[OBSOLETE DRAFT] La Politiques de Fée

[JewellRavenlock]

Jewell had not even finished reading the letter before they were arguing: “You are not coming with me and that is final.”

“I am not staying here.”

“Ishmerai,” she tried to be reasonable, “I need you here. You know that.”

“No,” he shook his head firmly. “You need me at your side. If you are going to Faerie, then that is where I will be.”

She threw her grandmother’s letter down, “But your presence is unnecessary! There is absolutely nothing to worry about. You said it yourself that my grandmother simply wants to meet with me. Nothing nefarious. You know this is her signature. She would not lie.”

“I would never doubt the honor of the Lady of Ta-Neer. But you well know that she is not who I am worried about. You may just be going to see your grandmother, but there are other powers at work there, Mira.” Her scowl, a minor acknowledgement that he was correct, encouraged him to pursue the issue, “If Muirenn were to somehow learn of your visit beforehand, she could very well have some plan or scheme awaiting you.”

“Well..” she turned away from him in her agitation, “and who cares about Muirenn anyway? I will not let her stop me from visiting my family when I am needed.”

“I do not expect you to. I am asking you to use more discretion. I should not need to remind you…”

“You don’t!” she snapped, glancing over her shoulder at him. “Muirenn is a little snake, but she may have a tooth left in her yet. Yes yes. I know this. We’ve been over it many times, Merai. I will be entering Faerie with eyes wide open, I assure you.” Jewell turned towards him, more pleading than angry now, “But you must understand why I need you here. My own safety is nothing. Let Muirenn do what she will. There is nothing she can take from me now except for the children. If you are not here to guard them.. if something were to happen..”

He sighed as she wrung her hands, “Mira, we have taken every precaution against that. The wards. Spells. Everything we could think of and then some.”

“And I didn’t last time?” The sharpness of anger crept back into her voice, “I did everything then, yet they still stole them from me.” The biggest failure of her life. Every day, when she stood in front of the portraits that hung on her wall, she asked the same question: How could you have let this happen? Never again. “Whatever we have done? It is not good enough! The only way I won’t lose my mind with worry is if you are here with them, Ishmerai. You are the only one I have entrusted them to; you are the only one I know who will not fail me.” They would forever come to odds over this until her children were reunited with her or truly dead. Ishmerai may have pledged his loyalty and life in service to Jewell, but she saw the assurance of her own safety as secondary to the well-being of her children. This is what she asked of her knight: protect them even at the cost of my own life.

He would do anything for her, except that.

“Jewell..”

She cut him off less he attempt to change her mind and succeed, “I don’t want to talk about it anymore right now.”

[JewellRavenlock]

“I would feel better if you were more well rested.”

The slight rise and fall of her shoulders was all she could manage as she kept her hand steady enough to apply a dusting of shimmer to her eyelids, “I am fine.”

“You came home very late and soaking wet.. again.” It was his second or third attempt to get her to explain whatever it was that she and Kalamere had been up to the previous night. Jewell remained silent although Ishmerai thought he saw a grin hiding at the corner of her mouth as she leaned over her vanity, dabbing a touch of color to her lips and smooshing them together before directing a painted kiss at the blue-haired beauty in the glass. Whatever it was they had been up to, she was keeping it close to her chest. The knight rolled his eyes, out of humor with his lady’s antics this morning. “And you did not get any sleep.”

Ignoring his commentary, she set her makeup down and spun around to face him in order to show off the completion of her dress and grooming. The silvery sheath made of tiny feathers was cinched at her natural waist and fell from there to the ground, high heels lending a willowy height that nature had denied her. Blue hair was knotted low at the nape of her neck, exposing bare shoulders and arms as well as the bits of true silver cuffed on her ears. “How do I look?”

“Fine.” While she had been consumed with it, he hadn’t even given her attire or general appearance a second thought during the planning of this trip except for insisting she be armed. Fortunately, Jewell had not argue with that particular direction.

As for his own preparations, Ishmerai had donned the light leather armor that gave him some protection without sacrificing any flexibility or movement. His tekagi-shuko hung at his hips, joining the few small knives he kept hidden on his person. In reality, his chi-blocking techniques were what really made him dangerous and effective, but he could and would use any weapon at his disposal to protect his lady.

