The boy's name meant "Servant" and "Fear", which made sense, because he is a foot soldier to my brother's doppelganger, and he seems to constantly be on the verge of tears. He had moved over to a window, allowing me to see him better. Looking at him properly for the first time, I saw that he was very thin, and pale. His blue eyes added to the sickly look about him, as they slightly bulged out of his head. He had thin lips, and a thin nose. He couldn't have been older than 18, yet he seemed to know his way around. I couldn't help but wonder how long the Mirror King had kept these people here.
"Sorry, it's a little cramped in here. This house was made last minute, and since I'm kinda small, they made the house to match." said Das, with a nervous smile.
"It's alright. It's very quaint, and I actually kinda like it." I replied, giving Das a warm smile, hoping to show him that I wasn't as dangerous as I was made out to be, by my brother. Das started to relax a little, and walked into the kitchen. I followed him in, and stood leaning against the doorway, watching as the boy put away dishes, learning where utensils, and other items were placed for future reference. Das was putting things away from what I had first thought was a sink but was a bucket, actually. Das's sink was simply just an old bucket with water, sitting inside a wood frame.
"You use that bucket as your sink? How come you don't have a real one? I also noticed your refrigerator is a metal box, with a block of ice sitting on top. Why do you have these, instead of the actual things?"
"It's because the King gave us a certain amount of money to build our house, but the amount was based on our background. Most of the men and women here are from wealthy backgrounds, like butchers, and seamstresses. I was the lowest farm hand where I lived, to a point where I was pretty much a slave. I was paid next to nothing, and slept in the barn on a pile of hay. The animals were the only ones who liked me on that farm, aside from the farmer's daughter... " he trailed off, looking lovestruck as he remembered the girl.
"Anyways, I only had about 100 silver coins, and 20 coppers when I left the farm, and came here hoping for better pay. I got practically nothing to build this house with, and I was forced to use my own money to get the few things I have in this house, like the bed in my room, and the sofa out there."
Das continued, as he turned to face me. He glanced me up and down and added,
"That dress you are wearing is probably worth 20 times as much as this house is."
I looked down, and realized that I was still wearing the blue dress. I had forgotten all about it. Thinking about how much this material would have cost back in my hometown, and the price of the gems, I added the total up in my head, and gasped, because this dress was probably worth more than everything I've ever owned combined. I crossed my arms over my chest, and looked down at the floor ashamedly, when Das laughed. I glanced up, and saw that he was watching me, and had probably realized why I was embarrassed to wear the dress.
"Don't worry, I'm not offended or anything by you wearing that. If you're uncomfortable, I'm sure I can find a shirt and pants that would fit you. I'm sure your cold in that, since there are no sleeves, nor does it even fully cover your legs." Das pointed out.
" If it's not a bother to you, then I wouldn't mind a change of clothes." I said, chuckling along with him.
He strode past me, and turned into his bedroom, opening up a thin door in the wall, and he pulled out a white t-shirt, and some brown pants. The clothes looked way too big for him, and I wondered why he even had them. Sensing my curiosity Das explained,
"These were my clothes back at the farm. The ones I wear now we're sewn up to fit better by one of the seamstresses, who used to know me, because she lived down the road from my farm."
Das handed me the clothes, and I felt bad, realizing that if he used to wear clothes that were oversized for me, and now he probably weighed less than a child, that he must not have had the money to buy a lot of food. I thanked him, and went into the small, closet-sized bathroom to change. I stepped out, and although a bit big, the clothes fit well, and we're surprisingly comfortable. I handed Das the dress, shoes and accessories saying,
"Keep them, and sell them if you want to. There are quite a few more dresses in the closet where that one came from. I don't think it will be missed. "
"I'll miss it." said a voice next to my ear. I jumped, and realized that Lee was still with me. I had completely forgotten about his existence. Das looked surprised at the little figure sitting on my shoulder, as he didn't seem to notice him either.
"This his Lee. He is a perfect replica of my boyfriend, aside from the wings. I call him Lee, short for Little Erik. It's just easier." I said, and the little man stood, and bowed to Das, then returned to sitting on my shoulder. Das was suddenly very excited, and I could see he had quite a few questions he wanted to ask, but before he could ask one, I stopped him, and said,
"I can see you have a lot of questions, but let's ask them all later. The priority right now is to find a way, into the castle, and get the Mirror King's mirror."
"Oh that's simple. I'm friends with some of the guards, so they can help us sneak you in. No one here really likes the King anyways. I know where the King's room is, and he always keeps the mirror in his room, when he goes for a walk in the early morning. I used to be a servant for him, before I was given the position of a foot soldier, and I had to clean his mirror every morning, along with lots of other various items in his room, that I don't know what they are, nor do I want to know."
"Wow. I guess that solves our problem then. Well, whatever questions you have, ask and I'll answer as best I can. Lee will too." I said, walking out to the living room. Das followed me out already starting on his barrage of questions.