over her shirt, visible for all to see.

"Sorry, I am not used to strangers touching me," Zee said.

"That's fine, just try not to glare so much, you are making him uncomfortable," Yukna said.

"I wasn't glaring," Zee said defensively, just as the tailor came back into the room.

The tailor placed three bolts of fabric on the table next to her, his amused look telling her otherwise. The tailor gave Yukna a half smile.

"Don't worry lady Tesh. I am not offended by her glare. It actually helps, as I can choose a color to suit her temperament." The tailor said.

"You are too kind, Narad. Thank you again for taking us in on such short notice."Yukna said, giving him a small bow of respect.

Narad smiled, exposing his long needle-like teeth. "It is no trouble. Though I do have a small request." Narad said unrolling a bolt of purple fabric on the table.

"If it is something in my power, you will have it," Yukna said.

"Well, you see. Your fiancé's butler made off with a hundred Dara of mine before he left. I want a rematch. A chance to win it back." Narad said, his tone serious.

"A rematch?" Zee asked.

"You know, cards. That wily butler is far too good for my liking." Narad said. Yukna's expression fell.

"I am sorry to inform you of this Narad, but Pierre died in the fighting. The traitorous duke killed him." Yukna said.

Narad paused in his work, an expression of grief crossing his face. "Ahh. That is a true shame. Pierre was a good man, and a good friend." Narad said.

"Yes, he was wasn't he," Yukna said softly.

There was a long moment of silence before Narad shook himself, putting on a forced, sad smile.

"How many sets of clothing would you like?" Narad asked, softly.

Zee turned to Yukna, uncertainly. "Uhh... What do you think?" Zee asked.

Yukna adjusted her glasses thoughtfully. "I would suggest five sets of casual every day attire, and three formal. Also, she needs a dress that is suitable for the king's birthday party." Yukna said.

The tailor looked at Zee questioningly. Zee shrugged. "What she said."

The tailor gave them both a pleasant smile. "Excellent. Anything else?" Narad asked.

Yukna smiled and handed him a sealed envelope. "Yes, I have a detailed request for a dress for Allison," Yukna said.

Narad cracked open the envelope, his expression changing to one of amusement. "Of course. I will have them delivered to your mansion as late as tomorrow evening." Narad said.

"Thank you," Yukna said, giving him a half bow.

They exited the shop, and onto the bustling street. Zee shielded her eyes, the late noonday heat like a physical thing.

As if on cue, two Allevark guards bracketed Yukna, scanning the street for any threats. It wasn't really necessary with Zee around, but she couldn't exactly tell them to go away.

"What now?" Zee asked, following Yukna up the wide street, weaving between the crowd. The woman shrugged, glancing back at her.

"I was thinking of going to the market to get some things. I want to make Allie something special to celebrate her rank up." Yukna said.

"That sounds great. Can we stop by Malden's place afterward? I need to drop off both the ring and the bracelet we made, and I don't know where he lives." Zee said.

"We can do that first. Come on, let's go see if he is home." Yukna said, changing direction.

Yukna led Zee up one edge of the valley into the much wealthier sections of the city. All the while, one guard moved ahead of them and the other followed close behind.

The city of Carden was bustling with activity despite the afternoon heat. Dozens of carts constantly trafficked the wide streets, pulled by scaly lizards.

All the while Yukna pointed out various buildings of note, like a massive cathedral to Barrantar. There was also a sprawling library that was estimated to have over a million books.

Zee was actually pleasantly surprised at the reactions of the Allevark civilians they passed. It took them nearly a half hour to arrive at Malden's mansion.

It was a massive place, with high stone walls, and a wrought iron gate. As they approached, she could feel it, the walls thrumming with potent arrays.

The gates were closed, but as they drew closer, two royal guards stepped from the shade.

"Halt, what brings you here?" One asked. She recognized both of course, but she only knew Ralfinious by name.

Given the fact they both looked overheated and unhappy to be out of the shade, she decided to make it snappy.

"Hey Ralfie. I am here to drop off something crown prince Malden asked me to make for him," Zee said.

"Ahh. He did mention that. You may enter, though you have to leave your sword here."Ralfineous said.

Zee could see they weren't going to bend on that, so she unbuckled her sword belt and handed it over to Yukna.