Although she looked every bit the part of an ethereal lady of the Faerie courts, so different from the wasted and broken woman he had brought back to RhyDin just a year ago, he would not give her the satisfaction of hearing that she was gorgeous. “We should have been on our way already.”

Combined with her initial reservations about Ishmerai’s inclusion on her visit to Faerie, his prickly attitude was fanning her impatience with the knight. And she hadn’t received the compliment she had been fishing for shamelessly. Her little ego took a bruising, provoking a sharpness to her tone when she bit out: “Fine. Let’s go.” Jewell turned towards the door before remembering something else, “Oh wait!” Spinning back around, she walked to her closet and knelt down, retrieving the Old Temple scepter from where it sat amongst her shoes. Didn’t every woman keep her stash of bludgeoning objects in with her footwear, small blades mixed amongst the jewelry? Straightening up, she stepped across the room and set the weapon on the small side table near her bed. “Just.. remember to give it back to him if something happens,” Jewell looked to Ishmerai for confirmation that he would do this, but he gave her a dark look in return. Obviously, if anything happened to the Empress (like her actual untimely death) and Ishmerai was allowed to do his job, he would not be alive to play delivery boy. “I know, I know! Nothing is going to happen and if it does..” she sighed, “just make sure he gets it somehow, okay?”

“Yes, M’lady. Shall I deliver a parting kiss with it as well?”

Grey eyes rolled ceiling-wards. Great, a knight and court jester all in one. As his question did not warrant an answer, she allowed her gaze to linger on the scepter a moment longer, hesitant. It would be helpful to have it with her if she needed a weapon for some reason; the current Squire of Old Temple had become more adept at wielding the shiny gold piece over the last few months. It would also be a reassurance and a promise: She had to come back to return it to Kalamere if she brought it with her. Jewell gave a little shake of her head; no, the two knives strapped to her thighs would have to be enough if things started to go wrong, and things weren’t supposed to go wrong. She turned away from the scepter, “We’re going to be late. Let’s go.” Ishmerai, exasperated sigh included as he had suddenly become the one causing their tardiness, followed her out the door. Goodbyes had already been said to her children--lifeless pieces of artwork that they were--in case the worst should happen. It was unlikely, but she never knew what fate and her family had in store. She just hoped the notice of the untimely death of Jewell Ravenlock would not make headlines twice in less than five years.

[JewellRavenlock]

“This would be much less laborious if we didn’t have to trek through the woods every single time,” Jewell batted aside a branch that strayed too close to her arm.

In the face of his lady’s impatient annoyance, Ishmerai remained the frustratingly calm voice of reason: “We could have a portal opened elsewhere, but this is the easiest point of access at the moment for those who would like to remain undetected since this is where you originally crossed the veil. You know it would not do to open another point of entry and broadcast your current location to one and all.”

She sent Ishmerai a withering look for the double-hitter. Did he really need to bring up the fact that she had been the one to accidentally ground their first access point out in the woods? Also, he was the one that valued subterfuge more than she did. Even now as they continued on the path to a little clearing in the woods south of RhyDin, the scale like pattern that normally appeared here and there on Ishmerai’s body grew to cover all of his visible skin. The colors shifted as they moved under the trees, adopting the hues and saturation of the forest: greens, browns, and dappled gold from the rising sun. Normally, she loved to watch how he could fade away into the shadows, near invisible to untrained eyes. Now she just felt irritated, frustrated that he was with her at all. The branch she had pushed out of her way snapped back as she carelessly let it go, but the smack of it against Ishmerai’s chest brought little satisfaction.

“Come now, Mira.” The reasonable, deep tone of his voice called forward to her in an attempt to soothe her frayed nerves. “Everything will be just fine.”

It was nice that Ishmerai did not take her ire personally. Who else but her knight would be so long-suffering as she misdirected her torrent of emotions against him? In truth, she was only slightly miffed by his presence. She really did want him to stay and protect the children, but it was also a comfort to have him at her side. Even on a routine visit to Faerie, something could go wrong. Seriously wrong. The last time she had visited there on her own, she had been trapped for several hundred years. It was unlikely to happen again, but having Ishmerai along for the journey was like a silent assurance that this time she would be allowed to come home. He had promised her she would get to come home.

The weight of his hand fell on her shoulder as they came to a stop in the clearing. “Relax,” he reminded her softly. “This is not like before.”

