17.

"Okay, we are almost there. We will need to approach the market separately. So I will go first, then you and then Lucius later. This will make us look just like buyers." He opened my palm and handed me a gold chip. "This should be enough to buy yourself a scarf and drape. Use it to cover your face and hair."

"Okay." I smiled, staring at the gold coin in my hand. I was definitely going to use some of it to buy Virgo a gift.

Alvar began to strip off his white coat, and laid it on the grass in front of me. He muttered under his breath, and steam peeled off his hands and onto the coat. Soon enough, the white darkened and became black, destroying his label as a rich upper class man and becoming a normal man just wearing a fancy coat. I chuckled to myself, picturing him as a middle class man in the real world, working an office job nine to five. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I didn't believe any Fae could handle the mundane word and it's struggles, with their Glamour handing them everything they desire. Come to think of it, I didn't actually know how old Alvar was or even if he was paid for the work he did. I knew little about the inner workings of the First Plane, when I ought to have known the basics.

"How old are you, Alvar?" I asked abruptly as he began to drape his coat back onto his body.

"I do not have an age." He stated simply, like it was the easiest fact on the planet.

"What?" I didn't care how rude I sounded; I was confused beyond belief.

"We do not have the same concept of time as you do. We are born of the earth, we are a part of it, and so we live on with it."

"So you can't die?" I said aghast, throwing my hands up.

"No, we can die. Our life is lived by our possessions. The fibres of our being." He guest urged to my dress and began to mumble under his breath, turning the material as black as his coat. "If you destroy a Fae's possession, then you kill a part of it. Kill all its possessions, it can die."

"How does that even work?"

"Well, like the earth has trees and plants, and when they die a part of it dies. It's the same for us."

"But you can't kill the earth by cutting down a tree." I pointed out.

"Precisely. The dirt and the rock are the foundations of the earth. We have foundations too, that's why it's basically impossible to kill someone."

"So what is it? You're foundation?" I asked. Alvar paused, sliding a blade out from his boot and securing it in his belt.

"Our names. And our hearts." And then he swiftly turned away from me, and began stalking in the direction of the market, leaving me standing in both amazement and complete awe.

What a way to live.

I finally understood why Alvar and Lucius gave the Fae's tooth to the Duchess. In someone's possession, a piece of them, you could find power. It just kept getting more curious. I wondered if his words meant that they could die by piercing their heart, but I wouldn't try it on a chance.

I waited ten minutes, and then started in the same direction Alvar had gone. It wasn't long before trees had started sprouting once more in a lush forest, and the sounds of Fae civilisation was greeting my ears: a light buzz mixed with chipper chatter and the occasional bought of bellowing laughter. I emerged from the trees to a large open clearing with stalls on either side of it, much like the one in the Kingdom, and was met with a magnificent sight. Small trees with faces held beautiful fabrics in their hands, pushing them into the arms of the crowd of people passing by, trying to make them buy it. Cow sized fox pelts hung off hooks in another stall, managed by a tall humanoid creature with grey skin and large tusks protruding out of its jaw. And tiny little pixies, no larger than my hand, flitted in and out of their own stall, pressing jewels into the faces of Fae women that looked wealthy enough; wings and magnificent drapes around their bodies.

There were more stalls, littered about. So many that I could not spot Alvar among them. A smile grew on my lips and I quickly walked to the stall of scarfs and drapes. I tried not to push through the crowd, knowing if they looked too hard they'd know my face was too round to be Fae and too ordinary to be a creature. When I finally reached the table, I picked up the first fabric I saw; a lovely silver wrap scarf, and draped it around my head and across the bottom of my face.

"Beautiful choice, darling. That is 40 silver." Spoke one of the tree men, a human face where a hole in a normal tree may be.

I was relived I had the scarf around my face, because I could not contain the sense of joy and amazement that overcame me upon hearing his voice. I was smiling widely, an outsider's intrigue across my face and handed him the gold coin. By the look on its face and the cease chatter of his friends, I had given him more than enough.

"Would you like something perhaps more extravagant, my lady?" He was careful with his words this time, a small amusing smile crawling onto my lips. I was a lady now, because I had money. I wondered how many of these coins Alvar had and if they answered my question of his wealth.

"No, this is just fine. Although I will take the change." I said in my most confident and professional voice.

If it were possible, the tree man blushed and muttered an apology, greedily clutching the gold in his hand and searched for my change in silver. He extended his twig hand, handing me some very shiny looking silver coins. There were six, and I assumed that meant I only had sixty 'silvers' left to spend on my sister. I plucked them from his hand; careful not to touch his bark with my fingers in case that too would be a sign I was not of this Plane.

