Mistfall (20 page)

Rory became our defacto tour guide. First
order of business being breakfast, he led us to the pub below the
inn to eat.

“This is the best place in the village,
outside of a home cooked meal, to eat,” he informed us as we sat
down in a booth. John, expecting to sit next to me, was a little
put off when Rory took his place by my side. Rory may look as
useless as a poodle for a guard dog, but he did take his job
seriously. John said nothing, but took a seat next to Melissa. I’m
guessing he wanted to go home more than pick on a Fae.

The Fae were vegetarians and although I enjoy
bacon on my breakfast plate, my hunger was thoroughly sated
nonetheless. We had oatmeal with nuts and berries, lavender cakes,
and baked apples drizzled with honey and topped with cinnamon that
made you feel as if fall were just around the corner. I had no
plans to give up meat, but I would gladly supplant a breakfast or
two with this delicious fare.

After our meal, we strolled through the
village square. Vendors, peddling their wares, had set up tables
and booths in the middle of the road. Flowers of every hue, every
bauble you could imagine, the best produce, and Fae-made crafts
were featured amongst the merchants.

One table had caught Melissa’s attention.
Assorted hair decorations, brooches, and jewelry were displayed.
The merchant’s ever watchful eye had picked up on an item Melissa
showed interest in. She picked up a hair comb encrusted with
sapphires for Melissa to take a closer look at. The merchant told
her that it would intensify the blue of her eyes. When the woman
asked her if she wanted to buy it, Melissa’s face fell.

“I love it, I really do, but I’m afraid I
have no money,” Melissa confessed to the merchant woman.

“Money?” the woman asked. “What would I do
with money?”

“I don’t understand,” Melissa replied.

“Ah, you’ve never shopped in a Fae market
before,” the woman deduced. “We barter and trade here. Tell me,
what can you offer me for this lovely decoration?”

Melissa’s eyes lit up at the possibility of
owning the silver and sapphire piece. “Hmm,” she pondered, trying
to think of something she could offer but came up blank. “Is there
anything you would like,” she asked the merchant.

The woman became excited at being given the
option to name her own price for a change. “I’m afraid I may be
asking too much, but I’d like to have a watch,” the woman requested
carefully. She watched Melissa’s face for signs she had gone too
far in her request.

Melissa looked stupefied by the request. “A
watch? That’s all you want?”

The merchant woman looked relieved that her
price hadn’t been too high and amused by Melissa’s ineptitude in
the Fae trade system. “Our magic doesn’t extend to technology,” the
woman informed her.

“Done!” Melissa replied excitedly. She shook
the woman’s hand and turned to me. “Can you help me with this one?”
she asked me, hope projecting from her face.

I was sure any old watch would do, but I put
in a little extra effort since Melissa was getting the hair comb
for a steal. At least she was in my opinion. The trade concluded,
the merchant offered to place the comb in Melissa’s hair.

The merchant woman wasn’t lying when she said
it would intensify the blue of her eyes. Melissa’s eyes glowed,
like all of ours do when we’re emotionally heightened. Instead of
neon blue though, quicksilver swam and flashed among the sapphire
pools of her eyes.

John, who had been quietly chatting with Rory
during the whole exchange, sucked in his breath at the sight of
her. “Holy Hades that’s weird,” he blurted. “Cool, but weird all
the same.”

I elbowed him in the ribs before he put his
foot in his mouth any further. “Don’t listen to him. You look
fantastic,” I reassured her.

Suddenly I found that I wasn’t the sole focus
of Rory’s attention, to John’s relief. He stared at her, mesmerized
by the vision her. If Rory’s jaw dropped any further he would be
eating a mouthful of dust from the road.

We left the table and moved on. John and I
walked ahead, at Rory’s insistence. He claimed it was so that he
could keep an eye on me. I knew he just wanted to chat up Melissa
without looking like he was shirking his duty.

“I was starting to think I had some
competition there,” John joked.

“Yeah, you know me. Short, skinny,
defenseless,” I cleared my throat and pointed to his feet, “and
well heeled really turns me on,” I retorted as I rolled my
eyes.

