Page 10
Story: Ties of Bargains
Chapter Ten
A s Harm shouldered his pack once again, his muscles ached. After several days spent doing nothing but strength, sword, and knife training, his whole body hurt .
And he’d thought being mauled by a monster wolf was bad. Turned out training with Val was worse. Far worse. He looked forward to walking once again today. At least they’d only be training in the evening.
“Don’t dawdle.” Val marched forward, the cord yanking on Harm’s wrist as she reached the end of the tether.
And there was the prickly fee?n mercenary he’d come to know rather well. She’d been almost pleasant during the past few days. It had been unnerving.
Harm hurried to catch up, falling into step with her as they strode between the massive, vine- and moss-draped trees of the Tanglewood. The moss beneath their feet was soft and springy, the air warm and faintly floral-scented along with all the green smells of the forest.
They hiked through the Tanglewood for several hours, Daisy bounding ahead of them. Although they caught the occasional glimpse of fee?n , neither fee?n nor monsters bothered them.
At last, the forest grew brighter ahead, the trees becoming smaller as Val and Harm neared the treeline. At the edge of the forest, a meadow dotted with flowers in all colors and shapes spread out before them.
In the middle of the meadow, a city of tents, caravan wagons, and booths formed of everything from branches to stalks of grass to what might have been bones sprawled among the wildflowers. A lilting music filled the meadow while tantalizing smells wafted on the breeze.
Val halted, half ducking into deeper undergrowth.
Harm dropped into hiding beside her. “What’s that?” And, more importantly, why were they hiding?
“A faerie market.” Val’s eyes flicked back and forth as she scanned it and the bustling meadow.
“And…that’s dangerous?” Markets weren’t particularly dangerous back home, but this was the realm of the fee?nvolk .
“Right now during the day? No, not particularly, if you keep your wits about you.” Val gave a hint of a shrug. “But at night? Absolutely.”
“Then…why are we hiding?” Harm glanced from her to the bustling faerie market once again.
“It’s never wise just to charge into places like a faerie market. Especially as a courtless mercenary. But I don’t see a large presence of guards or librarians from the Court of Knowledge, so it should be safe enough for us.” Val turned to him, gesturing at his pack. “I’d bypass it altogether, but it wouldn’t hurt to acquire some supplies, especially a sword and clothing with a magical pocket for you. If you’re willing to part with more of your trade goods. Faerie markets don’t take coin. Just bargains.”
Harm flexed his fingers on the strap of his pack. He didn’t want to use more of the blue-and-white pottery he’d taken along. Who knew how much he’d need for bargains to return home once he made his escape?
But on the other hand, he’d need a sword, especially once Val left and he made his escape on his own. The clothing with a magical pocket would be handy as well. He wouldn’t always have Val with him to carry his items in a pocket, and carrying everything in a pack advertised to everyone who saw him that he had items with him. A magical pocket would keep that a secret, and secrets like that were as valuable as currency here in the Fae Realm.
“All right.” Harm gave a sharp nod. “Let’s bargain for whatever you think is best. You’ll know better than I do what I’ll need.”
Val straightened and pushed away from the tree. “Then stick close. We can’t hide the cord tethering us together, but I don’t want to advertise it either. I’m a courtless mercenary with few protections here. I don’t want to draw the attention of the sovereigns of this court.”
“Understood.” Harm stepped even closer. Then, following an impulse that even he didn’t want to examine, he clasped her hand, the cord tucked close between them.
Val jumped, yanking her hand free of his. “What are you doing?”
“Hiding the cord as much as possible.” He lifted his eyebrows. “If the method is all right?”
She eyed him like he’d just suggested swimming through a sewage-choked canal. But after a long moment, she reached out and took his hand. “Fine. Yes, this would be the best way to hide the cord.”
Harm grinned at her sour expression and pushed through the undergrowth with Daisy leading the way. He didn’t want to examine why holding Val’s hand sent such a thrill through him. After all, once this was over, he’d escape back to the Human Realm, and she’d return to the Realm of Monsters. They’d never see each other again.
