‘What are the chances we get out of this without it getting ugly?’ Felix whispered to Vivian from the corner of his mouth; a painful smile stretched on his face.

  ‘Low and approaching none,’ Vivian mumbled back.

  The three of them had unfortunately been caught with no escape. They couldn’t just leave without seeming rude and, judging by the expressions on Kenith’s and Quinter’s face, any further conversation was bound to go downhill. They were trapped by social etiquette, something Vivian was only starting to understand, and hating it with every fibre of her being.

  ‘Master Aiden!’ Claire looked positively ecstatic at the chance encounter and determined to milk it for all it was worth. ‘Did you come to do some shopping? Mind if I join you?’ she asked in quick succession before Aiden could even get in a word edgewise.

  ‘Unfortunately, I must decline,’ Aiden refused politely. ‘You see, my friends and I are here on business. We’re here to speak to Madam Jeanne about an earlier arrangement.’

  ‘Oh, Madame Jeanne is in the back with Miss Blyne,’ Claire answered. ‘She getting a new dress fitted. I’m sure she’ll be out soon. In the meantime, we can keep each other company.’ Claire suggested, masterfully cutting off Aiden’s desperate attempt at escape. She fixed an annoyed glare on Felix and Vivian. ‘Your friends are welcome to join us as well.’

  ‘I don’t think we are welcome,’ Vivian whispered.

  ‘Well done,’ Felix whispered back. ‘You’re learning.’

  ‘Claire, you cannot be serious,’ Kenith said, a scowl seeming to have been fixed on his face permanently. ‘You wish to keep company with a commoner and a half-blood.’

  ‘Not to mention the coward,’ Quinter added. ‘Surely we’re better than that.’

  Claire turned her strained smile at the two boys who immediately flinched away. ‘Don’t be so rude. Master Aiden is one of us, of ancient noble heritage. We need to stick together in such trying times.’

  ‘I see that she conveniently left you out,’ Vivian whispered to Felix.

  ‘Well done again.’

  Aiden’s shoulders had slumped in defeat by this point. ‘Very well. We shall take you up on your offer.’

  Vivian frowned. ‘I’m sorry, we?’

  ‘Yes, we.’ It was Aiden’s turn to put on a clearly forced smile. ‘We are friends, aren’t we?’

  If I’m forced to suffer through this, so will you- is what he seemed to be implying.

  Thankfully, Vivian was saved from making up an excuse to not do so by Kenith snorting in derision, a look of distaste on his face. ‘You call a commoner and a half-blood your friend? Have you really sunken that low?’

  Aiden dropped his smile, no longer interested in playing nice. ‘That is the second time today that you have insulted my friends. Letting this go will be shameful of me.’

  Ignoring Claire who was viciously hissing at him to keep quiet, Kenith stepped forward threateningly. ‘And what are you going to do about it, coward?’

  Now Vivian was also pissed as she stepped up beside Aiden. ‘What is your problem?! If we’re such eyesores, just stay away from us.’

  Quinter squared his shoulders as he stepped forward as well, trying to look big and intimidating. ‘We didn’t give you permission to speak, peasant.’

  Vivian glared at him. ‘I don’t remember asking for your permission,’ she snapped back.

  ‘Look at the mouth on this one.’ Kenith clicked his tongue disapprovingly. ‘Someone needs to teach you some manners. If we were back home, I could have you flogged for disrespect, peasant.’

  ‘Her name is Vivian,’ Aiden growled.

  ‘And we aren’t in Dillinier,’ Felix said, joining the fight. ‘We are in Mirran, a city filled with nobles. And Vivian here is backed up by two other nobles, both of whom outrank you and your little sidekick.’ Felix’s gaze flicked over Kenith and Quinter. ‘I don’t think my friend here is the one who needs some lessons in manners.’

  Kenith turned red with embarrassment, his fists clenching and unclenching as he tried to keep his anger in check. ‘I refuse to take insult from a half-blood. Your father may be a marquess, but he lost all noble standing when he married your plebeian mother.’

