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How long had I been in this bubble? I wasn't sure anymore. I knew it had been multiple days, just based on how often I'd been up and down in my personal glass bauble, but had it been longer? It didn't help that I often passed out either from pain or lack of nourishment and there was no way to tell how long I was out.
"Yes, my lord," Fenvalur murmured in a deferential tone.
Footsteps clacked against the hardwood floor as the other man began to leave. "I'll send someone to help get her ready. Be sure you explain to her what this is and what our expectations of her are. Do not embarrass me." The footsteps continued to retreat until I couldn't hear them anymore.
I glanced around at the other beings that were each in their own glass and magic prisons. No one was coming for them. From what I could tell most of them were animals of some kind, some of which had starved to death most likely if my feeding schedule was anything to go off.
There was only one other being that had a remotely human form but even then I'd say it was a stretch. I'd never been able to clearly make out what they were, only that they moved around on two legs and had a somewhat human form.
It wasn't like we were close enough to talk to each other either, not that the glass and magic allowed it. Each bauble hung at a slightly different height, and we were spread across the ceiling like stars in the night sky. Communication was basically impossible.
The clank of the lever being thrown sent a shiver down my spine and as my prison cell slowly descended it felt like my chest grew ever tighter. When there was no magic circle or light springing up from between my feet I felt a rush of relief. Short lived though it may be.
Fenvalur's smiling face came into view as the prison settled into the floor and he stepped forward. "Well my little magicalstar, are you ready to join fae society?" His hands were clasped behind his back as though if he could reach out and touch me he might hurt me the way he had been.
"Do I have to?" I croaked. My mouth and throat were so dry that I was surprised I could even get a single word out.
A frown tugged at his brows. "Why in the name of the goddess wouldn't you want to? We are far superior to humans, and you're going to get a seat at the high table given your mark. You will never want for anything again."
"Is the rest of fae society like you?" The words were out before I could think better of them and I realized that at this point I really didn't care whether I lived or died.
A sneer curled Fenvalur's lips and he gritted his teeth as he replied, "They should be so lucky."
Before we could get into our discussion any further the footsteps of multiple people echoed down the hall outside his laboratory. "Behave or I'll force you to and you won't like my methods. This is for your own good. You are going to be presented to fae society tonight at a banquet that is being held in your honor. It would be a shame if you were to make a fool of yourself on your very first appearance."
"Like I care what a bunch of hoity-toity fae think. I just want to get out of here and I'm going to do exactly that." I turned on my heel and walked toward the door as strongly as I could, even though I felt like I was about to collapse, only to have it swing open in my face.
Three young fae women stood in front of me, each wearing what looked like a uniform of a sort. A long green skirt was the only color in the material, everything else was white, from the apron that covered the front to the corset that wrapped around the abdomen and chest of each of them.
Only one of them had another splash of green and she seemed to be the leader of the small group. Her green headband seemed to denote her status among them.
The leader arched an eyebrow at me, her hands folded delicately in front of her waist. "Well, I suppose you must be our client today. Lord Dastesci has arranged for us to prepare you for the banquet tonight. It seems we have our work cut out for us, so wherever it is you think you were going, save us both the trouble and don't. If you follow us we will take you to a bathing chamber where we can get you cleaned up." She paused for a second and looked to each side. "Ladies." The three other women nodded at her and the four of them formed a square around me.
I didn't object. Frankly, I didn't have the energy to. The fact that I was still standing was amazing to me.
She turned and set off back in the direction from whence she came, which was the only direction really since this room was almost at the end of the hallway. I shuffled after her as she said, "I'm Eilra Firbreath, the lead stylist for the Dastesci family and these are my associates Miana Lothront," Eilra held a hand out to the left and the woman nodded, offering me a shy smile. "Yllana Forestspirit." She held a hand out to the right, and Yllana nodded but that was it. "And at the back is Rosamunda Noakes."
I glanced over my shoulder and gave her a smile, though she didn't return it and in the process I almost tripped over a piece of uneven stone on the floor. All four of the women had long silver hair that looked like starlight falling down their backs, the three subordinate women had their hair half up while Eilra wore hers completely down. Their pale eyes were unnerving.
"Through here, please." Eilra walked toward a mirror and I almost called out to her, worried that she'd just smack into it and lose that aloof vibe she had going, but the glass rippled just before she got there and she simply stepped through.
Miana followed her and Yllana poked me in the ribs so I stepped forward. The glass, or whatever it was that I was moving through, was a cold breeze against my skin but as I finished my step warmth seeped into me.
When my vision cleared I was too dumbstruck to move, which earned me another poke in the ribs. I walked forward until I was standing next to Miana. The area in front of us was a series of waterfalls and small lakes, some of which were occupied with bathers. The mossy stones that surrounded each lake made it look soft and almost pillowy though I knew it wasn't.
Steam rose from the water in the baths that weren't directly connected to a waterfall, while the ones that were looked almost chilly. Flowers peeked out from the rocks here and there, some of which glowed like candlelight.
"Come on. We don't have all day. Strip down and bathe please." Eilra was all business, which I appreciated. It didn't make it any easier to comply though considering it still felt as though I was moving through mud.
I wasn't usually one to cower, and yet, ever since I'd found myself in the faelands I had constantly been on my backfoot. Whether I was being rescued or being ordered around or being subject to experiments and examinations, I had yet to truly take any action for myself except for my bungled escape attempt.
With enough self doubt to drown a ghoul I pulled all of my courage together and asked, "Is there any food or water I could have first?"
Eilra looked over at one of the other women, Rosamunda I think it was, and gave her a nod. The woman disappeared between some trees. "She'll bring you something, but for now bathe. You're in no state to eat. Unless humans are so bestial that they have no decorum when they eat? Is that how you were raised?" Her words were challenging along with the eyebrow she raised at me.
I wanted to snap back at her, yet I held my tongue. "Soap?" I asked as I looked around. "These baths are different from the ones in the human lands," I clarified.
Eilra sighed heavily. She grasped my elbow and walked me over to a waterfall, before pinning her skirt up, toeing off her shows, and wading into the water with me. I was surprised when she picked up what I had thought was a stone and held it under the running water. After rubbing it between her palms, they became sudsy.
