53. Red Velvet

-Silika, be still. Otherwise, you will be late!- Mili signed again as she tried once more to button my dress.

More than a week had gone by since Dad had promised to take me out when I got better, and today is finally the day!

Unfortunately, my cold had gotten worse again after my short garden visit. The doctor had explained that it was probably because of a cool wind, and I had spent the next two days resting under heavy blankets again before I was even allowed back on the floor to play or draw…

But enough of that! The important thing is that now I'm better, and today is the day!

In my newly renovated room, Mili put the finishing touches on my dress.

-All done! Look!- Mili announced before turning me to face the mirror. 

A puffy green overcoat over a long white frilly dress. A short apron-cape was strapped around my shoulder, and a large red bow around the collar. If I didn’t know any better, I would assume she was trying to turn me into a doll…

But it looks cute, so I forgive her! 

I happily spun around, making the frills dance in the morning sun filtering through the windows. 

Satisfied and excited about my new outfit, I jumped off the short stool she had me standing on and looked around for Darkie.

My room had been fixed up for a few days now, but this was my first time back in here since that night. 

Things felt… Foreign. Somehow. Like they belonged to someone else. It was harder to remember where things were supposed to be.

My mind told me that my room wasn’t here. It was above us on the third floor by the warm stone fireplace of Lionheart’s office.

I spotted Darkie sitting on a nearby low table and slid him into a pouch slung across my shoulder. I looked once more at myself in the mirror, happy with my outfit.

-Thank you, Mili!- I signed to her.

-I’m glad you like it!-

She turned her head toward the door for a moment and said something. She waited another moment and said something else before nodding to herself and turning back to me.

-Sir Ashbrook is waiting. Are you ready?- She asked.

I nodded excitedly.

She took me by the hand and walked me down the stairs to the main hall, where my dad was waiting for me.

When he saw me coming down the stairs, he stopped talking with Stash and smiled widely at me. As soon as I reached him, he gallantly extended his hand. It wasn’t in the usual way; instead, it was in the way a gentleman would offer a hand to a lady.

I gleefully took his hand, and after waving goodbye to Mili, we headed out through the door. A carriage was waiting for us, and as we reached the step, Lionheart scooped me up and helped me to my seat. Without any further delay, the carriage departed.

I looked out of the window and watched as the familiar front yard of the estate turned into the large paved streets of the upper city. For a while, all that could be seen were the walls and gates of other properties, but soon enough, the coach turned into the busier part of the city. As opposed to the lower city, where the orphanage was, the upper city was much more lavish. The buildings were made of even stone walls with perfectly maintained sloped tiled roofs. Trees were planted along the crosswalk, and every window was adorned with fresh flowers, banners and engravings. 

There was beauty to be found in both of these parts of Evergreen, but here, there was an order to things. A sense of safety and cleanliness.

I stopped staring outside the window and turned back toward Lionheart.

-So, where are we going?-

Dad had kept the details of our outing a secret, saying he wanted it to be a surprise.

He smiled, knowing perfectly well what I was trying to do.

-Well, for now at least, we’re going for a nice meal.-

I squinted my eyes in response.

-...But where? What type of food?-

He gave an exaggerated shrug before looking out the window with a satisfied smile.

The carriage came to a stop, and before I had time to look outside, Dad picked me up from my seat and escorted me out.

Boiling with curiosity, I looked up at the building in front of us. 

For a moment, I was too stunned to make sense of what I was seeing.

It looked as if it came from a storybook. While the other buildings were made of grey or yellowish stone, this one was pure white. Almost as if carved out of one big piece of marble. The cornices were sculpted in such a way that they looked like waves of whipped cream, and the windows were rounded at their bottom like fruits or cherries. It was truly a strange sight to behold. In the centre of the building was a signboard of a fluffy pastry.

Lionheart put me down on the ground and took my hand as we crossed the entrance threshold. Once inside, I finally understood why the outside looked so strange. The walls were popping red, and the trimmings of the walls and the surface of the counters were all white, like red velvet cakes!

I had seen one once at Knox’s birthday. Apparently, it was his favourite cake. I don’t really remember what it tasted like, but it was very pretty!

A strangely dressed man with a long curly moustache approached us. He smiled politely in the direction of my father, but as soon as he noticed me, his smile widened into a full grin. 

