Lost Lighte

Chapter 2 (part 1)

 Of the seventy ears of corn Tilya had harvested, only twelve now rolled around the wagon as she walked through the village center. After buying some bread and meats from the market, she was now on her way to Althea's shop.

She walked up to a small building with a sign above the door saying 'Apothecary.' Tilya stepped inside, the door knocking against a small bell that hung above it.

"Welcome in!" a sweet voice sang from behind a curtain leading to a back room in the shop. Tilya heard some rustling, thudding, and scraping from behind it, and a moment later a petite woman with a messy golden braid, caramel skin, and prominent eyebrows popped out carrying a basket of small, empty glass jars. The black floor-length dress she wore bore evidence of dust she'd smeared on it.

"Oh, Tilly, it's you!" The woman's beautiful features lit up with a smile and she placed the basket on a dusty wooden desk that sat in a corner. Tilya curtsied politely. "Hello again, Madam Althea."

Althea waved a hand at her dismissively. "Oh hush, how many times have I told you to drop the 'Madam?'" She brushed the dust off of the front of her tan apron and swirled to face Tilya. "Yes ma'am." Tilya said, smiling softly.

She reached into her leather satchel and pulled out the glass jar that held the corn silks and offered it to Althea. In response, the short woman bounced up and down on her toes before excitedly snatching the jar up. "I knew I liked you for a reason, Tilly!" Althea beamed and set the jar onto one of the many shelves that covered the walls of her shop, all cluttered in various boxes and jars filled with unidentifiable substances, herbs, and materials.

The walls that did not hold those numerous shelves of items, instead, displayed hanging bundles of dried herbs and flowers, necklaces with empty vials attached to them hung from nails, and metal buckets used for soap-making ingredients swung from large hooks.

Tilya's gaze swept around the shop. She had been here numerous times before, yet every time she came back, she always forgot how oddly dark it was despite the bright sunlight outside.

Off in the far corner was a cabinet with a glass door that housed countless leather-bound books. Tilya had perused them once before, but they were mostly all related to herbal medicine, with one or two of them being about moon phases and spiritual healing. Hidden well among the hoard of medicinal literature.

A few small tables around the shop displayed candles and soaps of all colors and uses.

"Mada--... Althea?" Tilya said, gliding towards one of the bundles of herbs; she could only identify the lavender and cattails within it. "Yes, lovely?" Althea called from the other side of the room. She was engrossed in setting up the empty jars she had carried in onto the desk.

"Have you ever heard of a fae auction?" Tilya fingered one of the lavender flowers, careful not to snap one of its dried petals from the stem.

Althea froze. She pondered over the question for a short moment before looking up at Tilya and quickly making her way over to the girl. "What do you know about a fae... about that?" she whispered.

Tilya peeked at Althea through black lashes, fiddling with the white edging of her sleeve nervously. "I... heard some girls talking about it at the market. I think they overestimated how quietly they were speaking."

Althea put her hands on her hips and shook her head with a huff. "It's illegal." she began, gesturing for the curtain that led to the backroom. The place that Tilya had never ventured into.

She followed behind Althea after the apothecary locked the door to her shop. Entering the backroom, Tilya couldn't help but gasp.

Besides the expected overstock of herbs, soaps, candles, and other goods sold at the shop, there was a round table with a silken purple cloth draped over it in the corner. Two chairs were set on either side of it, and a stack of cards and an incense burner was set in the middle.

Across from that, on the other side of the room, was an altar of sorts that held two candles, one red and one green, bones of some kind of animal, a bowl filled with water and another with what looked like dirt, and in the middle of it all was a large silver platter that was currently empty.

"What is all of this?" Tilya asked apprehensively, slowly stepping deeper into the room. There were no windows, the only light source being from numerous white candles that burned along the wooden shelves on the red walls.

Althea took a seat on one of the chairs by the round table and gestured for Tilya to take the other. She obliged, gliding her hands over the silky tablecloth.

Althea lit a candle and placed it in front of them, folding her hands to rest against the table as she looked up at Tilya. "This is my working room." Althea finally replied. "I'm more than just an apothecary, Tilya, and you know it."

Tilya couldn't meet her eyes. It wasn't exactly legal to have a witch in the village, and though Tilya had her suspicions, she would never have revealed her friend's secrets.

Althea loosed a breath and took one of Tilya's hands. "We can have that conversation another day, if you have any questions. But to tell you the truth, the fae auctions have been around for a very long time."

Tilya leaned in eagerly to hear her out.

"Only nobility has the means to purchase fae, since they are very expensive to acquire, and they have two motivations behind this." Althea began.

"It all started when one man, many decades ago, stole a fae child and brought them back to the mortal realm. We're not sure what his intentions were with the child, but we do know that the family offered a very large sum to the man in exchange for the child's return. The offer was too good for the man to refuse, so despite the effort he put in to take that child, he happily returned them and earned millions of gold for it. That man used his fortune to make a name for himself and join the nobility."

Tilya furrowed her eyebrows, engrossed in the story. "Who was he?" she asked. To this Althea chuckled wickedly. "He was the late Lord Prida."

Tilya fought the gasp that threatened to escape from her lips. Althea simply nodded, crossed her legs, and continued.

"Even though it's very expensive to buy these fae, the money they can get out of it for the ransom makes it all worth it to them. So, the first motivation behind auctioning them off is exactly that..." she trailed off, staring blankly at the tablecloth as if she could see through it.

"...And the second motivation?" Tilya pushed a moment later when Althea took too long to continue, leaning in even further. Her grip on Althea's hand tightened expectantly. "The second motivation," Althea began, her eyes now meeting Tilya's. "is to use those fae as slaves, at least until they can get the money that want."

Tilya wasn't sure what kind of answer she was expecting, but it wasn't this. Her and Althea sat in silence for a long moment as she took in everything she had just heard. She had been alive nearly twenty years and had never heard of such a thing.

Tilya was aware there was a fae realm north of her human territory, hundreds of miles away from her small little village, just past the snowy Birthue mountains. She couldn't imagine anyone trekking into that snowy region for anything, much less to steal children from powerful fae.

It didn't make any sense to her. Why would they risk their life for the sake of gold? Tilya had heard stories about the fae's power; how they could conjure flame and control starlight. Were these mortal men not concerned that the fae might retaliate against them? Surely if they were resilient enough to live in the savage chill of the mountains, they could easily invade and conquer the mortal realm. The thought sent a shudder through her.

"Lord Prida is holding another auction under his mansion..." Tilya spoke softly, staring at the flickering candle in between them. 

Author's Note: Dear Valued Reader, I appreciate you taking the time to read my story! If you have any feedback for me, comments are more than welcome! My goal is to share this ongoing tale with you, but also to hear what you, as the reader, have to say about it. If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a vote so I know I'm doing something right! See you in the next one!