She didn't trust Malden royal guard with her weapon in the slightest. Once she was disarmed, Ralfie smiled at her.

"You may enter." He said, giving her a cheeky smile.

Zee walked through the front gates, giving him a rude gesture. She felt the layers of arrays slide over her skin, no doubt warning every guard on the premise that she was entering.

This was confirmed as another guard with a bow peered out a window from the second floor. The female guard gave her a dirty look as she pulled open the front door.

Zee sighed, and enter. She was lucky she had such a powerful sensory ability like spatial ripple.

With the skill able to see through walls she was easily able to find Malden, near the other end of the mansion. Oddly, the prince wasn't alone, though she couldn't tell what they were saying for some reason.

The arrays protecting the mansion must have been messing with her skill. They must be some powerful arrays to mess with her skill, given she was inside the defensive arrays.

After a minute of navigating the mazelike hallways, she found him. Zee strode in through an open door, hearing soft voices in the next room.

The voices cut off as she entered, both figures looking over at her. Malden, wearing soft, embroidered blue robes, stood near a tall bookshelf lining the far wall.

He had a large weathered book in his paws, holding it open for an equally tall much older-looking Allevark.

Zee cocked her head, noting the density of energy leaking from the old kitty. The old timer had to be in the E grade, though probably only early E grade.

Malden and the old man had very similar builds, and the same thick, dark black fur. Even the white tuffs atop their ears were the same.

The biggest difference was the streaks of silver symbolizing his old age in the unknown Allevarks fur.

Malden snapped the heavy tomb shut, taking a half step towards her.

"Zee? What are you doing here?" Malden asked, curiously.

"You said to stop by when I finished making the spatial storage," Zee said.

"And you succeeded?" Malden asked, suddenly excited.

"No, I just came here to waste your time," Zee said.

Malden rolled his eyes. "Figures. You are good at wasting my time. First, I waste my time training you, and now this?" Malden asked, his tone playful.

Zee smiled and pulled both the bracelet and the ring from her pocket. She tossed the ring first. With deft paws, the crown prince caught the gaudy ring.

He quickly tested it out, a wide grin spreading across his cat-like face.

"What about the bracelet? Is it finished?" Malden asked.

Zee pulled out the delicate silver bracelet, eying its three pitch-black gems. "Ya, it's done too. It was a lot of work to make both of them." Zee said, gently tossing the bracelet.

Malden caught it and smiled. "Not bad for a filthy human," Malden said.

Zee gave him her best-feigned glare.

"I swear, you are one ungrateful kitty you know that? I put in so much effort and you can't even give me a simple, thank you." Zee said, giving him her best pout.

Beside Malden, the older Allevark laughed, the sound deep. Zee cocked her head at him.

"Who is this old guy?" Zee asked, gesturing to the man beside Malden.

"I am Bethel. And you are?" He asked amusement in his voice.

"Uh, I am Zee. Nice to meet you old timer." She said casually. His name sounded somewhat familiar, maybe someone she heard of before.

Malden cracked a smile, seeming amused by something. Zee shook her head, pushing the distracting thoughts from her head.

She had a party to attend tonight. And hanging out here was interfering with that. But before she went.

"So, Maldy. Have you made a choice? Do I get your bed, or, are you going to pay up one E-grade natural treasure." Zee asked.

Malden's face scrunched up into a scowl. "You are being unreasonable. A year without my bed is far too long. Surely there is something else you want?" Malden asked.

Zee gave him a helpless look. "Sadly I don't make the rules here. It's a shame. You are missing out you know." Zee said.

"I hate you," Malden said.

"Well, it was nice seeing you Maldy. I guess I will see you at the king's birthday party. A pleasure to meet you old timer." She said, turning to leave.

She strode out the door, waving back at the prince, and the older Allevark.

"What an odd human," Bethel said.

"I know right? She is weird, but you get used to her after a while." Malden said.

Zee left the mansion shortly after, back out into the sweltering heat. She and Yukna still had some grocery shopping to do, and then some food to make later.

Not to mention the excitement of Allison's rank up. She couldn't wait to see the look on Malden's face once he learned that little detail.

