by N. M. Howell
Rhea laughed and rolled her eyes. “I think I saw that on a Hallmark card once.”
Arry’s eyebrows knitted together as he swallowed another piece of fruit crisp. “What’s a Hallmark card?”
Rhea started, but paused. She bit her lower lip to suppress a laugh. “Nothing, never mind. Not important.”
She’d forgotten how different their worlds were. It’d been such a shock to her when she moved to the human world six years ago. It had taken years for her to become familiar with all their customs and differences. For someone who didn’t spend any time in the human world, she figured there would be a whole lot he didn’t understand or even know about. She wondered if he had traveled at all to the human world at all just as Keaven had, though by his curious expression in response to her words, she figured the answer would be no.
Grayson came up behind them not long after, interrupting their conversation. “Better get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Rhea rolled her eyes, her back turned to him. “You suddenly my father now?”
She could feel him bristle behind her. “Excuse me?”
She silently cursed herself, regretting her words immediately.
“I’m not tired,” she said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t make a deal out of it. “I think I’ll go stretch my legs a bit.”
“Not alone you’re not,” Grayson glowered.
Sighing, Rhea rubbed her eyes. “I’m getting really tired of you telling me what to do,” she muttered under her breath.
“I didn’t quite catch that.” Grayson’s voice was menacing. She knew he was pissed at her for her attitude, but she didn’t think she cared enough to do anything about it at that exact moment.
“Who’s going to accompany me?” she finally asked, resigned to the fact that if she were going to be allowed to wander, there was no way they’d let her go off on her own again.
“I will,” Arry smiled.
Grayson nodded and returned to the small camp they had set up, leaving them alone once again. Taelor had a small fire going, and the rest of her guardians were chatting around the flames.
When Grayson was out of earshot, Arry turned back to Rhea and nudged her shoulder. His eyes sparkled mischievously as an evil grin formed in his face. “You want to go down?”
Rhea looked at him, her eyes wide. “Into the village?”
Arry nodded, looking rather excited.
Rhea beamed. “Yes, I do. I really, really do.”
Arry practically cackled, he seemed so excited. “Okay great, we just have to find a way to get away from this lot and then we should be fine. We can’t go for long or they’ll come looking for us, but I think a little bit of an escape is due.”
Rhea’s heart swelled. She welcomed anything that would offer a bit of a distraction from where they were headed. Maybe they even had a pub, not that she had any money on her. She glanced back at Keaven, wondering if she dared ask him for some of the gold that he had. She then thought better of it. She supposed just a good walk would do.
“Aren’t you worried about them discovering who I am?”
Arry shook his head. “No, not really. Not with your glamor up.”
Rhea nodded slowly, chewing her lower lip. “But what about you? Surely someone will recognize you, as they did in the circus.”
“You don’t know much about leprechauns, do you?” he asked.
Rhea shrugged. “No, I guess not. Why?”
Arry grinned and shut his eyes quickly, and in a flash when he opened them again his entire appearance had changed. His fair skin had grown dark bronze and his flaming hair became nearly black. His eyes glinted in the dark, nearly black in hue. He looked an entirely different person, though somehow still familiar.
“Whoa, I didn’t know leprechauns had glamor.”
Arry shrugged, his easy smile recognizable in his foreign face. “Our own special breed of glamor, I suppose.”
Rhea couldn’t help but beam at him. “Okay, well let’s go, then.”
Arry pushed himself up, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Have they seen you looking like this before?” she motioned back to her four guardians sitting around the fire.
Arry laughed. “Nope. Right, let’s go. Hurry.”
She paused, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you so eager to go so fast? What’s the hurry?” His eagerness made her suspicious.
Arry reached into his pocket and the sound of heavy coins jingled. He pulled out a large, heavy-looking gold coin, tossed it in his hand and caught it before it landed. His eyes glimmered with golden mischief and Rhea couldn’t help but smile.
“Looking to spend that?”
Arry’s face lit up. “You bet your pretty little butt that I am. Want to go shopping?”
The idea of going shopping excited Rhea more than she cared to admit, but she forced herself to remain calm and simply shrugged. “Those are your winnings from the vendor at the circus, aren’t they? Surely that can’t buy too much.”
Arry’s eyes fixed on Rhea. “You really don’t know anything about leprechauns, do you?”
Rhea shrugged. “Nope. Sorry.”
Arry shook his head slowly, his eyebrow raised high. “Well, then. Let me show you what else this leprechaun can do.”
His gaze diverted to the coin in his hand and he tossed it high in the air. Rhea’s eyes followed the coin as it rose up above her head. She gasped as the single coin split into two before falling back into Arry’s hands.
Rhea blinked and stared up at him. “You multiply money?” Man, if she’d had that ability in Detroit she wouldn’t have had to live on the streets. Maybe she should’ve invited her guardians to join her all along, after all.
Arry tucked the coin back in his pocket, winking. “So long as I have money to begin with, I can multiply it into an infinite amount. It’s why leprechauns are so sought after in the war. That’s why Aelon…” He trailed off, shutting his mouth quickly.