He proceeded to give an exaggerated curtsy, his nose almost reaching the floor while lifting the hem of his coat like a lady would a dress.

I tried my best to maintain my composure, but I couldn’t hold a puff of laughter from escaping my lips. Seeing the man’s beaming expression, it was all according to his plan. Once his act was over, he stood back upright and politely addressed Lionheart, who answered as though there was nothing to it. 

Were people usually that odd here? Was this not Dad’s first time? Why wasn’t he surprised? It didn’t look like the type of place he would come to…

After the short exchange was over, the strange man consulted a booklet he took from his breast pocket, nodded to himself, and happily guided us through a muffin-shaped doorway. The entire interior of the building was strange. Everything looked luxurious for sure, but no two tables or even chairs looked the same. 

The room was also packed to the brim with people. Some simply drank tea while others seemed to be eating things that looked more like sculptures than food.

He sat us at a table by a large window. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that my seat was the window. Apparently, their peculiar shape I had noticed from outside, made them a very convenient seating spot.

I took out Darkie from my pouch and placed him on the table while I continued looking around.

-What is this place?- I finally asked Lionheart, who raised an eyebrow.

-Well, I would say it’s a cake shop by the looks of it.- He answered with a smirk, and I felt my brows sink into a frown.

What’s with that answer?

Despite my annoyance, I still tried to ask again

-I mean… Why is it so…So…-

-Weird?- He completed with a raised eyebrow.

Why couldn’t he be forward like this in the first place?!

-Yes! Weird! Why is this place weird?-

-Well, the people who work here are weird…-

-Yes, and?-

-...And for someone to hire them, the owner has to be weird as well, right?-

I frowned.

-Yes, that makes sense, but…-

-...And so, a weird owner would also build a weird restaurant, to sell weird food for weird reasons!- He concluded, before nodding to himself.

…What?

-So this place is weird… Because it’s weird?- I asked, confused.

Lionheart’s lips parted into a wide smile.

-Exactly!- He said as he looked around.

I followed his example and looked at the different oddities around the place. A chair made of spoons, a chandelier in the shape of a nose… Two women eating a cake shaped like a stone. 

It made me… Uncomfortable somehow.

Lionheart looked at me and tilted his head.

-You don’t like it?-

-It’s not that… I just don’t understand. Why does a place like this exist? Why do people want to come here?-

Lionheart nodded understandingly at my confusion before rubbing his chin for a moment.

-Well, it’s a bit like this.-

He said as he extended his hands once more.

-You’ve been to church before, you know what a church looks like. Some churches are bigger while some are smaller. Some are impressive while some are simple, but no matter what, a church always looks like a church. The same can be said for everything else in life.-

A waiter came to the table, interrupting his explanation.

Lionheart made an order, and once the waiter left, he continued.

-Do you like going to church?-

Do I?

I enjoy seeing Jade there, and the Bishop is also nice… But do I enjoy ‘church’?

Seeing my hesitation, Lionheart intervened.

-Let me say it differently. Do you think the church looks interesting?-

He asked.

The question was much easier to answer. 

-No.- I signed as I shook my head.

Churches all looked the same to me.

-See? You understand. Once you have seen a church, you’ve seen every church. It can be a small church, a big church, a beautiful church or an ugly church. You know what a church looks like. You stop thinking it looks interesting. It’s the same everywhere, even in our home. Once you’ve seen one house in Evergreen, you always know what other houses will look like. Of course, they are all a bit different, but eventually seeing similar things over and over again becomes boring...-

He stretched his hand toward the restaurant.

-This is why people like coming to places like this, because it’s different!-

People like things that are different… Is that right? 

It didn't feel right…

Isn’t it more comfortable to be with things that you’re used to? It’s true that I don’t think churches look especially interesting, but aren’t they interesting once you go inside?

“Maybe what he meant is that it’s more interesting to find out about new things than it is to always see the same? Like when we play games with Mili, it’s always better when it’s a new game!” Darkie suggested from my lap.

[Mmmh…. I guess you’re right.]

While I pondered this, the waiter came back and placed teacups in the shape of bunnies in front of us.

Immediately, I scooched down to look at mine excitedly.  It was a white teacup, except it had two little protrusions for ears, cute little eyes and a nose drawn on it. I looked over at Lionheart’s teacup just as he was lifting it to drink.