“Right.” She took a deep breath. When she had originally received the letter from her grandmother, it had seemed nothing was out of the ordinary. However, her wild imagination had since dreamed up any number of situations, enough to cause anxiety to well up inside her the closer the day came to leave. Spending the night running around New Haven with Kalamere had been a welcome distraction, but reality had set in upon returning home to the house in Little Elfhame. If sleep had been elusive, it was because her usual cast of nightmares lingered on the edges of her consciousness until the sun touched the eastern sky. Fingers brushed the sides of thighs, pushing against the hilts of the knives hidden there, forcing the metal to dig into her skin. The brief pinch of pain brought clarity and a familiar calm, prodding her forward into the circle of stones arranged on the ground; Ishmerai’s hand still rested on her shoulder as he followed less than a step behind.

They came out together deep within the silver woods south of Ta-Neer territory, far enough away from both the watchtowers along the river and the Unseelie border. Rather than the increasingly bright light of dawn, the dark of night still rested on the land. It was the very same forest in which Jewell had first entered Faerie again, escorted by guards, in search of her children and vengeance if she could get them both. Then, the beauty of it had mesmerized her fire-rattled brain. She was not quite in awe this time, but the tall gray trees with their green and silver leaves were still as impressive as always. There was something about the plants, trees and dirt underfoot--a life, awareness, or consciousness--that was unparalleled even in the magical realm of RhyDin. When the breeze whispered through the leaves, it called her name in greeting.
Rather than the formal guard that had escorted her (then a prisoner of the Ta-Neer family) ages ago, two Fae soldiers leaned casually against a grouping of nearby trees, apparently waiting for the pair to arrive. Upon exiting the portal, Ishmerai had drawn her closer: her back pressed against him, one of his arms snaking in front of her while his free hand slipped naturally into one of the tekagi-shuko at his side. But those green eyes were quick, even in the dark of night, and his hold on the lady relaxed enough for her to duck under his arm impatiently and step forward to greet their friends.

“Treasa, Warin, this is a pleasant surprise!” Although she often spoke of how alone she had felt in Faerie, such loneliness stemmed from her alienation from the gentry; they did not love the stranger in their midst who seemed better at their games than they could ever hope to be. Jealousy and contempt did not lend themselves to the development of meaningful relationships. However, she had earned both love and loyalty amongst the Fae, crushed underfoot as they often were by the cruel Sidhe. These two made up half of Lady Nerissa Ta-Neer’s personal guard. Treasa was somewhat akin to Ishmerai in looks: approaching six and a half feet tall with long dark hair and a scale-like pattern decorating her skin that shifted to cover her whole body when necessary. Unlike Ishmerai, Treasa had no need for any weapons; both her hands and feet ended in short claws that could expand and easily disembowel a person. Jewell knew because she had seen her do it. Warin was a little taller; his pale skin stood in contrast to both black hair and eyes, which some found unnerving but Jewell called “warm” even when he flashed a toothy grin full of razor sharp teeth.

Warin stepped forward and bowed, “The Lady Ta-Neer thought you might need an escort through the lands as it has been some time since these Blessed Realms have been graced by Lady Kasimira Ta-Neer.”

The former heir laughed, “First, Warin, as you can see, it is Jewell that stands before you now. We shall save Kasimira for another day, perhaps.” Both knights nodded. The cruel lady of death and destruction was a guise she had cast aside, but who knew what the future might require? “Did my grandmother truly think an escort necessary? Has so much changed that I cannot find my way through these woods that I have walked many a time?”

Treasa shook her head, “No, M’lady. No one can argue that you know this land well after all the years you have spent aiding us in its protection. However, Lady Ta-Neer thought it best that the utmost caution is used. We cannot cross the river openly, for we do not know whose loyalty your cousin, Lady Muirenn, has won over, so we shall have to take a more circuitous route to avoid unfriendly attention.”

“See,” Ishmerai squeezed her shoulder.

“Yes, you are a tactical genius, Ishmerai, in addition to foretelling the future,” Jewell rolled her eyes. While exasperated with her own knight, she smiled genuinely at her two friends, Fae who loyally served her grandmother and had been at her side through several adventures. “Shall we speak while we travel? I would like to see my grandmother as soon as possible.”

“The Lady Ta-Neer has also expressed a desire to see you expediently.” Warin offered his arm to her, “We will let Treasa discuss the finer details of our path with good Ishmerai there while you regale me with tales of far-off places.”