John grabbed my hand and brought it to his
lips. “Now that’s not true,” he claimed. “And yes, I do know you.
Better than you think.” He lowered his voice and looked up at me
through those thick lashes of his and winked. “So, I do know how to
turn you on and get you all hot and bothered.”

I raised an eyebrow at his sudden jolt of
cockiness.
Or was it assertiveness?
“Oh you think so?” I
challenged him.

“Sure do. Matter of fact, after the wedding
celebrations are over, I’m going to show you exactly what I mean. I
don’t plan to stop until your legs turn to jello either,” he
replied with all the confidence in the world.

Ho-ly crap! Did he just threaten me with body
numbing pleasure? My inner sex kitten broke out her pom-poms and
screamed a resounding “Yes!!!” as she did cartwheels and jumped up
and down.

“You promise?” I asked without skipping a
beat. I couldn’t let him know that he had me mildly shaken by being
so take charge. It was something I wasn’t used to, always being the
one in control.

“Oh without a doubt Violet,” he replied with
an ear to ear grin. “You can hold me to that.”

I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
What else can you say to a man that has told you of all the
pleasures you’d find in his bed later that night?

Melissa saved me by interrupting our
conversation. “What are you two talking about that’s so
entertaining?” she asked.

I silently giggled. If she knew what had just
transpired she’d want all the juicy details. Best friend or not, I
didn’t want to have that talk again with her. Besides, I was
feeling a little possessive of the intimate details and didn’t want
to share.

“Violet was just wondering what there was to
do around here after the wedding festivities were over,” John
replied with a devilish gleam in his eye.

Melissa’s face brightened at what she thought
was the idea of an after party. “Cool. What did you have in
mind?”

I turned to face forward as my face grew
pinker than her dress. John wasn’t oblivious to me and growled
softly into my ear, making it harder and harder to both keep my
composure and not rip his clothes off right here and ride him like
a cowgirl. Yeah, my libido was sure giving me a run for my money
today.

“I take it you’ve never been to a Fae wedding
before,” Rory commented, oblivious to what John had meant.

I was rather appreciative for the intrusion
as it gave me the time to get my head out of the gutter. “I can’t
say that I have,” I admitted.

Rory gave us a primer on Fae weddings. “When
we celebrate the joining of two lives, it goes on for three days,”
he began. “The first day represents a farewell to their individual
pasts. The second is a symbol of the union of their two lives. The
third is representative of their future together.”

“That’s a beautiful concept,” Melissa gushed,
batting her eyes at Rory.

I was taken aback. Melissa usually went for
the well-built, beast type of guys. Rory, well he looked like a
bunny rabbit would send him running. I guess everyone needs a
little loving though.

We still had a couple of hours to go before
Hailz’s wedding. Rory took us to see a play to kill some time. It
was a ‘Midsummer’s Night Dream.’ The play was done in the original
Fae version. All I can say is that Shakespeare was a hack. His was
watered down and didn’t do the story an ounce of justice.

It was after a light lunch that the three of
us realized we had no wedding gifts. Rory took us past the street
vendors we had visited earlier. He led us down a road that housed
stores and boutiques.

“The goods you can buy from the markets are
good for everyday, but for something special you come here,” Rory
instructed us, pointing to the different shopping options at our
disposal.

The short reprieve I had was quickly gone as
Rory was once again at my side when we split up to look for
gifts.

“Wouldn’t you rather go with Melissa?” I
asked, hoping to get the monkey off my back a little longer. “I’ve
seen the way you’ve been looking at her today.”

He gave me a look that said “mind your own
business.” “My duty is to guard you and the god’s weapon,” he
stated formally, leaving me no room to wiggle.

He was on duty. The rest of us were here on a
holiday, for all intents and purposes.

“That sucks. I’m sorry you have to babysit me
instead of enjoying the celebration,” I consoled him walking into a
weapons shop. Yup, just the place to find Hailz that something
special.

Rory shook his head at me in disbelief. “You
don’t understand. To be the bodyguard for Hofuo and the sword
bearer is an honor, not a job.”

