‘So, how was he?’ Aiden asked. He rolled his shoulder and stretched his arm, trying to work out the kinks, as they walked down the winding path back to the city.

  After their training session they had briefly dropped by the cottage to greet Sith before deciding to head for Madame Jeanne’s. Thanks to the enchantments around the city, the wind was only a bit chilly with no sign of snow. They wrapped their cloaks tightly around themselves as they briskly marched towards the city. The sooner they got it over with, the better. They had no time to lose.

  ‘Better than I thought he’d be.’ Vivian was still holding one of her new rondel daggers, with its twin tucked into her belt. ‘At least he stopped after every beatdown to tell me what I was doing wrong.’

  ‘I wish Peri would do that.’ Felix rolled his eyes as he flexed his fingers. ‘He just says that the only way to learn is by making mistakes and correcting myself.’

  Vivian shrugged. ‘Different teachers, different methods. I suppose.’ She frowned. ’Is there something wrong with your hand?’

  ‘Ahh, it’s blistering.’ He rubbed his fingers together. ‘I should probably get a pair of shooting gloves.’

  ‘We have the time,’ Aiden said. ‘After Madame Jeanne’s and the bookshop, let’s see if we can find a fletcher.’

  The sounds of a bustling market soon reached their ears. They quickly wound their way through the now familiar streets, heading straight for the boutique. The shop looked packed, with the sounds of the customers inside spilling onto the street. They could barely make their way inside on account of the crowd, with Felix almost being shoved right back out by an extremely rude noble. The boy sneered at him before leaving, his goblin servant hurriedly following behind.

  ‘What’s his problem?’ Vivian growled.

  ‘Probably the usual half-blood nonsense.’ Felix brushed off the shoulder where he’d been shoved, trying his best to look unperturbed. ‘Never mind him. We need to talk to Madame Jeanne.’

  Together, they pushed their way into the shop, stepping on a few toes and earning a few glares as they did so. Vivian and Felix had to drag Aiden in, who seemed extremely reluctant to step into such a crowded place.

  ‘Can’t I just wait outside?’ he almost whined.

  ‘You could,’ Vivian said. ‘But if we have to suffer through this, so do you.’

  Attendants marched back and forth, tending to customers with a grace and elegance that only elves could maintain in such a hectic environment. They stopped in their tracks to let a group of girls led by Lynn pass by. The girls took a moment to glare disdainfully at Vivian and Felix and gaze admiringly at Aiden. Vivian and Felix exchanged knowing looks before draping their arms over Aiden’s shoulders, squishing him between them, while Aiden covered his face and shook his head at their antics. The girls’ glares intensified, but they didn’t say anything before disappearing into the crowd. Aiden sharply nudged them both away, bringing their attention back to the task at hand. Felix, being the tallest among them, craned his neck, trying to see above the crowd as he searched for the yellow-haired elf.

  ‘Do you see her?’ Vivian had to raise her voice a bit to be heard.

  Felix swivelled his head a bit more before his eyes lit up in recognition. ‘Yep. Found her… oh no…’ His face fell. ‘She’s with Kenith and Quinter.’

  ‘Maybe we can come back later?’ Aiden suggested. ‘I doubt we could talk to her even if we wanted to right now.’

  ‘Then, let’s head for the bookshop.’ Vivian thumbed at the door where even more people were squeezing their way in.

  Aiden nodded in swift agreement. His skin was probably crawling, having to be around so many people. He swirled around and strode out of the front door, eager for freedom and fresh air. He had barely taken five steps out before he bumped into someone. Vivian and Felix who were following close behind came to a halt as well.

  ‘I apologize. I didn’t- oh no.’ Aiden’s face fell just as quickly as Felix’s had before.

  ‘Master Aiden!’ Claire exclaimed. ‘What a pleasant surprise?!’

  ‘For whom?’ Vivian muttered under her breath. Felix chortled which he quickly covered with a cough when Claire turned to glare at him.

  ‘It’s the weather.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I think I might be coming down with a cold.’

