Miss Lydia
Thirty minutes later Nix found herself standing in front of the door to Lydia’s office. Her still wet hair was leaving wet splotches on her clean white shirt, making her lavender skin peek slightly through the now wet fabric as she absent-mindedly braided her hair to the side. Her partially wet clothing made a sloppy impression and she knew miss Lydia would probably scold her for it, but being on time while somewhat disheveled was still miles better than being late.
She stood by the door for a few seconds, trying to check if she could hear what was being said inside, but it was no use. Pacing herself, she knocked three times before hearing Lydia’s voice come from inside.
‘Enter.’
Nix exhaled slowly before pushing the door open. She immediately saw Lydia sitting behind her large, ornate desk, half of her face obscured by large piles of paper. She had a feather and quill in hand and was just finishing up signing a document before she looked up at Nix and smiled.
‘Nixara!’ Nix had grown accustomed to the way the woman pronounced her name, her voice drawing out the first ‘a’ with her sweet Southern drawl. The woman looked directly at her and in spite of everything, Nix found herself smiling faintly.
‘Miss Lydia. You wanted to see me?’’
‘I did. Please, take a seat,’ Lydia said, motioning to one of the futons splayed about the room. Nix opened the door further and walked in.
That was when she saw her.
There, splayed out on a small futon just across from her, lay an elven woman with olive skin. Soft freckles dotted her entire skin and glowing white lines curled beautifully around her arms and feet and Nix couldn’t help but briefly wonder just where all those patterns would lead. Slender legs were clad in an olive green velvet skirt below a simple white blouse that had been half buttoned down. She had bright, piercing green eyes that seemed to look straight through her set in a wildly freckled face, surrounded by an enormous waterfall of fiery red and orange curls. The smile on her lips was soft, but there was a directness to her gaze that caught Nix off guard. Ever since she’d arrived to the Bellevue, Nix had noticed that most people tended to look away whenever she’d glance at them for too long: probably unsettled by the blackness of her eyes, of perhaps some could sense the deeper darkness underneath them.
Clearly, this woman was different.
‘Nixara, this is Aelenthi D’Alarith.’
The red haired woman smiled and extended a slender hand, though she did not stand up. ‘Please, call me Len.’
‘I’m Nixara, but feel free to call me Nix,’ Nix heard herself say as she briefly grabbed the outstretched hand and squeezed it gently before turning her attention back to Lydia.
Lydia put the quill away and stood up from behind her desk, impatiently motioning for NIx to finally sit down.
‘Now, darling, as you know… You’ve now been here for well over six months. The doctors tell me that your injuries have healed. You’re going to need some of Jason’s ointments if you want that knee to fully recover, but… if you want, you’re absolutely free to go.’ She paused and adjusted a gray lock of hair that had slipped out of the loose bun she was wearing. ‘However…’ a sly smile appeared on her face. ‘I would like to make you an offer before you do.’
Nix could feel her heart sink. Nothing in this world came for free. She should have known the woman would request some sort of payback for bringing her back from the edge of death.
‘Don’t worry, you’re more than welcome to turn me down,’ Lydia said, as if she was fully aware of the Tieflings inner turmoil. ‘Though I will say that I do think us working together can be…’ she smirked, ‘beneficial… for all of us.’ She exchanged a quick glance with Aelenthi who nodded ever so slightly. Slowly, Lydia started pacing through the room. ‘Now, as you know, I run this establishment mostly by myself. We serve clients from all over Yriëth and we’re famous for our excellent customer service.’
Nix couldn’t stop herself from snickering. She’d been here long enough to know that wasn’t the only thing the Bellevue was famous for. A low chuckle escaped Len’s lips and Nix found her attention immediately drawn to the woman who, she now noticed, was calmly staring at her. It was as if she was trying to size her up, as if she was trying to determine what kind of person she was just by looking at her. Worse, it was as if she was actually succeeding at that assessment. There was a softness to the gaze, but at the same time it was also as if Aelenthi was seeing her. All of her. It felt strangely vulnerable.
