Slave to Sapphire
Chapter 8

When the dishes from dinner were scrubbed clean and put away, Iris headed back to her room. She opened the door to her room to replace trousers and a blouse folded on top of her dresser. With everything that had happened that day, Iris had forgotten Ezekiel’s promise to show her the library. She smiled to herself and removed her dress and slippers, changing into the new clothes. The trousers were actually leggings made of soft leather that fit snuggly. The blouse was tailored to her figure but still felt loose. The blouse had a deep V neck that laced up with a string. The clothes were simple and made Iris feel comfortable. Iris sat to pull on her boots. Once dressed, she re-braided her hair.

There was a soft knock on the door. Iris opened the door and was surprised to see Ezekiel with a smirk on his face. He had changed from the luncheon but was still finely dressed in a combination of black and dark gray.

“I heard that you thought I was too good to be seen in the servant’s quarters and I was happy to take the opportunity to prove you wrong.”

Iris held his stare and raised an eyebrow, “I am so rarely wrong that I replace it refreshing.”

Ezekiel let out a deep laugh and his eyes moved over Iris, “You were right about the dresses though; these clothes suit you.”

Heat rose in her cheeks, and she cleared her throat, “Well, are you just going to stand there flirting with me or are you going to take me to the library as promised?”

“We can continue flirting if you like,” he said with one of his half smiles.

Iris gave him an exasperated look and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her brushing past Ezekiel; she climbed up the stairs, stopping once she reached the hallway. Ezekiel’s footsteps sounded behind her and when he reached her, he took her hand and rested it on his forearm. His touch elicited a yearning in her. He leaned down to her, his breath hot against her ear as he whispered, “I do enjoy watching you from behind in those leggings.”

Iris snorted, dropping his arm, and moved away from him. It was clear that Iris needed Ezekiel in order to move around the palace, but she couldn’t let them become more than friends. His extreme wealth and dark purple source stone meant she should hate him. On top of that, she didn’t like the way her body reacted to his presence.

Iris cleared her throat, “It seems inappropriate for the son of the Grand Ruler to be fraternizing with one of the kitchen staff.”

Ezekiel was unphased, “My apologies Iris, I thought the plan was for me to continue flirting with you.” Ezekiel winked. “Come, the library is this way”.

He led her to the library but did not attempt to take her arm again.

As they walked, Ezekiel took on a solemn expression, “I am sorry for what was said at the luncheon about Scarlet Town and the people who live there.”

Iris kept her eyes forward as she spoke “I knew the wealthy looked down on us. But it is different hearing it so plainly stated.”

“They speak like that because they are uneducated on the struggles of the poor.”

“They speak like that because they have chosen to be uneducated. To understand our strife would mean for them to acknowledge that if they were given our circumstances, they would do no better. They must believe that they are wealthy because they are better than us. This is how they justify their longevity while the poor are dying.”

Ezekiel was silent for several paces. “I cannot argue with you on this, Iris.” They walked the rest of the way in silence.

Like everything else in the Palace, the library was impressive. Rows of bookshelves reached to the vaulted ceilings. Scaffolding with stairs had been built onto the bookshelves allowing for the highest books to be reached. The room was brightly lit with lanterns. There were oak desks with chairs that had fine velvet cushions throughout the library. The library had a stale musty smell and Iris didn’t see any windows.

As if hearing her thoughts Ezekiel explained, “There are no windows because the saltiness of the ocean air will destroy the books.” He turned to face her, his eyes studied her, trying to read her like one of the many books that surrounded them. He blinked away whatever he had been trying to discover, “I actually need to finish up some work. My personal office is connected to the library. I figured you could spend some time exploring the library and I will fetch you when I am done.”

Iris smiled at the thought of being left unsupervised to explore the library. “That would be wonderful,” she responded.

“You have such a captivating smile,” His voice slightly strained. He coughed, clearing his throat. “Anyways the books that are illustrated can be found in this row.” Ezekiel pointed his finger to one of the narrow rows of bookshelves.

Iris looked at him quizzically. Why would she care which books are illustrated? The realization sunk in; Ezekiel thought her illiterate. Iris contemplated letting him keep his assumption, hiding her literacy could be used to her advantage. But after the disparaging comments made about the people of Scarlet Town today, her need to prove Ezekiel wrong was too great. “Do the illustrations have captions so that I can read about their meaning?”