  ‘What did you just say?’ Felix’s voice was dangerously soft.

  ‘Kenith! That’s enough!’ Claire hissed. ‘Listen, there is no need for us to fight.’

  The other five ignored her good advice, glaring daggers at each other, fists clenched and ready to be thrown. Vivian could feel the rage building up in her along with the now familiar heat coursing through her veins. Her skin was starting to glow, wisps of gold materializing around her.

  One push was all it would take. One push and they would all be rolling around on the floor, hands punching and pulling hair, with Vivian throwing in some biting for good measure.

  And if we’re really unlucky, I’ll blow up. Again.

  The final push never came.

  ‘I hope you all aren’t planning on brawling like a bunch of drunken hooligans,’ a soft voice interrupted. ‘It would be quite unsightly, and damaging to your reputations.’

  All of them whipped around to see a short girl with brown hair and brown eyes, standing with her arms folded crossly dressed in a clean and simple navy skirt and white shirt. She regarded each of them with narrowed eyes, daring them to start a fight. Her gaze settled on Vivian who was quite literally smoking at this point.

  ‘You might want to calm yourself,’ she suggested. She glanced down at the basket still clasped in Vivian’s hand. ‘That basket doesn’t look particularly fireproof.’

  The anger drained out of Vivian immediately as she quickly inspected the basket full of flammable fairy silk that they had risked their lives to collect. She heaved out a sigh of relief as she noted their undamaged state.

  ‘Bethany!’ Claire exclaimed in relief. ‘Thank the gods you came!’

  The girl’s appearance made them hesitate for a moment, the urgency to start a fight slowly leeching out of them. The boys stepped back from each other, though their sharpened gazes were still fixed on each other. Felix was the first to break eye contact, turning to face the newcomer.

  ‘Miss Blyne,’ he greeted, his tone clipped and still clearly angry. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

  The girl ignored his tone of voice and waved a hand dismissively. ‘Please, there’s no need to stand on formality. You can all call me Bethany.’

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Aiden exchanged a look with Vivian. She had said all. Which means, the permission had been extended to her as well.

  ‘Thank you, uh, Bethany,’ Vivian said, trying it out. ‘Things really would’ve gotten out of hand if you didn’t come when you did.’

  Bethany tipped her head graciously. ‘I’m glad I could help.’ She held out a hand for Vivian to shake. ‘I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I’m Bethany Blyne.’

  Vivian hesitated for a moment before shaking the offered hand. ‘Vivian. Vivian Wright.’

  ‘Well Vivian, I feel like you should know that you’re still smoking a bit.’ She glanced down at the basket in her hands. ‘Perhaps you shouldn’t be holding onto anything combustible right now.’

  ‘Ah right!’ Vivian quickly handed the basket over to Felix. ‘Thank you.’

  Bethany smiled a small but genuine smile. ‘You’re welcome… As for you two.’ Her voice suddenly shifted into something harsher as she turned to face Kenith and Quinter. ‘I hope you’re well aware that what you did is utterly unacceptable. Insulting someone’s parentage is not the behaviour of a noble. You have shamed your own name and heritage.’

  Kenith and Quinter hung their heads in shame, not even trying to argue back. Vivian looked at Bethany with awe as she swiftly and efficiently diffused the situation. Despite her short stature, something about the way she spoke, how her voice never rose in volume and how she held herself made her seem like she was in charge, a natural leader.

  Bethany folded her arms again. ‘You owe them an apology.’

  ‘But-’ Quinter started to protest.

  ‘You made a mistake. We all know that.’ Bethany’s voice was soft but firm. ‘You need to apologise and clear the air, because once school starts, we are all going to be classmates. We’ll depend on each other for the next five years, and trust me when I tell you, you don’t want to go into that with a grudge. Let’s end this feud right now. What do you say?’

