The Faerie Godmother of Little Elfhame

[JewellRavenlock]

“Must we have this discussion while you are bathing?”

“Yes.” She lifted her arm and watched the water bead up on her skin before trickling down towards her shoulder. “I smell like the docks. It’s gross.”

“Fine!” The knight gave up his pacing. He shoved her dress to the floor and took its place on the teak bench. The blonde Empress watched him, grinning and ever-so-pleased to get her way as usual. “What is so urgent that it cannot wait?”

“Something Lirssa said earlier got my brain working. I said the other day that I thought that we needed some new directions to go in, you know?” He nodded, encouraging her to continue. “Well first she made a ridiculous suggestion that she go to Faerie.” Jewell could see the way the muscles in his jaw tensed as he waited for her to scream, cry, break down in tears. Something. Usually, the very thought of someone she loved going to Faerie undid her to pieces. It made her heart race and a tremble start in her fingertips.

Master Tenzin had helped her conquer those feelings. Now, all she did was roll her eyes. “Like that’s going to happen! But her other idea was good. She mentioned reaching out to some of the luxury space cruisers. They have a large clientele with deep pockets and probably some exotic tastes, so it’s actually a pretty good idea. They can totally afford the fancier stuff we bring in from Faerie.”

Ishmerai nodded slowly. “True. But you do not care for space travel.”

“I know. I hate it. All that metal.” She shuddered even in the steaming hot water. So many years later, and space travel still made her think of home. Her first home. “But I’ve done it before and I’d do it again if I absolutely had to I guess. Fortunately, I don’t think that’s necessary. The real beauty of this plan is that I may not have to do any of that work!”

“Oh? Who is going to do it instead? You are still the point person for sales and negotiations.”

“Lirssa can do it.”

[JewellRavenlock]

“The contracts with the uh.. less reputable pleasure cruisers are all in order.” Lamont reported.

“Good.” Ishmerai made a noise. “What?”

“You know my feelings on the product we have supplied to these places.”

The Empress rolled her eyes. “What a conscience you have, Merai! I’ve never met a fae like you. Shall we also refrain from selling them spirits in case someone indulges too much?”

The lawyer usually allowed them to bicker all they wanted, but they had gone over this ground many times already. He cleared his throat and continued before the fae could make his argument in return. “And the arrangements with Dionysus should be concluded soon enough as well. Lirssa plans to travel in the next few weeks. She was looking for an updated list of the products we can supply.”

Jewell looked to Ishmerai at that. He frowned, “I will get that to her later today. You really do need to make a trip to Faerie soon though, Mira. Demand is growing. You promise that you can get what people desire, but we do not have the connections in place to meet those demands.”

The faerie sighed, “I know. I just…”

“No one else can do this but you, Jewell.”

“Fine. When Lirssa comes back from Dionysus with a list of what they want, I will go to Faerie and make it happen.”

[JewellRavenlock]

The way she hopped around the room, trying to shove her foot in her other shoe would have been comical if the topic of conversation wasn’t so serious.

“They are scared, Mira. Even with all the girls out on patrol.”

“They should be!” She slipped a pink dress over her head, muffling her voice for a moment, “Those bastards, they talked about us like we’re not even people, Ishmerai!” Free of her dress, she gave it a tug to straighten it out and then smoothed back her hair. “It’s disgusting.”

“I know.”

“I want you back out on the streets. If you see even a shadow of one of those Humanity First people on our streets, you have someone come get me.”

The knight frowned. “Fine, but I still think someone should shadow you tonight.”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. We don’t have enough people to waste for that. I’ll come right back after the Overlord challenge. I’d skip it if I thought I could, but I think I should be there. I think people need to see me there.”


[]Thanks to Humanity First for something fun to play off of tonight![]

[JewellRavenlock]

“How many of them have seen it, you think?”

“Enough.”

She sighed, running a hand over her face. “And all the reporters waiting at my door. This is bad. If I respond and say how she was treated was wrong, I’m condoning what she did. If I demand her release, I’m consorting with criminals. If I don’t though… what do you think they will be saying about me on the streets tomorrow?”

The knight thought it over quietly for a moment. He had been thinking it over most of the afternoon. “I think, if they have seen the recording, they will condone what she did. Most of them. They might not agree with her punishment, but they know how the law works in this land.”

Jewell nodded, standing up slowly. Her whole body ached. It had been a long time since she had spent a night with Ishmerai on patrol, but The Empress had thought the events of the last few days had warranted her presence on the streets of Little Elfhame into the early wee hours of the morning. “Fine. I better go get cleaned up so I can give a statement.”

[JewellRavenlock]

The following is a portion of a statement given by The Empress, Jewell Ravenlock, to several news outlets on the 23rd of September in response to the attacks against Humanity First members in Dockside by a fae:

In Little Elfhame, people of all species live in harmony together. We work together. We live together. Eat together. Our children play together.

And together, we do not condone any attacks, especially those motivated by hate, on any people, no matter the species.

[JewellRavenlock]

October was beautiful at twilight in Little Elfhame.

Jewell sat on the stoop of Beyond the Veil, admiring it. Bare lightbulbs hung over the street in a haphazard, criss cross design while sprites darted in and out and around the strings merrily.

She had brought harmony here. A little bit of peace.

It felt good.

And now someone was threatening it. First Sapphire. Now Theo.

There had been Lirssa too. Some insisted it wasn’t connected. The girl had made enemies elsewhere. Her disappearance had nothing to do with Jewell.

The Empress knew better. The shit was hitting the fan now.

The bells over the shop door jingled pleasantly, and the knight was a welcome warmth when he sat next to her. “Mira?”