“Delightful!”

[JewellRavenlock]

The little travelling party reached the manor house by mid-morning. The circuitous route Treasa and Warin chose, with a few alterations from Ishmerai, was cautious indeed. Jewell had not used the network of tunnels that existed between Port Sirène and the Ta-Neer manor in many years, but she was pleased to see that the guard had not only kept the tunnels in working order (at her request) but had actually improved upon the structure since she went away. “We had several dwarves from the Iolite mountains come in this winter to help,” Warin explained. It was more than the former heir had hoped for when she made the request, ages ago it seemed. Jewell’s attention to such details--coupled with Muirenn’s complete lack of regard for the same--could prove useful. It did today, helping the quartet to avoid searching eyes. The former heir, stripped of both title and magic, arrived without trouble or mishap early enough to enjoy tea and idle chit-chat with Lady Ta-Neer before they addressed the matter that had brought Jewell to Faerie in the first place.

“Jewell, I am fading..”

“No no!” she tried to shush her grandmother, a familiar panic digging its fingers into her heart. The blue haired woman, who was just budding into adulthood for those of such blood, sat besides her grandmother in that lady’s private chamber. The loss of her children had been unbearable. Jewell couldn’t fathom losing this woman, the only mother figure she had ever really known in her life. This woman who, instead of punishing her for the path of death and destruction she had carved out of the Ta-Neer lands, had treated her as lovingly as if she were the daughter she had lost.

“Darling,” she reached out and placed a hand on the younger woman’s arm gently. “It is a fact of life even in these undying realms. This body is tired. Conventina’s curse lingers on in my bones. I have fought on many years despite it, but I need rest. I cannot go on forever like this.”
Jewell felt her chest tighten, her throat suddenly thick. Instead of impending loss, she allowed herself to enjoy the momentary reprieve of rage. Even in her dreams, she could not kill her aunt enough times for the things she had done. “What do you need me to do?” The lady beside her was not just her beloved grandmother but also her liege lady. She could ask her for anything at the moment and Jewell would surely do it although her heart may regret such eagerness to serve. Thoughts of RhyDin and the life she had slowly been rebuilding there called to her temptingly, testing her loyalty.

“I am troubled about the future of our lands and this family, Jewell.”

She reached out to grasp at her grandmother’s hand, “Do not put your trust in Muirenn! She has learned the greatest of treachery from Conventina; you know this. She will march on to the ruin of us all.”

“I believe you are correct, dear.” She pat Jewell’s hand to comfort her. “Muirenn is not an option. Unfortunately, Conventina poisoned her long ago. So much ruin because I allowed my daughter too much freedom. Sadly, the poison goes far too deep to reverse now. But if Muirenn is not to rule, who shall I turn to?” She looked to her granddaughter reprovingly.

Jewell felt its sting keenly. Who was her grandmother to trust? The heir that had let her down, abandoning duty and honor in her sorrow? How would she repay the kindness and unending patience her grandmother had shown her for many years? After the death of Conventina, she saved Jewell from a cycle of revenge that would only end in her death and had given her a new direction instead. Jewell looked upon the eternally youthful face of Lady Nerissa Ta-Neer and felt love and loyalty burn in her heart. She threw herself to the floor at her grandmother’s feet, hands on the older woman’s knee, “I am yours to command, my lady. Ask of me what you will.” She had to swallow the misery that threatened the strength of her words, “Ask me to retake my place! I shall not prove faithless.”

“Whatever I will?” Her grandmother nodded, thoughtful. She looked at her granddaughter's lowered head for some time. How happy it made her to see such vitality returned to the young woman’s face when she had entered her chamber this morning, no longer the fading ghost she had been a year ago. Instead, she was healthy and even smiled at times. There was strength in her limbs and life in her eyes again. Lady Ta-Neer could be a cruel woman, but she felt only tenderness for the lithe, blue hair girl bowed at her feet. “No Jewell,” she sighed, “I am afraid that is not what is to be in this time. Muirenn, if she is to get the crown, will not retain it for long, but neither will I place that burden upon you.” She ignored Jewell’s bewildered look as the girl’s head shot up, “Now rise. You are not some grovelling servant. Really.”

Numbly, Jewell slowly retook her seat beside her grandmother, busying herself by absently brushing away some imagined dust from the skirt of her dress. “M’lady, I am confused,” she ventured to admit when the silence stretched on between them, her grandmother staring out the window.

