A Perfect World

Chapter 29

AELIN POV

Aelin and Elide's exploration of Doranelle's castle had been decently thorough, courtesy their maid uniforms. Their new attire, a simple grey dress that blended in with the grey stone of the castle, had been able to get them into pretty much anywhere, though they did have to tell a couple white lies whenever they ran into actual maids. Aelin had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Elide was a skilled storyteller. If it were Aelin making up the lies, she would have kept them short and sweet and would have still managed to slip up somehow. Elide, on the other hand, had figured out backstories for both of them within a second's notice.

Aelin opted to use the name she had once fed to Lysandra. As far as anyone knew, she was now Celaena, maid in training, a demi-Fae whose father had always been unknown to her and whose mother had once been a cook, but had recently passed away. Elide chose to keep her name but the story she had spun for herself was entirely more complex, perhaps unnecessarily so if Aelin was being honest. It was something about a forbidden love that had resulted in her birth, that of a powerless demi-Fae, so weak she was often mistaken for human. Aelin couldn't remember the details of the story, not that it really mattered. Everyone seemed to buy it and Elide was loving it. She had never seen this mischievous side fo Elide before but she certainly liked it.

Elide was also incredibly charming, she realized. The first place they decided to check out on their self-guided tour was the palace kitchens and Elide had befriended the scullery maids there almost immediately. Aelin could have kissed her for it as their new kitchen friends were quick to share the goodies with them. One of them, Farah, was the palace's pastry chef and had insisted on having them try out her trial confections for tomorrow's big event. Aelin did not hesitate to oblige and the chef had been so pleased with her positive feedback that she had happily prattled on about the ball that was to occur tomorrow night. Apparently, there was some engagement that was to be announced. The kitchen maids were so ecstatic about it that they hadn't noticed when Aelin swiped a bottle of sparkling wine, discreetly tucking it into the wide pockets of her dress' pleated skirts.

The next stop on their self-guided tour had been the library which, as quaint as it had been, had completely underwhelmed Aelin. Apparently, the castle didn't have any sort of great library though there were several large ones scattered throughout the city. Elide said that Lorcan had taken her to one when he had given her a tour of the city upon their arrival. From the way she had described it, it seemed as though Elide had managed to make Lorcan her little lap-dog. She hoped that meant that his brooding temperament had gotten a bit of a makeover. She tried to needle as many details from Elide as possible but, quite frankly, the girl was being rather shady. When dusk approached and Aelin revealed the swipe bottle of wine to her friend, offering to take her to their tower's roof and watch the sunset with a hazy mind, Elide had politely declined the invitation. It was all Aelin could do to not roll her eyes, but she didn't pry.

Alone Aelin climbed up the maid's quarters tower until she reached the wooden pull board that sealed it shut. A quick release of magic had the lock melted and an even quicker movement had the board swinging down towards her. She set the bottle on the roof before hoisting herself up and sealing the door shut behind her.

As Aelin stood up to survey the view before her, she realized that initial view of Doranelle she had gotten from her room really hadn't done the city justice. Not at all. The sun was setting over the glorious river and hues of red, orange and yellow glimmered off it as if the river were made of stained glass. The lanterns that dotted the rivers platforms and the city below were starting to come to life and with it came the scent of smokey embers, a clear signal that they were lit by magic and not just ordinary fire.

She suddenly realized that she had never been in a place where magic had been free. In Terrasen there was magic, yes. But for her, it had never been free. She thought of her water magic, which she hadn't touched in a while. In one hand, she summoned her droplets of water. In the other, she summoned a palm full of flame. Compared to the warmth and wildness of her fire, the water felt cold and too still. It occurred to her that she had outgrown it. She wasn't that girl who was forced to be demure, who had been locked up just like her fire. She was free to be whoever she wanted.