“My apologies Iris, I just assumed…”

“My father taught my sister and I how to read. Are you still going to allow me free reign of the library?”

Ezekiel looked at her thoughtfully contemplating what to make of a literate street urchin. He shook his head, a smile returning to his lips. “Please don’t leave the library; servants are not supposed to be wandering this area of the Palace unsupervised.”

Iris clinched her jaw, “I wouldn’t think of it.”

Iris wandered through the library, dragging her fingers over the leather book spines. The books were organized by topic. There were books on agriculture, mathematics, architecture, mining of source stone and more. She found a history of Orinth section, but Iris could not replace any books that predated the current Grand Ruler. She leafed through the contents replaceing no mention of whispered past attempts of revolution. Many of the books detailed the Grand Ruler’s accomplishments. Iris also couldn’t replace any books or maps of Volos. She found a book called Genealogy of the Grand Ruler and pulled it from the shelf. The book contained a family tree with the Grand Ruler at the top and his multitude of wives and offspring. Iris scanned the tree looking for Ezekiel’s name. When she found his name and birth year, she stopped; she was going to be sick. Ezekiel was over one hundred years old. She stared at the curving script of his name; he had three direct siblings. Iris felt a small amount of relief in seeing that no line connected him to a wife or any offspring. Why did she care if he was married or had kids! The man was over a hundred years old and the son of the Grand Ruler!

Iris heard footsteps behind her and recognized them as Ezekiel. Iris snapped the book close and spun around, keeping the book behind her. Ezekiel leaned over Iris and snatched the book from her hands.

Ezekiel turned the book over in his hands, “The Genealogy of the Grand Ruler, riveting reading. You know you could have just asked my age.”

“Maybe I was planning on surprising you with a birthday gift.”

Ezekiel gave one of his annoying half grins, “I am happy to hear that our friendship has reached the level of exchanging gifts.”

Ezekiel was still standing at a distance that was uncomfortably close and Iris’ body felt alive with his nearness. He smelled of citrus and oak. “We are not friends.”

Ezekiel’s eyes lighted and he tilted his head, “What are we then?”

Iris took a needed step back from him. “Acquaintances.”

“It’s a start. Come, I want to show you my office, and maybe we could share a glass of port.”

Iris wavered. She was still reeling from the discovery of Ezekiel’s age. Iris reminded herself that she needed to ask him more questions about the Inspector’s investigation. Coming to a decision, she nodded, “Lead the way.”

They walked to the back of the library where the door to his office was. Ezekiel’s office was at least four times the size of her room. If his office was this large, Iris wondered how large his bedroom must be. Did his sheets smell of oak and citrus? She banished thoughts of his bedroom from her mind and took in the details of the office. In the center of the office there was an impressive desk that was in a state of disarray and covered in papers. Iris would never let her desk get to such a state. His office had a window as well as a fireplace. The warming of the nights made lighting the fireplace unnecessary, and the room was lit with candles. Facing the fireplace was a burgundy velvet couch with a navy blanket decoratively draped over an arm and a matching chair across from it.

Ezekiel gestured for Iris to take a seat. Iris sank into the couch, running her hand over the soft velvet and the woven blanket, even the textures of the wealthy were different. Ezekiel moved across the room to pour them each a glass of port. He handed her a glass. Iris raised an eyebrow at the delicate glass that contained the burgundy liquid. Ezekiel seated himself at the other end of the couch, giving her a respectful amount of space. An awkward silence hung between them before Iris spoke, “How are things going with Inspectors and their investigation of azure shipments?”

Ezekiel was surprised by her question but answered, “It seems like the Inspectors have caught a lucky break. They took into custody a gravely injured man on the night the azure was confiscated. The Inspectors suspect that he was the man responsible for organizing the shipment. The physicians have been attending to him in the cells and I was informed today that he has regained consciousness and will likely survive his injuries.”

Iris’ palms were sweating, and the port was overly sweet in the back of her throat. Was he talking about Maddox or was it one of the enforcers that Lucious had sent as backup? Iris swallowed and took another sip of the syrupy port.

Ezekiel’s brow wrinkled with concern as he took in her reaction.

