Page 29 of Fae Tithe

She sent Max and Zac sprinting ahead to stand obstinately in the spot. It was at a busy corner at a crossroads where street performers had set up a small round stage in the centre. They claimed the space. Helena instructed the twins to look after the ponies. She kept one eye on the boys as they unhitched the animals and tucked them slightly back from the street. They left the blinkers on, sliding food bags over the ponies’ noses, stuffed with oats as a reward for their hard work. The boys also rubbed Bun and Ash down with cotton rags to rid them of their sweat.

Lance insisted on unloading the cart, lifting down the crates and canvas. She and Rose then emptied out the wares, placing a long board over the crates to form a sturdy table. Within the hour, the two women had decorated the table with the beautiful merchandise. In the meantime, Lance had set up the four weighted poles and canvas shade sail, protecting their heads from the bright morning sunshine. The pearls glinted in the filtered light, in a rainbow of colours and a range of sizes. They stood alone or bejewelled veils, armlets, bracelets, and necklaces.

Helena had sent Rose and her boys off to enjoy the festival for the morning, while she and Lance worked the stall. They had agreed that they would then swap at lunchtime so she could collect Eleanor from school. Quickly, Helena let a few customers through to purchase her beautiful creations.

Most of the customers had been human mothers with their teenage daughters. They were ready to bedeck their daughters in pearls and trot them out in front of potential suitors in time for the marriage mart in late spring. By the fifth mother and daughter pair, Helena’s chest heaved and her heart rate spiked.

Helena remembered painful flashes of her girlhood. The picture of her own mother wrapping her in a veil they had bought together at a vendor. Then, the image of her father accepting her Bride Price whipped through her mind. Finally, she remembered Eleanor’s father hurting her in every way possible when Helena was still a child herself.

She pressed the heel of her hand to her temple, trying to squeeze the flashes from behind her eyes. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned away from the departing customers at the stall.

Strong golden-brown arms enveloped Helena from behind, wrapping her securely in a tight embrace. Lance lowered his lips to her ear. “Never for El,” he whispered. “She will never go through what you went through. Len, sweetheart, you drew your Circle around her. By doing all you do, you have made sure that it will not happen to her. I am so proud of you.”

Helena shuddered and exhaled at his words, the Merman’s soothing voice a balm to her anxieties. She turned around, still locked in Lance’s arms, and looked up blearily through tear-stained eyelashes. The tender look he gave Helena nearly split her heart in two. She could see his eyes were shining, as though the Merman felt her pain as his own. She knew that Merfolk could not cry, Lance had told her as much, but she wondered if that meant they simply suffered more.

She pressed the side of her head to his lean, solid chest, the Merman’s clearly not-human heartbeat soothing her further. Helena’s panicked tears ebbed and her heavy breathing eased.

“I love you,” she sighed, the anxiety evaporating.

He pressed a kiss to her head and whispered, “I love too, Len.”

Helena heard a gentle cough behind her. She whipped around and found a customer waiting for her. “Sorry, sir.” She blushed, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “I was having a moment.”

“No problem.” He chuckled. “We all do.”

He was a tall faerie with stag horns spiralling from his head. His russet-brown face had kind golden eyes. His upper lip and nose reminded Helena of a rabbit’s. He was very tall, nearly Lance’s height, though while the Merman was lean across his chest, the faerie was broad beneath his purple tunic. He selected a braided leather armlet adorned with a single violet pearl. Helena had seen his kind before, the peddler who had sketched her great aunt’s portrait back in the Clusters.

“For my husband,” the Cernunnos explained as he dropped a mixture of golden Seels and silver Sels into Helena’s money tray. “Purple is his favourite colour,” he said, looking down with a smile at his own bright purple clothing. He chuckled. “If that were not obvious.”

“Lucky man.” Helena smiled warmly, her tear tracks drying on her cheeks. “What’s the occasion? Or just because?”

“This is for his Name Day, but I am a big believer in ‘just because’ gifts as well.” The Cernunnos grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth. He beamed as Helena handed over his purchase in a neat leather pouch.

“That’s lovely! Happy Name Day to your husband.” Helena inclined her head slightly at her customer. “Thank you, sir.”

The faerie returned the gesture with a slight bow of his horned head before heading off into the crowded streets. There was a lull after the antlered faerie departed, so Helena dashed opposite her stall to purchase some breakfast for herself and Lance. She returned with a pie each – spiced goat and peas for her, cheese and potato for him. She giggled as she watched the Merman close his eyes in bliss as he bit into it, a string of gooey cheese dripping onto his stubbled chin.

The pair watched the performers on the circular stage in the centre of the crossroads as they ate. The troupe, consisting of two humans and a faerie, wore matching skintight clothing of indigo embroidered with stars. Helena watched in awe, mouth open, as they contorted their petite bodies in ways she could never have imagined. Upon each completion of a difficult combination of positions, the faerie, a Lumo, would glow brightly beneath the canvas shade sail under which they performed. Helena and Lance stood and clapped loudly as they bowed, thoroughly enjoying their act.

Helena grinned at Rose as she returned to look after the stall shortly after lunchtime. Her arms were laden with sweets and toys as Max and Zac bounced behind her, snacking on sticks of fruit drizzled in honey. Rose planted herself behind their half-empty table and shooed Helena and Lance away so they could visit Eleanor at the boarding school.

“Will El be there?” Lance asked as he shadowed Helena through the bustling crowds. “She might be out with her friends for Equinox?”

“She knew we were coming. She would have waited for us,” Helena shouted over the festival noise.

Helena grinned and dipped her head in greeting as a mother and father, together with their daughters, exited the gate. The human couple returned the gesture with bobbed heads and smiles.

“Enjoy the festival!” the Merman called after them with a wave.

When Helena and Lance entered the grounds of the school, it echoed with nothing but their crunching footfalls on the gravel. Helena walked right through the gardens, without being accosted by the gatekeeper for a change.

Helena knocked on the handsome wooden door. She waited a decent amount of time on the veranda with Lance. A line eventually formed between her eyebrows. She knocked again, much louder this time. Her heart hammering as she found her patience dwindling.

“That’s strange,” Helena commented before jiggling the ornate door handle. Her frown deepened, and she glanced at Lance. “That family just left, but it’s locked.”

“Tides-damn, that’s odd. We can try around the back, perhaps, maybe knock on a window?” Lance offered, glancing around the face of the building.

“Let’s try that,” Helena agreed and took a step back.