1
Vivienne was standing along the bookshelf built into a wall, putting up a new order of hardback books; a romance novel that was just put out a few days ago, in her charming, well furnished bookshop. The late afternoon light coming in from the front window was soaking into her dark brown hair, bringing out the undertones of red and orange. Her bookshop was on the smaller size, but had multiple rows of tall shelves, a little nook in the back, perfect for reading; with a comfy dark green velvet couch and a little coffee table. The promise of autumn was whispering on the cool breeze outside, it was her favorite time of year, the smells, the change in colors, seasonal foods and cozy clothes. The fae always celebrated the change of the seasons, it was likely some primal link to the ways of old. Festivals and Balls were something that the fae never skipped on.
She was wearing her casual clothes today. A soft, loose heather gray shirt and dark blue pants, her long hair was clipped back behind her head, to keep it out of her face, and her long pointed ears peeked out from between the silky strands.
Vivienne had opened up the bookshop, A New Chapter, after she left her family residence in Orsart. She thought the name was fitting, seeing as she was also trying to turn over a new leaf in her own life. This was her own little slice of normalcy, an escape of sorts. It felt like a reprieve from her old life.
As Vivienne was making room on the shelf for the new shipment of books to fit on it, the bell hanging over the front door chimed. Setting the stack of books in her hands down on the floor she turned around to see who had come in. As she turned toward the door, she was met with her friend’s familiar face. Nadjia Reynard, the female’s beautiful face was freckled, her lightly tanned skin almost glowing in the afternoon light. Nadjia’s features were sharp, making her full lips look almost improper on her slender face. Her thick, wavy ginger hair was more or less tousled in appearance as she strode into the shop giving Vivienne a vulpine grin.
“You’re still working? I thought you were closing the shop in the afternoons now?” Nadjia pulled out her phone to look at the time. The invention of the device was thanks to some humans a few decades ago, but the device became a big hit and now practically all of Eliria has one. Needless to say, those humans became very rich.
Vivienne sighed heavily at Nadjia, but returned her smile. “I’m still going to close, I just wanted to put this new shipment of books away and I figured, since I’m in here anyway, I might as well keep the sign flipped to open in case someone came in here to actually buy something.” Her voice was jesting as she poked fun at Nadjia. She picked the stack of hardbacks back up off the floor and resumed her work. “You have any plans tonight, Nadj?” Vivienne had known Nadjia for about eighteen years. They met at the Summer Solstice festival in town, a few years after Vivienne had moved to Kilgarde.
The two females had unknowingly gone to meet the same fae male at the Summer Solstice party in town, and when they realized that he had been talking to both of them, they decided to confront the male that was stringing the two of them along. Vivienne had tossed her wine into his face ruining his shirt, but Nadjia on the other hand, had slapped him and called him a ‘disgusting pig and a waste of an immortal life’. They became good friends after that night, and had been like sisters ever since.
Nadjia is an only child and loves Vivienne like she was her own family. She was a few years older than Vivienne, around eighty, which was still considered young by the fae standards. Nadjia’s feisty and cunning attitude was something Vivienne adored about her friend. She could always count on Nadjia to have her back and dish out verbal lashings if needed.
“Nope, I figured I’d see if you wanted to go do something tonight. The Lunar Council is getting Kilgarde ready for the Autumn Festival in the next couple of days, and wanted to go out and do something before the streets get too crowded with fae and humans alike.” She typed on the screen of her phone as she leaned on the counter, not looking up to Vivienne as she spoke.
Vivienne nodded and hummed her agreement. Setting the last book into place on the wall, she turned toward the front of the shop and looked at Nadjia. “Well, we could go get something to eat, and watch the hunky males working on the docks.” Her voice was light and teasing, but her statement got Nadjia’s attention and she raised a brow to Vivienne, looking up from her screen towards her.
