The Petite Dungeon Explorer

I"d really royally messed up last night, hadn"t I? I couldn"t help but growl to myself as I nuzzle the pillow.

After the conversation about everyone"s cla.s.ses. Salem had stormed off in a hurry, not even giving me the chance to apologize to him. I felt like it was my fault, that had made him reveal things that he didn"t want to.

I didn"t have a chance to go off after him, because the rest of the night I spent with my other Brothers. But the whole time I couldn"t shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was my fault that Salem had left.

It also felt like he was mad at me, I know that I could be making that up in my head. But I felt it in my body, so it was hard to chalk up to my overactive imagination.

I felt, absolutely, horrible about it all!

Rolling over in my bed, I grab another pillow and hurl it across the room. It slams into the wall with some force, but thankfully it didn"t leave a mark at all.

It was really a s.h.i.tty morning…

Rolling around a couple more times, I finally stop when I"m lying flat on my stomach and I can"t help but kick my feet up in a mock temper tantrum. I"d never let anyone see me like this, but I was feeling a bit of helplessness.

The childish rage only lasts a little while longer. If anyone was to see this…then the image that I"d be working to cultivate would evaporate.

Spending a few more minutes in bed fuming over my thoughts, I push myself up and swing my legs over the side of the bed and drop down onto the floor.

Wincing slightly, because of the cold, I shake it off and pad lightly over to my bathroom.

I needed to pull myself together, and the best way to do that was to take a nice long shower, to wash away the worries!

Stripping out of my pajamas, I deposit them into a neat pile on the ground. Walking over to the gla.s.s door of the shower, I peel it open and step into the shower.

Grabbing the k.n.o.b, I twist it to the red firestone, and the stone begins to glow a vibrant red and it heats up the water. After a couple of seconds, water began to spray out of the showerhead and down onto my body.

As the warm water began to permeate my body, I felt like I was in bliss.

There was something about having a nice warm hot shower that managed to take your mind off of all the bad.

After washing all the negative thoughts away, I bask under the water for a few more minutes, before I twist the k.n.o.b turning off the red firestone. Pushing the gla.s.s shower door open, a puff of steam rises out of the shower.

Reaching out I grab a white fluffy towel and first wrap my hair up and then I grab another and cover my body.

Walking towards the entrance of the bathroom, I exit and find Herma waiting for me.

"Good morning, Little Miss," she says cheerfully, her curly blue hair was pulled into a loose side braid. Her mouth was set in her usual smile, and her maid outfit was prime and orderly. Looking at Herma gave me a sense of normality like this would be like any other day.

However, I knew that wasn"t the case.

"Morning, Herma. How"d you sleep?" I ask her, as I march towards my closet.

"I have no complaints," she says with a small dip of her head. "It was a treat to see the Young Master"s again," she says with a light chuckle, as she follows behind me.

We enter the closet, that"s dark.

"Who would have expected that Marigold would end up engaged to your Brother," she continues, as she reaches her right hand out and flicks on the light switch.

The lamps that are attached to light crystals, quickly turn on and bask my closet in a warm white light. All of this convivence were due to magical stones, that had been converted into everyday utilities.

I raise an eyebrow; it seems that Herma knew Marigold.

"Did you know Marigold, before she was engaged to my Brother, Herma?"

She nods her head. "Yes, Marigold"s Mother was a part of your Mother"s adventurer party. They"d been together since they were little, due to the fact that the Dragon"s and Vampires have always had a close relationship," she says with a grin.

It really was a small world, it seems. That"s why she had such a comfortable relationship with my mother.

"Does that mean that they"ve been childhood friends, that is Ambrose and Marigold?" I ask her, as I reach the back of the closet.

"Oh no. Marigold"s one thousand and thirty, whereas your Brother Ambrose is only four hundred and three. The one that actually grew up with her would be Clemente, they"re about the same age, considering he"s one thousand and twenty-eight," she explains.

I nod my head; it seems that everyone knew everyone.

But they all are truly quite old it seems, rubbing a hand across my face, I pull open a drawer and grab a pair of black shorts. Reaching out to another drawer, I grab a black camisole. Most of my wardrobe was dark colors.

Turning I place them down onto a little ottoman behind me.

"What are you getting ready for Little Miss?" Herma asks as she turns and pulls out socks, and undies from a drawer closer to her.

Walking over to another section in my closet, I reach out and grab a pair of simple black boots with no heel.

"I"ve got a sparring lesson with Brother Clemente," I tell her, as I deposit the shoes next to the other items on the table.

"That"s exciting, your brother learned his swordplay from your mother," she tells me with a radiant smile.

Sitting down, I undo the towel in my hair and get ready to style it myself. But from the corner of my eye, I see a dejected look on Herma"s face.

"Herma, could you do my hair?" I ask her.

"Of course!" She chirps as she busies herself with my long tendrils of black hair.

"I"m a little worried, that"ll get my a.s.s kicked," I tell her as she makes quick work of braiding my hair.

She pauses but then continues with her work.

"No one"s amazing with the sword overnight, you"ve got to practice and practice. I"m sure that if your anything like your mother, which I know you are, you"ll be fantastic at it in no time," she tells me warmly.

She finishes my braid and I quickly dress, before she has any time to object to me doing it myself. Sliding my undies on, I quickly slide my short on and then my shirt.

Sitting down, I roll my socks up to my knees, and then quickly lace up my boots.

Jumping up, I run my hand down my braid and flick it behind my shoulder as I look in the mirror. I preferred dressing like this, simple and to the point.

Heading out of the closet, I walk over to the chest and box that hold the armor and Odachi, I got from my Brothers.

Running a finger along the length of the bracelet that I"d gotten from Grail; I look at the chest. He"d said that it was easy to put things into the storage bank, all I had to do was tap the bank to the item that I wanted, and it would go in.

Licking my lip, I press my wrist into the chest that contained the armor.

"Whoosh!"

Within a second, the chest was sucked directly into the bracelet. That was really easy…

Bending down, I grab the Odachi that my brother had given me and the sheath, sliding it into it confine.

"Whoosh," I repeat the same action with the wooden box, sucking it into the bracelet.

Looking down at the bracelet, I look for some sign of something being different, but there wasn"t any indication of that. It didn"t weigh anything more, nor did it look any different.

Carrying the long sword that was longer than my body in my hand, I turn to Herma. She"s got an impressive smile on her face.

"Your growing into a respectable little Miss," she says with a nod of her head as she walks towards me.

"Your praising me to much Herma," I laugh out as I felt a hint of blush crawl up my neck.

"I"ve seen all of the Mistress children, and believe me Little Miss, your special. I"m sure that you"ll make your own path, that will be as brilliant, if not more, than all of your Brothers," she says in a hushed voice.