The capital of Lithanium was bustling with activity. The sun was high overhead, the sky a clear, crystalline blue. Carts lined the cobbled streets and merchants stood beside them, advertising and selling their wares. Entertainers could be found at every street corner. There was a group of dancers, dancing to the music of a kantele. They danced with a kind of ethereal grace, as though their feet didn't touch the ground. The music was a little bit haunting and eerie, but it was beautiful. Their performance was hypnotic and oddly comforting. I found that I just wanted to keep watching.

I'd only been watching for a moment when Amaryllis put a hand on my arm. When I looked at her, her eyes held a warning. "We should move on," she said. "You can't watch the dancers for too long or you'll become hypnotized." She pulled me along and I followed after her begrudgingly.

"What happens when you get hypnotized by them?" I asked as we continued along the street.

"You would become their slave for eternity. Often times, that means they would force you to become a dancer, as well. And you couldn't say no, because, well, you're a slave." She shrugged.

I shuddered at the thought. "Well, thank you for pulling me away, then."

She beamed at me. "Anytime! I wouldn't let you become a slave. That's not what friends do!" She shook her head, her golden-red curls whipping around her face.

We passed a man holding flames in his hands. I stopped, wide-eyed and watched the golden flames dance around his fingers, shoot upward from his palms. He smiled when he saw that I was watching him. He approached me, walking with that same faerie grace, as though he were floating more than walking. He had a sort of unearthly beauty about him. He looked to be in his early twenties, but I knew was much older than that. He had crimson-colored hair, shot through with gold and he had golden eyes the color of caramel.

He bowed at the waist. "My lady," he murmured, his voice clear and soft. He held out his hand and the flames rearranged themselves into a rose. Though, because it was made out of fire, I could not touch it. But I stared at it in complete awe, all the same. I'd never seen anything like it. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on."

My cheeks flushed at the sudden compliment and I smiled. Not quite sure what to say, I thanked him and hurried on, accompanied by Mary, who was laughing to herself.

I glared at her. "What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "You were so red! It was actually quite adorable."

I felt my blush deepen and crossed my arms and turned away. "That is not true."

She only laughed softly and continued on. Amaryllis wore a pair of white trousers and a soft pink blouse and white leather boots. She looked beautiful in the clothes, standing next to me, who wore dark trousers and a dark tunic and black boots. The boots had been against my will. I hadn't really wanted to wear shoes, but Azula had insisted.

Sierre was very busy, it seemed. Mary explained that it was always like this, even early in the morning. I stopped abruptly as two barefooted fairy children ran through the streets right in front of me. They were much faster than children in the human world. I smiled as they ran around, chasing each other and laughing.

I glanced at Amaryllis and found her watching them, as well. She looked up and smiled at me. We continued along for a while, pausing occasionally to examine what was being sold. One fey woman sold beauty. Another man was selling secrets, he claimed. I paused in front of a cart where a faerie woman had several glass vials full of different colored liquids. Potions, she said. There was one for love, one for knowledge, another to give a person compassion . . . she had so many. I wondered how long it had taken her to make them all.

Another vendor we passed said he was selling magic, though I did not quite understand what he meant by that. Amaryllis stopped occasionally to look at something and then would pull me along after her. We passed by a book shop and I stopped walking. Amaryllis paused, turning to look at me.

"Do you mind if I go in there for a moment?" I asked her.

She smiled and nodded. "I'll come with you." She said and walked into the shop.

I followed after her. The quaint-looking book shop from the outside, turned out to be enormous on the inside. Rows and rows of bookshelves lined the walls, as far back as I could see. There were little signs in another language that marked the shelves and I stared at them in awe, completely mesmerized.

Amaryllis laughed softly, breaking me from my momentary trance.

"Did you come in here to stare at the books, or are you actually going to go look for one?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

My cheeks flushed and I cast her a withering look before walking toward the books. A faerie woman appeared seemingly from out of nowhere. She had long green hair and violet eyes. She was strangely beautiful, as all faeries were, it seemed.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Her voice was lower than I expected it to be.

"I was just looking for a book to read." I answered, looking around.

She smiled, showing her pearl-white, dagger-sharp teeth. I tried not to stare or seem too terrified, knowing she could probably rip my arm off with one bite. "Come, I'll lead you to the human stories." She said and turned, gesturing for me to follow.

She led me down long rows of shelves and to a particularly large section. She smiled again and I tried not to look so horrified at her terrifying teeth. "These are all of them." She said and began walking away.

