Authors: Gloria Harchar
"
Do you realize that you used enough elixir to rejuvenate forty pixies on missions?
"
"
I hadn
'
t planned on using so much, but Lady Charlotte is a
human
, after all, and I didn
'
t know how much it would take.
Human
s are quite large compared to us, and she did have extra fat on her hips—which I admit was quite impressive,
"
he added, rubbing the flat stomach that never seemed to grow, despite his overindulgence
.
"
I promise to help replenish the elixir once the mission is over.
"
"
You
'
ll do more than that.
"
"
I will?
"
"
After your mission, you
'
ll not only work in the fields of Westerly Winds, but you
'
ll begin now to help restore our supply. After all, you usually take more than your share.
"
Dread dried
Glissando
'
s throat.
"
What do I have to do?"
"
You will go for one week without your portion.
"
A sense of panic welled up in
Glissando
as he thought of the
Mrasek, and what they would do to him once they discovered he lied about the mission
.
"
But-but I
'
ll
lose
a lot of my power!
"
Maestro merely lifted his head in regal diffidence.
"
Not only that, I
'
ll
lose my beautiful slip-note tones
!
"
"
You should have thought of that before you so carelessly wasted elixir.
"
"
It wasn
'
t a waste,
"
Glissando
muttered.
Leaned forward, his brows like thunderous clouds.
"
What did you
say?"
"
Nothing,
You
r Most Revered Immenseness,
"
Glissando
said with a scraping bow. He didn
'
t wish to irritate Maestro further, but couldn
'
t resist a little dig about the king
'
s own gluttony. Everyone knew Maestro required more than the normal pixie
'
s share of elixir to maintain his powerful position.
The slur went unnoticed, for Maestro visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh with a tolerant smile.
"
That
'
s better. Now, I do not want to hear any more about broken laws or poor behavior from you.
"
"
Yes
,
You
r Beloved Pompousness,
"
Glissando
replied, making his voice drop to a whisper at the last. Despondently, he watched Maestro arise from his throne and shoot off in a ripple of his coattails for the distant capital of Symphony.
He only hoped that a change in weather would be just what they needed to create a blissful union between
Nicola
and
Malcolm
.
Because any disasters might doom them all.
The whirring of the looms was soothing until
Malcolm
realized the implications. What were stockingers doing there? He hadn
'
t hired them.
He stood in the darkened doorway of the workroom for a moment, watching men and
women, their heads bent as they manipulated the different colored strands through the machine to create beautiful patterns. One of the men glanced up and abruptly stood, bowing and pulling on his sandy forelock. He had the biggest ears
Malcolm
had ever seen.
"
What are you doing?
"
"
Begging your pardon, m
'
lord, but we
'
re only doing as Lady
Nicola
asked. That is, we
'
re making cloth with the new
dye
. She wanted us to use the orange blossom pattern.
"
"
Why is that?
"
"
Because nobody else has the pattern,
"
the stockinger said with a smile. One tooth stuck out farther than the others.
"
Gor, m
'
lord, we were hoping you
'
d honor us with a visit soon. We are all great admirers of yours, m
'
lord. For you to allow us to make our cloth in the manner we were meant without the hosiers standing over our shoulders is an immense relief. And such a fine wage we
'
ve never seen. Lady
Nicola
told us to not let the cat out of the bag because you can
'
t support all the stockingers in England. At least not
yet
,
"
the man added with a wink.
"
Hey, look everyone, here
'
s the Earl come to honor us with a visit!
"
Several women scrambled to their feet, curtsying and scraping.
Malcolm
looked into the face of the man who started the disturbance. His
eyes
were wide and there was a strange smile upon his lips, as if he were in awe.
Malcolm
shook his head, disbelieving. Surely it was fear he saw in those hazel
eyes
.
"
M
'
lord?
"
The man stooped and grabbed something from underneath a loom.
"
Please accept our little token of appreciation.
"
The stockinger handed him cloth in the most intricate design he
'
d ever seen: Gold and green silk with little winged creatures embossed in the fabric, creatures that looked suspiciously like
pixie
s.
Malcolm
stared down at the gift, wondering what was going on.
"
For what?
"
"
We heard about your fight for justice for us. We want to show you our appreciation.
"
Malcolm
touched the cloth, amazed at the complexity of the pattern and the silky feel.
"
What exactly did I do?
"
The stockinger looked startled. Then a wide smile spread over his swarthy face, showing the gaps between his teeth.
"
Ahhh, I
'
ve got the lay of the land. You don
'
t want to let on. It will be our secret then. We
'
ll just call the gift a wedding present.
"
"
What is your name?
"
"
Toby Miles, m
'
lord.
"
Malcolm
drew Toby aside and stared at him hard.
"
Toby, tell me what exactly is going on here.
I
want to know why everyone is suddenly singing my accolades.
"
A woman rushed forward and knelt.
"
Oh, m
'
lord, you are so humble it makes me teary, it truly does. Why, every time I think of how you faced down that horde of militiamen to save your wife
'
s poor cousin, my blood runs cold.
"
Bewilderment crashed over
Malcolm
.
"
You must be mistaking me for someone else.
"
"
And to send little Tommy to the apothecary for his ailments is too generous by half.
"
"
I did?"
Toby must have felt sorry for him, because the man patted him on the shoulder.
"
It
'
s all right, m
'
lord. We won
'
t say another word about it. Will we, folks?
"
He looked at the other stockingers.
"
We know you want to keep up your fierce appearance.
"
The stockingers voiced their agreement.
"
From whom did you hear this about me, anyway?
"
"
I believe I heard from Robert over there.
"
Toby motioned toward a young man with a profusion of freckles. Robert turned bright red.
"
And I told Robert, I must confess,
"
said a woman with frizzy hair. She grinned abashedly.