In a luxury hotel room with white carpet, white furniture, white linens and drapes, Skyler lay out across a circular white mattress with fluffy white pillows scattered around him. The vast whiteness made his skin look softer and creamier than usual. Beneath his head, his long pretty black hair contrasted starkly with the surroundings, forming a silky, glimmering pool of darkness. He wore only a pair of white boxer-briefs. The boy?s limbs were splayed out in casual disarray, like a human starfish, lounging and luxuriating in the soft fabrics. Blue eyes gazed up at the ceiling beneath heavy lids, as he idly stroked his fingers up and down his bare torso, sensuously caressing the smooth, well-defined ridges of his abdomen, then tracing the taut flesh of his slender, hard chest.

There was a knock on the door. ?Room service.?

?Come.?

A maidservant came inside, pulling a shiny silver cart with silver patters on top. She was a young, dark-skinned woman with her hair tied up in a bun, garbed in a traditional black and white maid?s uniform, except the skirt was a touch shorter than was customary. She pushed the cart to the bedside, dutifully climbed upon the mattress, sat on her knees next to Skyler, then took one of the platters into her lap and lifted the cover. Beneath was a mound of luscious, ripe strawberries and a bowl of whipped cream. As if attending to any other daily chore, she selected a strawberry, dipped it in the cream, and extended it toward Skyler?s mouth. The boy absently bit into the succulent red fruit, chewed and swallowed. He didn?t offer the maid as much as a glance. For now, she was nothing more than another piece of furniture, for Skyler was far away in his thoughts. Thoughts of Jewell, baffled wonderings of how intensely he felt about her, and what made him inadequate to share in her emotions. He also thought of Erin, and his last two years in Japan before leaving for RhyDin through the awaiting Nexus. He thought of how the cogs of fate turned, how it was impossible to believe those memories had actually happened, so far along now in the flow of time. He remembered how they?d loved so many, yet hated so much. How they hurt others as they hurt themselves. Yet even then they ran like the wind, whilst their laughter echoed under sapphire skies...

A little dollop of whipped cream rubbed off on Skyler?s chin. The maid compliantly wiped it away, as if wiping the chin of a baby. ?My lord, the chef has prepared your favorite dish. One hot dog with chili and yellow relish, one taco with hot sauce, and a slice of chocolate cake.?

Skyler nodded vaguely, rousing from his recollections. The maid went about feeding him; the hot dog first, the taco, the cake for dessert, with more strawberries in between. When his meal was completed, the youth had dripped quite a bit more on his chin. The dark-skinned woman dabbed it away with care.

There was another knock at the door. ?My lord, the tailor you requested is here,? the maid observed.

?About time. Send him in.?

The door swung open to reveal an older, stately-looking gentlemen, well-dressed with short gray hair. He was followed by two assistants, each pushing a cart of fabrics and threads and assorted implements.

Skyler lifted one of the pillows beside him to reveal a pile of sparkly gold coins, lying right there on the mattress, as if he?d recently been wallowing in them. He plucked out two, leaned toward the maid and dropped them down into her exposed cleavage, snickering amusedly. ?I bet you love it when one of your tips is more than your supervisor?s week?s salary. Heh. Heh.?

The maid gave him a tolerant smile, but Skyler thought he saw a glint of excitement in it.

?You know what else,? the boy pressed, rolling to the edge of the mattress and placing his soft bare feet on the plush white carpet. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. ?You like where I put your tips.? He didn?t need to see the corners of her lips twitch impishly upward to know that he was right. Ah, it was so easy to disarm women when you had the talent of being able to read their thoughts and innermost feelings and personality quirks like a book.

Skyler strode toward a tall free standing mirror near the wall and looked himself over. As usual, he liked what he saw. The only hair on his entire body was the gorgeous black mane on top of his head ? cascading down just between his angular shoulder blades ? plus a few tiny strands around his ankles and lower calf muscles. His chest, his back, his shapely bottom, and his thighs were bald and smooth and imperfection-less. The scar on his rib from the fight in the alleyway a few nights previous was gone. He?d seen a special healer to rid himself of it. There would be no scars on his glorious temple of youthful flesh.

The tailor moved beside him.

?I need a suit of clothes by seven o?clock,? Skyler informed him, in a snobby, spoiled prince-like tone.

The man nodded and held a strip of measuring tape above the youth?s head. ?Five foot ten.? Then he wrapped the tape around Skyler?s waist and marked a spot with his thumb. ?Thirty inch waist.? The tailor continued taking measurements; his chest, his shoulder width, his arm span, the length of his legs, etc. His two assistants jotted down the numbers and began measuring lengths of fabric.

?The coat and the slacks will be black.? Skyler went to the dresser, picked up a platinum belt buckle with the words ?Vile Villain? etched on it, and tossed it to one of the tailor?s assistants. ?That?s gonna be the belt buckle. Don?t smudge it up.? He moved back before the mirror, considering himself. ?Blue shirt. Blue and gold tie. Silver handkerchief.?

Yet another knock at the door. The maid opened it. ?My lord, the jeweler is here.? A tall elven man entered the whiteness of the room, carrying a brief case. He went to the coffee table and opened it, revealing a glittering array of fine jewelry.

?Ah,? proclaimed Skyler, eagerly approaching the man in his underwear. The teen scanned the wares closely. ?I?ll take this.? He pointed to a set of sapphire cufflinks. They were blue, and blue was Skyler?s favorite color. ?And . . . that!? Then he pointed to a watch with the word ?Rolex? inscribed on its face. He didn?t know anything about a Rolex, but it was a damn fine looking timepiece. It had a blue face with diamond studded hands, and the band shimmered like ice crystals. The boy went to the sofa, pried up one of the cushions, found a heavy velvet bag of gold coins and gave it to the elven jeweler.

The guy peeked inside and his eyes grew wide. ?Lord Chamberland, it has been a pleasure doing business with you.? He carried the cufflinks to the tailors.

Skyler nodded and picked up his new watch, sliding it onto his wrist in awe. It seemed to catch and reflect every ray of light. So, so pretty. Skyler liked pretty things.

The jeweler closed his briefcase and excused himself, and the youth returned to the mirror to admire himself and let the tailors take further measurements.

The maid was looming just beside him, Skyler noticed. He saw her through the mirror. ?You can look, but you can?t touch,? he jested.

?My lord,? the maid asked, shyly averting her gaze. ?Might I be so forward as to ask you a personal question.?

?By all means,? replied Skyler smugly. He loved it when women asked him questions. It proved he was doing a good job of being enigmatic or mysterious.

?How did you become so rich,? asked the maid in a tone of profound curiosity, tilting her head.

Skyler?s trademark boyish grin appeared. Quite haughtily he replied, ?I rob rich people, and I?m involved in various other criminal endeavors, and even a few legit ones.? He watched her through the mirror?s reflection. ?That excites you, doesn?t it??

The maid ignored that statement and asked, ?Why is there no woman in your life? Surely with your looks and your wealth, women would be fawning over you day and night.?

?There is a woman in my life, dear. A good one . . . But the good ones, the ones that are really worth it, demand something more than wealth and looks. Getting a good women is kind of like . . . capturing a unicorn. You could search for years until you found her, and then you would still need skill and tact and patience and luck, and even then you still might fail.? This little analogy occurred to Skyler on the spot. He no sooner thought it than spoke it.

?As long as I?m being forward,? the maid continued, ?I might as well say that I?m shocked by that.?

?Oh??

?I thought you would choose your women like you chose your timepiece.? She nodded to the Rolex on his wrist.

?Why, I do!? Skyler told her. ?But ? the woman I want sparkles like expensive jewellry inside and out.?