  ‘Let’s hope it’s a bad one,’ a familiar voice said from behind them. The three of them looked back to find Kenith and Quinter extracting themselves from the crowd to come and stand behind them.

  ‘Kenith, Quinter!’ Vivian exclaimed, mimicking Claire. ‘What an unpleasant surprise?!’

  Kenith’s eyes narrowed. ‘You do realize that any other noble would have you whipped for that tone… but I’ll settle for an apology.’

  ‘You first,’ Vivian replied coolly. ‘You ran your mouth quite a bit the last time we met.’

  ‘I already apologized.’

  ‘Not sincerely.’ She crossed her arms stubbornly and nodded at Felix. ‘And not to him.’

  Kenith was seething. He clenched and unclenched his fists as if he was just itching to punch someone. Vivian was fully expecting him to follow through on the impulse, and she would gladly follow as well, but surprisingly instead the boy took a deep breath and straightened up. A derisive sneer made its way onto his face. Vivian did not like that look.

  ‘I heard a rumour that you lost your job,’ he jeered, drawing the attention of a few passers-by. ‘How badly did you mess up to get sacked in just a few weeks?’

  ‘Kenny, don’t,’ Claire warned quietly, but was promptly ignored.

  Vivian growled. ‘I didn’t get sacked. It's a stay order.’

  ‘They probably thought you’d burn down the woods again if they let you loose in there,’ Quinter commented. ‘You would think that if your life depended on your job, you’d do better.’

  ‘That wasn’t-’ Aiden began.

  Kenith waved his hand dismissively. ‘I’m not surprised. It’s just been one disaster after another ever since she arrived. First the woods are set on fire, then you cause the lake to explode, and now apparently, you’re living and consorting with outsiders. It’s a miracle the Council even kept you in the first place.’

  ‘They kept you, didn’t they?’ Felix snarked. ‘Clearly their tolerance for uselessness is high.’

  ‘Are you calling me useless?’ Kenith growled.

  ‘Are you calling me useless?’ Vivian asked, slightly insulted.

  ‘Wh- no! I mean yes!’ Felix stuttered. He collected himself before elaborating. ‘Yes, to the first. No, to the second.’

  Vivian let out a disbelieving laugh. ‘Look, I expected Kenny here to be an arse-’

  ‘Don’t call me Kenny.’

  ‘But arse is alright?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘- And boy, does he live up to expectations.’ Vivian put on a wounded look. ‘But I never expected this from you.’

  ‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it,’ Felix said.

  ‘No, arse is not alright!’ Kenith bit back.

  ‘But it suits you so well,’ Aiden said. ’Better than Kenny anyway.’

  Quinter shrugged. ’He's not wrong. You are an arse.’

  ‘You’re supposed to be on my side, not insulting me.’

  Quinter looked slightly miffed. ‘Don’t constrict me. I can do both.’

  ‘Hmm, looks like I’m not the only one under friendly fire,’ Vivian muttered to Kenith. The boy grunted and nodded in agreement, before realizing that they were supposed to be fighting. Before he could recover and start spewing insults at her again, Vivian threw one arm around his shoulder and the other up in the air dramatically. ‘Oh, woe is us! Betrayed by the ones we call friend.’

  Felix matched her tone, trying to control his laughter. ‘’Twas unfortunate, but necessary. Friendly fire in the name of justice.’

  ‘You two are so weird.’ Kenith tried to shake off Vivian’s arm, but she held on tighter. ‘Let go of me!’

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  ‘Justice? What justice?’ Vivian continued, paying no mind to Kenith who was trying to squirm out of her grip. ‘This is nothing but a farce, a mockery of true justice.’

  ‘I don’t know what is wrong with you but leave me out of it.’ Kenith hissed. His struggle intensified as he tried to pry off Vivian’s vice-like grip. ‘By the gods, why are you so strong?!’

  ‘Silence knave!’ Felix shouted in his best booming voice and his best serious face.

