The Spider's Lair

4. The Gift

Chapter 4

The Gift

The next few days passed by in a steady, methodical manner like that of a gigantic clock. Theo wished the time would pass slower, that the ticking would take longer, and that he could have more time to think and gather his resolve. The meeting at the Salted Crab was tomorrow and accompanying it was a pollutant sense of dread and anxiety. When the time came to act, he'd be stepping into a vast abyss of unknown and uncertainty—without even the support of Jane.

Following the slap, she'd stubbornly ignored Theo in passing, treating him with the same contempt as a common patron. He'd dispensed with the brief possibility of withdrawing from the whole thing with the crime syndicate and instead, tried to simply not think about the entire affair until the day of the appointment. By which time he hoped to have mustered enough resolve to follow through.

Within his own room, the half-elf stood near the window, gazing out at the clay rooftops of Leeside. The violent storm which had struck so fiercely the other day had by now moved on, leaving behind nothing more than a few clay tiles shattered on the ground below. Now, the sky was clear, granting sovereignty to the sun which bleached the masonry dry around the city. He recalled the layer of steam which rose from the ground shorty after the clouds abated, how the hot air had felt thick enough to swim through. Children came out to play in droves while Pseudodragons took to the skies once more like flying gemstones, their rain-flecked scales shining in colours of amber, emerald, and sapphire.

Below him, in the gardens, Matilda and Mirella were walking hand in hand and discussing something. His curiosity getting the better of him, Theo trained his ears to catch what was being said. Eavesdropping came easy to his acute ears, which often snatched certain words of interest unconsciously.

Mirella was looking down at her feet while she spoke and even though the pair were nearly twenty feet below, Theo might as well have been walking along with them by the clarity of their words. "I've been booked again this weekend"

"Well, that's good, isn't it? I'm sure Margret's pleased you have some recurring customers. The way business has been going since the event, I've heard she's considered dropping Roland from her service." Mirella looked up from the ground to face Matilda with a questioning gaze.

"And where exactly do you hear such rumours? I swear, no matter what happens in this place, you always seem to be the first person to know" she said with a somewhat exasperated tone.

Matilda made a gesture of taking a key to her mouth and locking it shut, sealing behind it a childish giggle. A blush spread across her sunburnt face as she swung their hands upwards playfully.

"Everyone has their secrets" she teased.

The redhead's childish smile was met with the much more mature and concerned face of Mirella. Her giddy enthusiasm dissolved rapidly under this unimpressed gaze.

"What's with this re-occurring client, anyway?" continued Matilda, "The couple seem nice?"

This piqued Theo's interest as he knew the couple in question were the Magus and his mistress.

"It's just—" the older woman began, seemingly losing her words in memory. She looked around the gardens before leaning into Matilda's right ear. Hopelessly, Theo crouched to bring his ears closer to them but, even for him, the words were spoken too softly for him to distinguish. Matilda drew back with alarm.

"She does what?" She exclaimed.

Just as Mirella was hushing her, Margret marched out into the gardens below him. She was escorted by a well-built man who had one arm wrapped about her waist; his thick moustache waxed into fine points. The man made a comment which caused Margret to laugh exuberantly loud. Hearing this, Mirella and Matilda faded away behind the shadow of a rose bush, then dashed inside to avoid any contact with their Matron. Theo leaned away from his window and wondered just what exactly Mirella has whispered. A part of him really didn't want to know.