XV

Lumi traveled right next to her, and Hazel appeared soon after. 

"The faery travel doors will never stop amazing me," she confessed, looking around in awe. She could not place a finger on it, but the ash grove looked magical. There was nothing different than one would see in the forest on Earth, but just the quiet atmosphere and the way the leaves were falling in almost a melodical sequence; it was beautiful and calm here. 

"How peculiar, I would never think twice about them; it is just so natural." 

"Do you have more of such doors on your land?"

"None that are permanent, and the occasional ones appear on a whim, you never know where they would lead or when they shall materialize. I have seen occasionally some mushroom rings here, but did not care to check."

"I came to the Fae through a door like that, Lumi jumped into a ring of glowing mushrooms, and I ran after him," said Elanor, ruffling the dog's ears. 

"Where did it lead you? Do you remember how your surroundings looked?" Hazel wondered as they reached the cottage entrance and stopped before the door.

"It was quite dark there, some kind of scary forest with mahogany trees all covered in spikes-" Hazel opened the door and gallantly stepped aside, waiving Elanor to come inside.

"Welcome, Lady Lara. Please feel at home and let me or my housekeeper know if you need anything," Hazel was clearly enjoying hosting, and Elanor felt warmth coating her heart. 

If I keep meeting nice fae, I will lose the last of my caution, start trusting anyone straight away and get in trouble.

"Let me introduce you to Mira," said the tailor, and three of them walked into the living room. "Mira, we have guests, a human traveler Lara and her dog friend, Lumi. "

In the corner of the room sat a young woman with beautiful auburn hair, similar in colour feathers covered her eyes, cheekbones and temples. The feathers continued around her head and sat on it like two bird wings at the back of her head; the whole structure reminded of a diadem joined with an elegant carnival mask. She was weaving a net, the one similar to what fishers use, but looking more like a piece of art. 

I wonder if Hazel uses it for his garments? It's too good for any fish. 

Mira smiled and put her work aside. Lumi ran to her first, followed by the host and Elanor. Lumi was wagging his tail happily and Mira laughed at that, petting him on the head. 

"Lumi, you are such a sweet creature!" exclaimed she, and Lumi could not have been more excited and pleased with himself. Elanor noticed that she was smiling just as happily as Lumi danced around his new friend. 

If I might not be the best judge of character, the Samoyed has not made mistakes yet. He definitely got me into so many wild adventures, but at least, it seems, I can trust this Mira. 

"It is lovely to meet you, Lady Mira," she said out loud, approaching the beautiful red fae. 

Now, Elanor could see how the feathers were completely covering the woman's eyes and thin scars were peeking out a little down her cheeks. She tried to hide her shock and act polite.

She must be blind! I wonder if this happened during the whole incident with the Winter King.

"We don't often have guests, but a human is truly a delight! Are you staying for a while? Should I arrange to prepare a room?" asked Mira, turning to her uncle. It seemed like she was orienting in this space perfectly. Her dress was sitting flattering on her slightly plump body, the skirt short in the front and long in the back, trailing with velvet material. Her pale skin was covered in freckles; she extended her soft hand to Elanor so they could greet each other, and Elanor noticed that her fingers ended with claw-like nails, which only added mystery to her birdlike beauty. 

"Worry not, my dear, I shall get it done. You ladies get to know each other, perhaps you will find it more interesting to spend the next few days in this company than following an old tailor around."

***

Mira and her uncle took Elanor on a tour of the house. The cottage was definitely bigger on the inside, as Elanor noticed, most fae buildings are. It had a few extra bedrooms that hinted at their family being quite wealthy, but the decor was simple and involved a lot of handcrafted fabrics, quilts and carpets. The craftsmanship of the pieces was exceptional, it broke Elanor's heart when Mira commented she no longer does some of the artisanal work.

"I used to love weaving carpets, but since I can no longer see my own work, I switched to making spell catchers."

"Was that beautiful net you were making a spell catcher?" asked Elanor, intrigued.

"Yes, that is an order for a little Seelie princess. Many parents from nobility are concerned with keeping their offspring safe, so my nets usually get hung around the cribs or beds, catching general hexes or curses or evil eye."

"That's so fascinating! Can I see it closer? I will be very gentle," begged Elanor and Lumi woofed supportively next to her. 

"Of course. Come closer and feel it if you'd like. I'll just talk to uncle and join you."

Mira took Hazel aside, while the girl kneeled next to the working chair where the net was waiting to be picked up. She was not paying attention to the hosts to give them some privacy; their voices were very low, but they clearly discussed her and Lumi, pointing their arms towards them. Lumi lay down next to the chair, and his human knelt in front of the handicraft. When she took it in her hands to feel the delicate crochet and study the beads, dried flowers, and stones, she felt her blood rush as if it had heated a couple of degrees. The strange fever was followed by intense nausea, and she had to sit back on the floor and let go of the net, breathing hard. The sickness immediately died out.

Ugh, what was that?! Some faery magic is not a joke. I got very complacent because of that wonderful mug and pocket, but I need to remember I'm only human in this strange, wild land... I hope Mira did not notice me being weird. What if they think I am evil or something? 

She started playing with Lumi to look normal while sitting on the floor, and soon Hazel's niece returned, and they spent the rest of the night interviewing each other about different aspects of faery and human lands.