Valentine

Felicity had done what she could to fix up my hair, evening it out, so it didn't look so patchy. Which left me looking like an adolescent boy, instead of someone who'd just been attacked by a crazy elf bitch with a pair of shears.

I shrugged out of my flight suit and glowered at myself in the mirror. I looked absurd. From the neck down, I was fine. I might be missing the top half of the hourglass, but half an hourglass is better than nothing. It's when I took it in as a whole, with my hair hacked down to stubble, that I looked like a joke.

I pulled the flight suit back over my shoulders and pulled the zipper up to my neck.

Felicity had done her best, but it wasn't as if she'd had much to work with. Stepping out of her small bathroom, I found her sitting on the table just outside, nervously swinging her legs over the edge, her shoulders hunched.

She looked up as I returned, and gave me a sympathetic look, "How are you doing Val?"

"Well, Temerity cut all my fucking hair off, and I look like a little boy," I growled, "I don't think Wallace is going to want to fuck me now.

Amity stomped up the stairs to Felicity's apartment, evidently more than happy to share what she thought of things, "This is his fault. He's so like the prince, eager to bed any woman with a pulse, not giving a damn how it affects those around."

"Just stop," I snapped, "You hardly know Wallace, and I'm the only one who gets to decide whether or not I'm mad at him. It's not his fault Temerity's a power-hungry bitch."

I ran my hands over the stubble and sat down with a sigh.

It was Wally's fault. Temerity might not have felt the need for the power-play if he hadn't bedded her right before running off with me. But I couldn't muster up the anger Amity seemed to be expecting from me. All I wanted to do at this moment was curl up in his lap and go to sleep. Not to mention I'd taken a perverse pleasure in stealing him away. It left me feeling somehow complicit in the whole affair.

Gods, I couldn't imagine how Wally would feel once he found out. Though I'd seen his update about the village, I hadn't been able to muster up the courage to tell him what happened. Whatever I did, he was going to be harder on himself than I ever could. The only question would be who he was angrier with, himself, or Temerity.

And then there was her offer. True to my word, I hadn't broken the seal, but I feared the consequences of Wally's inevitable refusal. Doubtless, the parchment contained a very tempting carrot, but she'd also made very clear her willingness to use the stick.

Would Wallace go to see her? Would she even allow such a meeting? She had to know that Wallace was more than a match for her. However skilled she was with a sword, Wally would still break her into little pieces if given a chance. And that was before one even considered his growing proficiency with magic.

No, she wouldn't be so foolish. She might not be familiar with his temper, but one only had to look at him to see the threat he posed. No, if they met at all, it would be behind a wall of guards. And that told me all I needed to know, now didn't it?

She'd never dare try anything of the sort with Wallace. If he'd shown up in my place, she wouldn't have threatened him or attempted to humiliate him. She'd flatter, bribe, cajole, likely try to get him back into bed. But Wallace hadn't come. Instead, he'd trusted me to handle matters in the city, and Temerity had found me easy to toy with.

How many times had I hurt myself, trying to help Wallace?

And in every case, hadn't it been the sort of thing he could have handled on his own if I hadn't insisted upon inserting myself? And then there I'd be, limp and useless, relying on him to take care of me until I healed. I might not have wounds that needed healing this time, but I knew the process would repeat itself when I got back to him.

"Felicity," I sighed, "Have you got anything that'll fix my hair?"

She grimaced, "I've a cream that'll double how fast it grows."

"How long would that take to regrow everything?"

"Well hair grows typically at half an inch per month, so-

"Arrrg," I growled, "You're telling me it will take years?"

She shrugged nervously, "Sorry, Val, it's the best I can do."

"Fine, pack some. It's better than nothing," I told her, "I'm going to see Phoebe. Is there anything else you need before we leave?"

She shook her head, "I'll be fine."

"Good, come on Amity. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

The little bell over the door rang when Amity pushed open the door to the candlemaker's shop. The sound summoned Phoebe from deeper within the store, and she emerged a moment later.

"Val," Phoebe yelped, her eyes falling on me, "That's, ah, a different look you're trying."

"Temerity cut all my fucking hair off," I said flatly.

"W-what?"

I walked around the counter, and took her by the arms, "Temerity," I repeated, "cut off all my hair. She's also got a small army camped out around her manor."

"I know, I-"

"So I'm in rather a hurry to leave the city right now. I was supposed to be picking up sellswords, spellcasters, and supplies. But now I have no idea who might be on the bitch's payroll. So I've got to settle for Felicity and as much food as we can bring back with us. Now, if you'd like, you can come with me."

"Val, this is-"

"Hush! I don't care if it's sudden. If you want to stay, fine, good luck. But if you want to come with us, I promise you all the mana you'd ever want and a place to live that makes Temerity's manor look like a flophouse."

"Val, my shop-"

"Or you can stay here and spend the rest of your life trying to flog candles, of all things."

"Valentine, it's nearly sundown," Phoebe exclaimed, "You want to leave the city now? It'll already be dark in the valley, Just how far do you expect us to get?"

"That's a human-made vehicle out front," I told her, nodding towards the quickly darkening windows, "We'll be home in a couple of hours."

Phoebe shook me off and stepped back, "This is my home. Did you also get hit on the head when Temerity was busy making a fool of you?"

"Excuse me?" I seethed.