Iris made sure her voice was steady before carefully laying out her lie. “It’s just so upsetting thinking about the negative impact all that azure could have had on Scarlet Town. Do you know what they plan to do with the man now that he is recovering?”

Ezekiel nodded in agreement, though a hint of reservation remained in his eyes, “He is currently being treated here in the dungeons. Once he is recovered, they will question him about how he obtained the shipment and then he will stand trial.”

Iris had a sinking feeling about what the questioning would entail. She knew that when whoever it was stood trial, they would be found guilty, and the punishment would be death. Iris needed to figure out who was being held prisoner. If it was Maddox, she would figure out a way to rescue him. If it was one of Lucious’ enforcers, she would need to silence him before he gave her name over during questioning.

Ezekiel ran a hand through his hair, mussing the carefully styled waves. “I have been dealing with this all day and it’s fatiguing, let’s talk about something else. Tell me how you came by Samson?”

Iris took another sip of her port, “My older sister found Samson when he was a cub. Anna wasn’t able to care for him and he adopted me.”

Ezekiel filled himself another glass of port and continued to ask Iris about her childhood, responding with stories of his own. Ezekiel was the youngest of two full brothers and a sister. However, he was only close to his sister. He had spent the entirety of his childhood in the Palace grounds. Once he was older, he would go to The Port and Lavender District for business. Most of the people who inhabited the Palace were extended family and could trace their origins back to the Grand Ruler. Almost all the government officials were also descendants of the Grand Ruler. Ezekiel filled Iris in on some of the political intrigue and maneuvering that was intensified by the familial relations.

Iris told him the few happy stories of her childhood that she had. Ezekiel sensed that something dark had occurred but did not prod her about it or ask about where her sister Anna was now. She allowed Ezekiel to refill her glass of port. There was a pause in the conversation, it seemed Ezekiel was trying to decide whether to tell Iris something.

Coming to a decision he spoke, “My mother died one year ago.”

Iris was taken aback by heaviness of his statement. She said nothing, giving Ezekiel space to talk.

“She was over three hundred years old, and she got tired of living. So, she gifted all of her life source to her lady’s maid and stopped living. After she died, I started going to Scarlet Town. I needed to be around people who had a hunger for life.” His voice was pained as he spoke.

Iris struggled with her ambivalence. The death of Ezekiel’s mother had caused him pain and he was still grieving her. But Iris envied that he had the opportunity to spend one hundred years with his mother while she had only had thirteen years with hers. “I am so sorry Ezekiel.” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

Ezekiel regained his composure but was unable to banish the sadness from his eyes. “Let me escort you back to your rooms.” He stood and offered her his hand. Iris accepted it and he helped her from the couch.

Ezekiel walked Iris back to her room with their arms linked. Iris was hyper aware of where their arms touched.

“Where in the Palace would you like me to take you next?” He asked, his mood having lightened during their walk back to her rooms.

“Maybe the stables, I have never actually touched a horse before. Or maybe the armory.”

“Still haven’t given up on getting your dagger back I see,” Ezekiel chuckled.

They had reached Iris’ room and paused in front of the door.

“It will be several days before I can get away again and show you the stables. I will send you a note when I am free.”

Iris held his gaze, and he drew closer to her, his body magnetized to her presence. Ezekiel’s eyes fell to her lips, and the space between their bodies continued to shrink. Iris’ back was against the wall. Ezekiel put his hand on the wall beside her, bracing himself against her pull. She parted her lips and inhaled. “Why did you follow me that night?” Iris breathed.

“When you have eternity to live, you forget how to. Your eyes, I could see the determination in them. You are so full of life.”

Iris laughed harshly at the irony of the statement and the spell was broken. Ezekiel took a step back and shook his head.

“Good night, Iris” His voice was laced with need and regret.

Iris stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. What was she doing? She needed to get a hold of herself. Ezekiel’s openness and the second glass of port must have affected her. Iris normally had a reputation for being able to hold her liquor. She thought more about her conversation with Ezekiel and was frustrated; the people of Scarlet Town’s hunger for life wasn’t something beautiful; it was a desperation to survive. It was a good thing that she wouldn’t see Ezekiel for several days. She needed to focus on replaceing where a certain prisoner was being kept.