Chapter 03: Thoughts of Kindness


Tonight, Basarla and Bianca, Mayarie's childhood friend and royal retainer, helped SkekSo out of bed so he can take a bath. SkekSo couldn't wait to feel the warm water touch his cold, leathery flesh. He felt so cold, he wanted to warm up badly.

"I'm so cold." SkekSo shivered as Basarla carried the Skeksis out of bed and led Biance over to the private baths. This was quite a beautiful room with the walls, ceilings and floor made out of marble, half naked statues decorated the room and the tub was the size of a swimming pool with both a shallow end and a deep end. Only Basarla and a select few could go into this area, since it was a part of Basarla's private chambers after all.

"Bianca, please, get the bathing supplies and towels."

"Yes royal sire."

As Basarla gently sets SkekSo down in the tub, Bianca gathered the bathing supplies and towels. "What do you think of my bath chamber royal sire?"

"I like it. It reminds me of the one back at my private chambers in my own palace, only it's brighter." SkekSo replied as he relished the warm water touching his naked body.It felt good to SkekSo to bathe in warm water. The water dulled his aches and pains in his body.

As Basarla and Bianca were bathing SkekSo, the Skeksis' thoughts strayed on the Princess in general. There were no female Skeksis around, all of them are male. However, there were some female dragonites that lived at the palace. But most of the ones he knew either had lovers or were married already. The only one he knew that was single was the widowed healer named Imelda, but she was so hard to get along with, because of her hot headedness and unpredictable personality. Though SkekUng, the Garthim Master was usually fearless, even he was afraid of Imelda, especially when she was in dragon form. Plus, there's Imelda's Garthim rider son, Pollo, who was just lazy, moronic and a big sleepy head. SkekUng tried to banish Pollo many times for goofing off on his job, but Imelda always silenced the Skeksis General into keeping Pollo in the Skeksis palace. SkekSo just shuttered at thinking about Imelda and Pollo.

However, as SkekSo had negative thoughts on Imelda, he had positive ones on Princess Mayarie. Mayarie seemed so soft, warm and loving, while Imelda had major manic mood swings. He had weird feelings for Mayarie he never had before for anyone else. Mayarie, alongside her father and the royal retainer Bianca, were the first people to treat SkekSo with kindness and respect. But SkekSo also wondered at the same time if Mayarie felt these strange feelings for him as he does for her.
Basarla started to ask the Skeksis a question. "So royal sire...?"

"Yes my lord?"

"What do you think of my daughter Mayarie?"

"Eh heh heh." SkekSo started to laugh nervously. As he thought of Mayarie, a strange feeling 
enveloped him physically. "She's ummmmmmm...uhhhhh..."

"It's okay sire, tell me the truth about my daughter."

"Uh...Why is she so nice to me?" SkekSo stuttered nervously. "Why doesn't she find me despicable or disgusting like every other female creature?"

"You're not despicable nor disgusting royal sire." Bianca reassures SkekSo. "Mayarie doesn't find you horrid at all. In fact..."

"Does she...really?" SkekSo stuttered in surprise. "She doesn't mind my presence at all?"

"Mayarie cares about you a lot royal sire." Bianca told SkekSo.

SkekSo's eyes widened in surprise. "She does? She really does?"

"You know, I wasn't the only one that rescued you." Basarla explained. "Mayarie rescued you too. She couldn't stand to see you die all alone on the battlefield."

"I have to thank her when I see her again." SkekSo said. "I'm surprised she even cares about a creature like me."

"Why not?" Basarla asked as he and Bianca were cleaning SkekSo and washing the lather off of him. 

"You're a flesh and blood creature with feelings and emotions like everything else in the worlds of Alerfa."

"I know, but..."
As SkekSo was done with his bath, Basarla takes a towel from Bianca and dries the Skeksis off. Then Basarla casts a healing spell SkekSo's body and dressed him up in his remaining clothes and bandages.

"You look tired sire."

"Yeah, I kind of am Lord Basarla."

"Then I'll bring you to your room to get some sleep."