“Who are you?” Nadjia laughed. Vivienne had never really been a very forward female when it came to the topic of chasing after a partner. She had more of a, ‘cat and mouse’, mindset when it came to flirting. She did not do the pursuing, and would much rather be hard to catch. Unlike Nadjia, who would flirt and wink at any male; fae, human, and probably even daemon, if given the chance.
Vivienne smiled at her friend's lovely and confused face. “What? Am I not allowed to admire their muscles? The males that work on those ships have the most chiseled bodies. I figured you’d be down to go, but if not, I guess we can just hang out at my place and watch some TV with Jinx.” She gave her an impish grin. She spent most of her evenings at home like that, her little apartment was above a small coffee shop, The White Moon Cafe, and was about a five minute walk to her bookshop. There she lived alone, but had a demanding and adorable black cat, named Jinx.
Nadjia scoffed a laugh and held up her hands, as if pausing the thought of not going out. “I’m not complaining, and no offense to Jinx, but I’d much rather go gawk at some sweaty muscled males. We can go to that one deli restaurant, that's at the docks, they have those amazing sandwiches.” Nadjia put her phone into her back pocket, pushing off the counter and smiled at Vivienne. “I’ll go get ready and meet you up at Casparian’s. I’ll message you once I leave my place, since you're closer.” She made to turn for the front door and stopped, looking back at Vivienne Nadjia gave her a small wave before she swayed out of the door. “See you later Viv!”
Vivienne had locked up the bookstore shortly after Nadjia left and was headed down Main Street, her short heels making a small clicking sound on the cobblestone sidewalk as she went toward her apartment. Weaving her way through the bustle of fae and humans on their way to or from work, no doubt like she was. Kilgarde was a relatively larger sized town within Selene, about two hours from The Lunar Court, where the Divine Archon who ruled Eliria resided. It was also about an hour away in the other direction, from her family estate in Orsart.
As Vivienne was nearing her apartment above the cafe, she noticed a group of people that worked for the Lunar Council, putting decorations on some lamp posts; the orange and yellow floral garland and red flags were vivid in the afternoon sunlight. She always enjoyed the festivals and revelry of the seasonal changes, but the Autumn Festival had been her favorite every year. She smirked to herself as she watched the group of humans and demilune’s bickering with one another over where to hang what. She unlocked the outside front door to the passageway of stairs that lead to her apartment above the cafe.
As she hastefully made her way up the wooden steps, her keys made a small jingling sound with each step which echoed in the small wooden corridor. She could hear from the inside of her apartment behind the door, a muffled, persistent meowing. Jinx knew the sound of Vivienne coming home, and he was demanding as ever once she got inside. Vivienne shooed him away with her foot as she opened the door, and set her brown leather bag on the nearby table. The smell of coffee and pastries seeped into the room from the cafe below, but Vivienne liked that about this place, it was one of the reasons she decided to rent it. It always made the apartment smell inviting and warm, even if it made her hungry sometimes.
Jinx was weaving in and out from between her legs, trying to get Vivienne’s attention, as she stalked further into her apartment. It was small; one bed, one bath, with a decent kitchen, but it was cozy and it was hers. The living room that merged from the kitchen and entryway to the front of the building, had large windows that looked out from above the cafe. She enjoyed it though, it let in plenty of good light and allowed her some entertainment by people watching in the evenings. Vivienne walked down the small hallway in the back, going into her bedroom, Jinx was hot on her trail. She needed to change into something less plain if she didn't want to look totally inferior next to Nadjia.
Opening up her closet and lifting her gray shirt over her head, she looked into the small wardrobe, tiling her head as she rummaged through the clothes hanging up. “Hmm, What should I wear, Jinx?” She pulled out a long sleeved, burnt sienna knitted sweater and a pair of tight black pants. Turning around to face the cat that was now perched on the edge of the bed and leaning toward her, his little paws making indents in the plush white bed sheets. She raised a brow at Jinx and smiled. She had taken in the black cat from the streets ten years after moving to Kilgarde, and he has been inseparable from her since.