As soon as I could no longer see her, I leaned in and whispered to Amaryllis. "Did you see her teeth?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling. "Rest assured, she's pretty harmless."

"Harmless? Did you see her teeth?" I repeated in a hiss.

She nudged me with her elbow. "Just go find a book."

I sighed, shaking my head and began perusing the shelves for a book. I knew I could probably find all of these books in the library at the palace, but there was something about owning the book that I liked. It took a little bit of time, but then, I found a book I wanted.

Smiling a little, I pulled it off the shelf and held it tightly. And then I realized something.

I had absolutely no money. I didn't even know if faeries used money or if they sold souls or favors. Did they use pebbles for money? Or secrets? I'd read so many stories about them that I wasn't sure.

Amaryllis pulled three gold coins out of a pouch and handed them to me. "For the book." She said before I could ask the question.

I flushed slightly, embarrassed that I thought they used pebbles for money, and shook my head. "I couldn't possibly—"

She smiled at me. "Do not worry about it. I'm a queen. I have more money than I know what to do with. Consider it a gift."

I took the gold coins and looked down at them. There was nothing all that remarkable about them. Just simple gold coins. They all had words written on them in a different language. Somehow I'd expected something more extravagant, though I wasn't quite sure what. "Thank you." I said and walked toward the front of the shop.

The beautiful faerie with the pointed teeth stood before a desk. She smiled at me as I approached and I suppressed a shudder. "Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked. She seemed very kind, but I just could not get past her teeth.

I nodded and set the book on the desk and then set down the gold coins.

She stared at them and looked up at me. "Three? The book isn't even worth one gold coin." She said, sounding almost insulted that I was going to pay so much for the book.

I looked for Amaryllis, but I did not see her anywhere. She was the one that gave them to me. I thought that was how much the book was worth. "Er . . . well, you can keep the coins anyway. I really want this book, so I'm willing to pay three gold coins for it." It would feel wrong to take the coins back after I'd offered them to her.

She shook her head. "I cannot, in good conscience, accept this much. You needn't even pay me for the book. It's hardly worth anything, anyway."

"I'm not just going to take it." I answered. "Just accept the money. It's worth this much to me."

Uncertainty flickered in the depths of her violet eyes. She exhaled slowly and picked up the three gold coins. "Alright, thank you very much. Please, feel free to take another book, or even a few more."

"Thank you." I said, picking my book up from the table, and turned to go find Amaryllis.

I walked back toward the section where I'd found my book. But I paused when I was passing a certain bookcase. Unlike the other cases, this one was completely black, and the books were all dark-colored, as well. It seemed as though darkness itself reached out, pulling me toward it.

Intrigued, I walked toward the bookcase. I had almost reached it when I felt a hand on my arm. I jumped, startled, and turned to find Amaryllis standing there, her expression grave.

"It is a bad idea to go over there." She said, sounding serious, which was completely out of character for her, it seemed. However, this was not the first time she'd had to warn me about these sort of things today.

I glanced back at the books. "Why?" I asked curiously, trying to suppress a small amount of embarrassment. This was the second time that day that she'd had to warn me away from something dangerous.

"Those are Dark Books. They are forbidden in the Faerie realm. She's not even allowed to have them." Mary said. "They hold dark, powerful magic that is not supposed to be used, under any circumstances."

"Really? Like what?" This only made me want to see them more.

She shrugged. "I've never looked in one. But, I supposed, necromantic-type magic is probably found in there—manipulating death. But that's as much as I know on the subject."

I nodded, feeling suddenly uneasy. "We should probably go."

"That sounds like a good idea." She said and led me to the front of the shop.

The faerie standing by the desk was still examining the gold coins. She smiled at us and waved. "Have a nice day!" She said as Mary pulled me out of the shop. Once back on the clean, cobbled streets of Sierre, I heard her breathe out sharply, as though she'd been holding her breath.

We began walking back down the street toward the palace. We stopped by several more carts selling odd but really interesting things. One faerie was claiming that she sold souls. Another was selling enchanted household items—I paused to watch as a handkerchief picked itself up off of the table and began dancing. We passed a third faerie that sold mirrors that "would show you your best self," he said. I shook my head as he tried to offer me one and continued down the road back to the palace.

By the time we made it back, the sun was dipping below the horizon, turning the sky brilliant shades of orange and red. Everyone was already waiting at the table for us when we arrived. Amaryllis and I both took our seats and we began to eat. It was starting to feel like a routine. This was how it was supposed to be.

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