XII

Hazel proved to be an amazing host. Elanor did not notice how she was changed from her wet clothes into an elegant silk morning robe by the delicate staff of the atelier. The swarm of them braided her hair, brought in tea and biscuits, arranged cozy seats in the privacy of the back area of the store, and were now fussing over Talvi, reapplying gold to his fingertips. Swimming in the river made it wash off, and only the black underpaint remained. 

Elanor politely accepted a cup of tea, trying to look like she was drinking while she enjoyed a slightly squeezed almond croissant that conveniently appeared in a plastic wrapper last time she checked the magic pocket. Her companion was briefing Hazel on the goal of their visit and feeding cheese to the Samoyed. A couple of tiny faeries, no bigger than a teacup, were flying around, combing through his luscious white fur. 

"Lara, dear, once I finish working with you, not a single soul in Faerie would think you were once human!" proclaimed the tailor proudly. 

"Don't overdo it, Hazel. We need to look like a modest Seelie couple, not royal spouses. That's the whole point," reminded the young man lazily. His head was resting on the back of the velvet sofa, almost upside down, as he was enjoying the biscuits and the extravagant manicure. "And leave the hair mousy, please, we love it over here," Elanor scoffed at that.

"Please, don't teach me how to do my craft, old friend. You shall be pleased with the results, as you always have been," grumbled the artisan, although clearly with no malice. Elanor figured out that it was their communication style: very akin to a mentor and his grown-up brat of an apprentice, both loving each other and both playing into the part. 

Hazel fetched some baskets with supplies and assembled them near the window. He waved Elanor to approach, suggesting the lighting was most perfect there, and began crafting. It was hard to call what he was doing tailoring, nor did it resemble doing makeup. She could feel the chillness of the silks envelop her, as if a ton of cherrybloom petals had happened to fall around her bare body. She could hear ocean waves hitting a rocky beach as he wove ribbons around her ears. She watched him work with awe and had a chance to study Hazel's otherworldly features. 

His long white hair was tied back with a string of curious blue pearls. He looked old, but moved with the kind of grace only agile old men possessed. One of his eyes was a regular human eye, while the second was that of an owl. His nose was something in between the two, hooked, pointed and black on the tip. His white costume, with what looked like spider lace, was neat and tailored to perfection; Lara never imagined it was achievable. 

Lumi was running around the shop, entertaining the staff of seamstresses and assistants, who would toss grapes to each other, making the dog chase after them. Despite how much noise this game was causing, Talvi managed to fall asleep on the too-tiny sofa, his long limbs draped across and spilling over the edges. He looked like a very handsome young brother of Hulliver. When he was asleep, aloofness was replaced on his face with a sad, sorrowful expression that made Elanor uneasy. 

"Watch over your Talvi, would you?" Hazel asked quietly. "He is dealing with more than he lets on."

Elanor looked in his chymerian eyes with surprise. She glanced at the sleeping elf, building courage. 

"Then you know... about his curse?"

Craftsman also turned to look at Talvi and made sure he was still deep in his nap before nodding. He was choosing his words carefully; the pact of the curse was affecting him as well, although not as strongly as Talvi himself.

"Some families in these lands used to throw curses left and right... Our friend is now lonely. If he loses something, he can only look at home. Lar... Birds come to announce a new day."

"Used to" means this happened in the past and no longer does. Talvi is "now" lonely, which could only mean he once wasn't. Did he lose his lover through the curse and now tries to find her? Should I help him since he called me a bird? Was that a hint? Is he going to the healer to search for more clues about his missing wife? That explains why he flirts so much; it must be his coping. 

Elanor tried to remember every word because she had read too many fairytales not to know she needed to scan for the clues in between the lines. Before they had time to discuss anything else, Talvi began stirring and eventually woke up, starting to fix his hair with great focus. Finally, Hazel was done with the glamour and offered Elanor a mirror. 

A complete stranger was looking back at her from the depth of it; a corset made of bark was placed over a thick dress, its fabric looked like he used grassblades of different colours to create gradient from dark brown to fresh green, weaving it like a carpet and then cutting the patterns out of it before sewing it into short bell shaped skirt and sleeveless top with nigh neckline, standing in spikes like a crown under her head. The hair had to be gathered into a low knot, and he added some feathers to her eyelashes, elongating some of them to reach her brows, making her brown eyes look otherworldly. Anytime she shifted, the soft ruffle of the dress followed. She already moved the magic pocket onto it, and Hazel wrapped patches of different materials around her legs, creating unique, whimsical leggings underneath. Her boots were replaced with the thinnest leather slips, tied securely to her ankles. She was given a similar flange paint dip, like Talvi's, but with dark green instead of gold. A corset belt was placed around her waist, and Hazel revealed that one of the pouches attached to it would hold her temporarily shrunken backpack, while the second one was reserved to hide Lumi if she so wished. Finally, a pair of long elven ears sat now under her temples, and, to Elanor's amazement, looked like they belonged there.

The glamour, as its author explained, was bound to her belt, and she could simply wear it inside out when she wished to take off the outfit and revert back to looking human. Hazel led her to the sofa to present to Talvi and Lumi, and stepped to the side, revealing his work in all its glory. 

The elf froze in his seat as soon as his eyes fell on the girl. He slowly traced all the details from the shoes up to her head, and when he reached the now elvish ears he so often teased, his face had drained off all blood, which looked scary on his tan skin. Talvi stood and, to Elanor's horror, fled out of the store without saying a word.