Yet he couldn’t help but enjoy the feel of her fingers clasped in his, despite the slight awkwardness. Nor the way her shoulder occasionally brushed his as they strolled across the open meadow.
When he’d left home, all he’d wanted to do was return as quickly as possible. And he still did. His father and brother were in danger from whatever strange fee?n conspiracy he was caught up in.
But would it hurt anything if he enjoyed the journey? With each day here in the Fae Realm, something in him was stretching, growing, changing in a way he never would have if he’d lived his whole life as a prince in Tulpenland. By the time he returned to the Human Realm, who would he have become?
Harm and Val joined the crush of fee?n entering the faerie market through one of the gaps between the caravan wagons.
Fee?n of all shapes, sizes, and colors strode around them, from three-feet-tall sprites with skin in shades of green, pink, purple, and more to the tall, leafy people with bark-like skin and leaves shedding from their hair. Some of the fee?n had animal features, like a mouse tail or fox ears while others were almost human in appearance, except for tapered ears and a sharp beauty.
Even stranger than the people were the wares displayed in the booths. One booth held jars of various substances with labels like giant snail slime and belching toad spit . At another booth, shrunken heads hung along the canopy, twisting and turning, their mouths moving as they spoke to passers-by.
The rows of caravans, tents, and booths meandered in a chaotic fashion with other rows branching off at sporadic intervals. Sometimes cleared sections held bonfires and dancing greens.
Val tugged Harm down a smaller, darker side row. The goods down here seemed to be more of the practical nature compared to the odd assortment of the main row they’d left behind. One booth displayed boots and shoes of all shapes and sizes. Another tent had only rugs while yet another had racks of clothing.
“Your boots seem serviceable enough.” Val swept a glance over him. “But new breeches, shirt, and perhaps a leather jerkin or something similar are in order. ”
She switched her gaze to assessing the booths. Instead of going to the merchant directly in front of them, she continued down the alley until they reached another booth, which only had a few pieces of clothing of the sturdy and leather variety on display. The diminutive woman running the booth had large round mouse ears and a pointed nose complete with whiskers. Her pink tail swished her gray skirt back and forth.
Her nose wiggled as she glanced between Harm and Val before her gaze focused solely on Harm. “I see you are in need of new vestments.” She held up a leather vest. “Can I interest you in a vest that will protect you from heartache?”
That sounded too helpful. Harm glanced at Val, questioning if this was something he should bargain for.
Val snorted and shook her head. “You’d probably lose your ability to love or feel emotions. I might be tempted, but I don’t think you would be.”
“No.” Harm gave a shudder. Yes, losing loved ones hurt. He still hurt from the loss of his mother. But he wouldn’t want to have never loved her at all.
“No shenanigans. I’m wise to your goblin tricks.” Val wagged her finger in front of the mouse woman’s nose. “We are just in need of breeches, a shirt, and a leather jerkin. The only magic needed in the clothing is a magical pocket and overall durability. Nothing else, understand?”
“Even that much magic has a price.” The mouse woman’s whiskers twitched as her tiny black eyes sharpened. “What will you bargain? A year of this human’s life? The hair from his head? ”
“He isn’t mine to bargain with.” Val crossed her arms. “But he has some items he is willing to bargain.”
Harm swallowed as he swung his pack to the ground. No pressure. He now better understood the dangers of bargains than he had when he’d bargained with Queen Mab.
“What’ve you got, human?” The mouse woman’s nose twitched even faster.
Harm dug into the pack and pulled out one of the pottery plates. “I have—”
She held up a hand, the back of the fingers covered with bits of soft gray fur. “No. What need have I of useless baubles?”
Right. He’d misjudged his audience. The pottery would do for a fee?n queen who had an appetite for such trinkets. But for a practical working woman like this mouse fee ? Not so much.
What did he have that would appeal to this woman? He wedged the plate back into the pack, shifting his good coat aside as he did so.
His coat. Would that work? She made clothing, and it was a fine jacket. He hated to part with his one piece of nice clothing so soon, but it did him little good here where fee?n -made clothing was more practical.