  And Kenith actually stopped struggling and went quiet for a moment, his eyes comically wide in surprise… before bursting into laughter, quickly joined by Vivian and Felix. Kenith doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain, all noble-like behaviour vanishing into thin air as he leaned against Vivian for support. People around them stopped to stare, before shaking their heads in disapproval and leaving. Aiden and Quinter looked at them in disbelief from the side.

  ‘Why are we friends with them?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Quinter shook his head. ‘We really could’ve done better.’

  It took a while for the three of them to stop laughing, Kenith still holding his stomach in pain as they straightened up.

  ‘Oh, I haven’t laughed so hard ever since…’ Kenith gasped for breath. ‘Well, ever since I came here.’

  ‘Well, that explains why you were being such an arse,’ Vivian said. ‘You must have had some pent-up anger.’

  Kenith nodded. ‘Feels good.’ He smiled, looking carefree and happy for the first time since Vivian met him. He turned to look at Felix, still smiling slightly as he stared at him quietly for a moment.

  ‘What? What is it?’ Felix asked. ‘Do I have something on my face?’

  ‘No, no. Just thinking.’

  ‘Careful,’ Quinter warned. ’Don't hurt yourself.' Kenith glared at him but didn’t rise to the bait.

  'Please don't tell me you're going to call me a half-blood again.’ Felix groaned. ‘We were having such a good time.’

  ‘I was thinking,’ Kenith gritted out, little more than a growl. ‘On how to properly apologize to you.’

  ‘That’s your thinking face?’ Aiden asked. ‘Looks painful.’

  ‘Why are you making this difficult?’ Kenith asked exasperated.

  Aiden shrugged. ‘Is there a reason for us to make it easy?’

  ‘No,’ Quinter spoke up before Kenith could, his voice sombre in tone. 'No there isn't.’ He turned to face Felix. ‘Felix- no, Master Redcliffe, I deeply apologize for the way I treated you.’ He bowed his head a bit. ‘You as well, Miss Wright,’ he continued. ‘You managed to make your way here by your own strength, and that is nothing short of admirable. And Master Tenebris,’ He looked at Aiden. ‘You are anything but a coward. I apologize for that as well.’

  Both Vivian and Felix looked flustered, unable to form proper words to respond.

  Vivian tried to speak. ‘Um, well, it’s- uh, you don’t-’

  ‘What my friend here is trying to say so eloquently,’ Felix spoke up, looking uncharacteristically serious as he came to her rescue. ‘Is that we accept your apology.’

  ‘I apologize as well,’ Kenith said. ‘For everything. The truth is that the three of you seem happy even though the circumstances that brough us here are unfortunate, to say the least… and I suppose I might’ve been a bit jealous.’ Kenith straightened up. ‘As a sign of my sincerity, I want to invite the three of you to my home for the new year, that is, if you don’t have any other plans.’

  ‘I’d have to check with Peri and Sith.’ Vivian seemed to have found her voice again. ‘I appreciate the offer. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.’

  Kenith nodded and held out a tentative hand to her. Vivian hesitated for a moment before grinning widely and shaking it. He did the same for Felix, who looked so happy that one would think it was the first time someone apologized to him.

  Maybe it is… Vivian thought. She couldn’t help smiling at the joy on his face.

  ‘Are you girls done braiding each other’s hair?’ A voice rudely interrupted the beautiful moment. The group looked back to see Claire squeezing her way out of the crowded boutique.

  ‘Where were you?’ Quinter asked.

  ‘You lot looked like you were going to take a while, so I went and got my shopping done.’ Claire brushed her hair out of her face. ‘You are done, yes?’

  Kenith chuckled. ‘Yes, yes, we’re done. Beth was right. All it took was an apology.’

  ‘Well, feel free to let her know that the next time you see her… which should be in about a half-hour when we meet her for lunch.’ Claire examined Vivian, Felix and Aiden. ‘Since you’ve made up, you’re welcome to join us.’

  ‘Aw, thank you Claire.’ Felix said in a teasing tone.

  ‘That’s Miss Shyling to you.’

  ‘Oh? And here I thought we were finally on a first name basis,’ Vivian said. ‘After all, we call them Kenny and Quinn.’