“Oh,” I replied in surprise. “Well…um…thank
you, I think.”

I picked up a mace to inspect it.

“You’re welcome, he said.

I let the ball of the mace hang in mid-air as
I examined how well it handled. “Rory? May I ask you a question
without you getting offended?” I asked.

“I suppose,” he replied carefully.

“How do I put this?” I began. Swinging the
mace in the middle of the shop, I tried to figure out how to word
what I wanted to say without sounding like a jerk. “Hypothetically,
if we were attacked or outnumbered, how do you suppose we would
fight?” Despite my effort I still put my foot in my mouth.

Potential for blood and gore or not, it
wasn’t the right gift for Hailz. I put the mace back in the rack I
found it in, avoiding eye contact with Rory.

“Ah, I see. You don’t think I’m much of a
fighter,” he accused, though not unkindly.

“It’s not that…I don’t…” I tried to explain
without further digging myself into a hole, but that wasn’t going
to happen. I gave up and went with honesty. “Oh hell. Yes, that’s
exactly what I think.”

Rory leaned in towards me and gave me a
conspiratorial wink. “Things are not always what they seem,” he
said taking a few steps back. Rory began to grow and in seconds he
towered over me and was built like a tank. He looked like a
steroidal version of himself. He was easily eight feet tall and his
muscles had muscles. My worry about his usefulness was quickly put
to rest.

“Does this satisfy your curiosity?” he asked
in a growl.

I nodded in response as he shrunk back down
to regular size and shape.

“Impressive,” I admitted.

“The Fae will not harm you,” he explained.
“Outsiders, on the other hand, may do so if they recognize Hofuo.
My strength is underestimated in this form, thus giving me the
upper hand if the unfortunate was to happen. Though, it is rare for
fighting to occur here.”

I perused a shelf of clockwork insects that
had poison in their stingers. I didn’t want to say anything else in
fear I might dig the hole so deep I could never get out of it.

“Your question did not offend me,” Rory added
as an afterthought.

I sighed in relief. It doesn’t do any good to
tick off an ally.

“Have you found anything?” Rory asked,
changing the subject.

Though the deadly insects were interesting,
nothing here screamed Hailz to me. “No, I haven’t,” I confessed.
“Hailz is impossible to shop for.”

“Perhaps we should try somewhere else,” he
suggested.

The search in the next three shops was
fruitless as well. If I wasn’t dependent on the Fae hospitality, I
probably would give her a gag gift. Snake skin boots came to
mind.

John was already waiting at the bakery we had
agreed to meet up at. Melissa had not yet returned. The smell of
freshly baked bread wafted through the air, making me salivate.

“I bought a loaf to take with us tomorrow,”
John told me.

I smiled upon seeing him. “You read my
mind.”

Rory was distracted, peering through the
loaves of bread in the window looking for Melissa. I took the
opportunity to steal a kiss from John.

“What was that for?” he asked though not
disappointed.

“I just couldn’t keep my hands off you,” I
replied in a southern drawl while batting my eyelashes at him
playfully.

Rory had turned his attention away from the
window, making his way back to our table.

“Just you wait until I get you alone,” John
growled low enough so not to be heard. The butterflies began a new
dance in my stomach at the sound of his voice.

“So what did you buy the happy couple?” John
asked, changing the subject since Rory had joined us.

I shook my head in disappointment. “I
couldn’t find anything. Nothing screamed out psychotic killer,” I
lamented.

John smiled. “Luckily you can magic up
something last minute. Don’t worry, it’ll come to you.”

It took the few seconds his words travelled
from his lips to my ears for it to dawn on me that I already had
the perfect gift for Hailz. I couldn’t wait to give it to her!

Melissa turned up, to Rory’s delight, a short
time later. She had found a parrot flower plant. Those were rare,
even amongst Otherworlders. Shaped like a parrot, it had a crimson
head, white body, and light purple tail with crimson streaks. Its
beak was attached to the stem. It looked as if it would fly away
any minute. With a touch of Fae magic, they can be enchanted to
flit around.

All present and accounted for, our group of
four made its way deep into the village forests. It was time for a
wedding.