Page 18 of To No End

I nodded with encouragement so she understood I wasn’t a threat. “I see, and do you have any siblings?”

The question weighed heavily on me as thoughts of Versa idled in the back of my mind.

“I do. I have two very young siblings…and an older brother.” She began to look around for signs of someone who might be displeased with our encounter.

“I’d like to give you something, but it’s under one condition.” Before she could ask what that condition was, I said, “Complete anonymity. If I give you this, you cannot ever tell anyone where or who it came from, or what I look like. Nothing. Do you understand?”

My tone was serious, but I simply could not have her describing me to anyone.

She looked somewhat concerned but nodded and said, “I promise.”

From my pocket, I pulled out a handful of shiny Lorcs. At the first glance of them, her eyes widened dramatically. She began to shake her head, stepping back, almost bumping into the stone wall behind her, because surely a stranger was not offering her this without some sort of catch. A debt she could not pay, a deal or bargain she could not honor.

“I can’t, I’m sorry,” she whispered, shying away from all those Lorcs.

“Take this to your family. Your parents will know what to do with it. There’s no catch. I’m not going to hurt or follow you; just take them.”

She took a long, silent pause, surveying me and the coins again.

“What am I supposed to tell them? They will think I’ve done something terrible to get them. We don’t even make that much money in a season.”

“Tell them a person of sound standing gifted them to you with no strings attached. They will serve you better than they ever could serve me. Where I go, there is no need. Do not tell them if this person was a male or female, don’t mention any defining features ever. Tell them these were the terms of you receiving them.”

She remained stunned, but she began to pull her hands out from behind her back where she hid them away, and slowly cupped them together to take the coins.

As I quickly poured them from my hands to hers, she looked up at me. “How will you know that I will keep my promise of anonymity?”

She had a fair point, not that I didn’t trust her, and although I wouldn’t be around if someone came searching or questioning, I just didn’t want it ever getting back to my family what I had done.

“Fine, a bargain it is.” I clasped my hands around hers while she still cupped the Lorcs between us and spoke the binding words, “Do you agree to my terms of anonymity in exchange for these coins, and know that should you break these terms anything that remains of them and anything purchased with them shall disappear?”

She looked up at me between her greasy orange bangs and nodded, “Yes, I promise.”

And with her acceptance, I closed my eyes, mustering the energy to bring forth the binding magic and seal the arrangement between us.

I hoped this wasn’t going to be necessary with each charitable act. I did not like making bargains, let alone with strangers, and rarely sought to seal them with actual magic.

When I pulled my hands away and the weight of the Lorcs remained in hers, I could see for the first time blood rush to her cheeks and warm them with a rosy pink that sat just below the surface of her freckles and soot-splattered face. She finally offered me a smile of relief that this encounter was real. Not a trick or a dream.

She quickly pocketed them and began to gather her laundered items and basket. “Thank you! Gods bless you,” she practically squealed, and I hushed her so as to not draw attention to us.

The Gods had nothing to do with it, just my family’s habit of exorbitant luxuries and my doomed fate.

I spent the rest of the day wandering throughout the nooks and crannies of the town, mostly seeking out young Fae that looked in need. I preferred to make my encounters with solitaryindividuals, this way people could not corroborate the story or compare details of what I looked like or where I went.

I wanted to remain aloof when handing out my small fortune. I’d walk a fair distance in between each dealing to try and cover as much ground between townspeople. I did not want to cause alarm in case anyone took notice that there was a sudden influx of wealth amongst the underprivileged in the days that would follow.

I avoided making bargains with anyone else, as they became more eager to accept the terms without question. I didn’t need the magic being traced back to me, either. I wanted to leave as little of a trail as possible.

Every person who skipped away with the Lorcs brought an undeniable smile to my face, and I felt guilty that I hadn’t done this sooner—or simply done more for the town around us in general.

Being High Fae could be very isolating. From prestigious academies to refined social circles, and with expectations to remain on grounds as much as possible, it created an extremely narrow worldview. I felt naive and ignorant of the realities outside of my perfectly manicured little bubble. There was peace in the ignorance of not knowing where I was going in thirty days, but the other side of that coin was fear of the unknown.

All day I grappled with this guilt-ridden feeling in between the small pieces of joy it brought me to hand out each and every Lorc. By late afternoon my pouch was empty, my cloak no longer dragging from the weight of the coin.

I made my way back to the stable where I had left Rain, and made sure to keep the hood of my cloak up and my head tilted down in case any of my newly made friends saw me making my way out of the town.

Just to be sure, I sneakily took a left instead of going right when exiting the main entrance to throw off anyone who mightbe paying attention. I made a large loop in the forest and took the long way back home just to keep prying eyes off my trail.

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