"Thank you my lord." SkekSo yawned as Basarla carried the Skeksis back to him room. Bianca summoned the royal servants took on dragon form and cleaned up the bathchambers from top to bottom.

Basarla lays SkekSo on his bed and puts blankets over the Skeksis emperor. "You take it easy there."

"I will." SkekSo yawned as he curled up under the covers.

"Good night royal sire." Basarla said as he extinguished the lights in SkekSo's room and shuts the door behind him.

As SkekSo was alone in his room, tears started to form in his eyes and he softly cries. But it wasn't because of sadness. "Mayarie, she does think great things of me...most people just think of me as an spiteful old sour puss. They always want to take the throne from me. They never cared about me at all. But with Mayarie and her father, it's so different. I'm not used to people being so kind to me."
He thought of Mayarie and had wonderful dreams about her. He thought of her frequently and was grateful for her to protect him. He drifts of into sleep, thinking of the three people that truly care about him.

The next morning, SkekSo woke up from his first plesant night sleep he had in days. As he got up, Princess Mayarie entered his room. "How did you sleep last night SkekSo?"

"I slept great for once!" SkekSo exclaimed happily. "And you?"

"Me? Well, I slept good, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I did feel some concern for you, but you looked so nice sleeping, so I left you be."
SkekSo looked a little surprised at what Mayarie told him. "Nice? You think I look nice? Don't I scare you?"

"Yes, you look just fine to me. I don't find you scary at all."

"You really mean it Princess?"

"Yes, I do mean it. You have feeling and emotions too."

SkekSo beckoned Mayarie to sit next to him on his bed. "I want you talk to me. I want you to tell me how you feel."

"Okay, I'll talk to you."

"Thank you Mayarie." SkekSo said, smiling. He felt so odd about what he said. He never asked anyone to sit down and talk with him for a long time. He just realized how lonely he felt all these years. "So Mayarie, tell be something about yourself."

"Well..." tears started to form in Mayarie's violet eyes. "My mother died hours after I hatched. She held on to me before she died. She way dying of a terrible illness. I have no brothers nor sisters. I'm the only child."

"No mother? What about your father?"

"I love my father dearly. He loves me dearly too. So do Bianca and other loyal subjects in the palace. If it wasn't for my father and my best friend Bianca, I would be completely lonely."

"I'm sorry to hear that." SkekSo said as he fought back tears. "Must be hard having no mother or siblings."

"All I remember about my mother is a crystal vision clip that she took days before dying. My father says I look so much like her."

"I bet your mom is a beautiful woman."
"Tell me SkekSo. Do you have a family or loved ones?"

SkekSo groaned and shook his head. "I have no family. I was born under a shattered sky and ended up taking care of myself. I have no mother, no father and no siblings. I was alone like the others."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mayarie sobbed as SkekSo told his story.

"The only Skeksis that comes even close to being loyal to me is SkekUng, the Garthim Master. Everyone else just wants me dead and gone. Why didn't they just kill me if they wanted to?"

"Well, I'm glad they didn't kill you." Mayarie said as she saw how misty eyed SkekSo was getting. "I'll protect you and see that you'll rule for many years."

"Mayarie..."

"Yes?"

"Can I... hold your hand?"

"Certainly." Mayarie said as SkekSo held her hand. He loved the softness and warmth of Mayarie's hand. It just felt so good to him.

"Your hands...they are so soft and warm." SkekSo whispered. "I've never felt anything like this in centuries."

"I'm glad." Mayarie said as SkekSo felt the suppleness of her hands.

"I thank you and your father for saving my life." SkekSo told the princess. "If it wasn't for your too, I would have died out on the battlefield and everything would have been destroyed."

"So SkekSo, can I get you anything?"

"Well, I am a little hungry."

"Well, the chefs are making blood pancakes..."

"Ah! Blood pancakes! My favorite!"

"Very well, blood pancakes it is." As Mayarie left the room, she was overwhelmed with the euphoric feelings that flowed through her body. "I've made the emperor happy. I'll make sure he ends up feeling good and recovering quick. I'm glad that my father and I saved his life. He deserves the best."