Turning Into a Lady Overnight

Red's back ached. She had sat straight for three straight hours now as she listened to Ari's discussion on the customs of the faey nobles. Her waist down was numb and she almost can't feel her toes.

Ari had been strict with her.

She sat straight, legs pressed together, her hands on top of her thighs. Breast out, chin tucked in, head held high. She wasn't allowed to move even if something itched.

Which from time to time something actually did.

Apparently, Kleister Lakschmidt was an eccentric light elf of noble descent. He devoted all his life to the creation of weapons for the Faey Militia and was known to never speak with the common faeys.

He had high regard to etiquette but was also known for his really bad temper. His servants, even his family, kept their head low and avoided to irk him in any way. While Ari had lectured Red on how to properly greet a noble faey, he did not allow her to slack off.

They can't afford to lose precious time.

Half a day had passed since they had arrived to the bloody scene of Dorothy's apartment. Red couldn't dare to look at the floor of her grandmama's lounge for she might lose herself into rage again. Because of that, they decided to take Dorothy's journal up to Archie's apartment on the top floor.

"Very good Red, now walk straight and let me see how you curtsy." Ari said as he placed his hand on his chin, his eyes scrutinized every move Red made.

She walked slowly; feet pointed and poised. Left foot, right foot, left, then right. It was like dancing but in a different manner. She stopped after a few more steps and faced Ari. She put her right foot behind her and slowly bended her knees.

It was not the usual curtsy she knew of for the complexity was insane. She raised her arms above her head and twirled her hands slowly, the movement smooth and graceful.

"Like a flower about to bloom." Ari had told her and she envisioned herself as such.

Carefully, she brought her hands down to the front, crossed them to her chest and dipped a curt bow. She never knew a curtsy could be so difficult and particular. She looked at Ari and his face did not show that her performance was perfect.

Ari raised a brow and said, "One more time Red. You were too stiff. Do not bring your head too low, never loose eye contact."

Red's sweat dropped and she proceeded to do the customary greeting of the faeys. Finally, after many mistakes and repetition, Ari had nodded his head as Red perfected the curtsy.

"Alright, ten minutes of rest and we'll go forward with dining etiquette." Ari was relentless and Red collapsed on the bean bag as the pressure of becoming someone she's not used to came down on her like a comet.

She peeked to her left and saw Sir Arthur played with his tail in the corner. She wondered what the cat had to do with Kleister and why grandmama insisted to bring him to the faey. Aside from his unique eye colors, the black cat looked just like any normal cat Red has ever seen.

Archer sat on the floor beside Red and had started to dig into piles of books he had taken out of his room. Strange symbols were sprawled unto their spines and Red surmised it could only be books about magic.

What else could it be?

"Most of these are grimoires." Archer said as he set aside one book to peruse another. "Some I wrote and compiled myself, some… well let's just say I found them."

"You stole those didn't you?" Red asked incredulously.

"Missy, all in the past. Not important anymore." He replied to her and avoided further explanations like he wanted to hide something. Red observed him as he flipped through pages and pages of old paper.

He looked so engrossed. He even had his waves of raven dark hair tied into a mini man bun, while stray locks escaped the tie.

Archer may not have the gift of the faey affinities but he was knowledgeable in so many other ways. He was like a jack-of-all-trades for Red.

"Dammit... I can't find anything regarding the darkling." He muttered under his breath.

This darkling, she only knew him as the one that created the rift between faeys and humans. He had been locked up in his own mind by the queen herself as far as she remembered that was how the story went.

How come based on grandmama's journal she was able to sign a deal with him?

There was more to be discovered, and Red was determined to dig deeper into this mystery. At first, she had lost hope by the shock of seeing blood, but the brothers convinced her that it could be her grandmother was still alive.

"Daemons leave their prey behind once dead. There is no use to bring the body around because souls are what they eat and not the flesh." Archer told her after he had a thorough examination of the stains.

The dark blood that they found gave them hope that perhaps the daemon who attacked Dorothy did not actually kill her, but took her forcefully and the old lady injured the aggressor in the process.

Red let out a smirk. Even if she was old, grandmama is a badass.

Ari called for Red and she huffed loudly. Apparently, ten minutes had gone so fast it barely even made any difference.

"Red, listen to me. Time within the Kingdom does not move in a straight line like on earth." Ari explained to her as he arranged a table with cutleries and chinaware from Dorothy's cabinet. They had intricate designs of swirling patterns, the handles of fine ivory.

"Hours could become weeks; a day can drag on to several months. However, this isn't actually definite. It could also be that a day could only last one month in human years."

"What of the trials?" Red asked him.

"The trials will not stop for you Red. This is the reason why we need to plan out how we should approach Kleister without wasting too much time." He said as he put down the last cutlery onto the table.

"What happens if I miss one trial?" she asked Ari, her eyes fixated on the vast arrays of dishes, spoons, forks, cups, glasses, and knives.

"You can't miss a trial, that is the problem." Ari leaned and looked at Red directly in her eyes, his ash blonde hair fell handsomely forward.

Just as Ari spoke, something tapped at the curtained window near the kitchen. The three swerved their heads and exchanged looks of astonishment.

Archer got up and slowly walked towards the window. The curtain didn't fully cover the window and a sliver of light from the outside invaded the room. It was nearly dusk now, but the sun was still up and about still not ready to turn over its coveted crown the day's successor, the moon.

Ari and Red held their breath in anticipation. Archer pulled the curtains and saw nothing on the windowsill but a bird. Its stark black feathers shone in the afternoon light and it tapped the window again, this time harder.

"Corvus Corax." Ari gasped.