Chapter 4: Chime Chimera
Long before Dante arrived at the dining hall, the aroma of food wafting through the hallways had set his stomach roaring. He followed at the strange man's heels as they made their way past displays of finely crafted art, Dante walking slow enough to take in the sights but fast enough so he wouldn't lose his guide.
"What's your name, milord?" Dante finally asked as they neared the dining hall.
The man glanced behind him to look down at Dante. "You can call me Garrick," he said simply.
"Lord Garrick?" Dante tried.
"Just Garrick is fine." Garrick flashed Dante a smile and turned back around just as he ended entered the wide entryway that led into a room large enough to fit Dante's uncle's entire tavern, roof included. A long table in the center of the room housed elegant platters inlayed with gold and piled high with roasted meats, steamed vegetables, breads and pastries, and fresh fruit.
Saliva welled up in Dante's mouth in anticipation as he stared at the plentiful food displayed before him. He was so singularly focused on mentally willing the beautiful plates of food closer to his face that he didn't even notice that there was someone seated at the table until Garrick addressed her with "Shandrin! I'm glad you're here!"
Dante's focus was snapped from the food, and he looked in the direction Garrick was speaking in.
A young woman looking to be about Dante's age was seated at the table, absently picking at a plate of grapes. Her legs were folded elegantly under her, and a thick tome was cradled in her lap. Two of her fingers caressed an open page with tender fingertips as though following her reading, even though her head was lifted to look right at the two of them, the corners of her lips lifting into a welcoming smile.
Dante met her eyes and froze. The expression on her delicate features was stunning and filled his body with a deep, radiating warmth, but her eyes were a frigid blue that sent an icy chill down his spine.
"Hello Father," she greeted in return. Her voice was sweet and melodic, pleasant on the ear. "Who is that with you?" She lifted her fingertips from the book and rested her hands on the edges of the pages, as though debating closing the tome.
Dante gulped, and his gaze wandered down to ogle the low-cut dress that clung to her form against all expectations of gravity. Part of him wondered if it was glued to her body. The rest of him was more focused on how much he wanted to be glued to her body.
A hand on his shoulder caused Dante to jump, and when he realized it was just Garrick, he wondered if the noble had caught him leering at his daughter.
"I found him in the old worlds," Garrick said. "He's a possible son of Blaine's."
Shandrin frowned and closed her book, setting it on the table beside her mostly empty plate. "Only a possible son?"
Even with her face twisted into such a disapproving scowl, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Dante tried hard not to resume his staring.
"Yes, I was hoping you could speak to Tristan and have him confirm," Garrick said. "Until then, do you mind keeping track of him? I need to head back out and finish something important that I was in the middle of."
"Of course, Father." Her frown lingered, although it didn't mar the pleasantness of her voice.
"Good," Garrick said. "Thank you, Shandrin. And if you could, please show him around the castle. I'll have a servant clean out a spare room for him."
"Of course." The tension was leaving her face, and Dante was only just realizing that he had no idea what had upset her in the first place.
Garrick patted Dante on the back, nudging him closer to the long table. "Go ahead; sit and have something to eat," he said encouragingly. "I'll be back shortly to get your properly settled in."
Dante took the invitation seriously, and tossing his bag off to the side, he plopping into the chair across from Shandrin and piled his plate with thick slabs of meat and scoops of roasted vegetables. On top of it all, he poured a ladleful of a thick, brown sauce that he hoped was gravy and then tucked in. By the time he thought to turn around and thank Garrick, he had vanished. Dante assumed the noble must have left with the aid of his Chimera.
Making a mental note to thank him later, he wiped gravy off his chin and returned to shoving food into his face. He had never had food like this before and wasn't sure when he was going to again, so he made sure to eat as much as he could. When he looked up from his plate in order to grab seconds, he noticed that Shandrin had her book open in her lap again, but her gaze was unfocused on her own plate of food.
It was only after Dante had slowed down and started eating at a more typical pace that Shandrin lifted her head and closed her book once more. "I'm Shandrin," she said as she pushed a strand of perfectly wavy brown hair behind one ear. "I don't believe I caught your name."
Dante took a moment to chew the wad of food in his mouth, and he rubbed at his lips with his sleeve as he swallowed. "Dante," he answered. "I don't think your father introduced me. Or, uh, even knew my name to start. He seemed rushed."
"There's been a lot on his mind," Shandrin said. She picked a grape from the bunch on her plate and rolled it between her fingertips. "Would you like for me to explain what a Chimera is?" She slid the grape past her lips and gave him an expectant look while she chewed.
"Oh, I already know what a Chimera is," Dante answered.
"It's not the creature that is common in myth throughout the old worlds," she said.
"I know," Dante said. "It's the thing your dad used to bring me here."
"Ah. Well then, tell me what my father told you about it, so I don't repeat information."
"He didn't say anything about it," Dante said, growing confused. "I may be isolated, but everyone knows what a Chimera is."
One slender brow perked in surprise. "Everyone?"
"Yeah. And today's supposed to be a special ceremony because the youngest princess just got hers!"
Shandrin pursed her lips and tapped her long, painted nails against the polished wood of the table. "I was unaware that there were old worlds that possessed Chimeras. Does your world also have a Reiuom?"
"A what now?"
She set aside her book. "I'll take that as a no. We'll have to stop there anyway to get you your Chimera, so there's no need for a description right now. But I'm curious. Tell me what you know about Chimeras." She leaned forward expectantly.
Dante gulped down the glass of wine that a servant had filled for him. It was the second time he'd emptied it, and he was already starting to feel the alcohol start to hit. "They're what the royals use to walk to other worlds," he said. "The royal family uses them instead of a Chime, and can also use them to do magic and stuff." He was pretty sure he should be using more "m'lady"s or at least "ma'am"s, but his head was buzzing with warmth, and she didn't seem too offended by how he was talking to her.
"What's a Chime?"
Dante blinked. "You know, like a poor man's Chimera?" he said unhelpfully.
She shook her head.
"If I'd managed to steal back my mom's like I meant to, I could've shown you," Dante said. "It's weird you've never seen them. Is the royal family really secluded or something?"
"No, the opposite, really," Shandrin replied. "We travel through worlds fairly regularly. But my father and I are nobles of the Nascent. We aren't from your world, and I imagine that my father must be the first of our family to travel there." She paused and then added, "other than your father, of course."
Dante considered what she'd said. He'd picked up on the fact that she was trying to tell him something without stating it outright, but it was hard for his wine-slogged brain to piece together what he was missing. "Wait," he eventually said. "This isn't even my world?"
"It's not."
"But then, why do you have Chimeras here?" Dante asked. "I thought my world was the only one."
Shandrin sighed. "Our world is where Chimeras come from. The real question is why your world would have Chimeras," she said. "My best guess is that you either have a fraction of the old Reiuom's power in your world, or your noble family is really a branch of our family, or even the family of a servant who earned a Chimera from us and left to the old worlds. We might need to deal with this if it's one of the last two. It's improper use of a Chimera to do something like that. And if they're descended from servants, then it's even worse."
Dante was having trouble following along, but he nodded anyway.
She stood, the fabric of her dress spilling about her in tantalizing sweeps. "If you've finished eating, I can show you to the Reiuom," she invited.
"Sure." Dante scrubbed at his lips with his hands and then rubbed his palms against his pants before standing, snatching up his bag, and trailing after Shandrin as she strode out of the dining hall.
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