Free DESCENDANTS (THE DESCENDANTS SAGA) by R. Lynn Page A

to gain his early retirement,” he joked, as he handed her back the reales.
    “But, if you will not accept them, then how will I pay you?” Sollara asked.
    He could see the fear on her face and smiled. She was beautiful, unlike any girl he had ever seen, but her fashion was dated. She wore a dress that looked like it had been made in the fifties. But for some reason, on her the dress was very attractive.
    “Nonsense, you can stay the night for free, and I would be honored to have you join me for dinner. I will have to tell you what to do with these coins before you go around town making everyone rich with your unknowing generosity.” He hoped his words would buy him more time with the beautiful creature that had entered his inn.
    They both laughed, the stranger out of finding her delightfully entertaining and Sollara out of relief. S he followed him up to the room. When she opened the door, she stumbled and took a step back.
    He reached around her and flipped something on the wall that made the room light up.
    “What did you do?” she asked in awe as she stared at the lantern on the ceiling and the one next to the bed.
    “I turned the lights on,” he said quizzically, studying her face.
    Her cheeks blushed as she realized that this might be normal on the Surface, yet she had never seen anything like it. Hesitantly, she let her curiosity take over and explained what was on her mind. “Where I am from we do not have such things; we have lanterns with fire that light up our rooms.”
    “Ah , well here we use electricity. You must be from a small town,” he said as he tried to piece together understanding. She seemed to walk out of the past and into his world. “Let me show you,” he said as he walked over to a lamp and unscrewed a light bulb, causing the room to darken. She stared wide-eyed at the magical light source in his hand. “This is a light bulb, and with electricity it makes light,” he explained as he screwed it back in, and once again the room lit up.
    She smiled and went over to the switch, turning it up and down, making the lights flicker on and off. “So this makes the electricity go to the bulb?” she asked.
    “Yes,” he smiled at her childlike pleasure for something so simple as a light switch. “Do you like your room?” he asked changing the subject.
    “It’s… it's just… like out of a dream. I’ve never seen a room that suits me better,” she admitted.

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    “W ell good, I’m glad you like it. The washroom is across the hall, and there are washcloths next to the tub for you. After you freshen up, please come downstairs and join me for some dinner.” He smiled at her one last time before he turned to leave.
    The room looked like it had come straight out of a Shakespearean novel. A double bed, ornate with a brass head and footboard, was pushed against the back wall. It had white crocheted linens covering the mattress, and moss green pillows served as accents. The walls were painted with ivy vines. In the window sat a little flowerpot holding purple and red tulips. She walked over to the window and opened it for Kai.
    He promptly flew to the bed and nestled on one of the pillows. “I’m going downstairs for some food; do you want me to bring you something?” she asked. He didn't make any effort to respond, so she figured she would sneak a piece of bread up for him.
    When she was confident he would be all right on his own, she proceeded across the corridor to the washroom. Her body felt sticky and dirty, and she wanted to get cleaned up for dinner. As she splashed cold water across her face, she was surprised at how muddy the rinse water was. She was dirtier than she had thought. It wouldn’t do for her very first dinner date, so she quickly ran a bath.
    In the Deep Kingdom, they didn't have all the amenities as the Surface world, such as electricity, but they did have plumbing. It had taken years for Mari and Sugoi to have workers drill wells and plumbers direct