Face Of The Monster

~8~

Lillian stumbled out of the Emerald Sparrow, glad for the fresh sunlight outside. She felt lightheaded from the stifling tobacco scent of the tavern coupled with the airiness of new, overwhelming knowledge.

Vanessa had left already, gone to find a store that could sew new soles for her shoes. Lillian decided to take advantage of what little time she had alone to do some thinking. She sank down into the dry dirt outside the Emerald Sparrow and put her head in her hands.

Words spun out of control inside her skull. A story, disjointed and jagged.

She thought about everything Glenn had told her and Vanessa. There were so many things to considers, so many things to pick through. Her head hurt.

"Uh, miss?"

Lillian's head snapped up. "Hello?"

Elizabeth's footsteps kicked dust into the air as she made her way to where Lillian was sitting. The frayed edge of her dress swayed gently above the ground, revealing a small strip of sunburnt skin on her legs. The girl knelt down, her face alight with a radiant smile. "Don't you just love it here?" she asked.

Lillian sighed. "It's nice, isn't it?"

"If you want," said Elizabeth with a bashful smile, "I could show you something I found."

"What did you find?"

"I wanna show you."

Lillian allowed the girl to lift her to her feet. She thought she might as well humor the girl. Lillian and nothing better to do and Elizabeth, after all, had so little fun in her life. Why not indulge her in whatever unlikely tangent she had managed to find on her time off?

The cove itself was a beautiful place. The trees waved their arms in the wind, lush with vibrantly green leaves. Silver sand flitted across the land, mixing the dirt into a marbled floor. Birds chattered in the branches, shouting shrill please to each other. On the ground, salamanders and other small animals flitted about their business, dodging in and out of shoeprints.

Elizabeth led Lillian down the dirt road with the childish vigor of a girl going to meet her lover. Lillian had to run to keep up.

They ran through the village, unhindered by the curious eyes of onlookers. They passed quaint artisan shops advertising personalized spyglasses and handmade leather pouches and fancy little pastries. Other stores offered more useful goods like clothing and shoe mending and food. They passed a store with a sign boast that they sewed shoe soles. Lillian wondered fleetingly if Vanessa could be in there.

They kept flying past shops until suddenly, Elizabeth stopped on the side of the road and yanked Lillian behind a small grass hut. Lillian just barely caught sight of the sign: "Hats Of All Sizes And Styles!"

"A hat shop?" Lillian asked.

"Yes," giggled Elizabeth. She inched back even farther. "Come back here. There's a window."

There was, in fact, a hole carved in the back of the grass hut, covered over with some ill-fitting glass. The holes were filled in with putty. Lillian peeked through the glass and, all at once, understood the meaning of this little excursion.

Elizabeth sighed, her face settling into an expression of contentment. "Ain't he adorable?"

Lillian looked at the boy. He had long, sandy hair and a superbly focused expression on his delicate face. He reminded Lillian of a china doll with his petite nose and pearly white skin. "He is, isn't he?"

"Oh, he's just the sweetest thing, too," Elizabeth gushed. "I asked him about a hat and he said, 'That'd be two silvers, but just one for you, miss'."

Lillian let out a chuckle. "He knows all the tricks, doesn't he?"

Elizabeth ignored her. "And he makes such wonderful hats."

"They are rather nice."

"I wish we could take him along," Elizabeth sighed. She looked away from the window, her face falling. "We're leaving soon, ain't we?"

Lillian nodded. Such was the life of the nomad. All became a catalogue of experiences left behind. "We are."

"I'll never find love," Elizabeth complained. "We never stop and stay anywhere. When've I got a chance to meet people my own age? And when I do, I just have to up and leave 'em behind." She sighed, burying her face in her arms. "How did you do it?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Find love."

Lillian grinned and answered, "On accident."