  Claire gave Kenith and Quinter a questioning look. ‘They do?’

  Kenith shook his head. ‘They don't.’

  ‘We do,’ Felix said affirmatively.

  Quinter tilted his head. ‘I like Quinn.’

  ‘No, you don’t!’ both Claire and Kenny objected.

  Quinter threw his hands up in a peaceful gesture and took a step back.

  Claire huffed. ‘So? Lunch? We’re meeting at Verman’s.’

  ‘Hmm, maybe another day. But thank you for the invite…’ Vivian grinned. ‘Claire.’

  Claire rolled her eyes but didn’t respond. She turned on her heel and marched off. Kenith and Quinter called out a farewell before following her.

  ‘Well… that was eventful,’ Felix commented.

  A sudden silence settled on them.

  ‘Bookshop?’ Aiden suggested.

  Vivian nodded. ‘Yep. Let's go.’

  ………

  It took them a while to reach the bookshop, once again weaving their way through the crowd and trying not to get separated. A collective relief ran through them when they saw the familiar shopfront. The moment they stepped through the front door, warmth rushed over them. Vivian took a moment to admire the fresh grass under her feet and the trees that rose to the ceiling, their lush, green foliage tenaciously defiant of the winter air outside. No matter how many times she saw it, it still took her breath away. However, she didn’t have a lot of time to admire the view as her attention was soon drawn to the spots of light that zipped around the shop, tiny voices raised in shouts and orders.

  ‘They seem… frantic,’ Felix pointed out.

  They carefully made their way to the front counter, carefully ducking around the fairies who seemed too preoccupied to notice where they were going. One blue fairy even went so far as to slam full speed into Aiden’s chest. Luckily, Aiden managed to catch him before he fell.

  ‘Sorry! And thank you!’ the fairy said, before zipping off again.

  ‘Once we find Miss Vyn, let me do the talking,’ Felix whispered. He drew himself up, puffing out his chest. ‘After all, Peri did say that I was a master of the art of conversation.’

  ‘I don’t remember him saying that,’ Aiden said flatly.

  ‘He implied it,’ Felix replied.

  ‘No, I think he implied regret,’ Aiden said. ‘If you’d listened carefully-’

  ‘Miss Vyn!’ Vivian called out.

  The pink fairy stopped barking orders for a moment to find who had called out to her. When her eyes landed on them, she gave them a small smile. She turned back to hurriedly issue a few more instructions to a slouching Irie, before flying over to them. As previously instructed, Vivian and Aiden took a step back allowing Felix to take lead.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ she apologized. ‘I didn’t even see you come in.’

  ‘It’s alright.’ Vivian glanced around the panicked fairies. ‘You seem busy.’

  Miss Vyn huffed. ‘It's that time of the year. Three weeks before the school opening is our busiest time.’ She slumped mid-air. ‘Good for business, bad for the soul.’

  ‘Well, if you need any help, we’re available,’ Felix offered. ‘For a price, of course.’

  Miss Vyn crossed her arms. ‘Thank you for the offer, but we have been doing this for years. We are completely capable of-’

  A loud noise interrupted her as two groups of fairies, each carrying a stack of books crashed into each other mid-air, sending said books tumbling to the floor while the fairies did their best not to get crushed by the sudden avalanche. Felix turned to Miss Vyn with a pointed look.

  ‘… Maybe we could use a few extra hands,’ Miss Vyn admitted. ‘Preferably ones that can hold an entire book by itself.’ She sighed. ‘What’s your price? Keep in mind, I can’t go more than three denos a day.’

  ‘Hmm, we’re not exactly tight for money right now,’ Felis said smoothly. ‘After all, we managed to make quite the pocket change with the fairy silk… Is there, perhaps, something else of value in the woods?’

  ‘Is there something in particular you had in mind?’ Miss Vyn asked.

  Felix pretended to think about it for a moment. ‘Well… there is something I’ve been curious about recently. And since you own a bookstore, I figured you might know about it.’

  ‘What is it?’

