Ava and the Glass Wish | Updated Fridays

Chapter One

The winding alleys of Eldendore's Narrows concealed more than cobblestones; they cradled secrets. Every doorway, every turn, hid the forgotten fates of all who faded into the dim. Ava's fingertips itched with a phantom chill. Three days away from the Midsummer Solstice, the alleys were anything but cold, but dark shadows blanketed her path and rats could scurry out at any moment.

She hated rats, but she hated being late more.

She'd left home too late that morning, having woken up too late from a night up reading. By the time she'd taken her morning tea, it had truthfully been a noon-time tea, and by the time she got dressed for the day after tending her father's plants and tinctures, it was truly afternoon and the day was half-gone. Lunch was gulped down as she shrugged on her coat and stumbled onto their humble street, a mere fifteen minutes before her fitting appointment.

She had to go in the Narrows. Her mother would never forgive her. 

Her heeled boots clacked on the stones, echoing off the sides of the brick buildings. Even in the narrows, signs hung from sign-posts declaring potions and wishes, curses and promises. One declared that with one sip from their love potion number 7, dreams could come true. The question of why there was need for seven love potions wasn't answered by the signs and Ava didn't stop to look closer. The temptations, though she was wise to them, were temptations all the same. What was her fate?

What should she wish for in three days at the Midsummer's presentation at the Mirror when truly she wanted to be anywhere but here?

The shops' owners might try to tell her, but these shops were the shunned cousins of the much flashier and often more legitimate store-fronts in the middle of the merchant district. Ava half-expected an equally shady figure to jump out at her from one of the doorstops. It happened often enough, and so close to the Midsummer, it was only a matter of time before one of them sniffed her out as a potential customer or potential victim. Perhaps they could even find a way to be included in her wish.

Not everyone got a wish, and dressed as she was, young as she was, with her plaited hair, tailored trousers, and smooth skin (despite the rogue breakout she'd tried to fight that morning), her appearance screamed youth. She shouldn't have cut through the Narrows.

Three days until the Midsummer. Three days until she reached majority. If she were someone else, like her brother's wife, Maya, or her mother, maybe she would be more than swayed. Maybe she would buy a potion or sit for a fortune teller, unaware of being pick-pocketed at the same time, or unaware of what it could do to her reputation.

Ava hurried faster, shuddering at the thought.

Ava navigated the labyrinth of alleyways, the air thickening with the weight of unseen eyes. The whispers of the city's bustle far away brushed against her senses. She turned a corner, familiar to her, but always unexpected. It was easy to get lost in the in-between of the outskirts and the Inner City. The city had grown up fast and on top of itself, with some alleys so tight that Ava had to turn sideways and some openings so wide that they were almost courtyards.

The narrow alleys gradually opened into a slightly wider thoroughfare, but Ava's unease deepened.

As the path ahead twisted into a darker enclave, Ava's gaze flitted to a flickering lamplight, sputtering with a pale blue flame and revealing a figure leaning against the entrance of a dim doorway. The silhouette emerged from the shadows, and Ava's heart raced as she confronted the possibility of encountering a purveyor of clandestine magic and unfulfilled promises.

She couldn't turn back so she passed the figure instead, veering to the edges, even as her heart-rate spiked. She was just past them when the figure stepped closer, holding out a hand and revealing a sly smile and tall frame as he unfolded from the shadows.