Laikaa Lux Lovelace 2

She didn’t mean to start the fire, not as far as she could remember. She had just been playing late at night when it happened. Her mother had said not to touch that board game, even smacked her hands and scolded her quite sternly about it, which only made her more curious. She pretended to sleep until an hour after she had heard them snoring, then crept out, stole it and some candles back to her room, and played. The next thing she really remembers is the fire and the smoke. Then waking up in the strong arms of a stranger, being carried from her apartment into the cold outside.

She never saw her parents again. Never got to say goodbye. They were both consumed by the fire that quickly ate away the dilapidated building they had lived in. She had somehow survive to a fate much worse, at least it seemed to her. Entering into the foster-care system, she was passed around several times. No one seemed to want to keep her. She was troublesome they said, picking fights, stealing things, one overly superstitious Spanish woman even called her cursed and haunted. She grew distant, watched people and how they worked, developed a sharp tongue and wit.

As she grew older she started hanging out in less frequented places. The back forgotten corners of libraries, old book shops that smelled of leather, and eventually back alley stores that dabbled in the occult. She began to learn she was not quite normal, that she had some abilities that others did not. She began wanting more. She was caught stealing some minor trinkets from a few stores, but always managed to talk her way out of trouble, and instead into grace.

She found a job dealing those trinkets, moving them through the underground trafficking network in the city. Once she had earned herself enough money and a decent reputation she got her own place. She would be a foster child no more. While her home was little more than a large warehouse, it suited her needs. Lots of room for the relics she wanted to acquire, for the display of wealth she had. The system had played her for a long time, tossed her around, and she had found her place now. She’d be the fool no more.

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The stares were normal. She’d always received them, even as a child. There was an aura about her that people couldn’t help but stare at. Fear, bewilderment, lust, jealousy, there were many kinds of stares, and she deflected and ignored them all. The whispers were harder of course, but it didn’t matter either way. Heads soon turned away from her, back to previous conversations, though eyes still peered out of corners to catch a glimpse. Let them see exactly what they wanted. The lust was expected, she was beautiful after all. Tall, thin yet curvy with shoulder length dark hair that had a sheen of red to it in the right light, green in another. The floor length dress she wore hugged all the right parts of her body, clinging to and revealing just enough to leave the imagination hungering. The fear and bewilderment was a little harder to explain. Something about her presence could chill a person to the bone, sending an eerie shiver down their spine.

She plucked a glass of champagne from a waiter that quickly scurried away to refill their tray as she strode through the ballroom looking around at the items on display. A small string band played softly in a corner, some couples danced together, most of the older men simply stood and drank and talked business in hushed tones. None of that was interesting, she wanted to see the relics. Spear heads, stone carvings, and an axe head, nothing special there. The real prize was a fairly plain iron band unearthed in the gold rush days. She could feel something special about it, knew she had to have it, just like the dress she wore, and the daggers hidden on her body. She filled out a card and dropped it in the ballot box knowing it would beat any other bid, then went to mingle. What other secrets could she learn tonight? What other treasures she could procure and profit from, she wondered.

“Is that really what you think that is worth?” A voice asked from over her shoulder, surprising her. “I feel like a prince’s dowry might be more fitting.” She turned around to the face of an older gentleman with dark hair down to his stubble covered chin. Seeing him, she felt something inside her she hadn’t felt in a long time, not since the fire. “Oh don’t worry,” the man said. “I’m not insulted, mostly amused.” He smirked and her heart skipped a beat. She normally was the one toying with emotions, she would have to be careful here.

He was well dressed she noticed, even amongst the wealthy businessmen and greed-mongers attending the event. He was well kept with only a bit of grey showing in his stubbled beard.  “Bids are private.” She asserted. “So I’m not sure what you speak of.”

“Oh of course, my apologies miss Lovelace.” He bowed slightly, smiling wide, his eyes met hers and were a spectacular emerald colour. She couldn’t read him, she was unsure if it was in jest or sincere.

“I’m at a loss, you know my name and I cannot say the same for you.”

“No consequence! I’m sure you know who I am or can piece it together. I see you’re smarter than you let on.” Her took her hand and turned her towards the center of the ballroom, spinning her in close and moving with the music. She found herself perplexed as she moved to the music, unsettled.

“I have something to ask of you, not right now of course, sometime in the future.” He whispered in her ear as she pressed close to him, his breath hot. “I know this is all sudden, and you’ve a lot to process, but I assume you’ll be on board when the time comes.” She felt as if the world could drift away, as if all the stares didn’t exist anymore. “Don’t worry, you’ll gain much that you want out of our bargain too.”

She started to speak and he hushed her. “Ah, no. Don’t speak. I know what you’re thinking. Who is this man, what does he want with me, why do I feel this way? You’ll have plenty of time to process it.” A dip and sway away and then their bodies were back together. “You don’t have to answer now. I’ve known you a long time, and you’ve known me, just not intimately yet.” She tried to get a look at his face, but the way he held her made it impossible, but then the song was ending and he took her hand as he stepped away and bowed.

“I’ll find you again when the time is right. For now all you have to do is play along.” That devilish smile widened across his face again as he tipped his hat. Someone was clearing their throat over a speaker, the winners were about to be announced. Attendees crowded the dance floor and she lost sight of the mysterious man, just for a second, and he was gone.

That was an experience she didn’t want to duplicate anytime soon. She steadied herself and joined the crowd. It took a while to get to the item she bid on, which she did win, though not under her bid. Someone had outbid her, this was not the outcome she was predicted. She prepared to leave when she was approached by staff with a box and a note.

Hesitantly, she opened the note. “I can give you what you want, are you willing to pay the price?” – L.

Inside the box sat the iron band. It was hers after all, but at what cost?