Page 12 of Hollow

Thankfully, the dream chateau was made with more than magical mysteries. It was crafted with sturdy walls, so Jack never heard Dimitri’s shrieks.

Dimitri stepped into the adjoining bathroom to his bedroom, struggling to slip through the frame because of his antlers.

“Are you serious?” Dimitri huffed, turning to the side and bending low as he fiddled around until he got through. “Ridiculous.”

Whenever he panicked, his antlers swelled to twice their size. It weighed heavily on his head and obviously made walking around challenging.

“This is an utterly useless skill,” Dimitri said to his reflection. “You know, giant horns do nothing against a threat. You are no moose.”

As his breathing eased and his annoyance grew, he was able to focus on shrinking his antlers.

“Why not giant razor-sharp claws when you awake?” he asked himself, holding his arms up and flexing his ombre colored fingers. “Well, then we would have shredded blankets. That would not be good. Stick to the ridiculous antlers.”

After settling his nerves, Dimitri stared at his vacant expression. The green glow of his eyes dimmed some, lessening the glare in the mirror as he studied himself. Dimitri splashed his face with cold water and shook away the last lingering nerves. Then he began examining the small scars across his flesh. Dimitri considered himself grateful for the potency of the magic here. His wounds had nearly healed, mostly sealed and scabbing at this point.

Once he’d finished up and showered, Dimitri air-dried in his room while looking through the closet of new clothes he’d acquired. Jack had ordered them online, having them quickly rushed to his PO Box in the neighboring town. Dimitri did not realize that even peasants could snap their fingers and demand goods immediately. Well, perhaps Jack was of nobility, but he was certainly nothing like the Hearst family.

“I should not have let the Jack Whoa Lantern pick the clothes,” Dimitri said, deciding between the bright pink or olive-green tank tops.

Dimitri didn’t have the bandwidth to think of clothes when Jack offered, so he passed along the task, which involved Jack playing a guessing game with his sizes.

Dimitri skipped the tank top, going shirtless once again because all of the T-shirts had quippy slogans and itchy fabrics. Most of his clothes were absurdly colorful. Dimitri tossed on a pair of black joggers that were a size too small and cut off right below his knee. The only pairs that fit had “Juicy” and “Baddie” printed on the ass.

“I am not a juicy or a baddie,” Dimitri muttered as he rifled through the closet to retrieve his jacket.

It was certainly his favorite piece of clothing Jack had purchased. For starters, it had an open zipper, which meant Dimitri didn’t have to shrink his antlers even more to wriggle through the head hole. The jacket itself was a lovely forest green with fur lining the sleeves and the hood section. Since it was a size too small, Dimitri did have to keep the jacket open, which exposed his chest and stomach, but it wasn’t as if anyone other than Jack and the forest creatures would see him.

“I am going to explore a bit,” Dimitri said as he left his room and made his way through the main living quarters.

He hadn’t spent much time in the dream chateau, leaving between his restless naps to wander the woods.

“All righty,” Jack said, pausing his video game. “I made breakfast if you want. I mean, I ordered way too much, but it’s good.”

“I am not hungry.”

“Oh, come on, you gotta eat something,” Jack insisted. “I bought more bread. I know you like that stuff.”

Dimitri slowed himself, turning to find a loaf on the countertop.

“You go through so much of it…” Jack said more to himself than to Dimitri as he continued gaming. “Like, easily a hundred slices or something. Is a bread diet healthy? Maybe for a Leshy? Hmmm.”

Jack spent most of his time in the main living space, which connected to the entryway. Despite the elegant wooden floors and the fortified stone walls, there was something juvenile about the atmosphere.

Perhaps it was the brightly colored furniture from the yellow couch to the pinstriped recliner. Maybe it had to do with the giant television that filled half a wall, littered with gaming stations of all types. Not that Dimitri knew what those were. He mostly avoided them, assuming they were deadly machines much like most of the technology he encountered. It could’ve also been the anime posters plastered everywhere occupied by similar anime-themed throw blankets. Dimitri found Jack’s joyfully free spirit clashed with the mystique of the dream chateau.

Dimitri had difficulty absorbing everything about this place, unwilling to explore despite the brief tour Jack had given him the first day he arrived. Mostly, Dimitri still found his presence intrusive despite Jack’s assurances that he more than welcomed the company.

“Have fun,” Jack called out as Dimitri stepped out into the cold.

The chill sent a shudder through him, and Dimitri felt the pin-pricks of his protective cloak growing. The blackness covering his hands extended to his forearms. Even covered beneath his jacket, Dimitri knew much of his strength had returned. He looked at his feet, which were entirely black along with his calves, leaving only a little unshielded skin where the fabric of his joggers reached.

Dimitri spent most of his time wandering the woods. The dense fog kept him cloaked, however, since Jack had amplified the fog to hide the presence of his murderous demon dog still out there somewhere with Irvin, it made navigating a bit more difficult. Had the fog been this thick, seeped with even more magic, Dimitri doubted he’d have found Jack to begin with.

Part of him was glad he’d found Jack, stumbled onto this unforeseen liberation. Another part of him questioned this newfound freedom.

Dimitri stared at his wounds, taking a deep breath, and soaking in the wondrous magics of the woods.

“I need to decide…” Dimitri trudged ahead, knowing he’d recovered enough to move on.