Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Now the Royal Perfumer can be a bit…particular,” Chancellor Maprist said. “So let me do the talking at first, if you don’t mind.”
“By all means,” Solon rumbled and Abbey agreed as well. She reached out to touch the engraved door in front of her—she thought that maybe the engravings might be some kind of alien Braille, but she couldn’t be sure. Though the Translation Bacteria she’d taken helped her to understand alien languages when she heard them, it didn’t seem to help her with any kind of raised writing.
At any rate, it wasn’t necessary to read anything because a soft, asexual voice said, “Welcome to the Royal Perfumer,” and then the door opened for them, letting out a waft of all kinds of exotic fragrances.
“Hello, hello!” a high, nasal voice greeted them at once. “You must be the visitors from another planet that the Empress was so taken with!” The Royal Perfumer was a flamboyant blur of orange and blue as he came forward to greet them.
“Hello, Borigard, yes—these are Commander Solon and Lady Abbey,” Chancellor Maprist said.
“Yes, I have only just finished consulting with her Majesty as to the best way to incorporate the fragrance of the flowers you brought her into her new Royal Scent. So deliciously exotic!” the Perfumer exclaimed. “I’m told I must make you both the best scents possible. As if I would do any less!” he added with a sniff.
“Thank you so much, Royal Perfumer,” Chancellor Maprist said diplomatically. “We all know what a true artist you are and that you always strive for perfection.”
“Naturally I do,” the Perfumer said snippily. “I not only strive for perfection—I achieve it on a daily basis. Now then, let’s have you step forward one at a time so that I can sniff you and see what fragrances will work best with your natural scents.”
“Ladies first, my dear,” Abbey heard Chancellor Maprist say. Feeling shy, she took exactly three steps forward, because that was what Spex whispered in her ear.
The orange and blue blur leaned towards her and she heard the sound of sniffing. But this was no perfunctory greeting—the Royal Perfumer inhaled deeply, several times, before drawing back again.
“Very well—her Majesty was right about you, Lady Abbey—you have an excellent base scent that simply needs to be emphasized, not changed. Give me just a few moments.”
He stepped back and Abbey wished she could see what he was doing. Then she realized that she could—in a way.
“Spex, describe what the Royal Perfumer is doing,” she whispered to her new little pet.
“Gladly, Pretty Abbey! The Perfumer is tall and skinny with orange and blue skin and he wears clothes that are also orange and blue,” Spex reported. “He is standing in front of a counter with hundreds of glass bottles lined up in rows. He takes first one and then another…he sniffs them and if he likes them, he adds a little drippy drop of the scent to a glass tube he holds in his hand.”
Abbey could practically see the scene in her head and she thought again how useful it was to have a guide who could see and talk to her right on her shoulder. As much as she’d loved Major, he never could have described what was going on the way Spex could.
“I hope he doesn’t change your natural scent,” Solon growled from beside her. “You already smell perfect to me, lelka.” He took Abbey’s hand in his much larger one and squeezed gently.
“I feel the same way about your scent,” Abbey told him. “It’s amazing.”
“Well, thank you, lelka but it’s likely you’re smelling my Bonding Scent,” he rumbled. “My body makes it just for you, to bring you to me.”
“Wait…it does?” Abbey frowned. “You never told me that before! All this time I’ve been wanting to be close to you because you smell so good and now you tell me you’re doing it on purpose?”
She wasn’t sure how to feel about that—it seemed somehow disingenuous.
“I don’t make my Bonding Scent on purpose,” Solon protested. “My body does it naturally when I’m in the presence of the female I want to mate and Bond with. I can’t help it—all Kindred and Monstrum make Bonding Scents for their females.”
“They do?” Abbey asked. “Why haven’t I heard of this before?”
“I don’t know.” The golden blur beside her moved and she pictured Solon shrugging his broad shoulders. “Maybe because it isn’t spoken of much. The humans might think we had an unfair advantage if we advertised the fact that our bodies make a special scent just for the female we wish to Bond with.”
Abbey wasn’t sure what to say to that, but just then the Royal Perfumer spoke to her.
“Lady Abbey, I do believe I have just the right scent for you. Please come forward and try it.”
“Go six steps forward and the Perfumer’s counter will be right in front of Pretty Abbey,” Spex squeaked in her ear.