was made of clear glass. The shower next to it also had the same look. The walls did too, something he was particularly proud of.
“Obviously, we can see out, but even someone trying to look in will only ever see the side of the ship. I um, thought you might appreciate the risque aspect of it.”
She did, and wanted to show him just how much right then and there. Tor was tempted, but he kind of had something set up with Collette. When he admitted it, Petra just smiled at him and shook her head. She didn't push the issue though. Tor wondered if he should have done it anyway. It was so tempting, but felt wrong somehow.
Yes, it was wrong.
If he was in Two Bends.
Here having two women in a day was probably normal. He so needed to finish reading that book on manners Holly had lent him. It was probably covered in there. If not he needed to make up a list of questions and just grab someone to ask outright. Rolph would tell him. Or Rich maybe, if he really got desperate. If the poor man could find the time to talk about things that trivial to the kingdom.
Pet tested the water and then tasted it. It was pure, and cold. It didn't take her ten seconds to figure out how to set the water to what she liked, something far hotter than what Tor would have picked himself. Then she let it all out, checking the speed and action as it drained, seeming impressed.
“Another thing that would work well I think, just to carry around with you. Except, if I'm using it in public I wouldn't want it to look like clear glass. That has to make your butt spread in highly unflattering ways.” She tried to look at her own behind over her shoulder and laughed at the same time.
The next room he showed her was the kitchen, which she told him was the galley on a boat. It had an eating area right there divided by a serving counter towards the back of the boat. That section was decent sized as was the kitchen, the cooking part was all in black stone marbled with lightly glowing blue and orange, at least for the counter tops the rest was white stone that didn't glow at all, except for the ceiling, which gave off a decent approximation of sunlight. She liked the look, but pointed out that she could barely cook, no matter that he was providing magical instruments for it. Tor shrugged.
“But I can.” He said lightly. “It will give you a reason to take me with you when you go places. Part of the time at least.”
The dining area stopped her in her tracks.
“This is lovely Tor!”
It was, that's why he copied the look from the guest house dining room at the palace in the Capital. The walls were covered in green silk, the table in green linen. Everything else was wood of half a dozen different colors from deep cherry to blond pine. Really, lacking taste himself he feared, he'd done similar things with the next two rooms, if in his own way.
The big room had three sofas and four softly cushioned chairs. All done in white velvet and dark wood that almost looked black. There was a table to hold beverages near each, except a low bench like thing he'd gotten the idea for from the madam’s office at Wilderness Station. It looked good for a quick nap. It occurred to him then that a madam might have something like that for something other than dozing and blushed, but Petra seemed to like it.
The bedroom was just a nearly exact copy of a room he'd stayed in at the palace. Some wooden chairs, a polished cherry wood table covered in white and a bed that was still the biggest thing he'd ever seen the like of.
Until now.
This was bigger. It was nearly twice as wide as it was long, and it was ten feet long. It had a canopy over the top with gauzy curtains that could be drawn for privacy or maybe to set a mood. Given all the spies and eyes on you in the palace, Tor figured it was the first one there. Privacy. Seeing it now Tor felt like it was ridiculously over done, but Petra threw herself onto it and rolled.
“Whee!”
Crawling under the covered she squirmed.
“Silk sheets? God Tor, laundering these delightful monstrosities must be impossible…” She didn't look upset about it. Tor sighed and acted a little put upon, crossing his arms and shaking his head at her.
“Alright, out of bed now… Out!” He smiled when she scurried out, looking worried, as if he was mad about something instead of just being playful with her. He tapped the headboard sigil, a glowing hawk, and the bedding disappeared and came back, tightly made and pristine. That earned him a gasp.
Over time Tor was starting to get that there were different kind of gasps, some of them shocked and angry sounding, others just surprised and amazed. That was the one he was going for here. Petra jumped back in the bed and got under the covers again, squirmed and rolled to mess the whole thing up, which took some work, then she scrambled out like a little kid and hit the sigil to watch it all again.
Then his tall dark haired friend, who might, he realized, actually be his girlfriend, if so, the first he ever had, froze, her eyes going wide. She tugged hard at the sheet, pulling it free from the thick comforter on top of it and stood, draping the gold fabric around her shoulders, staring at it hard. She got it all the way off the bed and made sure it hung totally off the floor.
“Wait, this is… silk? But it isn't is it? It's a shield you said? Like the hull and the deck? Or the house? But it looks and feels real? That means we could use it to make clothes?” She actually bounced in place looking gleeful. “They'd be really expensive, but you could add special properties to them or something. They could change color and glow on demand. Or, I don't know, pleasure you with vibrations or something. I saw a device like that once, Martya's mom had it… That could be fun. Could you make them fit anyone though, or would they need to be sized to the individual? That's why clothes are so expensive really, that and how rare the best materials are. Oh, and shoes, or boots, could they be the same do you think? Hit one sigil and you're dressed for the day? Maybe more than one outfit per unit?” Petra stopped talking and went still.
Clothes making and design was her passion, and since this time she wouldn't be doing hand stitching, Tor kind of figured her plans might get a little elaborate. Well, if it made her happy, he could try. Maybe he could make the controls work to mental command or feedback? Then it would at least be practice for Trice’s arm. He really needed to make a study of limbs and how they worked mentally soon, as well as how they looked close up. He didn't think about it much, but he kind of thought that getting it wrong would really stand out. He started working on the feedback and mental control aspects of the clothing, which meant Petra came back to herself before he did.
Pulling his arm gently she guided him to the pilot house and slowly drove them back to the bay. They just took off from the deck flying the boat about ten feet out of the water before turning it off. Tor knew that Petra kind of wanted to put it in dock, to show off, but what was the point of having a magic boat you could carry around, if you didn't? Like with the houses he'd made. He had one around his neck even though there was one set up in the Wards yard. Well two, but he planned to leave the other for them to use as a guest house, since they seemed to like it well enough. Tiny magic house in the yard, what wasn't to like? They could put it away until needed even.
Tor looked at her fondly. Out of all the people he knew, she always seemed the most innocent. It could be taken as stupid by some, but they'd be wrong. Petra was clever in her fields, just like he did all right in his. But her heart was what impressed him. Trice was funnier, and Varley, well, pregnant out of wedlock or not, it wouldn't shock him to find out in the end that she was the smartest person he knew. Rolph was friendly and personable, when not trying to be the best heir to the throne ever. But then, did they want an heir that wasn't trying his best? Probably not.
Karina was… Tor drew a blank there. The only thing that came was that she was not to be underestimated. He'd try to keep that in mind, because it felt like a portent of some kind.
Tor wasn't even going to try and categorized the King. That would be stupid. The man hid everything so well. He'd ticked off Tor by making Trice betray him in public, but… Well, he could have had a reason that Tor would never know about, couldn't he?
The same went for Connie, who at least pretended to like him really well and would probably sleep with him to prove it. Which was why he couldn't trust her. Not really. Even if she did like him, he wouldn't be able to tell if she was just acting for some reason. Unless he read her field of course.
The idea stunned him for a moment. It felt… off. An invasion of privacy if nothing else. One that would work