  Quinter and Kenith shuffled their feet in indecisiveness. It was clear that neither of them wanted to apologize, but some of Bethany’s words were ringing true with them. Finally, Kenith let out a sigh.

  He shrugged. ‘Fine. I’m sorry for what I said.’ The lack of sincerity was not missed by anyone, but Vivian was still impressed that he said the words.

  ‘Me too,’ Quinter added, his apology sounding even more insincere than Kenith, if that was even possible. He didn’t even say the word sorry.

  Bethany pursed her lips, clearly displeased, but didn’t say anything. She probably realized that that was the best she was going to get out of them. She turned to face Aiden and Felix.

  ‘Do you accept?’ The look on her face said that she would understand if they didn’t.

  Aiden just gave a short nod in answer, his acceptance as insincere as their apology. Felix simply didn’t respond at all, still rightfully angry with them.

  Claire cleared her throat, breaking the stalemate. ‘Bethany, why don’t Kenith, Quinter and I go ahead and get us a table at Adair’s Patisserie?’

  ‘… Sure, I’ll join you once I’ve made my purchase.’

  Claire quickly herded the two boys out of the boutique, only pausing for a moment at the door to call out a farewell to Aiden and send a sharp nod of acknowledgement to both Felix and Vivian.

  ‘Well, at least this time she didn’t pretend like we didn’t exist,’ Felix conceded. ‘I suppose that’s improvement.’

  ‘I hope you won’t hold what happened against them,’ Bethany said. She had moved to lean against the front counter. They could hear shuffling from deep within the shop, probably Madame Jeanne working on Bethany’s order.

  ‘It’s hard not to, seeing as they insulted us, our parents and threatened to have me flogged,’ Vivian counted off one by one.

  ‘I know that they went too far,’ Bethany’s voice was till soft, but now it was controlled and measured, as if she was going over every word in her mind before saying it. ‘There is no excuse for their behaviour, and they owe you a much more sincere apology. But I hope you can try to understand where they’re coming from.’

  ‘They’re nobles that have lost their standing in society due to fact they are mages.’ Aiden rolled his eyes. ‘Well, so are we. You don’t see us taking it out on someone else.’

  ‘It’s a bit different for them,’ Bethany explained patiently. ‘They were both the heirs of their family. They were supposed to be the next leaders, the next lords of their counties. Ever since they were five years old, they have been preparing for the day they would have to take over for their parents. And in the span of one day, they lost it. No noble family in Venith would allow a mage to inherit the title. All that work they did is now pointless. However, the two of you,’ She gestured at Aiden and Felix. ‘Are the second in line for your families. Yes, things will be different when you return, but at least you didn’t waste years of your life preparing for something only to have it yanked away from you.’

  Aiden let out a deep sigh. ‘It still doesn’t make it alright.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Bethany agreed swiftly. ‘Just try to keep in mind that they are simply lashing out because they feel like they have lost the one thing that gave them value. And, in the future if they do come to apologize sincerely, please don’t snub them.’

  Felix sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ‘Fine. We will try to keep an open mind. But if he says one more word about my mother-’

  ‘You can punch his teeth out.’ Bethany grinned. ‘I’ll be sure to watch and applaud.’

  Felix grinned back, and just like that the tension that was still hanging in the air cleared, making it easier to breathe. It was at this moment that Madame Jeanne finally showed herself, walking out brusquely from the back rooms, a brown paper wrapped box in her hand. She set it down on the counter, completely oblivious to the fight that almost occurred in her shop.

  ‘Miss Blyne, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. That will be one hundred denos.’

  Vivian could feel her eyes popping out her skull at the amount of money mentioned. However, Bethany didn’t even so much as flinch as she placed the money on the table, not even bothering to negotiate for a lower price.

  ‘Could I have it delivered to my address?’ Bethany asked politely.

  ‘Certainly, just let me jot it down.’

  Madame Jeanne quickly wrote down the address on a piece of parchment. ‘It’ll be delivered by the evening. It was my pleasure serving you today.’

