When Aelin walked up to the stall that Rowan said was Arklynn's she was slightly skeptical. After all the demi-fae who was sitting on a stool looked nothing like the the Fae female he and Lorcan had described. He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen and had a head of bright red hair. Still she'd come all this way. She walked up to him, "Is this Arklynn's stall?"
He looked up at her words, "Yes," then peered up at her to try and see beneath the dark hood she wore. The glare he saw made him reel back and mutter, "If you want to talk to her privately go behind the curtain."
Aelin smirked slightly even though he couldn't see it and walked towards the curtain. She pulled it back and was surprised by the instant wave of heat that hit her. She blinked at it and looked at the open flame and the metal that looked like it was roasting over it.
The Fae in the room looked up at her as she let the curtain fall behind her. "You're Arklynn I assume." Aelin flipped off her hood.
She nodded and inclined her head in a bow in Aelin's direction, "I am. Is there anything in particular I can do for you today?"
Aelin nodded, sat in a chair, and propped her feet up on a work table. Arklynn raised her brows and Aelin just grinned in response. "I need you to make five daggers for me."
Arklynn just blinked at her. "Can you be more specific? After all I already have plenty of daggers made."
"I want five daggers made specifically for my blood-sworn."
"Alright." Arklynn picked up the metal off the fire and plopped it into a basin of water. Steam rose instantly from it and she fanned the air a little to decapitate the smoke.
The chair that she was sitting on had wheels and she rolled over to the worktable and pushed Aelin's feet off of it. They landed on the floor with a thump. She blinked in surprise as she was forced to sit up straighter in the chair. Oh yes Aelin really liked Arklynn.
"You have an idea about what you want I hope?" Arklynn opened a drawer and pulled out a few pieces of paper and a pencil.
When Aelin nodded Arklynn continued, "Okay so what size do you want the daggers to be and do you want them all to be the same size?"
Aelin sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "I want them all the same length and basic shape, the blade part especially, but the pommel and hilt personalized. Oh and this is the size I want it to be." From her boot she pulled out one of Rowan's daggers that she had stolen from his collection and offered it to Arklynn. It seemed to be the best option out of all of them.
She took it and examined it then made a bunch of notes on one of the pieces of paper. Then she handed the dagger back to Aelin. She put it back in her boot. "Okay so do you want these daggers to be for decoration or do they need to be useful in a fight."
"Well I want a lot of detail so just for decoration."
Arklynn nodded, "Got it. So who's do you want to start with?"
"Gavirel's."
"The lion."
"Yes and side-note I want all of the daggers to have a staghorn and the North Star and some kind of green and silver on them."
"Okay so how about the blades being the same with a carving of the stag of Terrasen and the star then the handles different."
"That sounds good." And so it went. Two and a half hours later all of the designs were written down and Arklynn had a good idea about what Aelin wanted.
"Alright well it will take me a couple weeks to do these. I have blades made for the most part, but the handles will take a while." Arklynn said as she and Aelin got up.
"As long as it's done in six weeks because that's when Lorcan and Elide's wedding is. I want to present them before then."
"I can do that. So I assume the rings went over well. Including yours I hope?"
Aelin grinned and showed off her ring dramatically. "You could say that."
Arklynn chuckled and they left her workshop. The demi-fae was still sitting at the front talking with a customer. Aelin flipped up her hood and Arklynn said, "I'll send a letter to you when I'm finished."
Aelin nodded, "Thanks for taking the time. And are you sure about that price?" She was holding a necklace that she told Rowan was a wedding gift for Elide. It was a great cover. Honestly she didn't like lying to him (especially after everything that had happened), but she wanted to surprise him and the rest of the cadre just once. It was incredibly hard to do when they were all so old and suspicious. Except for Aedion the suspicious part fit him too though.
"Yes, like I said before I don't really do this for money. I do it because I'm immortal and there's nothing better to do."
"You could always travel."
They walked to the front of the stall, "Nah I've already done that."
"Of course you have," Aelin muttered.
A slight tilt of her lips, "See you in a few weeks."
"Bye." Aelin left then and started the long walk back to the castle. But she stopped to buy some chocolate first.
When she got back to her and Rowan's room he was sitting at a desk doing paperwork. He looked up when she arrived. "Did you find Eldie's present?"
"Yep," she set the package on the table and walked to the walk in closet dropping weapons and clothes as she went. From the closet she said, "And I rather like Arklynn. She's very blunt and has no tolerance for bullshit. I can appreciate that."
