Chapter 4

Neighbourly Concern

For the first morning in years, Alice didn't have anything to get up for. She hated it. As comfortable as the bed had been, it was rather like sleeping in warm air, her security had vanished. She didn't particularly think Kandomere would turn them out, but she'd spent her entire adult life being self-sufficient. Relying on the charity of an elf was not something she ever thought she would ever have to do, not least because elves weren't generally very charitable. Why was this elf different? Why did he care? He wore that crest that a lot of the males seemed to wear... The same script. The same superiority. Elves Above All. There was a slight air about him, as though he knew he was superior. He held himself so confidently. Just like all the other elves she had ever met. Except for Kyra. Her years living with humans had destroyed any innate confidence she might have grown to have, had she grown up with her kind.

All this thinking about something she couldn't really do anything about was starting to give her a headache. And it wouldn't help her get another job. Kandomere might be another rich elf, but that didn't mean she was happy to live off his charity, even if he was doing so out of guilt. Now there was a novel idea... An elf with a guilt complex. None of it made sense. Not to her mind. He was a senior agent of the MTF. They dealt with abuses of magic, not minor assaults on waitresses. Surely this was more the jurisdiction of the police?

Kyra was still in her room when Alice finally appeared, having taken a long shower and liberally applied some anti-inflammatory cream to her bruises. She wasn't sure how successful she'd be in getting another job so soon, given the state of her face. Her biggest worry was that Norkas had spread news around the other restaurants that she and Kyra were nothing but trouble. If they couldn't find work, they really would have to leave the district.

Kandomere awoke as he always did, and checked his phone for calls, texts, and emails. Several texts from Montehugh. Some small leads on Inferni activity, but very little magic activity, at least, nothing that could be detected. If it didn't leave ripples, the MTF didn't chase it.

The day should have begun as every other day began, but he found his mind wandering to the women living next door. More specifically, the headstrong human woman who'd had the gall to throw a vase at him. It made him laugh softly. It should have made him furious, but he couldn't help but be captivated by her passion, regardless of how she expressed it.

Even as he dressed for the day, selecting a finely tailored suit in midnight blue, he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing. How her injuries were healing. Was she still in pain? Would she need more medication?

He shook his head. This was becoming a dangerous obsession. Her assault wasn't even his remit. It wasn't magically motivated, and the case had all but dried up when she'd refused to make a statement. His superiors also wouldn't be happy to have a high born threatening the division with legal action. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, or her for that matter, which only served to confuse him more. He'd spent so long focusing on Leilah and the Inferni, he was beginning to think his mind was craving a distraction, and anything would do.

He surveyed himself in the mirror. To most Elves, looks were important. But, it was more than just window dressing. Deep down, how an elf dressed reflected how they felt internally. For Kandomere, aside from the gorget he'd long since grown accustomed to wearing purely out of habit, he'd never felt the need to emblazon himself in gold and glitter. As fine as his suits were, and as much as he spent on the little things, an exquisite array of cufflinks and even interchangeable buttons on some of his finer shirts, waistcoats, and jackets, he preferred simplicity over flashy dressing. He kept his hair neatly brushed, his shoes polished, his nails trimmed. With all the myriad of people he and Montehugh would often encounter, cleanliness had become far more important as time had passed. Life was dirty. Magic even more so. Movies got it wrong. In fiction, magic was love and light, and glitter and fairies. In the real world, magic was volatile and earthly, and fairies were the magical equivalent of cockroaches.

When he and Montehugh had interrogated Serling, he'd been momentarily stunned by the question of holding a wand. There had been moments over the years that he had considered such a possibility. Would he do it? Would he put his hand on a wand just to see if he was a Bright? Would he risk being turned into nothing but ash, just to find out? After the resurgence of Leilah and her coven, finally securing her wand had put paid to that question. In truth, such magical artefacts were simply too dangerous, even for Brights. General magic workers didn't pose the same threat, which was why so much of his work focused on the Inferni. They were the real danger to the world. Humans often referred to magic workers as witches. An archaic term, but one they seemed to revel in. He'd met a few in his time. They could also be quite dirty, preferring to surround themselves in all things nature. Harmless mostly. Sympathetic magic. They could often be found in tourist spots offering tarot readings and love spells. He kept a distant contact with some near the beaches, as psychics tended to be drawn to nature witches. Like attracts like, as they say.

Which brought him to his current predicament. Alice was nothing like him. Not even his kind, though that mattered little to him on a personal level. As much as he could understand why she'd aspire to give herself the best life she could have, to willingly put herself in a place that looked down on her as though she was nothing more than a slave was a little baffling to him. She showed strength in standing up for her friend, but then refused to press forward with prosecution. It was as thought she accepted her lot in life to be viewed as less than equal, despite what he suspected was her real thoughts on equality.

But that strength... The defiance... He'd felt it, smelled it from across the restaurant. So strong and... addictive. The same scent she'd had when she'd gotten angry with him. It had thrilled him. He was unexplainably drawn to her passion. To whatever natural, instinctual fire she'd been born with. So few people had the strength of will to be so stubborn. So head strong.

