It feels weird to go places without Addie. I’m not used to it after years of raising her alone. In fact, when Demethys offered to watch her while I ran out to the shops, I almost said no.
But then he told her he’d take her on a picnic and they could pick flowers and play games and I couldn’t take that away from them. So, I decided to come to the city center to grab parchment and a few things from the market that we need. I also don’t like the idea of someone else doing my shopping.
I decide to start with the parchment. I’ve been teaching Adelaide to write, and Demethys has been so encouraging. He told me to buy a whole bundle of rolls so she can draw him new artwork for his office.
He’s really been such a great dad.
I push open the door to the shop, and it’s like going back in time. I remember when I came here, running from Demethys’ zagfer in fear of being sold, and Charmaine had been the one behind that counter.
That’s not the case now. There’s a new girl there I don’t know who gives me a bright smile as I go to the shelves where the rolls of parchment are. I’m not sure where Charmaine is, but I haven’t seen her in any shops in the past few weeks.
Not that I’ve been looking especially hard, but it would be nice to see her again. She was once the only friendly face I knew, and even though I have Layla and Kerym now, I’d love her to know that she truly did save me.
As I pull a few rolls from the shelf, I hear the shuffle of feet behind me. I tense automatically, fearing for what I’ll see when I turn, but then I hear a voice I hadn’t expected.
“Harper?”
Slowly pivoting, my eyes widen when I take in the woman before me. Honey eyes. Black curly hair tied back from her face. Deep chocolate skin that makes her smile that much more dazzling.
“Charmaine?”
She grins. “I thought that was you.”
I drop the parchment, pulling her into my arms, and that’s when I realize there is something different about her. She’s pregnant!
“I didn’t think you worked at this shop anymore.”
She gives me a half shrug as she rests her hand on her belly. It looks subconscious, and it makes me wonder how far along she is. Her bump is fairly large, but some women carry lower. I know Layla looked eight months pregnant at only three while I barely showed until I was nearly in labor.
“I don’t. Not really.” Her eyes cast around the room, and when she comes back to me, it seems to hit her. “What are you doing back in the city?”
I grin, biting my lip. I almost feel guilty to be so happy, knowing that she was a slave just looking to survive when we last saw each other. But maybe she is happy now, too?
“I moved back.” I suck in a deep breath. “I’m marrying a dark elf.”
Her jaw drops, and I blush furiously. “Like the dark elf?”
I nod. “The very one.”
I can see the questions dancing in her eyes. There is so much to explain, but I decide to tell her as concisely as I can. “He didn’t die at war. And now that I know that, he’s asked me to marry him.”
“I’m glad to see you were safe,” she says softly, taking me in. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
I take her hand. “Thank you for getting me out. I was able to raise my little girl safely and find a great friend that brought me back. I don’t know what would have become of me without you.”
Her eyes shine, and I pull her into another tight hug – a side hug, of course. When I pull back, I decide to take a chance. “What about you? Any future…” My eyes dart down and back up. “Plans?”
Charmaine chuckles softly, even as a sadness clouds her eyes. “I do have some happiness coming to me, I believe. A family, like I’ve always wanted.”
“Yeah?”
Teasingly, she pats her belly. “I’m sure you haven’t noticed, but I’m pregnant.”
I make a show of looking shocked. “You? No!”
We both giggle, knowing that it is painfully obvious. Finally she says, “It’s not a happy ending like yours, but I think it’s what I need.”
“A human?” I venture, thinking she means that she isn’t able to escape her slavery like I was. She could still be happy, but I know it would be a hard marriage. They would have little, and I almost offer to help. Demethys wouldn’t mind.
“No,” she says before I do. “I’m afraid I am much in the same boat as you.”
I gasp softly. “A dark elf.”
Her features soften into a frown as she nods. “One that I did not lose to battle, but to his caste.”
It makes my heart sink as she says it. I know many women face this. Dark elves who do not want to take care of their ‘toys,’ who value their castes and appearances over anything else.
“Well, I can tell you that having a child is more fulfilling than a mate.” I hope she doesn’t see through my words. I love Adelaide with all my heart, but I wouldn’t give up Demethys for anything.
She snorts. “You don’t have to discount your happiness for my misfortune.” She pats her belly again. “I am happy with the hand the gods dealt me.”
“Maybe, sometime we can–”
“Harper.”
We both freeze as she turns to face whoever called her. She turns slowly, her posture rigid as I spot a tall dark elf standing at the base of the stairs behind the main counter. He must own the shop. I know most have apartments and offices above the shop floor, and it seems that’s where he has come from.
“Come upstairs.”
She nods. “Coming, sir.”
His dark indigo eyes sweep over her and then to me, and he seems to pause as he takes me in. It’s not in the lewd, greedy stare that most dark elves possess, but it’s assessing all the same. Then he breaks his gaze away and slips back upstairs.
Charmaine turns to me, and though she tries to hide it, I can see how nervous she is. It’s written across her features. “It was good to see you, Harper.”
She doesn’t hug me as she turns away, and though I know better than to make her master wait, I take a step forward. “Char-”
She turns toward me, and I’m not sure what to say. I just know that I want to save her the way she did for me. But sometimes, we can’t help our situations. So, I settle for, “I’d love to see you again sometime.”
We both know the words are empty. Humans don’t have freetime, and she never told me where she is now. But she smiles and says, “Of course.”
Then she makes her way up the steps, and I watch her the whole way. It’s not until she disappears that I realize something.
A dark elf. One of a higher caste. Though a k’sheng, which is what he must be, is not particularly high, he’s not a zagfer. Could he be…
That must be the dark elf that Charmaine is pregnant by, the reason she no longer works in the shops. And if he is keeping her hidden away while she is pregnant, I fear for what will happen to her once she gives birth.
I make a note to have Demethys look into this elf when I get back. A miou soldier is above the k’sheng. He may be able to do something for Harper.
Though the dark elf may just deny that he knows her at all, which is more likely. And it will be hard to prove him wrong.
I listen for any signs of struggle or attack as I collect the rolls of parchment. But the office upstairs has either been silenced with a spell or there is only a conversation going on. The uncertainty makes it hard to quell my nerves, and I linger a moment longer than I need to.
But I know that although I am mating a dark elf, I cannot step outside of my own caste. Demethys can protect me, but he can’t save every human. Not if I launch myself into the dealings of another elf.
No, I will have to wait until I get back home to handle this.
And I can only hope that I will be able to help Charmaine.
Oh, Char. What have you gotten yourself into?