"You barge in here without a minute's notice, walk all over me, and expect me to walk away from my entire life to go play surveyor? I had my fun, Val. And for my trouble, I got mauled by a mountain lion. I think I'm done," she all but laughed.

"I was here just a few weeks ago-" I began to insist.

"And I said your offer sounded interesting," she retorted, "That doesn't mean you can just come in here and upend my whole life at your convenience. I'm not some highborn lady who can waste her time and money with expensive hobbies. I need to make a living."

"When you quit the team, you told all of us how you were going to take your share of the loot and get yourself set up with a proper workshop. Work on your magic, maybe even help out the team from time to time."

"Yeah, I did. We all dreamed about what was next, but there is no us any more. Life happened, people moved on. There's no team to help. You're the only one still chasing this dream."

"Yes, and now we have a fortress."

"Who's we? You and your friend?" she asked, nodding at Amity.

"And Wallace."

"Who's he? Your most recent flame?" she asked sarcastically, "You don't usually let men on the team otherwise."

"Oh, fuck off. Wallace is human, and he's more than a match for Simon. He's made advances in magic over the past few weeks that would take others years. But if you're going to tell me that three isn't enough, then you understand why I'm here in the first place. It's a palace, Phoebe, and we've got more mana than we know what to do with. All we need are people to hold it. I know you didn't have candlemaking in mind when you retired. You wanted your own workshop? Done. Sell what you can, bring what you can't, and leave the rest behind. Whatever you leave behind, it won't be worth more than what you stand to gain."

"You know, you can be a right bitch sometimes."

I nodded at a large crate in the corner, "You can bring as much as can fit in that crate. I'll be by at sundown, you've got till then to make up your mind."

The truck creaked as they hooked the cart to the back of the truck, and a moment later, Amity joined me in the cab.

"Decided to take a page out of Temerity's book?" she asked flatly.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Browbeating people into doing what you want, while dangling the promise of a reward from your other hand. After we met with Temerity, I thought you'd be ready to kill Wallace. Instead, it seems like you're angry with everyone but him."

I shook my head and returned my eyes to the road. I put the truck in gear, and slowly let out the clutch.

"I don't have time to baby them."

"Are you expecting Temerity to keep us from leaving?" Amity demanded, "She needs you to deliver that letter to Wallace, even if she wanted to change her mind, she can't be seen to break her word. I don't see why you're in such a rush. It seems that you want an excuse to beat up on people so you won't feel so bad about what Temerity did. I understand how you're feeling better than most. Maybe you can show people the same restraint that you seem willing to extend to Wallace."

My knuckles turned white on the wheel, and I guided the truck through a few corners before ordering my thoughts to reply, "Temerity doesn't know it yet, but Wallace isn't going to accept her offer. She might suspect that he'll refuse, but she doesn't know. The longer I stay in the city, not delivering her letter, and gathering people to Wally's side, the more likely she is to realize. After all, she'll conclude that I must know what his plans are. Why bother looking for allies if he's going to take Temerity's offer? Surely she'd supply all he needs. Yes, the hotel is hard to reach, but if Temerity wants to, she'll be able to reach us. She couldn't send everyone, but it would only take a few dozen to overwhelm us. Not to mention," I added, "That somewhere out there, are still a bunch of fey who are trying to get me back under their thumb! We need to make it look as much like I'm the obedient little messenger girl as possible," I gestured behind me, "I'd even be leaving the food behind if I thought we could do without."

"So we are to get by with a tattooist who dabbles in hairdressing, and a candlemaker?" Amity demanded. "Valentine, I fear you're too hasty. If we cannot get by with three, we cannot do it with five."

"Wallace is bringing the village under his sway, with the human he met, that makes six, plus however many peasants there are. And I'm not done. Parabuteo and Pelignos may be out of the question, but I still have friends in Caniforma. If we can't find sellswords here, then we'll find them there. We don't need to beat Temerity in a fair fight. All we need do is make ourselves too troublesome to bother with."

"And that excuses how cruel you were to your friend back there?" Amity asked softly.

I sighed and slumped a little in my seat.

Had I been cruel? Perhaps. But the truth was I couldn't find the energy to care, I was just too angry, and wanted all of this behind me. I was angry with Temerity, true, but most of all, I was mad at myself. Trying to keep it all bottled up only made it feel as if I were about to burst.

Phoebe had called it a fantasy, and she'd been right until Wallace made it real. I needed Wallace. If not for him, I'd have been taken by those elven sellswords that first night on the road. And the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't help but shake the feeling he didn't need me. How different would things be for me if Wallace hadn't overheard Temerity talking to her wizard? Or if Temerity had ignored the advice, and had him taught anyway? I wasn't his first choice, that much was clear. He'd have been happy taking Temerity to bed and learning magic at her manor. I'd only been the first person to come along that agreed to teach him. Would any of these past few weeks have happened, if he'd bumped into someone else?

I almost missed Phoebe's shop, and it took Amity jostling my elbow to bring me back to the present. I stomped the brake, bringing the truck to a too-hasty halt and causing something to shift noisily in the cart. Glancing back, nothing seemed damaged, and I waited while Amity helped Phoebe load her belongings into the bed of the truck.

The two of them joined me once again in the cab, Amity sitting in the middle, and I let the truck roll forward.

Wallace had left Temerity because he'd received a better offer. What if that was exactly what I was carrying back to him now?