Nerissa looked to her eldest granddaughter with a smile. “You are happy again, are you not?”

Jewell’s brow knit together at the seemingly random question. It was connected to the conversation though; she knew it even if she couldn’t quite piece it together yet. “Yes, M’lady. As happy perhaps as I can be considering the situation with my children. I..” she hesitated to continue, to admit to her grandmother that she had found what Faerie had been unable to give her, “I have found a measure of balance again.” On the cobblestone streets of RhyDin, at the oak bar of the Red Dragon Inn, within the rings of the Arena and the Outback, the Empress had started to piece herself back together. The portrait was different this time, but it was almost whole once more.

“I thought so. Some of the life has come back to your eyes.” The young Faerie blushed, an acknowledgement of how very lifeless she had been the last time she had seen her grandmother: an empty shell, purposely wasting away. Craving death. Wanting it. Looking for it at every turn like a long lost friend. Lady Ta-Neer nodded, similar thoughts crossing her mind, as she decided something. “Jewell, I will not ask you to take up the title meant for you although you would do so.”

The grip on her heart lessened even as her confusion increased, “Why? Ask it of me and I will do it. I swear it. I will do whatever you wish, whatever you need. I am in your service.”

Her grandmother laughed, “Jewell, perhaps you were meant to be a loyal knight and not a lady at all. Who else would argue so to take on a task they did not desire?” The younger woman blushed again at having been so transparent. “Who else would also challenge an old lord to a duel for daring to question my sincerity?” They both smiled at the memory.

“I maintain that I could have bested both him and his poky knight,” Jewell grinned cockily. The brazen attitude had returned with her spirit, apparently. She would blame that on trash-talking with the likes of Harris and Seirichi, but really, hadn’t it been a part of her all along?

“I do not doubt you for a moment. No one can ever truly question your fierce loyalty, my dear, or your capability to conquer whatever task or challenge you face. And I know you would do what I ask, whatever I ask, even against your better judgement. But Jewell.. I do not believe you belong to these lands.”

She bit her lip, hesitant to admit: “No, M’lady. Perhaps once but.. I do not belong here anymore if I ever did. My heart is in RhyDin. That is my home. But I will willingly, gladly, forsake it for you.”

“Hopefully that will not be necessary. It pleases my heart to see you happy again. It has been a great comfort to me these past years to have you at my side as your mother should have been.” After the death of her younger daughter, Lady Nerissa had made the decision to leave her granddaughter to her own devices, a decision that her eldest daughter had gone against when she kidnapped Jewell’s children and forced her to enter Faerie and serve the family. Although Nerissa would never have coerced her granddaughter into taking on the role of heir, she had been grateful for her presence all the same. What a fierce team they made together! And how wonderful it had been to not only come to know but love the young woman. “But when the council sentenced you..” she sighed at that unhappy business. Everything had changed that day. “You would have made an excellent queen dear, but I do not think that is to be.”

“But then what is to become of our family? Surely you will not let Muirenn do as she pleases. You must let me be of some help to you!”

“No,” the older woman smiled, “Muirenn ruling indefinitely is surely out of the question, and I do plan for you to be of more than some help to me. You have been indispensable as my right hand, dear, and if all should go according to plan, your reward will be well earned in the end.” Lady Ta-Neer gestured her granddaughter closer and leaned to place her lips near the younger woman’s ear. Even in the private chambers of the Lady of Ta-Neer, plots and plans made to reshape the future required the quietest of whispers.

[JewellRavenlock]

Jewell sat on the edge of her bed, watching as Ishmerai--who she was now thankful had wrangled and strong-armed his way along on this visit to Faerie--paced the room. “Do you think it will work, Merai?”

“I think you are both insane.”

“But will it work?” she insisted. Closeted away with her grandmother all afternoon, they had solidified each step of their plan as far as they could. The sun set and the regular evening revelries began throughout the manor, still they had talked on in the quiet seriousness of two like-minded women. Jewell felt satisfied with the goal they were working towards--it was really more than she could have ever hoped for--but she wanted the reassurance of her most trusted advisor in all things that the endeavor was worthwhile. Much would be sacrificed and even more lost if they did not succeed.

