Chapter 3

Rent Control

Montehugh had been predictably concerned over Kandomere's involvement with the human waitress.

"I get that it's an assault, but she's right. No charges will stick against someone like that. She's already cost you money in medical. You really gonna keep pushing for a statement?"

"Do you think I was wrong to have him arrested? Should he have been allowed to get away with it?" Kandomere countered.

"Well, no, but..."

"As for the money, I am hardly struggling in that area. Perhaps you are right and the charges won't stick. But, reputations are harder to rebuild. Word will spread."t stick. But, reputations are harder to rebuild. Word will spread."are ight, ===t away with it?"

Montehugh wasn't so convinced. It took a great deal for an elf to 'fall from grace', and slapping a waitress wasn't one of them. But, he knew Kandomere well enough by now to know that he wouldn't give up once he'd set his mind to something. He'd already spent the morning contacting everyone he could from the restaurant the previous night, including his subordinates, to take statements about the attacker. Kyra had given a weak statement, feeling a little as Alice did, that it would be pointless, but he had to try.

Alice groaned as her alarm sounded. Her head still hurt, and she still couldn't open her right eye. Standing up, she finally gave herself a good looking over in the mirror. She looked dreadful. Tired, beaten, and the bruising to her face was mildly horrifying. This was not going to go down well with Norkas. Appearance was everything to elves, and a battered waitress really wouldn't give the best impression.

She had a wash and dressed in her clean work clothes, trying her best to use makeup to hide the bruising. It didn't really help. But it was all she could do until the swelling reduced.

She made the short walk to work, greeting the other staff quietly, finding Kyra huddled in the corner of the staff room.

"Hey," Alice said quietly.

"Alice! Oh my god, are you okay?" Kyra was immediately on her feet, fretting and fussing, and feeling overwhelmingly guilty about what had happened.

"I'm fine. No permanent damage. Just bad bruising." She waved the concern away, turning to see Norkas approach her.

"You look like shit," he declared.

"I'm fine. I can still work. Nothing broken. Just the bruising," she tried to reassure him.

"I can't have you serving like that."

"I can do other jobs then. Washing, cleaning, chopping... whatever. I'm good to go!" She tried to feign enthusiasm, hoping he would look past her physical appearance.

"No. You need to leave. Your actions could possibly have already caused damage to the clientele, not to mention, the ongoing investigation by the Feds!"

"Wait! What investigation? I didn't give any statements."

"The MTF Agent has been calling the staff and customers all morning for witness testimonies!"

"But... I told him not to!" She fumbled in her pocket for his card, "Let me call him... get him to drop it..."

"It's too late for that! You're out!" He looked at Kyra, still in the corner, eyes wide, "You too! Both of you!"

Alice stood in front of Kyra, glaring at Norkas.

"You can't do this! This isn't her fault! It's mine!"

"No! It's fine... Let's just go..." Kyra had finally found her voice, grabbing for Alice's arm to pull her away.

Alice couldn't believe it. She'd been subject to many insults and prejudiced remarks, but to be fired for something an elf did to her, was more than she could fathom. Kyra kept a tight hold of her arm as they left, the blinding sun snapping Alice back into the grim reality of the fact that they had both just lost their sole source of income.

Fuck. Double fuck. Panic threatened to rise up to meet the impending migraine building like a thunder cloud in her head. No. Now was not the time to panic. Now was the time to go home and plan. She could feel Kyra trembling against their linked arms, not quite as adept as Alice at keeping her cool.

"What do we do?" Kyra said timidly.

"We'll find something else. There're other restaurants. Loads of them! The service industry is huge! Rich elves don't do serving jobs. We'll be fine! You'll see!" Alice tried to be reassuring, but she was inwardly worried herself. Her face would not make a good impression on a job interview.

They made the short walk to their apartment complex, only to find their haughty landlord waiting for them.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked, completely confused as to why Senvari would even set her expensive Louboutins on the grey concrete. She rarely ever came to the human complex, so to come now, something bad had to have happened.

"You both have an hour to pack your things and leave." She had her nose upturned, a faint look of disgust on her face at the sight of Alice's battered appearance.

It took several seconds for that information to hit Alice's already stress-riddled brain.

"You can't be serious?!"

"Neither of you have employment, which violates your lease." Senvari examined her manicure, Kyra whimpering in disbelief.