  Felix thumbed towards the door. ‘Those street lights as well as the lights in our homes, and the wards around the city… how are they sustained? Are there mages that work to maintain it all the time?’

  Miss Vyn shook her head. ‘No, no. They use aurium.’

  ‘Aurium?’

  ‘It’s a mineral that can be found in mana fields.’ She gestured around her. ‘Like this one. There’s an abundance of it in the woods.’

  ‘But the woods are off-limits for mages in the city,’ Vivian pointed out. ‘So, how do they get their hands on it.’

  ‘Well, currently there is an aurium mine right behind the council building. It’s strictly managed by the Council, so no one else has access to it.’

  ‘Can we buy some?’ Felix asked, even though he already knew the answer.

  Miss Vyn shook her head again. ‘It’s not for sale, not in its pure form. Only a select number of blacksmiths are allowed to work with it and the Council supplies them with a fixed amount every year. Most of it is used for public works like those street lamps. The rest is available only as finished products in the market.’

  ‘Oh, too bad.’ Felix sighed. ‘I was hoping to get my hands on some. I’m in the mood to experiment.’

  ‘Well… while the Council does supervise the distribution of aurium, it’s not illegal to own it.’ Miss Vyn said suggestively.

  ‘Right, you said that there is aurium to be found everywhere in a mana field,’ Felix nodded in understanding. ‘The entire Jaggerjacks mountains is a mana field. Anyone could pick it up.’

  ‘Or, anyone with access to the Druscan woods.’ Miss Vyn shrugged. ‘Like me.’

  ‘Won’t that get you in trouble?’ Felix asked in fake concern.

  ‘Well, we fairies aren’t the only ones able to enter the woods… not anymore.’ She looked at Vivian pointedly. ‘Perhaps you children might’ve picked it up without knowing what it is the last time you went in there.’

  Felix grinned. ‘Miss Vyn, I think we have reached an agreement.’

  ………

  ‘Remind me to never trust a word out of your mouth,’ Aiden said.

  The bookshop door clicked close behind them as the three of them stepped out into the street filled with the afternoon crowd. Vivian stepped back a bit to let a couple of dwarves holding hands to pass by, completely engaged in their conversation. She tugged her cloak tighter around herself.

  ‘I hate to admit it, but that was impressive,’ she said. ‘You made whole thing sound like her idea.’

  ‘Conversation is an art, and I am an artist.’ Felix puffed out his chest with pride. ‘Please be sure to relay all that happened here to Peri.’

  ‘And now you’ve ruined it,’ Aiden said.

  ‘So… Madame Jeanne’s next?’ Vivian suggested.

  Thankfully, the boutique wasn’t as crowded as before, probably because it was lunchtime. Still, most of the attendants were still busy with customers when they stepped inside. Madame Jeanne was just wrapping with one such noble. She looked up as the bell rang. She nodded at them before returning her attention to her client. As soon as she was done, she made a beeline for them.

  ‘So, what can I help you with?’ she asked politely.

  ‘We have some things to discuss. It won’t take long,’ Vivian said. ‘Are you free now?’

  Madame Jeanne nodded. They moved to the backroom, Madame Jeanne shutting and locking the door behind them. They gave her a brief rundown of the situation, with Madame Jeanne nodding along.

  ‘Hmm, I should have the weave finished in a week, though it would’ve been easier if I had the receptacle in hand when I was making it. I could’ve woven the weave inside it.’ She waved a hand dismissively. ‘But it’s no matter. It’s simple enough to transfer the weave once I have it.’

  ‘About the weave,’ Aiden said. ‘Cyrus had some concerns.’

  Madame Jeanne nodded in understanding. ‘As he should. Tell him it’ll be a healing weave. He can inspect it once I’m done.’

  ‘Great!’ Vivian clapped her hands together. ‘Now, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll have the aurium by next week and the receptacle a week after… just in time for the elves’ departure.’

  ‘If it goes according to plan,’ Aiden said pointedly. ‘When has it ever?’

  ‘I have a feeling that this time it will,’ Vivian replied. ‘Since it’s not our plan.’