I smiled my thanks, careful not to do anything that was not of custom, and tipped my head slightly. The tree man did the same, which was relieving. My feet waddled their way over to the jewellery section, the pixies flying about everywhere. I stared at the table in front of me, lips parting at the sight. While I had not been drawn to pick up the Gryphons stone, I was beyond tempted to bag every item I saw on the table and give it to my family. They would believe me then, because I had never seen any stone on the table before in my life. Shards of a red substance glowed brightly off a vine chain, which moved like the walls of the palace. Green gems as big as a human hand laid carved into magnificent Fae structures, sharp edges protruding out of the corners. Thousands of other stones, all varying in colour and size, littered in magnificent shapes and forms across the table. Most had the same moving vines as a chain, and I knew I had to get one for Virgo. Scanning the table, eyes not focusing on any one in particular for several minutes, I finally saw the one I wanted. It was a deep blue crystal carved into the shape of a teardrop, the centre just clear enough to let the sun light shine in and burst out the other side, creating shards of light reflections on the table and the surrounding pixies. It too had a writhing vine, but this one was black and moved slower than the others.

I plucked it from the table, examining it closely. It rolled smoothly around in my palm, like a droplet of water.

"Six gold for that one." A pixie whispered in my ear.

My heart sunk, knowing my sister could never have it, and some rich upper class women would snag it for themselves and put it in their large Jewellery case, never to be seen again. I put it back on the table, and opted for the red shard, thin as an ice blade, but strong enough to handle a ride in my pocket.

"Sixty silver." The pixie whispered this time. I almost laughed at how convenient it was and handed one coin to each pixie I saw, knowing they couldn't possible carry all six at once in their tiny hands.

A reminder of how inhuman this place was, the pixies didn't just take the money, they ate it. Just like the Gryphon had done, they each opened their mouths to reveal a frightening set of razor sharp teeth and an extendable jaw like a snake, and swallowed the silver hole. When they were finished, their mouths snapped shut and they began chattering amongst one another, like humans would after morning tea.

"Ready to go, Leouf?" A familiar calming voice said from behind me.

Turning to face Alvar, I notified both the expression of annoyance on his frown and that he now carried a large sack over his shoulder, of what I was unsure. I tilted my head to him, unsure of how to respond to the name, and allowed my self to be pulled away from the market and back into the woods.

"Doesn't that mean beef in French?" I snapped at Alvar once we were out of earshot and following a trail into the mountains.

He didn't reply, he just grinned at me, mischief now written on his lips. I assumed it was his own way of payback for me spending all his money, and I just grinned right on back at him.

"What have you got there?" I asked, gesturing to the large sack he was carrying on his back.

"Half of it is food for Beast. And the other half is rugs and blankets."

"Any reason why we need blankets?"

"It gets cold in the mountains, I assumed you might need them. Plus, I had to buy something or else we'd look suspicious." He said simply, readjusting the sack over his other shoulder. I smiled and looked back to the trees, wondering how far our next travels would be.

"It won't be long now. The Boggart I know has offered us safe passage through his swap and a small safe house further up the mountain. We should be able to see anything that tries to sneak up on us."

I nodded my understanding; thankful I knew our destination and was not as clueless as I had been before.

"What is a Bogart anyways?" I filled the silence with conversation.

"It's a relatively harmless Fae. Small, green skinned, and usually don't wear much clothing. They have particularly poor taste in clothes, but an incredibly strong sweet tooth. Their one trick is sensing fear, and the source of it."

"So what's stopping him from selling us out?" I fiddled with my necklace nervously.

"We go way back," Alvar said after a long pause, the only sound heard was the grass crunching beneath our feet, "He owes me a favour."

There seemed to be nods to the story, things I couldn't and wouldn't know. But that did not stop my sneaking suspicion someone was going to sell us out, even the tree man in the market.

"And if your favour isn't enough? What if the King is offering a higher reward for your head?" I prodded.

"As far as The King is concerned, I am a part of the party looking for you. And for the Boggart, if the favour doesn't work, I... have this." He pulled something from his pocket, a small bundle of what appeared to be mud and...

"Hair?"

"Yes. Specifically his hair. I also have an old dagger of his. He would be wanting both back, or I'll destroy them." He replied simply, slipping it back into his coat pocket.

"So you'll try to kill him?" I said dryly, after only just finding out how hard it is to even try to kill a Fae in the first place.

"No. I would never do that." He frowned at me, like I had just suggested for him to slaughter a litter of kittens. "But it would weaken him. All Fae sang go keep as many possessions as possible. For is someone like the King would ever want them dead, more possessions make it harder for a hunter to find and kill them."

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff." I pointed out, scratching my neck nervously.

"It is basic Fae knowledge." He retorted quickly, too quickly.

It was then I knew there was something more to his knowledge. Perhaps something even a little sinister. I had wondered what his occupation was when he wasn't scouting for performers. He was close to the royals, much higher up than any of the upper class I had seen at the Kings private dinner. There was something there, something that he and Lucius did together that I couldn't know. I had a suspicion it was to do with gathering Fae possessions; power for the hierarchy. Alvar had told me that the state was rocky, prime for a takeover. It made perfect sense that the King and Duchess would hold onto whatever power they could. Perhaps even forcing others to remain in line by obtaining one of their possessions.

But I knew to dropthe questions building in my mind. I had yet to have answers for the ones I hadbeen asking from the very beginning. Some of them I knew would always gounanswered, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't find outfirst what Alvar meant in the Cave, and what I was supposed to do. I was stuckin sinking sand; sinking faster each time I tried to struggle against it. I wastoo deep to see any escape: my only option was to surrender completely, to be pulled down deeper into the mess I had created, and drown in it.

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xx Charli