"That happened barely 20 minutes ago! How do you even know?"

"Norkas called me. He's a very good friend. And a good thing too. I'll bet you had no intention of letting me know, did you?"

Norkas. Fucking arsehole. Couldn't even wait until they had gotten home.

"We can find other work! Today, probably! It won't change how or when we pay our bills. Please. Just... give us until the end of the week. The rent isn't due for three weeks anyway," Alice begged, trying once again to throw herself on the mercy of a rich elf.

"You're in breach of your lease, I want you out! Don't make me call the authorities!"

Alice stared, shocked beyond words as Senvari turned on her pristine heel and waltzed off to her car.

Fuck.

She entered the apartment building in a daze, autopilot taking her up to her soon-to-be vacated home. Kyra, hardly fairing any better, followed her.

Inside, Alice paced for several long minutes, then stopped abruptly.

"Right. Go pack everything essential. Just what you need. We can't pack everything in an hour. We'll look into storage. I have some savings we can use to get some temporary accommodation whilst we figure out what to do long term."

When Kyra didn't immediately respond, Alice huffed, "Now! You heard her, we have an hour!"

Suitably startled into action, Kyra rushed off to her own apartment to pack.

Kandomere snapped his phone shut in irritation. Faltorin's lawyer had called him, detailing exactly what was going to happen with the case. It was predictable. Even the lawyer was a High Born. He'd been fortunate enough in his work not to have to deal with blood purists on a daily basis. As far as he was concerned, an elf was an elf. But, blood purists were more concerned with long-standing lineage. High Borns floated the claim that they could trace their elven blood back thousands of years. They were the 'cream of the crop', as humans would say. The royalty of the elven world. If it couldn't be traced, purity would always be in doubt.

Given the population explosion of the past centuries, it was no wonder people couldn't always trace their family back more than several generations. Kandomere was an elf. As far as he was concerned, that was all there was to it. But, no proof meant he didn't quite have the same level of influence within the elven community as someone like Faltorin.

What he really needed was Alice's testimony. Even if Faltorin still managed to make the charges disappear, it could be enough to damage his reputation and knock him down a few pegs. He tried to call Alice, but got no answer, deciding that he might have more luck with persuasion if he visited her in person. He also wanted to see how she was doing with her injuries. It was barely 24 hours after the assault, so he couldn't imagine she was miraculously healed.

He made the drive alone. Montehugh had given up asking why he was so fixated, and simply let him do what he felt he needed to do.

The apartment complex looked surprisingly brighter in the afternoon sun. Serene in its simplicity. Nothing gaudy or extravagant. As much as he liked finely tailored clothes and expensive accessories, he preferred elegance and simple style over the ornate and the 'bling'.

Upon entering her floor, he could see the door to her apartment ajar, and could hear thuds and bangs of things being shoved around. A possible break in? His hand on his side arm, he pushed open the door, surprised to see Alice herself throwing things into bags.

"Alice?"

She spun round at the sound of her name, instantly infuriated at the sight of the man who had caused her no end of trouble, certainly as she saw it. She grabbed a vase and threw it at him, her aim dreadful, fortunately for Kandomere as he merely watched it fly past his head, utterly baffled by her reaction.

"Why are you throwing things at me?"

"YOU! You lost me my job! And my home! And Kyra's! Why couldn't you just drop that stupid statement?!" she screamed at him, clenching her fists in an effort to control the urge to hit an FBI agent.

"You were fired?" That had not been part of his plan. "Let me call him..."

"NO! Stop trying to fix things!" She strode away from him into another room.

Great. How had he caused such a mess from doing his job? He'd never had this happen before. He called Montehugh, finally admitting that he needed help to make things right. His suggestion however, did not please his partner, but he assured Kandomere he would arrange everything.

Within 20 minutes, several large vans had arrived, along with several subordinates, with Montehugh leading them up to the apartment Kandomere had told him about.

"You don't think this is kinda foolish, boss?' Montehugh said, looking around at the mess.

"I cannot allow an assault victim to be turned out onto the street." It was a feeble excuse, but he tried to remain impassive.

Alice could hear the voices from her bedroom. Who was he talking to? Stepping out to investigate, she was surprised to see a small army of men waiting with boxes and crates.

"What the fuck is this?"

