Page 54 of Royal Captive
We’d stopped in a town square more grand than any of the towns I’d seen back home. The fae manors weren’t as rich in splendor as Ellis’s castle, but it was obvious why. The town itself was plentiful and rich, with large, sturdy houses built out of yellow stone or the green serpentine stone the king had told me about. A fountain made of swirling green and gold stone sat in the center. Clear water burst from the bronze fae’s outstretched hands, falling to land at the metal garden entwined around its feet.
I glanced around in awe. The buildings were orderly in their neat little rows, everything clean and tidy despite the people moving about. It was busy, but not oppressively crowded like our markets could get, and it lacked the desperation. Humans (with only a stray fae here or there) bought their produce without the frantic pleas of a mother unable to afford to feed her children, and with yelling and shaking of fists. Everything was calm.
What strange new world was this?
“Thanks, Dally, you’re the best!” Calten popped off the cart, landing lightly on his feet as the older man shuffled toward us to release the gate. I jumped down as well, nearly rolling my ankle in the process, not nearly as graceful.
Dally waved us away with an impatient arm, but his face reddened at the peck Calten left on his cheeks.
I lingered, watching uneasily as Dally struggled to get the gate down and lift the first crate.
“Shouldn’t we help?”
Calten rolled his eyes. “Go ahead. Try to help him. See what happens.”
The eagerness in his tone told me it would be nothing fun for me, so, uneasily, I let Dally be and followed Calten as he wound his way through the thickening crowd.
“Hey golden boy!”
“How’s the manor?”
“Your mother doing better? Iris says hello! Come stop by and see her!”
I had to grab the back of Calten’s cloak to keep a hold of him as people pressed in toward us, smiling and waving. It wasn’t physically overwhelming, but I wasn’t used to such … leisure. Calten stopped and chatted a bit with every person who stopped him. Surely, he didn’t actually know everyone here, did he?
Thankfully, the wind died down, making conversations a bit more bearable.
“Tell Iris I’m sorry I haven’t been able to check in as much. Things are getting complicated.”
I would have had to have been blind to miss the quick side look Calten shot toward me. The middle-aged woman he was talking to wasn’t nearly as subtle, her eyes widening as she stared comically at me, her mouth making a pert little ‘O’ of surprise before she firmly shut it. She set the large basket she carried stuffed with fresh bread down at the ground.
To avoid the awkwardness, I took in her clothes and dress. Layers seemed to be the order of the day for everyone. Her dress wasn’t as thick or heavy as mine, but she wore it with several cloaks, thick leggings, and a warm hood with pure white fur trim. I stared. I’d only ever seen pure white fur on high-ranking members of the court or the royal family itself.
Maybe the fae didn’t have silly rules about who could wear what?
It begged the question: in a society where humans were ‘slaves’ to the fae, why did everyone in this town seem happy, fed, and dressed better than me? I’d had all I needed as the daughter of a minor lord, but most of my nicer clothing (including my fur trimmed cloaks) had been hand-me-downs from my dead mother.
“This is Eve.” Calten’s voice rocked me back to the conversation at hand, and I tore my eyes away from the woman to glance at him in surprise. He was the first person here to introduce me by my name, and not some ridiculous moniker.
The woman stuck her hand out at me, a look of awe on her face. I stared at it, unsure. In court, you didn’t shake hands.
I reached out and lightly grasped her fingers in mine before I could think twice about it. The woman gave me a small grin and pumped my hand up and down once before letting go. I drew my fingers back into the depths of my cloak for warmth.
“It’s a pleasure. Now I’ll get to tell all the other ladies in the kitchens I’ve met her before them. Argie will be jealous.” She gave me a final once over before giving Calten a kiss on his cheek. “Behave. And finish up your business before it gets too hot. You didn’t dress her properly.”
Calten bowed his head as if embarrassed. “Working on it. Tell Iris I’ll be by this week, hopefully.”
The woman’s lips thinned. “You’d better.”
She turned on her heel and picked up the large basket, quickly disappearing into the throng.
I glanced down at my clothes, frowning. I was nice and warm in the cold morning air—what wasn’t proper about that?
“Eve, move.”
I hurried to catch up to Calten who strode through the town square with a familiarity and ease that I envied.
“Why are you calling me Eve now? Tired of Princess?” I argued weakly, dodging a puddle and a man carrying four crates of eggs stacked up to his head.
