I look around to see if there’s another less pissy Archivist who might be more willing to help, but surprisingly, I spot no one. I’ve spent several weeks now on futile census scanning. Treno is still gone, and I haven’t had any more interesting dreams that needed to be analyzed. Basically, I’m going a little stir crazy. I even looked for Ryn the other day, but apparently he’s off with the others, not that he would have been any help with anything anyway.
“Exactly what I said,” Purt states irritably, pulling me from my thoughts.
Sice clears his throat in an obvious warning. Purt glances over at the guard and receives a look that has him dropping some of his attitude.
“The writings you requested have not been located at this time. The archivists there are looking for them, but it’s not unheard of for books to get filed incorrectly or for a royal to ask to look at something without it being recorded. When it’s located, it will be brought over for you,” he finishes.
I eye him for a moment and then release a resigned huff and nod.
Purt hurries away, sending a worried look over his shoulder at Sice. I can’t help the small chuckle that sneaks out at that. Sice and Dri are like two badass shadows. They don’t say much, and half the time I forget they’re there, but they have made dealing with Purt—and any other jerks over the past couple of weeks—so much more enjoyable.
I look down at my table and all the surrounding black covered records, and my heart just isn’t into doing any more research today. I close the census in front of me, placing a leather bookmark where I left off, and lean back in my chair. Another letter from Treno arrived this morning, but it didn’t say much other than sorry and that he’ll be back as soon as he can. So pretty much the same shit that every other note has said.
I reach in my pocket and pull out one of the sweets that accompanied Treno’s note this morning. I unwrap the waxy paper from around it and shove it in my mouth. It’s like Werther’s Originals, coffee, and a rich brownie had a baby together. It’s probably the only thing keeping me sane today, and it’s officially my new favorite thing to put in my mouth. I pull out two more candies from my stash and silently hand them over to Sice and Dri.
“Is this Sazo?” Dri asks me with pure awe in her tone.
I look over at the usually stoic guard and watch her look down at her palm like it houses a treasure.
“Um, I don’t know,” I admit, unsure how a piece of candy could evoke such an intense response.
Sice brings the wax-wrapped morsel up to his nose and breathes deeply. He gives a sigh that makes me smile because he practically goes cross-eyed with delight.
“By the moon, it is,” he confirms, and the same reverence that tinged Dri’s features now moves through his as well.
“What am I missing here?” I ask, feeling like an ass because I’ve been snacking on these goodies all morning like they were no big deal.
“Sazo is a delicacy,” Sice offers, like their worshipping looks alone don’t give that part of the mystery away.
Dri gives an amused snort and shakes her head at her partner’s inadequate explanation. “Sazo takes years to cure and settle into its ripe flavor. The plants used to make it can take centuries to mature and fruit, and there aren’t many of them left. Many farms were wiped out during the first uprising and flight. The combination of all of that makes this delicacy one of the priciest, and hardest to source, commodities.
“Well, shit,” I say as I watch Sice unwrap his candy and place it reverently in his mouth.
He groans deeply, and I suddenly find myself thinking that he probably makes that noise when he comes too. Heat fills my cheeks, and I look away. Sice and Dri have been my silent homies the past couple of weeks, and the last thing I want to think about is Sice having orgasms or what he looks like when he fucks.
Damnit! Now I’m thinking about that too. I shake my head to try and clear it of the unwanted visual. If I found him attractive, it would be one thing, but I don’t, and now I have all kinds of imaginary visuals that I would like to bleach from my brain.
I look over at Dri and notice that she places the Sazo in a pouch at her side.
“Going to savor that later?” I ask, grateful that she’s not going to open a window into what she looks like when she’s experiencing pleasure too.
“I’m going to save it for my sister’s eyas. I’ve had the pleasure of eating Sazo when I was young; they should experience it too,” she explains, a small reminiscent smile sneaking across her face.
“How many eyas does she have?” I ask, recalling the term Ryn once used to introduce me to Sutton.
“She has three,” Dri answers.
“Oh, well then, have some more, you can’t split just one piece with three kiddos.”
I reach into the barely there dress that I’m wearing because my pants needed to be washed. The only good thing about the two strips of vertical fabric, which cover my boobs and attach to a flowy skirt, is that the seamstress sewed pockets into it like I asked. I pull out a handful of candy and hand it over to Dri and then grab another handful and give it to Sice. They both sputter and try to argue with me.
I don’t have the heart to tell them that I ate twice that much this morning, not knowing this stuff was worth more than gold.
“Take it!” I insist, narrowing my eyes and pulling my hands away when Dri tries to put the treats back in my palms. “I’m serious,” I argue. “Treno gave me too many, and I had no idea it was this precious. Take it and share it. Besides, I always think things taste better or are more fun when you can share them with people you care about. I know I just met you two, but I know you have friends and family. Just think of their faces when you pull this out of your pockets and hand it over.”
That argument seems to do the trick, and Sice and Dri tuck their delicacies away and stop putting up a fuss.
“You’re very kind,” Dri starts, and I wave it off.
“It’s the least I can do. Your presence alone makes Purt and some of the other archivists less dickish,” I tell them, eyeing my stack of books again.
“So what do you guys do around here for fun?” I ask, looking for a solid excuse not to open up another record and pour over it for the rest of the day.
I am bored out of my fucking mind at this point. After weeks of sporadic notes from Treno, his almost daily gifts, and the long days filled with research and not much else, I feel stagnant and stuck, two things that are starting to give me an eye twitch.
“Come on, following my boring ass around all day can’t be all there is to do? What’s Avowed night life look like around here?” I press.
Dri gives Sice a hesitant look, and he clears his throat.
“Milady…”
I groan at the title. I’ve been trying to get them to cut that shit out since the day I first met them.
“For the thousandth time, you don’t need to be so formal,” I whine. “I know I look all milady and shit here,” I admit, picking up a strand of ghost white hair and running it just under my lavender eyes. “But I’m not.”
I turn to Dri.
“Don’t hold out on me. There has to be better things to do around here than read genealogy volumes. Don’t you guys have bars or something?” I ask.