Jinx just meowed and looked at her with his wide emerald eyes, glinting in the light pouring in from the bedroom window. He wanted his dinner and would continue begging until she fed him. She snorted and tossed the clothes onto the bed behind him. Picking him up and cradling him as if he were a babe, she strode into the kitchen. “I know what you want, all you ever want, you little beast.” Vivienne’s voice was soft and humorous as she set him down gently onto the floor next to the kitchen island giving Jinx’s head a little pat. She retrieved his food from the closed pantry door, poured some into his small golden food bowl and went back to the bedroom as Jinx pushed his face into the bowl like he had been starving.
She scowled but smiled to herself, she loved that damn cat, like he was her child. As she returned to her room, Vivienne picked up the weighty sweater from the bed and tugged it over her dark brunette hair. Fluffing her hair out from the collar of the sweater, her phone buzzed in the back pocket of her pants. Vivienne pulled the device out and glanced at the screen, a message was displayed in the middle.
Nadj 4:03pm: Leaving my place now, meet you outside Casparian’s.
Vivienne tugged off her jeans, kicking them to the floor next to the bed and pulled on the tight black pants she had picked out. It would take her maybe five minutes to get to Casparian’s, the sandwich shop by the boat docks. She situated her hair, letting the thick brown strands lose from the clip holding the mass of hair back. The dark brown color of her hair was a contrasting appearance against her pale face, but it looked good on her, making her skin and blue-green eyes stand out. She looked at herself in the mirror that leaned on the dresser next to the bed, and gave a small nod, thinking to herself that she looked rather pretty. She picked up her phone from the dresser and typed a message back to Nadjia.
Vivi 4:15pm: Heading out now, see you there Nadj. I hope you’re not too overdressed, I didn’t go all out tonight.
She went back into the kitchen and noticed that Jinx, now fully satisfied from his meal, was in the living room, perched on the arm of the couch grooming himself. Vivienne walked into the living room to give him a quick pet goodbye.
As she stood next to the couch petting Jinx she noticed, walking on the street across from the cafe below, a fae male that she’d seen in her bookshop a few times during this last month. She knew it was the same male by the color of his shoulder length white, glistening hair. She arched a brow, observing him go about his route on the street below, wondering if he lived over on this side of Kilgarde or if he was visiting a friend, perhaps a lover. She watched as he got further away, walking and looking down at his phone in his hands, headed towards Main Street.
She blinked away the thoughts of the stranger and bent over giving Jinx a kiss on his head, between his ears, and scratched his chin. “I’ll be back home later, don’t have too much fun without me.”
Heading to the entryway, she picked up her leather bag from the table near the door, and snatched her keys that were hanging from the little hook in the wall. Locking the first door behind her, she began her descent down the hall of stairs to the exit that led out to the street. When she opened the heavy metal door, a crisp late afternoon breeze laced with the scent of nutmeg and coffee, washed over her, blowing her hair back from her face. Tucking the strands of her dark brown hair that were blown out of place behind her pointed ears, she locked the entry door and put her keys into her bag. Going left from the cafe, she headed towards the Boat District, Casparian’s Deli was to the east in the docks and she hoped that the streets down there would be less busy.
As Vivienne sat on a nearby bench waiting for Nadjia outside of Casparian’s Deli, she observed the lazy gulls hovering above boats docked in the sea port. Kilgarde was a relatively busy city, the ocean opened up to the North, and provided merchants from all over Eliria to trade and sell their goods. The sailors that came into town from those ships were usually looking for trouble, in the loose understanding that since they’ve been at sea for awhile, they had a particular appetite for company once on land.
Most of the men on those boats had wives or children in another part of Eliria or on one of the other continents, and for Vivienne, she wasn’t really interested in being a sea-dog’s whore, since they were only in Kilgarde for maybe a day or two, at most a week. Off to another harbor, another town, another female. She didn’t really see the appeal of sleeping with a sailor, other than admiring their bodies as they worked on their boats, she wasn’t particularly chomping at the bit to have one in her bed.