“Mmhm?”

“Are you ready?”

“I don’t have any other choice.”

[JewellRavenlock]

“They told me that you did not want to hear about what has been happening in Little Elfhame.”

“I don’t,” came her muffled response as she buried her face further into her blanket.

“But there has been trouble. All is not well since…” Ishmerai hesitated. “All is not well. There were casualties. Repairs need to be made…”

She waved her hand at him, “Then go. See that it all gets done. Whatever is needed.”

“They are your people, Mira. They need to see you.”

Jewell rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. “I am not fit to be seen.”

[JewellRavenlock]

She sat scrunched up on the office chair, knees tucked to her chest and temple pressed against the leather seat. She was staring out the window while Ishmerai and Lamont discussed business, only providing input when absolutely necessary.

“Do you want to see a sketch of the memorial?”

“No.”

Ishmerai passed the paper over to Lamont. “We need your signature for the work being done on the hotel and Beyond the Veil.”

She pointed to the pile of papers she needed to sign.

“I’ve noticed that former members of Fae Dynasty have purchased several properties in the area, Jewell.”

No response.

“Mira, did you hear what Lamont had to say?”

“I don’t care. They can live wherever they want.”

The two men shared a look before Lamont tried to engage her again. “I have a few more names here of people who have not paid their community association fees this week.”

“Because of hardship?”

“Some are claiming that, yes.”

She sighed. “Then what do you want me to do about it?”

It was Ishmerai’s turn again. “We are concerned that they are simply using that as an excuse to break away from the community, Mira. And it is working.”

Break away from the community. Everything she had fought and worked so hard for in Little Elfhame potentially falling apart.

She closed her eyes. “I don’t care.”

[JewellRavenlock]

“This has nothing to do with whether I like you or not, Albert. I do like you. You’re a funny person. I like funny.” The Empress Jewell Ravenlock paced the small storage room in her black high heels and flirty mini-dress, pausing to look at the man sitting at the card table. “But this neighborhood is really more than a group of buildings. It’s a family. And right now? You aren’t being a productive member of the family.” She shook her head sadly as she continued her back and forth. “Now you have a choice: Either you come back to the family or you are no longer part of the family.”

The entire time she spoke, Albert’s eyes were glued to the long, wickedly sharp knife Jewell was twirling about lazily. The overhead, bare bulb in his stock room reflected on the gleaming metal. His stomach was in knots. He was more concerned about that knife than he was the fae knight lurking behind the petite sidhe. What was she going to do? The shopkeep had stopped paying his community tax months ago. There wasn’t any point to paying. Sure, the streets were still safe and well-kept, his business protected, and the damage to his home caused by the trouble in February all fixed speedily. All of that cost money of course, but that didn’t mean he had to pay it.

There hadn’t been any repercussions when he started padding his bank account with the money he had been giving to the community tax. The Empress was no longer a force to be reckoned. She had become weak. Vulnerable. She was quickly losing control; it was only a matter of time until one of the gangs came in and took over Little Elfhame. Jewell had a nice run, but it was clearly game over for her. Albert had been waiting to see which group would emerge on top, confident that his transgressions would not come back on his head before then.

Until Ishmerai and Jewell walked into his store ten minutes ago.

“And if I don’t come back to the family?” The half-fae asked hesitantly. He didn’t feel very confident even though the faerie pacing the floor in front of him was a frail, broken, little thing.

Jewell’s smile was slow and hardly reassuring. “Well, in that case…”

Afterwards, they stood outside. Jewell had some blood on her hands and Albert’s screams ringing in her ears. She wiped the blood off on the skirt of her dress and glanced aside at Ishmerai. “There, you happy? I took care of something.”

Ishmerai shook his head. He had been badgering her for weeks. He understood she needed time to heal, but he was afraid that by the time she was ready to come back to life and the rule of her little empire, there would be nothing left of it. “I am afraid it might be too little too late. You have lost your hold on a so much territory already. So many people. He was far from the only one who has not been paying his community tax.”

Jewell growled. “Who cares? He’ll either serve as a warning to the others and they’ll pay up or they’ll keep on doing whatever the hell the want and we’ll stop protecting them, serving them, helping them. It doesn’t really matter either way. I don’t want a big empire anymore.”

A big empire meant more enemies. It meant it was harder to tell who was friend and foe. It meant she was more vulnerable. More exposed.

It meant more trouble.

[JewellRavenlock]

“Why are these on my desk?”

“Because I thought it was something you should see.”

She frowned as she flipped through the bundle of papers in the folder. “Isn’t this a good thing, though? More fae moving into the neighborhood? You’re the one who has been worried about my shrinking empire,” she remarked dryly, closing the folder over after the extremely short perusal.

“I suppose it may be a good thing. There are so many crossing the veil. We will need to reach out to those moving into the neighborhood.” He quickly amended the statement at the sharp look from her, “If you want. It may not matter though as many are locating outside the neighborhood.”

“You mean in Fae Dynasty and Sidhe Syndicate territory?”

“Yes. And in Nevertown where The Knife-Ears operate. Others are taking up residence in whatever neighborhood that suits their fancy.”

Her teeth worried the inside of her cheek. “Are they joining those groups?”

“So far? Not many. The gangs do not have the power and numbers they once did but they might after this even if a majority are choosing to be solitary and go their own way.”

Jewell stared out the window, thinking the situation over. “Well, then we should let them go their own way.” She pushed the folder away from her. “I’m not worried about any of those groups as long as they stay out of my neighborhood. Not everyone has to bend the knee to The Empress of Little Elfhame, Ishmerai. There is no court here. I am not Queen. I am just a woman.”