-Wait!- I signed quickly.

He stopped in his tracks and put the cup back down, a curious expression on his face.

-Can I have your cup?- I asked him.

His teacup was black. I wanted to show it to Darkie.

Seeing where my eyes were drawn, he smiled and nodded.

We exchanged our cups, and we both took a long sip simultaneously, but to my surprise, it wasn’t tea.

-It’s sweet! Like cake!- I exclaimed.

He smiled knowingly.

-It’s called hot chocolate. It comes from a plant known as cocoa that grows in the Kingdom of Avlir, far to the west. Do you know about it?-

Avlir… I had heard the name before. Many interesting things came from Avlir.  I once saw it on a map, and it was easily three times the size of Firsland.

-A little bit. It’s a very big country. They make spice and silk.- I tried to recall what I learned from Jade and Stash.

Lionheart nodded proudly.

-That’s right! Spice and Silk from Avlir are sought throughout the continent. Very good!-

I smiled happily, a warm feeling spreading through my cheeks.

It was pretty rare for him to praise me like this.

-I heard they make very pretty clothes as well.- I continued.

He nodded strongly.

He was obviously very happy that I knew so much about that place… Maybe I should ask Mili to help me read a book about Avlir later so I can tell Dad more about it.

In the meantime, I happily drank more hot chocolate.

The waiter came back, this time carrying a large tray of sweets and pastries, which Lionheart and I slowly ate as we chatted about different things.

He told me a lot about his travels when he was younger. Although he hadn’t gone all the way to Alvir, he had many times travelled to the Heillhs Empire and the Seeir Theocracy. He told me about how different people there were. 

In Heillhs, people were harsh but also honourable and with a good sense of humour, while the people of the Theocracy were often stiff and serious, but also polite and helpful. 

He also talked about what he called their "political structure" was like. 

It was a bit hard to follow, but in Heillhs, there were three types of people. Those who didn't own land, those who own land and don't fight, and those who own land and fight. Since they followed the teaching of Steihnner, they believed those who went to war were the most honourable, and so every landowner who fought was considered nobility, while those who didn't were considered their vassals… And those who didn't own land were simply citizens. 

The Seeir Theocracy, on the other hand, had no nobles at all. Only Kinsmann administered all aspects of the country. Which sounded very strange to me.

We talked for what felt like hours and finished our meal. Dad ordered hot chocolate three times during the meal, and they even brought a stuffed cupcake for Darkie to eat! 

When we got up to leave, I tried to return the plush cake to the waiter, but he refused, and Lionheart explained that it was a gift for Darkie.

Happy and with a full belly, we left the restaurant.

-So, did you like it?- He asked as we walked hand-in-hand on the street.

I nodded strongly before looking around, confused.

-Where’s the carriage?- I asked him.

-Nowhere. We’re going for a walk.-

-All the way home?!- I asked incredulously.

The house would take at least an hour to reach on foot, if not more!

-The day is only beginning, and you already want to go home?- He asked, disappointed.

Just beginning? 

I shook my head. Of course, I didn't want to go home!

I don’t know what else he's planning, but if that place was only the beginning, I can’t wait to see the rest of it!

He looked visibly relieved and glanced up at the sky for a moment.

-There’s still some time. Why don’t we take a stroll in the park?-

The ‘park’? I don’t think I’ve ever been to a park… I heard it’s like a garden, but bigger?

I nodded and we started walking.

We headed to the park, and sure enough, it looked like an enormous garden. Easily ten times as big as our house, and the flowers were just as impressive! Small buildings, sculptures and fountains were scattered about the place, all adorned with a flurry of colourful plants. 

People sat on benches and had picnics on the grass. Performers were dancing, singing and doing other things. 

It was very lively… But I, on the other hand, suddenly felt very sleepy.

Seeing me rubbing my eyes, Lionheart stopped walking for a moment.

-Do you need a nap?-

-I’m… - I began signing before another tickle in my eye interrupted me.

I rubbed my eye strongly until the itching was gone and shook my head.

- …I'm okay…!-

He looked at me with an unconvinced expression before picking me up. Instantly, I felt a wave of fatigue take me over as I rested my head on his chest. 

I closed my eyes and felt myself drift to sleep almost instantly.