One of the gulls overhead made a long call, pulling Vivienne from her thoughts, it dove for some food that had been dropped on the ground nearby, likely from a careless mariner. Vivienne pulled out her phone from her bag, checking the time. The screen read 4:21pm. Nadjia should be close, Vivienne thought. She lived about twenty minutes from the Boat District and is usually punctual.
As if summoned, Vivienne’s ears perked up to the sound of footsteps on the wooden planks behind her. Vivienne looked over her shoulder to see the person approaching, but she knew it was her friend before she could turn around. She could smell Nadjia’s sandalwood and pomegranate scent on the wind as it blew at the back of her. Vivienne was met with Nadjia’s vibrant smile and her honey brown eyes that twinkled with mischief. “About time, Nadj.” Vivienne teased as a way of greeting. She stood from the sea washed bench, picking up her bag and tucking her phone within it. “I’m starving, I don’t think I’ve had anything besides a chocolate muffin and a coffee today.” Living above a cafe had its perks. She usually got first dibs on the fresh pastries and hot coffee in the mornings.
Nadjia laughed at her and hooked her arm in Vivienne’s, pulling her towards the marketplace where Casparian’s was. “You know I’d be here, I’m right on time!” She stuck her tongue out at Vivienne and winked. Her face became more serious as her brows pinched together. “You really should eat more throughout the day, Viv. I don’t want to come into the bookshop to see you passed out behind the counter because you aren’t eating enough.” She squeezed her arm, a small sign of her concern. Vivienne arched her brow and frowned. “Okay, mother hen. For being a fox shifter you certainly brood like a chicken.” She snorted and gave Nadjia a wry smile, looking at her from lowered lashes.
Vivienne knew that Nadjia worried about her, and cared for her like a sister. She appreciated her concern, but it was still a foreign concept to her. Her family never made a fuss over things like ‘How much did you eat today?’ or ‘Are you getting enough rest?’. She supposed that was what normal families worried about. It seemed like such trivial things, although Vivienne couldn’t help but feel her heart soften at the concerned words from Nadjia.
As they pushed open the glass door to Casparian’s, setting the little bell on the door jingling, the smell of fresh baked bread and herbs floated up to Vivienne’s nose prompting her to sniff the air. Casparian’s indeed had the best sandwiches in Kilgarde. The owner, a half-fae male, made the loaves of bread from scratch daily. He was older for a half-fae, and had been running the deli for about seventy years. The half-fae, or Demilune, usually took after their immortal parent in appearances, but every so often, they looked more human and had no long point to their ears. Demilune’s lifespans are shorter than one of a full fae bloodline, but most usually lived to see a century or two. A drop of rain in the ocean, compared to full immortality.
Vivienne and Nadjia took up a booth-like table in the back corner of the room after ordering their food, and sat across from each other. Nadjia had this playful look on her face, eyeing Vivienne like she was going to tell her a juicy secret.
“What? Why are you staring at me like you know something I don’t?” Vivienne took a sip from her drink and raised her brows. Vivienne had never told Nadjia the full extent about her family or why she left Orsart, and Nadjia never asked. Whether or not her clever friend knew about it, she never revealed. Vivienne was content to set that information about her and her past aside, not to acknowledge it. It wasn’t like she was outright lying to Nadjia, but she feared that her closest friend would see her in a different light if she knew the truth and she didn’t want to lose her too.
Nadjia gave an aloof shrug, “I was just thinking about that gorgeous male that keeps coming by the bookshop to browse the same books over and over. I know I’ve seen him at least three times when I’ve come by. He clearly is more interested in what's behind the counter than what's on the shelves.” She gave her an impish grin. “Have you even spoken to him?”
