A Perfect World

Chapter 39

EVANGELINE POV

She would never admit it, but Evangeline was scared. She had been charged with an important task—literally guarding a princess—and she was determined to do her best despite any fear that she felt. Besides, she did have some experience under her belt. She had been helping guard Aelin up until recently and that had gone... Well, it didn't go quite so smoothly, but Aelin had a tendency to attract trouble. Amaelia, on the other hand, seemed to be good at blending in so far. 

The art of blending in was something Lysandra had taught her early on in their partnership. Though she wasn't a shapeshifter who could become different creatures, Lysandra had taught her how to become different people. She could be a dainty aristocrat or a humble street beggar depending on the lilt of her accent or the set of her shoulders. It was a trick Amaelia was picking up at a decent rate. The only issue was Amaelia's eyes. Those Ashryver eyes would be extremely noticeable to anyone on this side of the world. Despite the shawl that Evangeline had stolen for her, which she wore as a hood atop her blonde hair, she was nervous that they'd attract unwanted attention. 

Evangeline had concocted a tale about a healer and her apprentice venturing to Doranelle in order to hitch a ride on the back of a cargo wagon. The middle aged couple driving it looked disinterested enough in them that it seemed a safe option. And so the two of them squeezed into the wagon loaded with long bolts of spidersilk and settled in for the week-long journey ahead of them.

She had been feeling optimistic about it all until day four. 

They had been travelling without stopping at that point due to the forested paths being dangerous past dusk. Instead they'd been taking midday breaks. But the couple taking them there were beginning to wear down and they insisted on staying the night at an inn. Between she and Amaelia, they had no money. It would be an uncomfortable night in the stables for them instead.

"I'm sorry," she told Amaelia.

"Whatever for?"

"You're... you know... and we have to sleep in the stables tonight. I wish I had thought ahead. I'm not very good at that."

"Ah, so you're more a warrior than a strategist, huh?"

"Exactly!" 

Amaelia smiled at her. "Well, we make a good pair then. I'm a more of a strategist myself. I wasn't allowed to train physically growing up but I did train my mind. I studied all sorts of things and a lot of what I though was useless ended up coming in handy. For example..." She whipped out a small satchel from the inside of her cloak and jingled it. 

Evangeline gasped in delight. "Are those...?"

"It's not probably not enough for rooms, but it's enough for a hot meal tonight and again in the morning."

The inn was too crowded for comfort. Usually, crowds helped with blending in. In this case, they both stuck out like a sore thumb. Every other person in the inn was likely Fae judging from their height and build. Evangeline was barely over four feet and Amaelia was only a few inches over five feet. In fact, upon walking in she could have sworn the volume of chatter reduced almost instantly. 

She had to play it cool. Tipping her chin up bravely, she walked towards the first empty table she saw. She could feel Amaelia trailing behind her. Evangeline wracked her brain trying to remember what she read about the Fae in those books she read in the Ashryver library. 

The stories had described their powers. Most Fae had elemental magic, with water and earth being the most popular. Few Fae had wind magic and even less had fire. They could shift into an animal form. What else? She felt like she was forgetting an important detail.