Rhea sat upright, listening intently. Arry opened his mouth and shut it and then turned his attention back toward the village below. Heavy silence filled the air.
“That’s why Aelon what?”
Arry ignored her and pushed himself up. “Let’s go for that walk, shall we?”
Rhea wanted to ask more, but decided against it. If he wasn’t ready to talk, she wasn’t going to force him. She had a feeling that whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be full of puppy dogs or rainbows.
“There’s a path down this way. We can head this way to stay out of sight, so the rest of them don’t figure out where were going and try to stop us,” Arry said.
Rhea followed, trying to keep her footsteps quiet as she stepped lightly through the grass.
“When did you become such a rebel?” she asked him when they were finally out of earshot. She still kept her voice low so that it wouldn’t carry in the wind.
Arry strung his arm through hers, pulling her close as they walked together arm in arm. “I’ve always been a rebel, little lady,” he said, winking at her.
He nudged her as they walked and she laughed quietly, truly enjoying his company. He was a nice distraction from the horrors that they were about to experience, and she looked forward to walking through the village and looking around before returning to camp and resting for the night. She knew that they would arrive at the castle soon, and she really didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t have a plan, she didn’t even know what to expect. All she knew was that she had a few hours with Arry to forget about all of it.
The trail led down the hill through a small valley before they arrived in the village. It was late and the village was fairly quiet, but there were still people wandering around the streets going about their everyday business. Large metal lamps lit the outsides of the buildings and shops, and they heard laughter coming from a tavern as they passed.
Rhea looked in the window longingly at all the smiling faces and sighed. People were eating and drinking and talking and la
ughing, and there was a large man playing some sort of instrument on stage and singing to the crowd. They all looked like they didn’t have a care in the world, and Rhea envied them. Her heart ached. She wanted to be in there so bad, ignorant of the destruction happening in the world around her. But instead she was outside, meant to be preparing for some sort of wartime castle takeover.
Harborfell felt untouched by the war, somehow. Perhaps the destruction hadn’t made it this far, or perhaps people knew that there was nothing they could do about it and the best they could do was try and enjoy the time that they had left. Either way, Harborfell felt like a place of peace and Rhea didn’t want to leave.
Arry tried to pull her away from the window, but she hung back, unable to pry her eyes away from the people inside. A group of old men crowded around the bar as the bartender tossed a bottle in the air and caught it after it spun three times. He then poured them all drinks of a crimson liquid, and everyone shot it back and grimaced, slamming their empty glasses on the bar as they shouted their approval. Whatever it was, it looked strong. Everyone seemed to be having such a joyous time and Rhea wanted to partake.
After a long moment, she let herself be pulled away by Arry, and the two walked down the winding street side by side in silence. The buildings were made primarily of wood with thatched roofs, with intricately-cast lanterns hanging from the façades. Large windows ran along the ground floor levels and they peered inside as they wandered through what was likely the commercial district. Rhea ran her fingers along the rough wooden walls as they walked, the sound of distant revelers filling her ears.
Most of the shops were closed, but Rhea could still see the wares inside in the darkness. They passed meat shops and cheese shops and places to buy spices and books and paper. The town actually reminded her a bit of Detroit, just smaller and with a much different architectural feel.
Her fingers prickled as they met the cold glass of a shop window, a thin trail left behind in the dust. They wandered together in silence for quite a while, Rhea becoming quite absorbed by her surroundings.
They passed a small square with a fountain where three young children played together in the dark. Rhea looked around and couldn’t find their parents, but they were dressed quite well and didn’t look to be homeless. She wondered what it would’ve been like to live in a place so trusting and so free that you could let your children safely play outside at night. She thought back to her childhood, the memories distant and faded. She never would have had the freedom to walk around by herself, let alone play with other children. She was always watched by at least a team of six guards. She couldn’t leave the castle. She had been a prisoner in her own home.
These children looked free and it made her heart swell as she watched them. Their laughter filled her ears and she stood and watched them for a long minute.
Arry had wandered away to look at something in a window, but when he returned he leaned into her, nudging her with his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”
Rhea let out a slow sigh and allowed a heavy sadness to fill her eyes. “How can they be so free? We’re in the middle of a war, yet it doesn’t look like this place has even been touched. It’s as if they don’t even know what’s going on outside of the village walls.”
Arry took a moment to answer, considering. His face grew darker but when he finally spoke, his voice was soft. “The village of Harborfell is in somewhat of a truce with your uncle.”
Rhea’s eyebrows shot up as she turned to him, her mouth hanging open. “What?”
Arry crossed his arm and shrugged, his face somber. “He’s agreed not to touch the village so long as they pledge their allegiance to him. Until another army directly attacks the castle, they’re under his protection. I don’t want to know what will happen should one of the enemy armies arrive. I’d imagine this place would just get wiped out as the armies approach Greystone.”
A chill crept up Rhea’s spine as she thought about what he had just said. They’d passed so much destruction on their way here. Should any of that pass through to the castle, this village would have no hope. They seemed to be a peaceful people, villagers and farmers and shopkeepers, not fighters. This wasn’t a village full of commanders and warriors. It was just a simple village filled with normal people trying to live their lives away from the war as best they could.
