Acinonyx's abode in the Hyperionite hold was directly across from Pardus', which was in close vicinity to the castle. As Rowena entered it, dragged by Acinonyx she took a quick look around. The first thing she noticed was a statue of the Cow-Horned Goddess of Love. Glaring with her reddish-brown eyes, Rowena could only think that deity was a disgrace to her station. A true Goddess of Love never would have taken a happily married woman from the husband she loved to give her to some creature!
Dragged up to the second floor, Rowena took a good look at her surroundings, there had to be something that could be used to kill Acinonyx. By the corner fire were four vases of varying sizes, there was a vase on a shelf with a chest next to it, two chests beneath the shelf, on the shelf above it were two baskets and on the shelf above that were two cups and a wine jug. Perhaps she would not be able to kill Acinonyx, but at the most she could knock him out.
Looking down at Kenneth, Rowena saw the caracal jump up onto the bed and glare at the cheetah Paris. Upon seeing this, Acinonyx screamed: "Get off!" When Kenneth hissed at him, the Crown Prince of Hyperion drew his dagger, but he never got the chance to use it. Taking a vase, Rowena brought it crashing into her abductor's cranium.
As Acinonyx fell to the floor, Paris began to growl, not at Rowena, but at Kenneth. A cheetah was not dangerous towards a human being, their paws were no different than that of a dog after all, but to a caracal, all a cheetah had to do was bite on the smaller feline's neck with enough force. Not even looking at the cheetah, Rowena said: "Oh, shush!"
Taking the dagger from Acinonyx's unconscious form, she gestured for Kenneth to follow her and then made her way down to the lower floor, while Paris nudged the Crown Prince of Hyperion in an attempt to revive him. When Rowena made her way down to the ground floor of the abode, Kenneth by her side, the first thing to meet her reddish-brown eyes was the statue of the Goddess of Love. She Last Queen of Aether was not certain, but she could have sworn that the statue was smiling arrogantly at her, as if to say "Acinonyx is your husband and Hyperion your home now. There is no escape." Placing the dagger down on a small table, Rowena walked over to the statue and promptly turned it around so it was facing the wall.
Upon hearing a knocking at the door, Rowena walked over and opened it. Standing before her was a girl of fifteen twelvemonths carrying a pile of clothes.
"M-May I help you?" Rowena inquired.
"I have been sent by the King, my lady." Said the girl. "He wants you to wear these, says he won't have his future daughter-in-law walking around like a common dancing girl."
A look of choler appeared on Rowena's countenance for a brief moment, only to quickly vanish. She would draw less attention to herself if she dressed like the women of Hyperion. Perhaps accepting the garments that Leo had sent was a good idea.
"Thank you." Uttered Rowena, taking the clothes from the girl while looking her over. It was not her physical features that she looked over, but rather the girl's attire. It was best that she knew how to wear these clothes. A dress and shoes Rowena knew how to wear, but the veil and the drape were completely alien to her.
"Is there something you would like help with, my lady?" asked the girl.
"Yes." Replied Rowena, stepping out of the way so the girl could enter. "I am unused to veils and draped garments."
Entering, the girl inquired: "Where is your future husband?"
"Asleep upstairs." Rowena answered. She supposed that was not a lie, it was technically true.
Placing the pile of clothes down upon the small table, next to the dagger, Rowena began with the shoes, brown things with curled, pointed toes, so strange. Why were they like that? Such a strange fashion for footwear, almost as if the people who had come up with the design expected that one day people with such feet would wear them.
After placing the shoes upon her feet, Rowena picked up the dress and looked it over. The dresses in Hyperion were different than they had been in Aether, they were not short-sleeved, form-fitting or bell-shaped and they certainly did not have the front open, necessitating the wearing of a tunic beneath the dress. The only similarity was the fact they were both ankle length. A Hyperionite dress was long-sleeved and shapeless, no doubt to accommodate a full pregnancy. The specific dress that the girl had brought Rowena was white with blue cuffs, a blue hem and even a blue neckline.
After putting on the dress, quite a simple thing to do, Rowena picked up the draped garment, a black thing with white tassels. How was she to wear this? Looking to the servant girl in confusion, the Last Queen of Aether was about to open her mouth to ask for help when the girl took the garment from her and proceeded to drape it over Rowena's right shoulder, wrap it around her waist and then tie the two ends together.
Finally came the veil, a white thing worn on the back of the head that went down to the waist. Perhaps, the veil was not so alien. Loosening the ribbon that kept her ponytail up, Rowena felt her long, straight red hair upon her back. Upon picking up the veil, a simply piece of white cloth, Rowena suddenly became puzzled, only for the servant girl to step in once more, preparing the cloth so it sat upon Rowena's head and then tied those two corners together so they held her hair in place. Thus was the veil left hanging from the back of Rowena's head, down to her waist.
"There!" exclaimed the servant girl. "Now you look no different from any other woman of Hyperion."
"Thank you." Rowena said, looking herself over before inquiring: "What is your name?"
"Eurydice, my lady." Answered the servant girl. She was of moderate stature, round mouthed and auburn-haired.
"I am very pleased to meet you, Eurydice. Now, I was wondering if you could tell me where the Fane of the Earth Bull is here in Hyperion. Is it here in the hold or is it somewhere in the lower city?" Would the sacrifices be kept at the Fane of the Earth Bull? It was possible, but from what Rowena had seen of the hold, it was an unlikely one, there seemed to be no place to keep a large animal such as a bull. Like on Aether, the Sacred Bull's enclosure and arena would have to be somewhere else, somewhere away from the palace... Now there was what she should have been asking about! "Actually, I am more interested in seeing the Sacred Bull, where is his enclosure and arena? The lower city, correct?"
"Oh, yes, my lady." Replied Eurydice. "I can show you the way."
"Thank you, Eurydice." Said Rowena, walking over to her as Kenneth took his place at her side.
Exiting Acinonyx's abode, Rowena looked to the sky. It was still dark and the world was left without the Sun God's light. How long would the world be without his light? Surely the Sun God would not remain distressed forever, but when would he return his light to the world?
"I saw many people at the Fane of the Sun God, my lady." Stated Eurydice as she led Rowena to the Sacred Bull's enclosure. "They are all frightened, praying for him to bring light back into the world."
"I have no doubt he will bring his light back into the world soon, Eurydice." Rowena assured her, still wondering when the deity would do so. "Is his fane normally so busy?"
"Only on religious festivals devoted to him, my lady." Answered Eurydice. That was always the case. Fanes seemed busiest on the days of festivals devoted to their deity.