Vivienne let out a small huff and rolled her eyes, “Why? You want his name? I’m sure I can get his number for you Nadj. And, I’ve spoken to him..” She trailed off, glancing away towards the wall. Vivienne had only ever said the regular friendly greeting to him that she gave all the people who entered her bookstore and they had shared nothing beyond a few words to each other. Vivienne could feel her cheeks heating under Nadjia’s fiendish gaze.
“Yeah, but not for me, he clearly comes in there to steal glances at you, Viv. Why don't you ask him to get coffee sometime? I mean you literally live above a cafe.”
Vivienne found a spot on the table to be very interesting and avoided her friend's amber eyes. She never liked pursuing after the attention of males and wasn’t going to start, even though Nadjia tried relentlessly to get her to.
“I would rather be a sacrifice to the Dark God.”
Nadjia cackled, “Oh come on Viv, he is totally interested in you, he probably hasn’t said anything because of the uninterested facade you put up. I bet he’s dying to-” Her words were cut short thanks to their food being delivered to their table. Vivienne gave a silent prayer of thanks to Oena, she didn’t want to hear another word from her friend's mouth and the terrible things she was about to say. She gave a grateful nod to the demilune male as he placed her food in front of her.
“All I’m saying,” Nadjia started up again over a bite of food, “is that maybe you should talk to him, more that just ‘Hi, welcome in’, and see if you two have anything in common, maybe he does actually like to read but is too distracted by your regal looks to pick out a book.” Nadjia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled at Vivienne.
Taking a sip of her drink, Vivienne nodded. “Yeah, okay..mother hen..” She raised a brow and gave Nadjia a mocking smile. Maybe she would talk to him the next time he came by, or at least exchange names. That seemed like a good place to start. He had never bought or borrowed any books, and if she was willing to admit it, she had noticed him sneaking glances at her when she would be restocking the shelves or reading at the counter.
Having finished their dinner, they sat and talked about their morning's events, more so just Nadjia’s day. Vivienne had spent the morning stocking the new books and working around the store, it’s how she spent most of her days. Not much excitement or drama, unlike Nadja’s days. As she listened to her friend give the details about of her day, the gossip she overheard from people that came in to shop at the little clothing store she worked at, Vivienne couldn't help but think about how she had seen that white haired male walking across the street from her apartment earlier, wondering what he was doing when he walked by her apartment.
She blinked away the lingering mental picture of him and focused on what Nadjia was saying.
“So, apparently they’re seeing other people now. I know, I was shocked, I would’ve never thought that they’d split up.”
“You're such a busybody, Nadj. You could be a reporter or something for only the city gossip.” Vivienne said sarcastically, she wasn’t even sure who Nadjia was referring to in this conversation since she had zoned out. Her friend had always been one of Kilgarde’s biggest gossips and always knew everyone's dirty laundry. Which also made Vivienne wonder how she hadn’t learned anything about her past. But she wasn’t going to push her luck about it and ask her if she actually knew.
“You know I think I might just head back home after this, I’m actually feeling kind of tired and I’ve got to be up early to open the shop tomorrow. I want to put up some decorations for the festival.” She unintentionally yawned as she spoke. Vivienne couldn’t keep up with their conversation, her mind was in another place, thinking about that handsome male, who definitely came to the bookshop just to see her. She hadn’t wanted to admit that she was curious about him, but what she didn’t understand is why he hadn’t said anything to her.
It could be that he was just a shy, silent type. Which is unusual amongst the majority of fae males, majority of the time they can’t keep their possessive dick in their pants. But, she could perhaps try to say more than hello to him the next time he came by her bookshop. Even if it ends up just being a one time fling, she wouldn’t complain. The Mother Oena knows she hasn’t had sex in months and could use a little release.
“Fiiine, I’ll walk with you to your place.”Nadjia’s tone was humorous as she gave Vivienne a dry smile. “I want to make sure my baby chick is home safe.”
Vivienne smiled softly at the female. “Thanks Nadj.”
