“Do you want to do this play?”
“I have to. I didn’t come all this way for nothing, Danny. I have to.”
He eased back to look at me. “Maybe you came all this way to know what you don’t want.” I didn’t answer, so he continued. “You know why I own a pair of human shoes? Because when I came here to play music and find myself, I vowed never to work in a shitty saloon for tips. That was below me. I went and played in some nice human hotels, playing classical music in this form for a year. It nearly killed me, but I kept saying that this is why I was here. But it turns out...it wasn’t.”
“I thought you came here for love,” I corrected, eyeing him as his face lit up with a smile.
“No, I didn’t know that until I saw you.”
I snorted a very unclassy laugh and shook my head. “That’s slick.”
“Yes, sir.” He winked, and I melted a little. Danny took my hand in his and kissed my wrist, his warm lips like a salve on my tattered soul. “Scarlet, I never thought I would find someone that fit with me like you do. The moment I saw you, I knew in my bones you were someone I had to know. You are a wild, beautiful man and I want to see what comes next.”
“Danny.” I exhaled a little piece of my soul, and another bout of tears threatened. Danny took my hand in his and kissed my wrist, his warm lips like a salve on my tattered soul.
“Do you want to do this play?”
“No,” I breathed. “I don’t.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
Now, wasn’t that the ultimate question?
I had offered my happiness and comfort up as a sacrifice to the theater I was standing behind, gladly plunged the knife into my own heart to bleed for my efforts. I had failed oh-so spectacularly. I had fallen down and ground my face into the dirt.
I had pissed off the most powerful man in the city. I had seen the corruption of the world that had been shielded from me for so long back home. I had been naïve, stupid, and emotional in a city that ate me alive for it.
Within the dirt were my treasure, my battle scars, and experience. I was still breathing, although a little dirty and scuffed. I had failed at my goal, but not in everything.
I had Danny. I had a classy, beautiful Satyr man who played piano like a savant, sang like a siren, and fucked like a god. And he was there with me, right then, asking me what I wanted.
I knew what I wanted.
Now, I needed to get back up, dust off, and bloom.
“I need to go shopping.”
Chapter Ten
I might not have had any money, but the Baron sure as hell did. And that son of a bitch owed me a new dress.
My master plan was genius but had a heavy coating of dangerous madness. Danny, of course, was on board because the man was specially crafted out of sex and honey and got to work doing his half of the plan. While Danny was out making the rounds at our favorite spots to sing, I was stomping along Uptown as a bloated bastard with a grandiose sense of self-worth.
The butler costume I had been given barely fit over my form as I disguised myself as the Baron, but it did the job fine. As the Baron, I looked fancy as hell and knew for certain that no one was going to dare say a damn word at how tight my vest was. I was the Baron after all. I could ruin their life for farting near me.
The lens over my blue eye made my eyes match the correct shade of brown. It wasn’t exactly like the Baron’s evil gaze, but no one met the man’s eyes anyway. It was almost too goddamn easy. I made the stroll to my destination, entering the store unceremoniously, and snapped my fingers to get the bustling bees of the shop to fall in line. They swarmed like they had been trained to do, properly fawning over me while they eagerly awaited their orders.
“I need that,” I pointed at my desired purchase before pulling a folded piece of paper from my tight vest pocket. “With these measurements. It needs to accommodate a shifter, so make it adjustable.”
The attendant blinked, his eyes darting between me and the item in question.
“S-sir...that dress isn’t made to--”
“Did I ask you if? Or did I give you directions?” I hated being an asshole to the poor attendant doing his job, but I sure as hell couldn’t act like a decent person if I was the Baron. “You have twenty minutes, so stop standing here and get to work.”
He looked like he wanted to protest but thought better of it as I set my jaw. He scurried off, snatching the dress off the display gently.
“Don’t forget the heels!” I barked before he dashed away, nearly making him fall as he jerked backward to grab the shoes. It took the tailor less than twenty minutes to have the World Domination dress custom fitted to my actual size with some wiggle room for guest appearances. The heels had to be altered with less flair around the middle so they could adjust, but they still looked fucking stunning as I inspected them.
They continued to kiss my ass as they wrapped everything up perfectly, tossed in some perfume for good measure, and charged the expenses to the Baron’s store account. I didn’t dare ask the price, but I knew it was deliciously expensive.
It took everything I had not to run back to the theater so I could get that dress onto my real body. I doubted highly that the Baron moved anywhere near a brisk walk, so I had to stroll the entire way. The last thing I wanted was my cover blown and all hell to break loose.
However.
When was I going to have the opportunity to run amok in such a fashion ever again? The Baron would go on with his life after this event like nothing happened. Perhaps a few hundred dollars lighter, but that wasn’t a big deal for someone like him.
I thought perhaps a little revenge was in order.
I might or might not have stopped along the way back to the theater and engaged in some extra activities while perhaps still in said Baron’s persona. There might have been some public indecency ranging from blabbering about nonsense to passers-by, stripping down naked, going to the bathroom in open view, and perhaps—just perhaps—taking creative license with how lacking he was in the penis department. It might have caused some laughter, pointing, and scandal to break out.
It was the best thirty minutes of my life.
I slipped in through the back entrance of the theater and fell back into my normal self as I dashed off to the safety of the dressing room. The play was going on without interruptions, and I could hear they were nearing the close of the first act.
The butler costume was shed from my body, and I slipped into the dress I was born to be in.
It fit me like a second skin. The corset hugged my torso like a seductive glove, narrowing my waist into the bloom of a rose garden bustle behind me. The long dress was cut to let my legs show more than they should, with a long slit up the side to let my stockings show as I moved. I exhaled and let my red hair tumble down my shoulders, not caring to style it up like any decent person would.
The distant waves of clapping coming from the theater signaled that the first act was done, which meant it was my turn.
I dabbed the expensive perfume over my neck and wrists, slipped on my matching elbow-length gloves, donned my heels, and took out that goddamn lens before I left the dressing room. Ashley was the first one to nearly run into me as they made their way toward the room I was leaving. They openly stared, mouth flapping as words tried to form. I gave them a wink, not stopping to explain myself.