Rowan chuckled, "Yeah I thought you might like her. After all even Lorcan didn't have anything negative to say about her."
Aelin chuckled in agreement. Good he didn't suspect a thing.
...
Five weeks later all of Aelin's court were sitting at the dinner table save for Ren who would come only a day before the wedding. He was very busy with business in his land; it was just Aelin, Rowan, Elide, Lorcan, Gavirel, Aedion, Lysandra, Evangeline, and Fenrys. They were talking and chatting comfortable, all glad that war was over, when a messenger came in with a letter.
He bowed at the doorway and announced, "A letter for you Queen Aelin."
She nodded to him, "You may stand and approach." He seemed slightly nervous at the sight of Erilea's greatest warriors all sitting together, but was keeping his cool. He handed her the letter, bowed again, and left.
The envelope was blank, but Aelin had a pretty good idea of who it was from. She opened it with a sharp nail and read the two words on the page "They're ready." She smiled to herself and lit the piece of paper on fire.
It burned to ash instantly. "What was that?" Rowan asked head cocked to the side in a decidedly bird-like manner.
"Can't be anything good," Aedion muttered into his glass, "she smiled and burned the evidence."
Aelin grinned at her cousin, "Whatever did I do to have you question my trust," she asked in an innocent tone.
"Would you like a list? I keep it alphabetized," he deadpanned.
She rolled her eyes at him, "Well it's not like he's lying," Fenrys said. In fact I'll bet Rowan helped him write it along with Gavirel, Lorcan, and Elide."
Aelin just shrugged, "I don't Lorcan trusted me in the first place."
"She's right," Lorcan agreed, "Wow I didn't think I'd ever say that."
Elide elbowed him in the ribs lightly, "You didn't trust anyone until I came along. Besides I know what it is and it won't cause anyone at the table bodily harm."
"What about other kinds of harm," Fenrys said, "after all you didn't mention emotional and just because it won't cause anyone at the table harm does not mean it won't cause others harm."
"While you do have a point Fenrys," Lysandra cut it, "I also know what the surprise is and it will cause harm to no one at all."
"Well at least Elide knows," Aedion said, "that way I know it won't be too bad."
"Well gee it's great to see how much faith my court has in me even after I saved all of Erilea."
"Oh great," Gavirel muttered as those words started a heated argument about 'who raised the most hell against the Vlag' as Aelin so demurely put it.
Evangeline leaned over to Gavirel and whispered, "They fight like cats and dogs. You should do something about it before someone starts throwing food."
"Me?" Gavirel asked slightly surprised.
The young girl nodded sagely, "I would but my voice isn't loud enough."
Gavirel nodded at the young girl and turned to the rest of the court where yes it did look like food was about to fly. "Everyone be quiet!" Gavirel shouted.
Surprisingly everyone did and turned to him expectantly, "Can we please just agree that we all helped with the war effort and be glad that it's over? After all there are more than a few who won't even get the chance to live after what happened much less argue about who fought the best during it."
The silence was deafening as everyone who had been arguing looked rather guilty. Rowan was the first to break the silence, "Yes thank you Gavirel for being to voice of reason. Though it probably won't be last time." He shot a glance at the two cousins who had been at the epicenter of the argument.
Aelin nodded then grinned over at Gavirel, "What would we do without you Uncle Kitty-Cat?"
Aedion choked on the drink he had been sipping as Lysandra, Elide, and Fenrys started howling with laughter. Evangeline giggled along with them. Even Rowan and Lorcan couldn't hide their smiles at the joke. Gavirel just stared at the satisfied grin on Aelin face. "It's only been a year' he thought dryly 'what's going to happen in a hundred'.
...
The next day Aelin slipped away from the castle unseen with Elide and Lysandra in tow. Evangeline was doing her job making sure the males were all occupied. The girl was doing a damn good job too. She had everyone wrapped around her finger and played it to her advantage well. Even Lorcan was under the young girl's spell. Aelin personally couldn't wait until she was old enough to be a lady. That was going to be interesting. They went unnoticed for the most part and their walk to Arklynn's stall was uneventful.
Arklynn smiled at their approach and stood up from her stool, "I assume you're here to get the finished products."
When Aelin nodded she headed to the back of the stall. Before that though she stuck her head behind the curtain and said, "Tanner watch the front of the stall for me."
"Okay," a male's voice said. A few seconds later the young demi-fae Aelin had seen a few weeks earlier came out.
He smiled tentatively at Aelin and her companions as he slipped by them to go sit on the stool. They continued to follow Arklynn as she opened a door at the back of her stall and walked through it. Elide was the last through and she shut the door behind her.
