XXXIII

Elanor woke up from the usual chatter of her roommates. It's been her fifth day in the service to the Seelie Court, and at least there wasn't much that she had to learn about cleaning. She started to appreciate the feeling of satisfaction that comes from transforming a dusty, messy place into a shiny and fresh one. 

Her human companions were usually nice to her, but their different upbringings created a rift that, she was afraid, would never mend. They saw nothing wrong with their position and openly laughed at most humans who came to the Fairy due to unfortunate travels, unaware of the local customs and completely helpless against the faery tricks. 

Elanor got up and sneaked to the little door in the wall near a big woolen gobelin. A narrow staircase behind it led to a small roof deck, where Elanor could eat her contraband food from the magic pocket in privacy; she only had to be back before the sun was fully up. There was nothing difficult about it, since she could not sleep well due to stress and the constant noises of the cramped human servant dorms. Just in case, she would always drink two cups of tea in the restroom before bed, so that the natural clock of her body wakes her up early enough. 

She took scrunched pieces of paper from the pocket of her skirt, spread them onto her knees and split those into even pieces. She then carefully copied the same text in the smallest font she could master, ensuring it was still readable. Each paper contained the following:

RULES TO THE FAERY

1. Do not tell anyone your true name.
2. Faeries cannot lie
3. Do not eat or drink their food unless they invite you to
4. Do not make any bargains

It was meditative, copying these over and over again. Her hand learned those lines with muscle memory, and she did not even have to think twice when writing. Elanor would sometimes get carried away and begin crying, scribing every word with feelings of desperation:

Do not tell anyone your true name
Do not tell anyone your true name
Do not tell anyone your true name
Do not tell anyone your true name

If only I had walked past Jon and never stopped to talk to him. 

Do not tell anyone your true name
Do not tell anyone your true name

Will I ever see my parents again? Lumi? Talvi...

Do not tell anyone your true name
Do not tell anyone your true name

I tried asking some of the servants where one could find out any news from the other courts. Is there perhaps a newspaper? They laughed at me.

Faeries cannot lie
Faeries cannot lie
Faeries cannot lie

The kitchen woman is now suspicious and watches me closely when I come for dinner. I need to do a better job of pretending to eat. I have practically no food left for today; my stupid pocket only gave me headphones and a couple of soaked-through wallets.

Do not eat or drink their food unless they invite you to
Do not eat or drink their food unless they invite you to
Do not eat or drink their food unless they invite you to

If I were bargaining, I would ask for my name back. But there is no way Aeden will speak to me now that I am in his claws. He did not see me as a person, even next to one of his kin, dressed in the most magical gown. What am I to him at this status? An insect, no more. A "valuable asset".

Do not make any bargains, Do not make any bargains, Do not make any bargains

Elanor wiped tears from her face and folded each paper into a butterfly. The sun was rising, and she quickly chugged some tea and ate one of the last protein bars.

If I ever return home, I will never put one in my mouth ever again. 

Her pockets looked a bit funny, stuffed with folded papers, so she smoothed them out a bit and left her cozy roof hideout to return to the hours of hard labor awaiting her.  

Inside, she was met with a smell of laundry and cooking, sickening and overwhelming, wrapping around her and sucking her into the depths of panic. Panic was the main fuel she had for the day, when food was so scarce. She grabbed an apron at the entrance to the laundry room and put it on, then wrapped her hair in a headscarf and walked in. Hot air blasted in every direction, and white mist was rising from gigantic tubs with dirty sheets. 

The large room had no windows. She could only tell what time of day it was when someone would walk to the door that led into the backyard with a basket of washed linens to hang them outside to dry. The walls were painted white, but the constant heat and mist caused the paint to peel off in many places, leaving them looking sloppy and depressing. She walked to the opposite end of the room, as if to grab some tools and soap, and, carefully, trying to be as sleek as a weasel, slipped one of her butterflies into the pocket of each of the humans she was passing by. 

Nervous and high on adrenaline, she grabbed the supplies and, as if unintentionally, proceeded to walk in another direction for a work basket to put her supplies into. She was doing these rounds throughout the day, a few times, until no papers were left in her pockets, so she could repeat it all the next day. 

If I could help just one human avoid getting stuck in these awful lands of the Seelie, I would at least waste my life away for something. 

When she was finally done with her assigned portion of the laundry, she ignored the rolling pain in her hands, which were swollen and calloused, and headed to the kitchen to be tortured with the smell of hot soup. If she tried it, she would know there was nothing tasty about it, so the servants usually chugged it while hot, trying not to let it cool down. 

Elanor placed a plastic cup in the sleeve of her dress and poured the soup into it when she pretended to drink it from the bowl, burning her wrist a little, but too scared to discard it anywhere under the watchful eye of the kitchen maid. 

"You are helping me in the kitchen tomorrow," the woman told Elanor. "We start before sunrise to fix breakfast for the Queen's fae servants. Don't be late."

"See you tomorrow, then," said Elanor and headed to the dorm.