Harm held up the coat, giving it a shake to smooth some of the wrinkles. Even with the wrinkles, the silver threads of the embroidery around the cuffs and collar stood out nicely against the rich black fabric. “I have a jacket fit for a prince and sewn by skilled human tailors.”
The mouse woman leaned closer, her eyes almost as greedy as Mab’s had been. “This was made entirely by human hands? No magic went into its creation?”
“None whatsoever.” Harm brushed a hand over the coat, making the embroidery catch the light.
“There is value in something that is untouched by the magic of this realm.” The mouse woman eyed the jacket before she swung her gaze back to him. “But this one item of clothing isn’t enough for what I’ve been asked to create.”
Harm hesitated. Would he be caving too quickly if he immediately searched for something else to add? Or would he anger the woman if he insisted that the coat was enough?
Val tipped her head in a suggestion of a nod.
Hanging the jacket over his arm, Harm dug through his pack once again. What else did he have? He had the rest of his good set of clothing, though he was currently wearing them. Or there was his ripped and bloody clothing, but he was uncomfortable trading something with his blood on it. That seemed like a bad idea, especially after Val’s mention of blood bindings.
Or…his hand closed on the inner pack that held his stash of human food. He hadn’t used much of it yet since the rodents Daisy caught seemed to be safe enough to eat once Val roasted them.
He had several wedges of cheese. And this goblin woman was part mouse. Would it be offensive to offer her cheese?
He dug out a wheel of the cheese Tulpenland was known for. There was only one way to find out.
Even as he straightened and started unwrapping the cloth, the mouse woman’s nose twitched even more vigorously as she sniffed, the light in her eyes turning downright ravenous. “What’s that?”
“This is a wedge of some of the finest cheese produced in my kingdom.” Harm unwrapped the last of the cloth.
The mouse woman leaned closer, and Harm held it out of her reach before she snatched it or took a bite of it right out of his hand. “Not a bite until we have completed our bargain.”
The mouse woman’s gaze never left the cheese. “I will create breeches, a shirt, and a jerkin with a magical pocket as requested for the jacket and two wedges of that cheese.”
“The jacket and one wedge.” Harm used his foot to shift his pack farther away from her before she got any ideas.
The woman’s eyes narrowed, still entirely focused on the cheese.
“We are headed for a Winter Court.” Val’s arms remained crossed, her tone disinterested. She was prompting him without taking over the bargaining.
Good thought. Harm would have met the mouse woman’s gaze, but she had eyes only for the cheese. “The jacket and two wedges of cheese if you include a coat or a cloak suitable for winter, along with thick stockings, mittens, a hat, and a scarf, in addition to the items already discussed.”
“Done. It’s a bargain.” The mouse woman lifted her hands, making grabbing motions with her fingers .
Harm lowered the cheese, not about to torture the woman further.
She snatched it, took a bite, and moaned as if it was the best thing she had ever tasted.
Harm reached into his pack and fished out another wedge of cheese, making sure to grab one that he liked less than the others he had left. He held out both it and the jacket.
The mouse woman snatched the second wedge of cheese first, then took the coat almost as an afterthought. “Come, come. Step inside my booth, and I’ll get your measurements.”
Having his measurements taken was something he was used to back home, but was it safe to step into this strange mouse woman’s booth? Harm glanced at Val.
Val waved to him, Daisy sitting on her feet. “Go on. Now that the bargain is struck, it’s safe enough. Besides…” She wiggled the cord. “You can’t go far.”
Very true. It wasn’t like the mouse woman could bundle him into her wagon and kidnap him. He was already well and truly held captive as it was, and no one was taking him from Val.
Harm followed the mouse woman into the booth, resisting the urge to reach for the iron knife tucked in his boot as the flap fell closed behind him, plunging him into semi-darkness.
A single candle flared to life, providing a small pool of illumination. The mouse woman bustled forward, setting the candle on a tiny table next to him.
Something skittered in the darkness, and Harm jumped. “What was that? ”
“Just my mice.” The mouse woman gestured as a tiny gray-furred mouse ran along the floor by Harm’s feet.
