She opened the door to the bathing room. It was ridiculously extravagant—like everything else in the castle. There was a black marble tub with gold clawed feet and an enormous dragon carved into the stone. The dragon was made to look frightening, and was carved mid-roar.
She was elated to see taps and running water. She ran the hot water, marveling as water poured out of the dragon’s mouth, immensely grateful for one comfort of the nobility she didn’t have to leave behind.
She stared at the snarling face of the dragon, mesmerized. The sculptor had been a master of his craft. Each scale was discernible; the skin around the dragon's eyes was pebbled, and so lifelike that she half thought it would blink. She touched the dragon’s scales in wonder. Were dragons real too? Seeing magic had filled her with a strange sense of giddiness, like anything in the world was possible.
After bathing, she found a neat stack of towels. She returned to her bedchamber, wrapped in a towel, and was met with a surprise.
There was a nervous looking girl standing there. She looked a bit older than Elizabeth and was rather plain looking, with a mop of mud brown hair and a large nose.
“Hello,” Elizabeth ventured.
“Oh, hello! My name is Fiza. I’m your new maid.” Fiza wrung her hands together and looked at Elizabeth expectantly.
“Are you—are you human?” Elizabeth couldn’t help but ask, feeling like it might be a rude question.
“No,” Fiza laughed, her initial nervousness ebbing. “You’ll find that hardly anyone here is.”
In response to Elizabeth’s befuddled look, she added, “If you couldn’t tell, don’t feel bad. My sister Maud and I are both shapeshifter demons. We do many errands in the city because we blend in really well with the humans.” Fiza smiled and gestured to the bed where a deep burgundy gown had been laid out.
Elizabeth changed behind a dressing screen, and when she stepped out and ventured to the vanity, Fiza smiled warmly. She let the demon brush and plait her hair and slowly relaxed.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth supplied, still unsure what to make of the woman who looked human but wasn’t.
“Of course,” Fiza said, inclining her head.
A soft knock sounded at her door.
Opening it curiously she saw the demon butler gesture for her to follow him downstairs. She trailed after his small body as they made their way along the polished floors.
The butler led her to a great hall where Caspian was sitting at a table with two others, a man with large black wings that were frightening to behold, and a thin man with a mustache. A plate had been set for her on Caspian’s left side. She supposed she should be honoured to be given a place so close to the master of the house.
She was surprised to note that the demon with large wings looked like the same one who had escorted her here. His wings were large and membranous, almost like the wings of a bat.
Wings.That explained why he had looked like a hunchback.
Elizabeth sat and waited, trying not to look so unnerved by her dining partners. She eyed the cutlery and plate on the table and hoped the food they served here would be fit for mortals.
Caspian gestured towards his other guests. “This is Asmodeus, who you have met already.”
She went for cool indifference. “Nice to meet you again, Asmodeus,” she said, sounding out his name slowly so as not to butcher it. “I like the new … appendages.”
Asmodeus grinned, standing and flaring out said appendages. His wings were enormous, stretching for several feet on either side of him. He raised his claws and wiggled his fingers mischievously, as if he was trying to startle her.
“Asmodeus likes to show off,” Caspian said dryly. She turned to face him. “Finnigan is also a demon of my household.” He gestured to the thin man with the mustache and goatee.
He appeared human—the only difference she could see was that his irises were black. Finnigan surveyed her with cool interest and fingered his mustache, a gesture so human that if Elizabeth had seen him in the streets, she would have never suspected that he was anything out of the ordinary. The thought unnerved her. How many demons had she met and never known?
“How do you do?” she said politely, if a bit stiffly.
Finnigan inclined his head.
“You must be famished. Please.” Caspian clapped his hands, and servants streamed out, placing dishes of lamb and roasted vegetables on the table. They piled her plate high with food. She waited expectantly but they didn’t place any food in front of the demons.
She looked around, not wanting to be rude and eat first. Caspian gestured impatiently for her to start, and so breaking one of the first rules of propriety, she speared a bite with her fork. She chewed it slowly and swallowed, feeling strange to be the only person eating.
A flurry of conversation broke out between the three demons at the table, Asmodeus seemed to be the most talkative of the three, and Finnigan gave slow, measured replies. Caspian hardly said a word, often choosing to fold his arms over his chest and brood instead of joining the conversation.
Beside them Elizabeth sat forgotten.
