be
this.” Instead of pulling it out from the drawer, he had been keeping it in
his own pocket. It was warm to the touch when he handed it to her. “That is a
magnificent stone.”
“Oh, it is.”
Her fingers curled around it. “It was a bonus for my last trade, one I should
have turned down. It has caused me far more trouble than its value.”
“Was it stolen?”
he asked, almost gently. She was taken aback by the question, but he seemed
quite serious about it. He must have been having doubts.
“Not as far as I
know. But it is of Konkastian origin and they were able to track me with it.”
She bit her lip, weighing the pendant. “It is a gem fit for a queen–or a princess–but
if I had known, I would have refused it.”
“I see.” The
man looked across his desk with those deep brown eyes of the sort she had never
seen before. His hair was faintly curly, like his niece’s hair, but in a
midnight black instead. It was neatly trimmed, but wild in its own way, as if
it refused any efforts at styling. “If you are going to seek asylum in
England, perhaps I can have you contact my solicitor. But first, I want to be
sure of something.”
“Oh?” She
leaned forward.
He replied in a
completely, utterly different language.
She blinked.
“I’m sorry,” she
said, shaking her head. “I didn’t understand any of that.”
He leaned
forward with a resigned sigh and settled his chin on his hand. “That was Greek,
Miss d’Munt. As in, the country you claim to hail from.”
Eneria’s heart
bottomed out, and she felt the blood drain from her face.
She’d been found
out already !
----
Marilyn stood on
her tiptoes to peer over the top of the dresser where the fairy had curled up
next to a candle on the metal candelabra.
She grinned,
revealing missing teeth where they had not quite finished coming in yet. In
her hand she held a box with air holes, opting to avoid the lead crystal vase
that had nearly killed the fairy before.
“Uncle James is
going to have to believe me after he sees you,” she said. She started to reach
for the sleeping creature, then she stopped. The stranger had said that the
fairy was asleep and shouldn’t be woken.
She was torn
between her admiration for the stranger and her desire to prove to her uncle
that she wasn’t imagining things. Her small hand wavered, but in the end, good
behavior lost. With a cheeky grin, she grabbed at the fairy. However, her hand
went right through the creature. She hadn’t realized that the fairy
wasn’t solid; when she had caught her in the jar, she had also captured the air
around it.
Her actions did
have an effect. The small golden creature blinked sleepily, brightened a bit,
and stared at the room around her, not seeing. Eventually, her bleary gaze
settled on Marilyn, at which point she screamed.
Her scream was a
high, tinny sound, and Marilyn instinctively responded in kind. The fairy
leaped out of the way as Marilyn made another lunge for her. She fluttered
around the ceiling for a few moments before heading out into the hallway.
Marilyn followed, ignoring her governess who had just rushed down the hallway
upon hearing her charge’s cry.
She chased the
fairy down the stairs and was pleased as the creature made a beeline for her
uncle’s study. He would surely see her at this rate!
----
Aijo hated
waking up early under any circumstances, especially before she’d recharged her
miniature nuclear batteries. Waking up to a child that apparently thought you
were a toy to play with was even worse.
Eneria was not in
the bed, and Aijo remembered that she had been well enough to get out of bed
this afternoon. She hoped that all the language and culture she had been
stuffing in her ward’s head for the last few days was coming in handy.
She honed in on
her mistress, not caring that she was towing an overexcited seven year-old
behind her. She needed help.
----
“Excuse
this.” Instead of pulling it out from the drawer, he had been keeping it in
his own pocket. It was warm to the touch when he handed it to her. “That is a
magnificent stone.”
“Oh, it is.”
Her fingers curled around it. “It was a bonus for my last trade, one I should
have turned down. It has caused me far more trouble than its value.”
“Was it stolen?”
he asked, almost gently. She was taken aback by the question, but he seemed
quite serious about it. He must have been having doubts.
“Not as far as I
know. But it is of Konkastian origin and they were able to track me with it.”
She bit her lip, weighing the pendant. “It is a gem fit for a queen–or a princess–but
if I had known, I would have refused it.”
“I see.” The
man looked across his desk with those deep brown eyes of the sort she had never
seen before. His hair was faintly curly, like his niece’s hair, but in a
midnight black instead. It was neatly trimmed, but wild in its own way, as if
it refused any efforts at styling. “If you are going to seek asylum in
England, perhaps I can have you contact my solicitor. But first, I want to be
sure of something.”
“Oh?” She
leaned forward.
He replied in a
completely, utterly different language.
She blinked.
“I’m sorry,” she
said, shaking her head. “I didn’t understand any of that.”
He leaned
forward with a resigned sigh and settled his chin on his hand. “That was Greek,
Miss d’Munt. As in, the country you claim to hail from.”
Eneria’s heart
bottomed out, and she felt the blood drain from her face.
She’d been found
out already !
----
Marilyn stood on
her tiptoes to peer over the top of the dresser where the fairy had curled up
next to a candle on the metal candelabra.
She grinned,
revealing missing teeth where they had not quite finished coming in yet. In
her hand she held a box with air holes, opting to avoid the lead crystal vase
that had nearly killed the fairy before.
“Uncle James is
going to have to believe me after he sees you,” she said. She started to reach
for the sleeping creature, then she stopped. The stranger had said that the
fairy was asleep and shouldn’t be woken.
She was torn
between her admiration for the stranger and her desire to prove to her uncle
that she wasn’t imagining things. Her small hand wavered, but in the end, good
behavior lost. With a cheeky grin, she grabbed at the fairy. However, her hand
went right through the creature. She hadn’t realized that the fairy
wasn’t solid; when she had caught her in the jar, she had also captured the air
around it.
Her actions did
have an effect. The small golden creature blinked sleepily, brightened a bit,
and stared at the room around her, not seeing. Eventually, her bleary gaze
settled on Marilyn, at which point she screamed.
Her scream was a
high, tinny sound, and Marilyn instinctively responded in kind. The fairy
leaped out of the way as Marilyn made another lunge for her. She fluttered
around the ceiling for a few moments before heading out into the hallway.
Marilyn followed, ignoring her governess who had just rushed down the hallway
upon hearing her charge’s cry.
She chased the
fairy down the stairs and was pleased as the creature made a beeline for her
uncle’s study. He would surely see her at this rate!
----
Aijo hated
waking up early under any circumstances, especially before she’d recharged her
miniature nuclear batteries. Waking up to a child that apparently thought you
were a toy to play with was even worse.
Eneria was not in
the bed, and Aijo remembered that she had been well enough to get out of bed
this afternoon. She hoped that all the language and culture she had been
stuffing in her ward’s head for the last few days was coming in handy.
She honed in on
her mistress, not caring that she was towing an overexcited seven year-old
behind her. She needed help.
----
“Excuse
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