The knight sighed, leaning against the post of her bed. “There are risks, Mira. A series of very serious risks.” She pressed her lips together, waiting for him to poke his holes in their master plan. “What if Muirenn doesn’t take the bait? What if she is simply content with the throne and nothing more?”

“You know that will not be the case.”

“I agree that is it highly unlikely,” Ishmerai conceded, “but it could still pose a problem if she does not act the way you seem to think she will.” He thought it over some more, “And if you are underestimating her again?”

“You think when the time comes, I will not be able to handle her?” Jewell arched a brow at Ishmerai.

“As you are now?” He countered frankly, “No. You will take some work.”

“Then we will work,” she replied unconcerned.

Ishmerai frowned, “I fear it will not be enough. You will need your abilities back.”

“Then I will get them back.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “That might be the greatest risk in all of this. They will have to hate her more than you and even then...”

Jewell shrugged, “With or without my abilities, I think I can do it.”

He pushed off the bed, frustrated, pacing to the middle of the room before turning to her: “So much.. you are willing to risk so much and for what, Mira? Why not just challenge her now? Take back your place with your grandmother’s blessing. When you are queen, they will give you back your abilities without question.”

“No Merai, I am not so sure of that,” Jewell shook her head. “And this is not about getting my magic back. It goes so much further than that. I do not want this life with or without magic. I do not want to be here. Can you deny that I am more alive one hour, one minute in RhyDin than the entire time you knew me here?” Ishmerai looked away for he could not deny it. The vivacious woman that waltzed the streets of RhyDin and habituated its popular watering holes and dueling venues was unlike the cold lady Faerie had forged with its tests and trials. “I am sorry, my friend. This is just the way it has to be. This is our clearest path now.”

He sighed, “You are going to have to play this very close to your chest, Mira, and you will have to be very very good.”

“My absolute best,” she promised seriously. “A star performance.”

“Then we will make it work.”

With a sigh of relief, she laid back on her bed. Her grandmother had already accomplished much of the work with her plans, and it had been easy to win Jewell over to the idea. They both knew Ishmerai would be the hardest sell, but now that he had agreed, she only had her own fears to contend with. “Do you think I should go and speak with Captain Strand tonight? We will need his help in all of this.”

“I will make the arrangements tomorrow morning if he is in port.”

“I could do it too,” she offered.

He shook his head, “Oh no. We do not need you traipsing about, seen by one and all. Too many people already know you are here. I will make the arrangements and when all is ready, you can arrive.”

Jewell didn’t exactly see the problem with people knowing she was in Faerie. If rumors got around that she had returned, was looking well, and was visiting with her grandmother in private, she thought it would be enough to drive Muirenn to a healthy level of paranoia. When it came to her own security, though, she occasionally let Ishmerai have the final say just to keep him amiable. He had just agreed to a rather intricate political plot that put her life in danger any number of times; the poor knight deserved a break. “So I just get to be a prisoner in this room until then?”

“I am sure you can find some way to amuse yourself,” he responded without sympathy.

[JewellRavenlock]

Glamour is a multi-faceted magic. In RhyDin, Jewell wore it like a thin veil, easily torn aside by those who wished to see beyond. There it was meant to dazzle and impress. Disguising herself (and Ishmerai) in Faerie required a whole other level of skill that she had wisely taken many years of her “captivity” to acquire. An hour had been spent with the knight this morning testing her expertise. To outsiders, the task looked oddly comical: two people standing in a lady’s dressing quarters, staring at each other with only an occasional comment to break the intense concentration written in both of their features.

“Tighten it around your hair.”

“Like that?”

“Better. Now change your skin.”

“Give me just a second. This is not as easy as it looks.”

Ishmerai was hard to please, but even he had to express satisfaction with the overall outcome; “It will be good enough to get us there without any trouble.” Jewell had made herself several inches taller—a trick she’d have to show off to Kalamere upon returning home—and changed her hair to a nutty brown with two black horns peaking out. Her skin was still fair, but now it had shimmery patches of scales here and there, hinting at some type of mer-blood perhaps. To take that a step further, her hands ended in digits more akin to claws than fingers. To her complete amusement and Ishmerai’s displeasure, she had turned the knight into a squat little man with a belly ready to burst its belt and a beard down to his knees.

The knight finally turned to view himself in the mirror: “This is ridiculous, Mira. You must at least make me taller!”