She tried to keep eye contact for a few moments, willing herself to not look away, but those green eyes never wavered and she found herself giving up and turning her attention back to Lydia.
‘Of course, that is not all we do here.’
‘I’ve noticed,’ Nix said dryly. ‘Those walls are paper thin.’
‘I told you to get that fixed, Ly...’ Len chuckled and for a second both women turned to look at her. Lydia merely shook her head in feigned annoyance as Nix forced herself to turn her attention back to Lydia.
‘As I was saying… Nix, I think you could have a great future here. You’re a fighter, that much has been clear to me from the start. We could use someone like you. You’re welcome to stay and work for me, work with me, if you’d like. There’s room, a bed and an education for you here if you’ll have it. I know you’ve been tending bar these past few weeks to help out and it’s safe to say that most of our clientele is absolutely smitten with you. Heck, that night you decided to sing a few numbers with Zachary…’ Nix grimaced when Lydia used the man’s full name, knowing just how much he hated that. ‘...we made more money in that one night than we’d had in that entire week.’
Lydia stopped pacing in front of Nix and sat down on the edge of the table in front of her. ‘You’re more than welcome to stay. You can work bar, if you want, but I have a feeling your particular talents would be better suited… elsewhere. There’s a lot of good you could do here, Nixara.’ She paused, and bit her lip, as if she was debating what more to say. Eventually, she seemed to settle on: ‘You have a gift. And that gift will be wasted anywhere else. There’s a home here for you if you want it.’
Nix felt her heart sink. A place to belong felt nice, but…
‘Lydia, I…That sounds lovely,’ she said, before sighing softly.
‘But?’ the older woman said, sensing the hesitation in her voice.
‘But… ‘ Nix paused and stared at Len, wishing she wouldn’t have to have this conversation with a stranger present. Len, however, made no move to leave. Why was she even here? ‘But… There’s… I just…’ She sighed and shook her head, trying again. ‘I’m looking for someone. And I can’t rest until I’ve found them.’
‘Ah, you mean Alec?’
Nix felt her breath catch in her throat. ‘How did you-?’
‘You were talking in your sleep when you arrived. You were in and out of consciousness but that name kept tumbling off your lips.’ A short pause. ‘Who is he? Boyfriend?’
For a second, Nix was too stunned to reply. She’d kept her brother’s identity close to her heart for the past six months and neither Lydia nor Noah had ever asked her about why she’d wanted to go back to that awful place. She’d assumed her secret had been safe. Turns out she’d been wrong.
‘Brother. Twin brother, actually.’ There was no point trying to hide it. Not anymore. ‘I.. lost sight of him after…’ She paused, trying again. ‘He was with me before I…’
It was no use. She couldn’t. It was still too raw, too fresh. The words caught in her throat and for a second she was worried she’d choke on them.
Lydia placed a calloused hand on her shoulder. The physical contact made her flinch, yet at the same time it also reminded her to breathe. ‘It’s okay, Nix. You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not ready to share yet.’ She squeezed her shoulder briefly.’Do you have any idea where he is?’
Nix shook her head. ‘No.’
She looked around to see that Len had switched positions on the futon and was now leaning forward with her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her bent knees as she looked at the two of them with a pensive look on her face.
Lydia’s voice brought Nix’ attention back. ‘Do you have any idea where to start looking?’
Nix buried her head in her hands. ‘No.’ She bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She’d been wracking her brain, trying to go over the memories frame by frame to piece together any detail she might have lost but it was as if the smoke that had sought her out that day was darkening the images, making them near impossible to read. She still remembered the broad strokes of what had happened (and often, late at night, she wished she didn’t), but the details were lost in a dark fog. The same dark fog that had come over her when…
‘Don’t despair, darling. There’s always a way. I’m pretty good at finding lost things.’
Nix’ eyes shot open as she stared at the older woman in front of her. Lydia grinned. ‘There’s so much about this place you don’t know, my dear.’