Aelin asked curiously, "Was that your son?"
"Oh no he's the adopted son of my best friend. So I suppose you could call Tanner my nephew. I'm apprenticing him."
Aelin nodded, "This is Lady Elide and Lysandra of Perrnath and Caraverre."
Arklynn nodded to them both, "Ready to see the daggers?"
Aelin grinned excitedly, "Yes but," she looked at the six boxes lined up on a table, "there were supposed to be five not six."
"Ah, well I may or may not have made for for you too. For the same price as previously agreed of course."
Shocked Aelin asked, "Why?"
Arklynn raised both brows at her, "Do you really even need to ask?"
"She does have a point," Elide and Lysandra sing-songed together.
Aelin sent both of them a look then turned back to Arklynn, "That was completely unnecessary you know that right?"
"Oh I'm well aware but after I finished the others I couldn't resist making one for you as well. Because to honest these are probably some of the best things I've ever made."
"Well alright," Aelin grumbled, "But at least let me pay for mine too."
"Not an option. Just look at them."
Aelin narrowed her eyes a little at Arklynn who just stared back. "I'm not going to convince you otherwise am I?"
"Nope."
She sighed, but dropped it and turned to look at the daggers. Lysandra had already opened the one of the boxes. "Damn," she muttered under her breath.
Elide stepped closer to them, "These carvings are beautiful. Is it the Old Language?"
Aelin walked closer to the table. "Yes," Arklynn replied, "It's all of your names. The one Lysandra is holding is yours Aelin."
Lysandra was holding one of the daggers and Aelin took it from her, "Holy Gods," she muttered when she saw it.
After they had looked at them all and repeated their praise about twelve times each, Aelin put the boxes in an plain cloth bag. They would stop at the market to pick up a few chocolates to put on top. Hopefully it would deter any of the males from looking too much farther into the bag.
…
Arklynn watched the three women walk from her shop, getting smaller the further they went. Her head was slightly cocked to the side as she considered the empty space that the women had just been filling at the end of the street. Pride. She was filled with pride at what she'd done. Those daggers had been a monumental effort on her part and she'd been working down to the bone to finish them in time. Even though the artistry and craftsmanship had been exquisite she still worried; as she always did about how they would be received. Even with the reactions she'd already gotten from Aelin, Elide, and Lysandra. It was obvious the daggers would be used in some ceremonial way; private or public. Though considering some of those details it was more likely that it would be a very private event. It went without saying that Aelin trusted her enough to give her even a glimpse into that part of their lives. And to keep her mouth shut about all of it. She felt honored.
Her nephew, upon seeing her face spoke up, "I don't understand why you're still worrying Aunt. Hell, I don't see why you were worried in the first place. Those daggers were impressive even for you. Not to mention how the ladies have already reacted. And both King Rowan and Lord Lorcan have already gotten things from you and were pleased with the results."
She shook her head a little and turned to her young nephew who was sitting up straighter in his chair, looking quite proud about his little speech. "Tanner, while you do have good points you must come to realize that even after 150 years of experience you still worry that your best won't be enough. In fact I'd argue that it makes you worry about it even more than when you're young."
Tanner made a face, "Well I'm not worried. I'm just doing my best and it's getting me everywhere I need to go."
Hmm, spoken like a true teenager. Especially like one who had immortality spread out before him. "Yes well as much as you think that, there is a stiletto with your name on it that needs to be sharpened and polished before it gets picked up in half an hour." He needed no more prompting; quickly got up and disappeared behind the curtain.
Arklynn smiled a little at his rush and sat down on the stool he'd just vacated. She went through the drawings he'd been doing grinning at each one. They were mostly portraits of people that had walked by and were all incredible. In fact it almost looked as if the drawings might turn their heads and speak to her. She was good at drawing daggers, rings, necklaces, and the other things that she sold purely from 150+ years of practice. He was good naturally; had been since he could pick up a pencil. For her it had always been easier to just see the object in her head and then make it. Though it was rare for a customer to trust her with that method, which she could understand. After all when you want something specific there's not usually room for artist interpretation. It was good practice for him to draw people she supposed, but then she saw one of a human girl. The one that she'd caught him flirting with countless times now. That was a recipe for disaster she thought. It hadn't quite sunk in for Tanner that he was immortal and likely to settle within a few years. Or at least he didn't understand what it was going to be like when the people around him starting aging and he didn't. Immorality was a gift in some ways and a curse in others.