Chapter 593
Vassa stood, hands behind her back as she surveyed the little store. All of these stores looked the same, no matter where she had seen them. Dirty little windows and strangely coloured doors, with all manner of herbs hanging in the windows for all to see. The door had a chipped and faded little sign above it, advertising that this was an Apothecary, but it would have been evident without the sign.
Slipping her hand into the pocket of her dress, Vassa felt the small strip of leather she had taken from Lucien's room. She didn't think that Elain had noticed, figuring that the golden brown haired female had been too busy trying to block Vassa from the rest of the room. Vassa had seen it, though. It was much like she had imagined in her mind. Large, comfortable bed with plenty of space, a luxurious bathroom off to the side. The whole place was expensively furnished, much more impressively than any mortal palace she had seen, and it had stirred the envy within her. She deserved something like that. She was a queen, after all. She had been born to live in a place like that room. The whole palace was pleasing to her, and it would definitely be somewhere she would enjoy returning to.
Pulling the leather from her pocket, Vassa looked at it. It was soft, and well made. She had seen Lucien using strips like this in his hair the whole time she had known him, although since she had been here in the Day Court, she had noticed that he wore his hair down more than he tied it back these days. She supposed that that there was less reason for him to tie it back here, whereas when she had first met him they were at war and he always had it back as there was fighting or other practical things to be done. Vassa hadn't noticed until just recently how many different colours there were in Lucien's hair.
Looking again at the Apothecary door, Vassa lifted her chin and moved forward. The door tinkled as she entered, and she was pleased to see that there were no other customers inside. She wanted to get this done as quickly as possible in order to return to the Palace for the afternoon. Vassa did not like to wait. She slipped the leather back into her pocket as she approached the counter, eyes sweeping the room as she looked for anyone who worked in the shop.
"Hello?" Vassa called, eyes falling on a tattered cloth that hung in one of the back doorways, no doubt leading to the back of the shop. "I would like to … purchase… items…" Vassa leaned against the counter, trying to see past the cloth. She stepped back a little when the cloth shifted, and a figure came though. This creature was definitely not High Fae, and Vassa had to clench her jaw to keep her mouth closed to hold in a surprised gasp.
"I wass out the back." The creature rasped, and Vassa nodded, watching as spindly long fingers moved jars across the surface of the counter. "What iss it that you dessire?"
"I…" her eyes moved over the creature's dark brown skin which almost resembled tree bark. "I… have a list."
"Let me ssee the lisst." Those spindly fingers reached for the list, and Vassa was reminded of branches which scrape against window panes during a storm. "Yess. I have all of thiss." Large black eyes blinked at Vassa and she realised that the creature was awaiting a response.
"Perfect." She said, pulling a purse of coins from her dress. "How much?"
"Elain?"
Elain blinked, her vision clearing. Nera held her arm, a concerned look on her face. "I… saw…" trying to piece together the scene she'd just witnessed, Elain frowned.
"You had a vision?"
"Yes, I saw Vassa."
"Doing what?"
"She was visiting an Apothecary."
"Was it… in the past or future?"
"Oh." Elain nodded, looking at her friend. "I think it was now. I think it was happening in the present. I saw the whole thing from her point of view, like I was in her head. She had the strip of leather she stole from Lucien."
"Right…" Nera blinked, looking around them for a moment. "So she was after whatever she needed for her binding magic…"
"I considered that." Elain breathed. "And that was what I was worried about."