Rhea swallowed hard and she turned away from the children, allowing Arry to pull her down another winding road once more. He led her around a bend and down a winding alleyway, when they finally merged into another long rectangular square. This one held many restaurants and late-night shops, and there were people bustling about. There was a wild energy about the square. Rhea couldn’t help but smile, allowing the buzz to prickle against her skin.
There was magic here, she could tell. It was soft and familiar, and reminded her of playing in the castle courtyard with her servants. She had almost forgotten that memory, and it brought happiness to her heart. It was one of her only happy memories, and she wondered why she had repressed it.
Arry took her through a series of stalls that littered the center of the square. A large tent was set up in the middle and overhead awnings sprawled above them, though most of the market stalls had been closed for the night. They finally came up to a small stall in the middle where a short man stood, his teeth glinting gold and his eyes sparkling under the twinkling overhead lights. He smelled of burnt sugar and spice, and the scent was overwhelming as they approached.
“A lot of pretty wares for a pretty lady,” he sang. He motioned to his table with two small, plump hands. The items sparkled and shone with jewelry and metal objects of all sorts Rhea had never seen before. She was mesmerized, and her eyes flicked from one object to the next. The jewelry was beautiful and the strange instruments were unfamiliar yet intriguing. She wondered what they were for.
Arry picked up a small bracelet and handed it to her.
Rhea raised her eyebrow and looked up at him, shaking her head. “I can’t accept this,” she said.
Arry rolled his eyes and handed a few gold pieces to the man, who looked positively thrilled that he had made a sale. His lids fluttered greedily as the heavy coins fell into his hand, and he immediately tucked them away in a safe beneath the table where he stood.
“Please, let me do this for you,” he said. “It’s just a bracelet, nothing fancy. But it makes me feel good that I can give you something when I suspect you’ll be giving so much of yourself for us pretty soon.”
Rhea reluctantly held out her arm for him as he clasped the heavy piece of jewelry around her wrist. She held it up to the overhead light and it glinted and sparkled before her. It was beautiful, intricately cut folds of metal with loops around it, likely for charms.
“A pretty bracelet for a pretty girl,” the man sang. “But a charm bracelet is not worth wearing without the charms.”
He brought out a large box and laid it on the table before them, opening the lid to reveal hundreds upon hundreds of sparkling little trinkets that all sat piled together like a mountain of treasure.
Arry’s eyes sparkled like the charms as he looked like he had just walked into a room full of gifts. He began rummaging through the trinkets, lifting charm after charm up to the light.
“Really, Arry, this bracelet is beautiful as it is,” Rhea insisted. She held her hand over her wrist and rested it against her chest. She was so grateful for it; she didn’t want him to feel that he needed to get her anything more. Her guardians had given so much for her, she felt guilty enough without being lavished with gifts.
“Go sit on the bench, I’ll join you in a second,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the trinkets. Rhea let out a slow laugh and walked back to a bench on the other side of the square, where she sat in silence watching him pore through the charms with lavish greed.
Many people walked by, all of whom completely ignored her. Hers and Arry’s glamor magic obviously worked, and no one seemed remotely interested in either of them. They were just normal pe
ople wandering through the village at night surrounded by other normal people. It felt wonderful. She felt as invisible as she’d been in Detroit, and it made her feel somehow home.
Rhea’s eyelids were hanging heavy and she yawned loudly when Arry finally returned. He knelt down in front of her and held his hand open.
Rhea gasped when she saw what lay in the palm of his hand. Six small charms sparkled under the overhead light, different kinds of metal, all inset with small stones and shining crystals.
Her fingers traced the charms as she looked up at them, her eyes filling with tears. “Arry, they’re beautiful,” she said in a thick voice.
Each charm represented her five guardians and herself. A small lion for Roan, a deep gold inset with the small red stone that looked like a ruby. She picked it up and held it up to the light, and was surprised when the glint suggested that it was real. There was a small sword, she guessed for Taelor. It was a thin silver piece interwoven with small pearls. There was a small rock in the shape of a gargoyle with wings for Grayson, a deep gray with a flash of bronze through the middle. A half-moon for Keaven sat beside it, the whole thing looking as if it were carved from opal. A small gold coin with the shape carved in the middle that looked like a clover—that was for Arry. The last charm she picked up was a white crown that sparkled and shone brighter than the rest.
She blinked back the tears and closed his fingers around the palm of his hand, wrapping her own hands around his. She squeezed his hand and kissed it. She wanted to tell him thank you, but the words didn’t come. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been given jewelry, let alone any so beautiful and meaningful.
She didn’t want to know how much they cost, but considering Arry’s incredible talents, she figured it shouldn’t cut too much into their purse.
“Let me put them on you,” Arry said.
Rhea held out her wrist as he busied himself with attaching the charms to her bracelet. She shook her head in disbelief as she watched him. It meant so much to her, and she would cherish it always.