Prince\'s Pet

Part 6

After we left the room, Peaz turned to me. "So—Korn, right?—where do we sleep?" She seemed a bit disappointed to be turned out of my Prince's bedroom. Too bad for her.

I tried to smush the unkind thought, managing what I hoped was a smile. "This way," I replied, leading her through a door to the right of my Prince's bedchamber. It led to a smaller, more private sitting room. It also happened to be where my "bed" was located: a comfortable pallet with a slightly fuzzy blue blanket and pillow, inside an actual (if oversized) cage. The cage, however, was just for appearances sake: The latch could be opened from the inside if I needed to.

Next to my bed was a new cage, but it was incomplete. "It looks like you'll be sleeping here with me normally, but for tonight you'll need to sleep in the regular 5^th wing," I told Peaz, leading her through a smaller door into a servants' passage. This particular hall led straight to the 5^th wing.

We reached the wing without bumping into anyone since it was so late, and I led Peaz to a "cage" near several other Type Fives. Opening the door, I told her, "I won't latch it, so you can get out if you need to. If you need anything, ask a Type 3 guardsman and he'll help you. You may want to use tonight to get to know the other Type Fives informally, and either his Highness or I will get you in the morning. Goodnight," and then I left to go back to my bed.

" 'Night," she called after me. I smiled and slipped back into the passage.

She didn't seem so bad when she was being informal… except for that last "<3," but oh well. I walked into my Prince's rooms, closing the passage door, and went to my bed. My clothes were in a chest behind it, and I took off my uniform, replacing it with my plainer, untrimmed nightclothes.

Although my wrist bands were set aside with the rest of my clothes, the collar and tail-band stayed as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.