He thought about the pictures she'd taken. Her view of the world and the way in which she interacted with it. She captured life in its rawest form. Unconstrained and untouched. The fact that she'd even managed to take pictures of orcs, smiling and posing, or busy living within their own communities. One picture that had stood out to him, was one depicting an orc handing a few notes to a dwarf. What the payment was for seemed unimportant. It was a common sight, orcs and dwarves were looked upon with the same level of distain by both elves and humans. He'd had almost no dealings with dwarves in either his professional or personal life, so to see one simply living their life was fascinating to him. Of course, her assertion that she could never find a job as a photographer within the Elven community was likely true. She didn't seem to have any pictures of elves, except for her friend Kyra. Elves were no stranger to being the centre of attention, but they would stay with their own for such publicity. Perhaps one day Alice would be the first human photographer within the Elf District. He was starting to hope she would be.

Alice was busy eating when Kyra appeared, smiling softly and asking how she was. They were both still emotionally wrung out after everything that had happened, and their usually talkative selves were struggling to make an appearance. Deciding she needed some air, Kyra went out. Alice didn't ask if she was intending to look for work. She hadn't fully decided when she would do that herself.

Cleaning up after herself, she was finally struck by how clean the place had been, despite Kandomere's mention of it being vacant for some time. She wondered if he'd hired a cleaner. Would said cleaner show up unannounced? She'd need to ask him about that. She did not want to be caught in her underwear whilst a stranger bustled about the apartment.

Even cursory cleaning wasn't enough to distract her from her boredom, so she grabbed her camera and headed out of the door, not noticing Kandomere leaving the apartment down the long corridor.

It was awkward. He hadn't told her that he lived in the building, not even thinking it would be an issue when he'd suggested the spare apartment in the first place. Deciding to simply come clean, he strode down to meet her as she locked the door.

"Good morning."

Alice started, having not even heard anyone walking.

"Oh! Hi... You were visiting someone?" she asked, frowning slightly as she glanced down the corridor.

"Not exactly. The other apartment is mine." He didn't see the point in making a big deal out of it.

"Oh... I didn't realise... Are you sure you don't mind us living here?"

"Not at all. As I said, you're doing me a favour." He noticed the camera in her hand. "You're going out?"

"Yeah. Figured I'd use the healing time to do some more snaps. No one's going to hire me looking like this!" She laughed nervously, making light of her injuries.

"Surely your skill is more important?"

"If it worked like that, Orcs would be waiters too."

She had a point. He sometimes found it easy to forget that in the Elf District, appearance was everything. He spent most of his day in the human world, so such things weren't quite as prevalent. The more he was consciously aware of the inequalities of the world, the more they bothered him.

"Point taken. Do you need a lift? I can drop you wherever you need to go," he offered, knowing Montehugh would be further frustrated by his involvement with this woman.

"Oh, no... that's not necessary. I can walk. I have my resident's permit on me, so they'll let me back in if I go out of the district. But thanks..." she smiled weakly, feeling curiously put on the spot.

He still wanted to help. It was more kindness than she'd ever encountered in an elf before. She wondered if his time in the human world had changed him enough to see humans on a more equal footing. But then, why wear the crest? Something that was once again suspiciously absent from his clothing. Did he really intend never to wear it again? Had her point about superiority really touched a nerve? It was more than her exhausted brain could handle in that moment, so she settled for ambling slowly down the hall, hitting the button for the elevator.

Kandomere watched her go, a little put out that she hadn't really said goodbye, but also keenly aware of her discomfort. Was he crowding her? Did she feel uncomfortable living so closely to him? He'd never had to deal with a situation like this before, and he suspected that she hadn't either.

He waited until she'd gotten into the elevator, then made his way down the multitude of stairs, exiting the building ad getting in to his car. His routine was standard from that point, from getting the coffee for Montehugh and himself, picking up breakfast for them, and dropping them off at Montehugh's office. The larger man took his coffee gratefully, then looked at his watch, frowning.

"It's not like you to be late, even a few minutes. Somethin' up?"

"No, I bumped into Alice as I was leaving. I wanted to see how she was," he explained, his tone perfectly casual.

Montehugh wasn't buying it. He'd worked with Kandomere for far too long. As a rookie, he would have easily fallen for the elf's nonchalant manner, but he knew there was more to it.

"You're playin' with fire, Kando. She's a plaintiff in a case," he reminded his partner.

"A closed case. She refused to pursue it, if you recall. There is no fire. She's living in my property. I'm not going to be rude to her if I see her." It annoyed him to no end that Montehugh had developed enough of an instinct to see through his facade.

"It's a tricky situation. She's a human in an elf world. They don't take kindly to humans mixing with their kind. You know that."

"What exactly do you think is going to happen? She's a tenant. I own the entire floor. Who I decide to have living in my property is my right. Even in elvish law."

"Don't always work that way. Just... be careful. She might be a nice girl, but she don't have pointy ears," Montehugh warned, taking a bite of his muffin.

Kandomere huffed and took his coffee and food back to his own office. Was he worried about him getting involved with a human? He hadn't really put huge thought into such an eventuality. He'd never dated a human before. In fact, it had been years since he dated anyone. The Inferni case had taken up so much of their time over the last few years, late nights and early starts weren't conducive to a relationship. He imagined it's why Montehugh's wife had finally had enough and kicked him out. He'd stayed in the apartment Alice was now living in, but it had been months ago and Kandomere still hadn't gotten around to subletting it. Until now. He wondered if Alice would choose to stay if he made the rent affordable to her and Kyra. He wouldn't be opposed to the idea. It would be nice to have neighbours.

Montehugh was right. This could prove to be dangerous.