It took all his self-control not to shriek and leap back. “Your…mice…” Was it strange for a woman who was mostly mouse herself to keep mice as pets or was that a perfectly normal thing for this realm?
“Of course. Mice make the best seamstresses.” She whipped a measuring tape out of a pocket, grabbed a three-legged stool, and set it next to him. “Hold still. This will only take a moment.”
The process of taking his measurements wasn’t all that different than it was back home, except that he had to lean back several times to avoid being whacked in the face by a large mouse ear. The woman’s mouse tail occasionally brushed against his legs while mice squeaked and skittered all around the tiny space.
As soon as she finished the measurements, the mouse woman ushered Harm out of the booth and into the alley once again. She nodded to Val. “I’ll get started right away. Please come back an hour before sunset to claim the items.”
Val’s mouth pressed into a tight line—she likely wasn’t happy that they would have to stay in the area until then—but she nodded. “Very well.”
The mouse woman went back to nibbling on her cheese as she bustled around her booth. Did that mean the mice were making Harm’s new clothes?
He shook that thought away. He’d never bring himself to wear them if he dwelled on that thought too long. And after bargaining so much for them, he wasn’t about to not wear them .
Val set out along the alley once again, snapping her fingers in a command that Harm hoped was for Daisy rather than for him.
Shrugging on his pack, he fell into step with Val once again. “Off to find me a sword?”
“Yes.” She marched onward for a few more strides before she cast him a glance. “It would be best if I did the bargaining at this next booth. I’ve gotten weapons here before. Many of the mercenaries in my Wild Hunt band have. Besides that, we’ll draw too much attention to ourselves if you—a captive human—were to procure a sword.”
“That would probably go against your he’s not armed as far as I know deniability.” Harm didn’t mind ceding this bargaining to her. She would know better what to look for when it came to bargaining for a good sword.
“That too.” Val kept her gaze forward. “Technically, it’ll be my sword that I’ll loan to you.”
He didn’t dare ask if she’d take the loan back before he was handed over to his new master. He wanted to trust her and believe that she’d let him keep it.
But she was still a mercenary, and in the end, he was just a package. He couldn’t let himself forget that, no matter how much of a thrill he got holding her hand or how hard his heart started beating around her.
Especially then.
Harm shoved the doubts away, keeping a smile plastered on his face. “Do you need some of my pottery for the bargaining? Or are swordsmiths not into that?”
“No and no.” Val still wouldn’t look at him as she scanned the booths around them, taking them down an even darker, narrower aisle between the tents and market stalls. “As I’m doing the bargaining, I’ll provide what’s required.”
That was cryptic, but Harm wouldn’t argue if he could hold on to his pottery a little longer. He adjusted the strap where it was cutting into his shoulder. He looked forward to that evening when he could stuff his heavy pack into a magical pocket and stop having to tote it around.
As they strode down the tiny alley, the fee?n who crept around them appeared even more disreputable, sporting even more weapons than Val did. Daisy stuck close, her hackles raised even though she had more manners than to growl at everyone. Just at the ones who stepped a little too close.
Val finally halted about nine feet away from a darkened booth with a variety of weapons piled almost haphazardly on a rickety table. The grizzled figure behind the table had huge arms and a tiny body, and Harm couldn’t have said what kind of fee?nvolk he might be.
“Stay here.” Val pointed to a somewhat sheltered spot next to the post of the booth adjacent to the weapons booth. “Right here.”
Harm nodded and placed his back to the post. With the variety of large and menacing figures tromping through this alley, he wasn’t too comfortable being left alone, even if Val would only be ten feet away.
“Daisy, stay.” Val gestured to the dog, and Daisy obligingly sat on Harm’s feet, staring out at the crowds .
Some of Harm’s tension eased. He would be far safer with the sometimes-three-headed dog protecting him.
A hand on the hilt of her knife, Val strode nearly to the end of the tether and was soon locked in what seemed to be tense bargaining with the proprietor.
