Silva had been practically catatonic. Lurielle had gone with Ris to visit her, on two different occasions after Tate had vanished, and she seemed no different the second time than the first. Listless and broken.
Lurielle wanted to understand. She had never had her own heartbroken in such a way, but the mere thought of losing Khash had sent her into a tailspin these last few months. She couldn't imagine what Silva was going through, couldn't imagine how she must feel, but finding out now was the best thing for their young friend. She would see it that way eventually, Lurielle was certain.
She never wanted to keep anything from Khash, but when she arrived home from Silva's apartment after that first visit, she found herself repeating the bad breakup line. Silva and Tate had parted ways and he was returning to Ireland. She knew without question the orcs in Greenbridge Glen would be overjoyed, but she did not want to give Khash the opportunity to disappoint her. They had bickered before over his attitude regarding Silva's boyfriend, and Lurielle’s skin prickled to think that Khash's prejudicial feelings toward the Plundered Pixie's proprietor had more to do with his unorcish heritage and less to do with his strange, spiky personality.
Silva had returned to work, but she was little more than a drifting shadow of her former bubbly self, and she took pains to stay away from them. There was little more they could do.
As the winter wore on, Lurielle felt slightly removed from her friends, but she was happy in her little cocoon. She and Grace had scheduled a single touch base meeting in three months; it was all that had been necessary. They emailed back and forth weekly with updates, small adjustments to the guest list, a few additions to the menu. Her fitting room partner all those months ago had been correct. Once she actually knew what it was shewanted, and once she had removed Khash and his stonewalling from the equation, washing her hands of the dirty work had Lurielle looking forward to her own wedding for the first time in her entire life.
Her dress had been a revelation.
When the day of her first fitting had arrived, Lurielle's followed her GPS, her eyes narrowing in concern when it had her turning into the Applethorpe Wood. The road only went so far, she knew. Eventually it cut off, gravel walkways and path cutting through the thick trees taking its place.Hopefully this isn't going to require a hike.
Fortunately, it had not.
You have reached your destination.
She squinted at the dashboard, realizing that the address she had tapped in was, in fact, apparently right there.Right where?She was in the woods. There was no drive, no parking lots, no ranger station. There was, she realized after a few moments peering out her window, a pathway. A pathway off the road, cutting through the dark trees.Didn't you just relearn that you're afraid of fairies? Are you seriously going skipping off through the dark forest to find a dress?
She would take ten steps into the trees, Lurielle bargaining with herself. Not far enough away to leave sight of her car, there before the gravel pathway.And if you hear so much as a twig snap, you haul ass back to the car.But it was there.
A cottage in a little clearing, and half a dozen giant, dinner plate sized toads. She didn't know whether to be enchanted or horrified.
The toads let out a chorus as she approached, volleying their calls back to the house, and when the door swung open, Lurielle was positive she had found herself in the midst of one of those terrifying fairytales she'd heard as a girl and should have known better than to not listen to now.
"That's enough for now, quiet down. Bartholomew, if you don't stop that racket right this moment . . ." The old spider woman was somewhat hunched and withered-looking, and she gave Lurielle what was a mostly toothless smile as she beckoned her into the house. "I am so delighted that you reached out, dearie. It's been a while since I've had a chance to make something so lovely. And such a beautiful color! Let's get you up on this stool here."
She'd moved too quickly for Lurielle to be nervous, the wayward Bartholomew having hopped into the house before the spider woman swung the door shut. She made beady eye contact with the massive toad as the spider woman worked, too confused to be frightened.
The dress was going to be beautiful.
Simple in its construction, cutting off mid-calf in the front with a slight train fanning out behind her in the back, it was structured through the bodice with a gentle V neckline, and a kimono cut sleeve that stopped above her elbow. The spider woman had loomed over her with a mouth full of pins, her numerous arms working quickly — draping fabric, pinning it out, measuring the hemline. When Lurielle left a short while later, she had that feeling in her chest again, as if her heart was a balloon, slowly rising to the ceiling, taking her along with it.
She was excited. She couldn't deny it.
She was getting married and she wasexcited.
The invitations had been printed on baby blue vellum over a pearlescent card stock. Khash's immediate family had been invited, some of their closer friends there in Cambric Creek, a small handful of their coworkers, her great-grandmother, grandmother, and parents. Lurielle had made the call to her grandmother herself.
"Nana, I know we don't have the closest relationship. I wish we did, I hope we can change that, I don't think it's too late todo so. But I have a favor to ask. It's the only thing I want for my wedding."
Her grandmother had accepted the task with a zeal that surprised her. She was in charge of babysitting Lurielle's mother, and would swiftly silence her if she said a single negative thing.
She had also alerted Grace to the situation with her mother, and like everything else, the bubbly human had a fast solution.That's why we have staff on hand. I would have one of the guys kind of nearby anyway, just making sure that there are no technical difficulties or that nothing needs to be moved or shifted. If your mom wants to make a scene, they will pick her up and carry her away. You have my word.
And now here she was, bopping along on the sidewalk without a care in the world, feeling invincible for the first time in her life, Ordo plodding obediently beside her . . . and there was Tev, just ahead.With another fucking challenge you didn’t ask for.
He was a full block away yet, hadn't even crossed the street, but it was undoubtedly him. It's not too late to move. She and Ordo had enough time to cross the road. Granted, they weren't at an intersection and would be stepping out into traffic, but she wondered if it was worth the risk.You can put your sunglasses on, duck your head, pretend you don't see him. Put your hair over your face, disguise yourself, do something!The little voice in her head rose in panic, but Lurielle shushed it.
"No," she said. "You're not going to do that." She blushed, realizing she'd spoken aloud, quickly glancing around to see if any passersby noticed that she was talking to herself.
He was immediately familiar, unmistakable in his arrogance, and overwhelmingly unattractive to her. That was the part that was most surprising, she thought.Were you ever actually attracted to him? Did you actually ever love him? Or were you just attracted to the idea of being with someone your motherapproved of?He was a Summerland elf, like her. Honey gold hair, peaches-and-cream skin, his lips were thin and his chin was sharp, and his slight underbite always made it look as if he were chewing something.
His slight physical imperfections were hardly a moral failing, but, Lurielle reminded herself, that was thepoint.
She’d never cared about any of those things, while Tev had caredso muchabout her appearance, her weight, her size. How she dressed, how she did her make-up, how she acted when they were out. Everything about her was something he was able to find fault with, and she accepted it for years.
And none of that matters now.It was true, she echoed the louder voice inside her,hervoice. It didn’t matter at all. Not because of Khash, not because she was coupled, about to be married. Because for the first time in her life and in spite of the elf walking in her direction, she didn’t hate the person she saw in the mirror each day. The elf staring back at her every morning was smart and brave and pretty fucking cute, if she did say so herself, and completely deserving of thehappily ever after. After all, she reminded herself. Thick thighs save lives.