"I have arranged a place for you both to stay. These men will help you pack your things," Kandomere explained.

"What place?"

"I own an apartment that I have been meaning to sublet. It is currently vacant."

Alice narrowed her eye. An apartment he owned?

"So, it's guilt?" she spat, stepping closer to him, trying to get a read on him.

Kandomere took in a deep breath, irritated. Mostly because she was right. He did feel guilty. He had not intended for her to lose her job and her home. She didn't deserve it. He pulled out a set of keys and offered them to her.

"You would be doing me a favour. It is sitting empty."

She looked from him, to the keys, and back. She was warring with her own pride, and Kandomere could see it. She did not want to be in debt to him, but she also didn't want to risk staying in some seedy hotel until she could find somewhere for both her and Kyra to go.

"Kyra too? It has space for both?"

"It is two bedroomed," he answered.

She nibbled on her lip, then plucked the keys from his hand. "Alright. I have less than 30 minutes left here. So does Kyra."

"What belongs to you?"

"Everything but the furniture. Kyra is in the building over, third floor, end of the hall."

Kandomere directed everyone with only a few waves of his hand. She had to admit, she was impressed by his authority. Every other agent followed his direction without question, working methodically and speedily to pack up her life. She still didn't fully understand why. She felt as thought she'd become an unwilling mission for him. All because some rich purist had taken a swipe at her.

She collected her more personal items, sighing heavily at the stress as she popped two of the prescription pills. Kyra scurried in, carrying several bags of her own.

"These people are really moving us? Did they say where?" she whispered.

"Uh... The elf agent owns an apartment. Said we can stay there. We'll figure out how to pay him later."

"He's giving us an apartment?"

"No, not giving. Just temporary," Alice reiterated, shouldering her bags.

It had taken the agents no time at all to pack all her things. They were nothing if not efficient and had already started loading the vans they'd arrived in. She'd been in the apartment for several years now, and to close the door for the final time, she felt ever so slightly broken. She started to think she'd taken far too much for granted, living in the Elf District. She thought she'd really made a life for herself, and to have it taken away so easily and so quickly, gave her a real dose of reality that she'd never even considered.

Kandomere drove the women to his luxury apartment building, with Montehugh and the other agents following in the vans. It was everything that the human complex wasn't. Rich, ornate, almost gilded its decoration. The greenery was exquisite, and there was even a fountain in the driveway. There was valet parking and a concierge. What a difference having pointy ears makes.

Alice wasn't so sure the residents of this building would be so receptive to having a human live amongst them, but she decided to let Kandomere worry about that. He was so fixated on repairing the damage he'd done, she simply didn't care what others thought at that moment.

With Kandomere's customary minimal direction, the agents were once again moving their things into the front apartment of the top floor. The furniture and decoration were much more luxurious. High end fabrics, crystal lighting, but it was tasteful in its execution. No magnolia paint and beige carpets in sight. Both Alice and Kyra felt out of their depth.

With their boxes left in the apartment, and Kyra off unpacking in her bedroom, Kandomere dismissed his agents, giving Alice the code for the main door. Just as he turned to leave, she touched his arm.

"I don't understand," she stated, a confused and tired look falling over her features.

"It's a six-digit code..."

"No, not that. All this. You'd never even met me before last night. I work... worked, in an elvish restaurant, surrounded by elves... You're an elf. I don't get why you care."

Her words shocked him. She truly didn't believe he cared? Or that he should care? It angered him that he'd gone to all these lengths, and she couldn't see it.

"Why should I not care? A crime was committed against you, and you don't deserve to be punished for the actions of another," he explained, his eyes never leaving hers, trying to reassure her of his sincerity.

"You really want to do all that... for a human..." She wasn't completely convinced.

"Why would you doubt it?"

Alice sighed and lifted her hand, tapping two fingers on the elvish crest around his neck. "That's why." She turned away, taking her bags into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Kandomere groaned. He'd stupidly not counted on the fact that working in the Elf District would likely mean that she understood some elvish. Worst of all, he wore it mostly out of habit. His belief in such archaic sentiment was draining every day. He unclipped it, slipping it into his trouser pocket, finally understanding why any human might believe that he wasn't really working for their best interest. There was nothing he could say right now to assure her he wasn't so narrow-minded, so he left.