Harm watched for a few moments, but then he swung his gaze to the crowd, taking in the strange sights. A booth a few yards away was made of bones while another market stall held harps that were singing. Not just playing but keening at an eerie pitch. The people in the crowd ranged from the grotesque to the macabre, yet the ones who were the most beautiful set Harm’s teeth on edge.
“It’s a strange sight, isn’t it?” A low tenor spoke from behind him.
Harm jumped and whirled as much as he could with Daisy sitting on his feet.
A young man of about Harm’s age leaned against the wall in the shadows between the two booths. He was dressed in a bland green shirt, brown trousers, brown boots, and a leather jerkin. A quiver of arrows and an unstrung bow were strapped to his back.
He held a piece of fruit in his hand. It would have resembled an apple, except that it was turquoise. Several bites were already missing from it. Even as Harm watched, the man crunched another bite, munching on it as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Who are you?” Harm clenched his fists at his sides. Should he call for Val?
“Not going to tell you that.” The young man turned his head to the side, revealing reassuringly normal, rounded ears. “But I’m as human as you are.”
“That could be a glamour.” Harm had learned about such things in the past few days. He couldn’t trust his eyes.
Daisy stood and approached the man, her tail wagging even if her head was low and wary.
The man held out a hand. Daisy sniffed it, and her tail wagged faster. She pressed her head into the man’s knees, wiggling as he ran his fingers over her ears. Even as he scratched Daisy behind the ears, the young man glanced at Harm. “Your dog likes me.”
“She isn’t my dog.” Harm wasn’t sure why he felt the need to make that point.
“Belongs to your mercenary guard, does she?” The man gestured with the turquoise apple at the rope around Harm’s wrist. “Is that a threefold cord?”
“Yes.” Harm didn’t see any reason to lie. He peeked at Val, but she was so locked in her bargaining that she didn’t seem to be paying any attention to Harm or who he might be speaking to.
The man gave a nod, something of a grimace flashing across his face before he smoothed it into a smile once more. He took another bite of the fruit. “Where is she taking you?”
Perhaps it was foolish, but Harm was inclined to trust him. He seemed to be human, and Daisy liked him.
Harm settled a shoulder more comfortably against the post again. “To Golbet of Flight Talonstorm in the Court of Stone. I was originally bargained to Queen Mab of the Court of Dreams, but she bargained me away to Queen Titania, who in turn bargained me to Golbet.”
“You dodged a quiver of trouble with Titania.” The man didn’t even try to hide his scowl this time. He reached into a pocket. When he withdrew his hand, he held out a small red flower. “This is a wild fae primrose. They often grow around faerie circles, and it’s said that they lead travelers home. If someone hands you a wild fae primrose, you can trust them. You’ll just need to get free of that cord first.”
When the young man continued to hold out the flower, Harm took the delicate thing. It had five petals in a deep red color. Growing up as he did in Tulpenland where flowers were so highly prized, he’d easily recognize this flower again now that he’d taken the time to study it. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’ve done nothing to help you yet.” The man tilted his head in Val’s direction. “Last piece of advice. I wouldn’t mention any of this to her.”
Harm couldn’t help but look at Val, his gaze catching there. It felt like a betrayal to keep something like this from her.
But then again, this was survival. He didn’t owe her any allegiance, no matter how many times she saved his life here in the Fae Realm. She was only protecting him because he was a package she needed to deliver in one piece.
As he debated, a tall fee?n man with weathered brown skin and black hair streaked gray at the temples strode up to the weapons booth and halted next to Val. She whirled toward him, her eyes lighting with something Harm couldn’t identify. Loyalty. Respect. Deference.
The sight speared painfully inside Harm’s chest.
“Thanks…” Harm turned back to the stranger, only to find that he had vanished. The only sign that he’d ever been there was the core of the apple-fruit left in the dirt.
That was odd. Should Harm trust the man? Had he truly been human or had he been a fee in disguise? But why would he attempt to trick Harm? Harm was already a captive and bound to a fee .
With one last glance at Val and the strange fee she spoke with, Harm quickly stuffed the wild fae primrose into a pocket. It seemed he had made his decision after all.