Nix frowned, not understanding.
She’s right, you know.
Nix turned to look at Aelenthi, surprised.
There’s more to this place than meets the eye, Nixara. Why don’t you stay and find out?
Nix’ eyes opened even wider in shock. Len was looking straight at her, but her lips hadn’t moved. Her lips hadn’t moved and yet… she’d heard her voice. In her mind.
“How did you…’
Lydia glanced at Nix and Len, trying to piece together what had just happened. Apparently she decided figuring that out would take too long and she instantly demanded Nix’ attention again. ‘If you stay, I promise you I’ll help you look for your brother.’
Suddenly, she felt a rumbling feeling deep inside of her, like a bass played at the absolute loudest volume, shaking her from the inside out. This one definitely did not come from Len.
She hadn’t heard this voice since that night six months ago. She’d called for it countless times, unsure why someone (something?) that once helped her out of the blue would disappear just as quickly as it had come to rescue her. The truth was that she’d felt lonely and lost without it. Without that voice, without that…being… she would have died in that forest. It had felt foreign and overwhelming and it had nearly killed her. But it had also felt powerful at a time when she felt more powerless than ever before.
STAY, NIXARA. FOR NOW.
Every muscle in her body tensed and her vision started to blur as she could feel darkness creeping into her vision. She waited to see if the voice would say more, but the heavy sensation faded as quickly as it had come up.
Wait! Please! Don’t go! Who are you? Why did you help me?
She screamed her questions without moving a muscle, desperately looking for a sliver of that darkness to interrogate, but she couldn’t feel it any more. It was as if it had retreated deep inside of her to a place she couldn’t quite reach.
She opened her eyes again and found that both Aelenthi and Lydia were looking at her with worried looks on their faces.
‘Are you alright, darling?’ Lydia asked. ‘You just… went rigid all of a sudden.’
‘Y-yes, I’m fine,’ Nix managed to croak. She straightened her back and looked the two of them in the eyes. For a split second, she thought she saw Lydia move back just the slightest bit when she looked at her but the woman quickly recomposed herself. ‘Thank you for the offer, Lydia. I’d love to take you up on it. I’d be happy to stay, if you’ll have me.’
Lydia smiled, pulling Nix up in a warm embrace. ‘Of course, darling.’ Nix could feel her already tense muscles stiffen up even more before she allowed herself to relax into the embrace the tiniest bit, smelling hints of perfume in Lydia’s hair as she leaned forward to hug her. After a few seconds, Lydia let go of Nix again and sat down opposite of her, next to Len. ‘You’re free to keep working in the tavern, if you’d like. But if you want to help me find your brother… Well, actually that’s why Len is here.’
Nix glanced to the side to find Len’s eyes still locked on hers. ‘I’d be more than happy to teach you the ropes, Nixara. No pun intended.’ Her bright eyes lit up as pink lips curled in a soft smile.
‘How will Len teaching me help me find Alec?’
Lydia grinned. ‘Information, darling. In this business, information is everything. And while drink loosens the tongue, good company and a warm bed is still the easiest way to get a man to spill his secrets. You’d be surprised at the things they’re willing to admit after a good night’s… sleep.’ She chuckled softly. ‘Mull it over, will you? I think you’d be a great asset to our team.’
Len smiled and again Nix heard her voice in her mind.
I’m sure you would be.
Nix licked her lips and shook her head softly in disbelief. She stood up, ironing a non-existent fold out of her velvet skirt with her hands as she looked at the two women in front of her.
‘I’ll get back to you, Lydia.’ Lydia nodded contentedly. ‘Lovely meeting you, Len,’ Nix couldn’t keep the smirk off of her lips.
‘Pleasure’s all mine, velca.’
Nix cursed her lack of Elvish knowledge as she nodded politely at both of them and closed the door to Lydia’s office behind her before heading to her room, desperate for some time to stop her mind from spinning.