“It’s for my fiancé.” Amira lowered her eyes, ashamed of her lack of means.
“I’m sure your brother will have your silver delivered soon,” Nalani said, misreading her troubles. The maid picked up a brush and started smoothing Amira’s dark locks. “My mother always told my sisters and I that what matters is the gesture, not the object itself. It should come from your heart.” She put a gentle hand over Amira’s heart.
Amira smiled, a flicker of hope flowing through her. “You’re right, Nalani.”
She let the maid finish brushing her hair, the motion soothing. Her eyes wandered to the window and she caught sight of the indoor garden again. An idea formed in her mind.
Chapter8
Lora
“It could be worse,” Eyden said as he took in Lora’s appearance. She was wearing the clothes that he had given her. The wide-cut black trousers made from a rather flimsy material were a bit short on her and the simple olive shirt clung to her curves more than it was supposed to. Lora wondered who these clothes were meant for. Someone shorter, it seemed.
“It could be better. Don’t you think people might be suspicious of why my own clothes don’t fit me?” she asked.
“Not if they think you’re poor. It’s not unusual.” Eyden made his way towards his walk-in closet as he continued talking, “Especially for level ones, which is what they’ll assume you are.”
This was news to Lora. From what she’d gathered, the fae had it quite good. But that was back when they had humans to exploit, humans they could force to do their labour. Her knowledge of fae history mostly stemmed from testimonies from enslaved humans who had returned to Earth right before the border spell was cast.
“Is poverty such a big issue here?” she asked as Eyden returned, carrying a beige jacket.
“That’s an understatement.” He handed her the piece of clothing. “Here, it has inside pockets. If you’re taking your phone device, make sure it stays silent.”
Lora gratefully took the jacket. “Our research doesn’t indicate it’s that bad. Only for the humans who used to live here.”
Eyden’s eyes gleamed. “And here I thought you knew everything?”
Lora turned her head to hide her scowl instead of leaning into his taunt. She would learn more soon enough. The fatigue made her eyes feel heavy. She hadn’t planned on sleeping at all, but exhaustion had taken over. She had fallen asleep on the couch, still fully dressed with her pocket knife clutched in her hand. When Lora had woken up a short while later, she had cursed herself for being so careless. But when she had scanned the flat for any danger, she’d sighed in relief at the sight of Eyden sound asleep on his bed. He clearly didn’t regard her as a threat at all.
Lora slipped the jacket on and regarded herself in the mirror. Besides the new, or borrowed, clothes, she had braided a section of her straight, shoulder-length hair on her left side and had added dark grey eyeshadow that made her eyes appear brighter, more striking.
“You’ll pass,” Eyden said as their eyes met in the mirror. “It’s lucky your eyes have a uniqueness about them. Not quite green nor blue.” His eyes slid away from hers. “Just don’t look anyone in the eyes for too long or they might suspect.”
Eyes were the most telling physical attribute for fae. To humans, their eyes were unnaturally coloured. Lora had gotten more than one remark about her bright aquamarine eyes in her lifetime, but they weren’t unusual enough to raise real suspicion. It had made her uncomfortable, her mother even more so, but now it came in handy.
“Got it.” Lora didn’t want to attract any attention.
“And speak as little as possible.”
He had already told her so earlier but she bit out, “Fine.” She grabbed her backpack. “Is there anything I should know about this healer we’re meeting? Will they take some of my jewellery as payment?”
He went to put on his own coat, a light black layer. “Leave that here. I’ve got it handled.”
Before she could ask more, Eyden opened the front door and gestured for her to walk out. Familiar anxiety was building up inside her and she pushed it down to the best of her ability.
This would be different than yesterday. This would be walking in broad daylight. There was no hiding away anymore, only hiding in plain sight. If it worked.
* * *
The first thing Lora noticed was the pleasant weather. The sun was out but there were enough clouds that when she looked up towards the sky, it didn’t blind her. She was warm enough in her jacket yet wouldn’t be cold either if she were to take it off. September in England was much colder and windier, as Bournchester was a seaside town.
Then she took in the small buildings lining the street. The architecture was a stark contrast to what she was used to in her hometown. It was much simpler and almost unified here. The paths between buildings were rather narrow compared to the streets she grew up on. Since the fae weren’t known for being travellers and didn’t use cars but rather settled for horses, it made sense to her that they wouldn’t put in as much work for road systems.
Her attention shifted to the few fae walking around, going about their day. Some were wearing similar clothes to hers. Some looked to be worse off, their clothes stained and worn out. Her eyes landed on a young girl, grime dirtying her face as she clutched a small bag to her chest and walked the streets by herself. She looked too young to be on her own.
Other fae looked more well-dressed. Lora assumed they had more silver to spare and were most likely higher level fae. None of them seemed to pay any attention to her and Eyden.
As they rounded a corner, she could make out a larger building in the distance. It was higher up, on a small mountain of sorts. Lora squinted as she tried to make out more details.