  ‘Thank you. As always, I had a wonderful time.’

  Bethany turned around to face the three of them. ‘I should get going. Claire, Kenith and Quinter are waiting for me. We promised we would have tea together.’

  ‘It was nice meeting you Bethany,’ Vivian said. ‘You’re a lot nicer than the other nobles I’ve met so far.’

  ‘Oi!’ Felix protested. ‘What about us?’

  ‘What about you?’ Vivian teased. ‘You’re not nice. You always steal my pudding and you needle Peri so much that he usually takes it out on me. You are tolerable at best.’

  Bethany giggled. ‘Oh, Felix has always been a troublemaker. I wish you luck. And I hope we see each other again soon.’ She gave them one final wave before she left the shop.

  ‘So, how can I help you today?’ Madame Jeanne asked, though it was clearly a rhetorical question as her sharp eyes were fixed on the basket in Felix’s hand.

  With a wide grin Felix lifted it and patted the basket. ‘Twenty spools of fairy silk as requested. But before we hand them over, let’s talk numbers.’

  ………

  Vivian, Aiden and Felix left the boutique with heavier pockets than when they entered. The jiggling sound the denos made as they walked was now Vivian’s favourite sound. In just one day they had managed to earn a thousand denos, which was more money than Vivian had ever seen. It was a bit frightening to walk down the street holding so much money, which is why she handed it over to Felix, who casually placed it in his satchel as if it were just loose change.

  ‘The first money I’ve ever earned.’ Felix had a fond look on his face. ‘Mother would be proud.’

  ‘Really?’ Aiden stretched his arms above his head. ‘Mine would probably say something along the lines of working is for the working class, which I suppose is obvious.’

  ‘I’m with Felix,’ Vivian voted. ‘It feels good to hold money that you earned yourself.’

  Felix shrugged. ‘Even though it’s not much.’

  ‘Not much!’ Vivian exclaimed. ‘A thousand denos is not much?! How is that… Oh wait, right. For a moment there I forgot you are nobles. I suppose this like allowance money for you.’

  ‘Actually, our allowance is much more,’ Aiden admitted.

  ‘Of course it is,’ Vivian grumbled.

  Felix shrugged. ‘My grandfather’s company makes way more in a single day. Did I mention the solid gold bathtubs?’

  ‘Yes, you did,’ Vivian answered shortly. ‘So, where to now? It’s still too early for me to head home.’

  ‘We could go settle up with the fairies,’ Aiden suggested. ‘And then head to my place to split the earnings and for an early dinner. Bruz will be delighted… I think,’ he added after a short pause. ‘I can never tell if he enjoys having company or not. He grumbles when he has to do extra work, but also gripes when I’m not home enough.’

  ‘You sound married,’ Vivian commented.

  ‘I hate to admit it,’ and Aiden’s face really showed his displeasure, ‘but that is probably the best comparison for our relationship.’

  ‘Well, I say we should cheer him up,’ Felix suggested, always an avid Bruz supporter. ‘Maybe we can buy him something, a gift of sorts with the money we earned.’

  ‘We should get something for Sith and Peri as well, though I don’t really know what they would like.’

  ‘Wine,’ both Aiden and Felix suggested together. When Vivian fixed them a questioning look, Felix shrugged and continued. ‘What? You’ve seen the way they drink.’

  Vivian nodded, unable to argue with that. It’s true that the two of them always shared a couple of glasses of wine every night. She was forbidden from touching the stuff though, always being told she was too young to be drinking, which only made her more curious.

  ‘Would they even sell alcohol to minors like us?’ Aiden asked. ‘I think they’re really strict about these things here.’

  ‘We could ask an adult to buy it for us,’ Felix suggested.

  ‘Only adults I know other than Peri and Sith are Cyrus and Dixie,’ Vivian said.

  A pause. ‘Dixie,’ they agreed in unison.