Shaking with delighted laughter, Jewell relented and raised the knight’s height several inches, leaving him at least a head shorter than herself. He was still not satisfied, but when it came to such magic, she was the master. Ishmerai could craft more simple tricks with glamour when needed, but his lady was far more gifted. Only those truly studied in illusionary arts would be able to tell they were glamoured, and even then most people would likely experience a good amount of difficulty in any attempt to unravel the disguises.

Jewell only maintained the illusions until they were in the cellar of the Selkie’s Haven, the tavern that Captain Strand and his crew habituated when not at sea. The roar of the crowd upstairs, just waking up to hangovers that could only be cured by more drinking, was somewhat muted by the thick floorboards overhead and the cool earthen walls. “Nature, that is a pain to do,” Jewell sighed out as the magic faded around them. All that work for a brief walk into town!

“Do not be so dramatic. You maintained an illusion around yourself in that iron-ridden city of yours for several months.” In an act of not wholly unusual immaturity, she stuck her tongue out at him, convinced he was still annoyed about his disguise. It was true, though. Under the heavy guise of glamour, Jewell had run about as Kasimira for months upon first returning to RhyDin before she felt ready to reveal herself to friends and family. Even though physically weak and surrounded by iron for the first time in many years, she had maintained the disguise without issue. Fortunately, they weren’t given any more time to bicker because Captain Strand came down the stairs, crossing the small space in a single bound to wrap the lady up in a bone-crushing hug.

“Moon and ocean, it be good tae see you, little lass!”

Such behavior would have been completely inappropriate amidst the nobles at court. Even her close friends amongst the guards would hesitate before showing such casual familiarity with Lady Jewell Ta-Neer. But she threw her arms around Captain Strand and hugged him tightly in return as if nothing could be more natural. The man who had aided her on so many trips in pursuit of her children was well beloved. “And you!” She pulled back to look at him with a smile, “You do not look a day over six hundred!”

The two of them laughed heartily, Ishmerai left to shake his head at the charm his lady exhibited so casually, before the captain gestured them to the small table set amongst the wine casks and barrels of ale. “Sit sit! I hear we have much tae catch up on; and Lord Ishmerai tells me I may be able tae be of some use to my favorite lady.”

“My friend, what you have done for me already can never be repaid. I only hope that we can come to an arrangement that should prove to be incredibly lucrative for you.” A glance to Ishmerai confirmed that she should continue with the plan, “You see.. I need to acquire some goods and have them transported.”

The captain elbowed Ishmerai with a grin, “The lady speaks my language, Lord Knight.” He leaned on the table, “Now tell me love, just what did ye have in mind?”

Some time later, the lady and her knight left the dimly lit tavern for the bright afternoon of Port Sirène. “I don’t believe that could have gone any better,” Jewell, under the weight of glamour once more, remarked to her companion as they wandered through the crowded streets, intent on returning to the manor to say their goodbyes before returning to RhyDin.

“Did you think the good captain would not be agreeable to any plan thought up in that crazy head of yours?” Ishmerai quizzed with a smile.

“Certainly not. But he was enthusiastic as well.”

“You have promised a good amount of money into the bargain, Mira.”

“True. I suppose I just did not expect him to so willing comply with that last part.”

The knight had to agree, “Yes, it was surprising that acquiesced to the more cryptic portions of your plan so readily. But we will see, when the time comes, if he is truly able to betray you. If not, we will find another way.”

Jewell nodded, and they continued their walk in silence for some time, the sun sparkling on the snow-capped peaks of the Iolite mountains in the distance. “What was it that you asked the captain about right before we left?” the knight eventually remembered to ask.

“Oh..” the smile, worn by a face so different from the one he was used to, faltered a moment. “It was really nothing of consequence.” While Jewell may not have been barred from lying like some of the Fae-folk were, she was rather horrible at it when face-to-face with one who knew her so well. It only took a sharp glance from her companion to remind her of this. “I asked him to keep an eye out for Stephen,” she admitted softly.

“Mira..”

“Look.” The sharpness of her tone forestalled his speech. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about him or if I don’t want to be with him or I do or I never want to see him again. No one deserves what they will do to him if they find him in these lands. You know that. And I would be truly despicable if I did not at least attempt to aid him.” Ishmerai had to reluctantly agree. He had no love for Captain Stephen Kidd. Truly, his life would be easier if someone would dispatch of the captain, erasing from life the one man that posed a greater threat to his lady than all others. But the knight also had no taste for the cruel spells Faeries so loved to cast upon their mortal captives, so he dismissed the idea of sending a request very different in nature from the one Jewell had asked of Captain Strand. “Besides,” she added more to pacify her knight than for the sake of truth, “do I really want someone who holds my name in the hands of my enemies? Really, Ishmerai, you have taught me to be more mindful than that.”

