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“Wonderful—let’s go.” Abbey smiled and turned in the direction she had last heard the Royal Breeder’s voice. “Thank you again so much. Is there anything else I need to do in order to care for Spex?”
“Just love him and let him stay close to you by day. By night, he can sleep on his own. Eye-pets clean themselves, so there’s no need for baths,” he told her. “They like the same temperatures their owners do, so if you’re hot, he probably will be too. If you’re cold, he will be as well. Make sure to give him some affection every day and he should be fine.”
“Thank you so much.” Abbey smiled at him. “Er—do we sniff each other goodbye the way we sniffed hello?”
“A verbal good-bye is sufficient,” she heard Chancellor Maprist say. “And now that we have said ours, we may be on our way to the Perfumer.”
29
ABBEY
“Pretty Abbey takes a right in three more steps. There is a ramp that leads down,” Spex chirruped in her ear.
Abbey did as her new Eye-pet said, marveling again at his accuracy. Having Spex on her shoulder was like having a living GPS that was excellent at small details. She was already walking with more confidence as she learned that she could trust him to be right about directions. She had even asked Solon to let her walk on her own, though the big Monstrum stayed at her side just in case.
She knew this because Spex didn’t just tell her where to go, the little Eye-pet also told her about everything and everyone around her as well.
“The big fur man is giving Pretty Abbey love-looks,” he reported. “He has one hand out to catch Pretty Abbey in case she trips or falls. But he doesn’t need to worry—Spex won’t tell her wrong ways.”
Abbey bit back a laugh.
“I know you won’t, Spex. I trust you,” she told him.
The little Eye-pet nuzzled against her neck briefly in a show of affection but he was still on the job.
“Stop in three more steps. Pretty Abbey has reached the Royal Perfumer,” he informed her.
“How do you know where everything in the Royal Palace is, Spex?” Abbey asked, stopping where he told her to.
“Oh, the Royal Breeder would take Spex around sometimes—he felt sorry for Spex because nobody wanted him.” The little Eye-pet sounded sad. Then his squeaky voice brightened. “But now Spex has Pretty Abbey and Pretty Abbey has Spex!”
“Yes, we have each other.” Abbey reached up to stroke the little fluffy ball once more. She could see why the Royal Breeder had said it was easy to give Eye-pets the affection they needed—they really were absolutely adorable.
“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.