It was going to make him want her family's cultivation technique far more than he already did. She smiled. Two parties to look forwards to within several days. First, Allison's rank-up party, and then the king's party. She was actually rather excited.

(Allison Dendric) Interlude.

Despite recently ranking up to the E grade Allison was troubled. She upgraded her class, from rare, to epic, and got a skill called flames of purgatory.

She still remembered the envious look on Zee's face when she told her what she chose. Allison couldn't wait to test it out, though she would need to leave the city to do that.

She suspected her new skill was a finisher, and would likely cause a lot of damage to her surroundings.

Allison was elated at first. Zee and Ilukna had made her dinner to celebrate her rank up. The celebration didn't end there. Once Zee headed downstairs, a slightly drunk Yukna showed her a very intense hour of intimacy.

That left Allison breathless, and physically exhausted, far quicker than any sparring session. She lay on her bed under the soft sheets, her arms wrapped around Yukna's slender waist. Usually, several rounds of lovemaking, and having her fiancé next to her helped calm her racing mind.

Not tonight. She had so many things to consider, and weigh. So many threads of consequence to balance.

From an outside perspective, most people might think she was rash and didn't think much before she acted.

That was far from the truth. She was a product of her upbringing, raised and trained from infancy to understand and maneuver through politics.

She always weighed every decision, by calculating the ramifications on both a personal and political level.

She sometimes envied Zee. That girl approached politics like a drunk lizard. Not to mention her lack of proper respect for people far above her in station.

Allison had no such luxury. She had to play the game, or there would be serious consequences. Watching her friend nearly cause incident after Incident was stress-inducing but she was starting to expect it by now.

Now that she had a strong idea of how that young woman would react, she could point Zee in a direction, and know the effect it might have.

The question was, how could she gain an advantage over her birth parents to get them off her back?

She had a few things she might be able to use, mostly involving Zee. Her recent rank-up was definitely at the top of her list.

She let out a soft sigh. Her friendship with Zee made things somewhat complicated, as her parents could use that against her. Her upbringing told her to put aside meaningless things like family, and friendship.

Having such things were mere tools, to be used for personal gain. Developing real feelings was a weakness, something that could be exploited.

It was what her parents, and tutors ingrained in her mind from childhood. It was why she left to become an adventurer when she was a teenager.

Allison could not agree with their methods and wanted out.

She let out a soft sigh. Yukna stirred in her arms, deep in meditation next to her, shifting to face her, looking so peaceful.

Seeing that beautiful face, and being in her arms made her both happy and filled her with anxiety. Allison knew her recent actions would have consequences.

The fact that she had lied to her parents, all the while knowing they would remove Zee from her guard. It was going to come back to bite her in the ass.

They would be furious once they discovered just how valuable Zee truly was. Once she showed herself in public, and revealed her rank up at the king's party there would be no going back.

Everyone would learn of Zee's true value and would want to take her for themselves. Most would seek to gain her favor, through bribes, and friendship. But others would use less pleasant methods like blackmail.

Given the very recent and public denouncement of Zee by her parents they would lose face. The retaliation was going to be unpleasant. Allison let out a tired sigh.

She would need to gently nudge Zee in the right direction, and grow the connection between her and the right people.

Zee might not know it but her friendship with Malden was already known, given their departure from the ship upon arrival. There was even an image of them both striding up the dock in the news, walking side by side.

Not to mention the publication in the news that Yukna made, formally accepting Zee into her company, Tesh and Co.

Even so, that girl would be in trouble. She was about to gain a lot of friends and enemies alike. With the kind of value, Zee's cultivation technique could offer, she was about to become very sought after.

After all, her knowledge could help people stuck in the bottleneck rank up naturally. No longer would they have to scrounge and beg, to get the opportunity from the Kelvish dominion.

What's more, as far as they knew, Zee was unaffiliated, with very little backing.

Allison closed her eyes, resting her head on Yukna's bare chest. She listened to the soft sounds of her beating heart, enjoying her calm breathing.

Hopefully, her recent power spike from ranking up would help deter some of the vultures. She couldn't come out and publicly state she was backing Zee, but she could heavily implicate it.

She closed her eyes, pushing distractions from her mind. She needed some rest. She would need to be rested and alert, for the king's birthday party tomorrow night.