[JewellRavenlock]

“I cannot believe she gave me a painting,” Jewell stated flatly for the tenth time since they had returned from Faerie earlier that morning. The painting in question was currently hanging in the sun-drenched breakfast room on the wall opposite the windows that overlooked the river. It was a room Jewell rarely visited and therefore the perfect place for the piece of art depicting the lush meadows surrounding the Sirène river at the heart of the Ta-Neer lands in Faerie. The new house in Old Market was very different from that which once stood as part of the North Shore community, but one of the most notable differences was the bare walls. Jewell had long ago given up painting herself—the very thought of it made her sick—and she had little appreciation for art any form of art these days. Who knew what crying soul was trapped within those decorative pieces of stone and canvas?

Ishmerai did not share his lady’s disdain. “So you have commented many times now. But it took quite a lot of effort to get it here and here it shall stay.” Her scowl increased at the knight’s proclamation. “It will be helpful to have such a portal in order to pull this whole plan off anyway, and it shall keep you from complaining about how far we must travel to cross the veil.”

“Ugh,” she responded before turning and leaving the room, retreating to a seat at the kitchen island. It wasn’t far enough away, though. Jewell could feel the painting staring at her through the wall. There was an itch at the back of her head, a desire to dig her nails into the skin of her arms. Why did it have to be a painting? “And you are sure no one will be coming through this way?” she asked impatiently when Ishmerai joined her.

He tried his best to keep calm. “It should be impossible. It is meant to be a one-way portal.”

“Good.” As if dismissing the subject at hand, she flipped the newspaper over only to find another complaint: “I really hate this time change nonsense. Spend two days in Faerie and over a week goes by here.” Ishmerai remained silent as they had already discussed this particular gripe as well. His comment, something along the lines that she should have been grateful about coming back at all, had not been well received. “I guess we’ll just have to move more quickly with our preparations.”

“I agree. You should have at least the shop set up before Strand and his men arrive. The warehouse would be good as well, if you think you need it. If not, that can wait.”

“I’ll get Lamont started on that tomorrow morning. He proved himself helpful and trustworthy in that other building business.” The ‘other building business’ had been more of an extortionist hostile takeover of the nearby tenement housing, but really that was just semantics to Jewell. Her teeth worked on the inside of her cheek, “I guess the spot where the cafe used to be will work.”

Ishmerai thought about it a moment. “You will probably want something backing the river, so you are better off taking over the old spirit’s shop. It already has the cellar for storage. Having the tavern next door and inn above might be helpful too. You can always use the extra space as an office for.. other transactions if needed.”

“Right.” Jewell nodded absently as plans and schemes floated through her brain. She needed to think long-term here. This wasn’t just some venture she could abandon halfway through. If they did not set the foundation right, the whole plan could crumble disastrously. Reopening the tavern and the inn was probably not a bad idea down the line. She wondered for a moment about the exclusive fae/elven bar named I’Yulna she used to visit; it had closed while she had been away from RhyDin. Could she possibly do something with that? It had a lot of potential. She caught Ishmerai staring, forcing her back to the here and now: “What am I forgetting?”

“I told you months ago that you were going to need more muscle.” He received another absent-minded nod as her thoughts drifted away again. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Yeah...”

He snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Miss dreamy, wake up.” She blinked rapidly and then scowled, pushing his hand aside. “Who did you have in mind?”

The scowl transformed into a grin that captured hearts but had trouble written into each curve. “I was thinking about seeing what Lain has been up to, actually.”

“Lain.. as in Alex and Lain?” The grin widened. Given their history together, Lain probably did seem like an odd choice. Lain and Jewell had only tried to kill each other a half-dozen times at least, and there was that time that Lain assisted in blowing up Jewell’s house. Not to mention the whole, ‘stealing my husband,’ debacle. In truth, there were few people in RhyDin Jewell trusted more than the True Blood Schwayer. “I suppose that could work.. and at least she will not stand out in the neighborhood.”