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“Where do I get a suitcase? How does one pack it?”
Caroline blinked. “Oh, dear.”
“I can do this. I can. I just need to know how.”
Caroline exhaled. “You’re right. How would you know unless you’ve been told? Come along, witchling, I’ll show you how to pack.”
Zoe looped her arm through Caroline’s, and they both hurried toward her quarters.
*****
Clutching her suitcase to her chest, she stared at the large golden fae in front of her. “I..I’m the Fire Temple Head. The queen sent for me?”
The large fae’s mouth twitched as he tried to hide a smile. “Are you asking?”
“Yes, I mean no.”
“Cut the poor girl some slack. You can clearly see she’s nervous.” A handsome warrior rebuffed his friend. “My name is Ramsey Lionhart. Welcome to Éire Danu, Lady…”
Zoe beamed at his kindness. “My name is Zoe. Thank you for being so nice. This is my first time leaving Storm Keep,” she paused. “Actually, this is kinda my first time leaving my house too.”
Both men blinked.
“I’m sorry?” she said, afraid she might have misspoken.
Ramsey recovered first. Stepping forward, he took her luggage and handed her suitcase off to the fae behind him before tucking her hand into his elbow. “That’s perfectly fine. That just means we have that much more to show you whilst you are here.”
The fae holding her suitcase turned to the two warriors standing against the wall. “You two have portal duty so we can escort this lovely lady to the palace.”
They nodded, and the taller fae placed a hand over his heart and bowed. “Forgive my lapse in manners. My name is Aeson Vi’Liordon. I am leader of the Chi Unit, and we will happily escort you to our queen.”
Blushing at their attentiveness, she could only nod. No one in Storm Keep had ever treated her like this.
As they walked, Ramsey pointed out different shops and made recommendations on where to eat. “Now, if you’re looking for a good beer, no place is better than Dav’s pub.”
“Does she look like the type of lady that drinks beer? She’s delicate. I bet she enjoys wine more,” Aeson interrupted.
“I’ve never had either, though, I’d like to try them someday.”
Ramsey smiled down at her. “Then you shall.”
Zoe stopped walking, and both men turned to look at her with questioning expressions. “What is it? Do you need to rest?” Ramsey asked.
“Why are you being so nice to me!” she blurted out, unable to take not knowing. The only ones that had ever treated her like this was her family, and they weren’t her family.
Ramsey looked a bit shocked. “How else are we to treat you?”
Zoe made a sneering expression. “Know your place and do your work,” she said, repeating Andrei’s most used phase. She scrunched up her nose. “Like that.”
Ramsey’s smile seemed locked in place, but his eyes hardened. “And who, exactly, speaks to you like that?”
“Andrei, he’s the assistant the council assigned to me when I became the Temple Head, but I think he’s just there to spy on me. His beady little eyes follow me everywhere.”
“Is that so,” Aeson muttered under his breath. “Well, unlike that basta… I mean fellow. We know how to treat a lady. Not only are you a guest in our city, given that you are the Fire Temple Head, you are afforded a certain amount of respect and deference,” he said, pointing to her robes and rank emblem. “You have also been asked to come here by our queen. With our current problem with the city’s lighting, we assume you’re here to help us. All of these reasons and common courtesy have guided our actions,” he explained.
Zoe felt foolish. When he explained it like that, it made perfect sense to treat her courteously. But, if that were true, then how could it be such a stark difference to home?
“And you’re a very pretty woman, and it’s a delightful change of pace to spend time with you, rather than stinky warriors,” Ramsey teased.
