They didn't stay in the hotel room for long. As soon as the door had closed behind them both, Coppelius had taken one look to the rising sun outside, then the credits-chip placed on the table, and then looked back to Sorrel with a smile.
"I've never been to Lemuria before. I think we should explore it."
Sorrel found herself grinning back. "I agree."
Coppelius's smile softened, a sorrow in his eyes. "And we'll find someplace where we can talk. About everything."
You're in over your head. Her mother's warning echoed in her mind. But it was too late for doubts now. Sorrel had made her choice, fueled by courage and the curiosity that had burned within her for all her life. She wasn't like her mother or Gwynn, she could not ignore that call inside of her.
She wouldn't. Not anymore.
She would trust this boy made of secrets and stardust. She had to, if she was going to aid him on his mysterious quest.
"It's a deal."
The first order of business had been finding more clothes.
"That coat is heavy for the summers here on Lemuria, and you can't just go around in your nightgown all the time," Coppelius had pointed out. He'd then gestured to himself. "And I stick out like a sore thumb anywhere, but I'd probably stick out less if I wasn't wearing this."
"The coat and the scarf are a bit much," Sorrel agreed.
Luckily, it seemed that many businesses in the archipelago of Avalon were ready to take advantage of the new situation. Stalls filled the plazas and streets around the shops, all with brightly-colored signs competing for passerby's attention. Sorrel noticed many other individuals with the same winter jacket she'd left in the hotel room, all with the same idea that she and Coppelius had.
"A dress for the lady?" An older Lemurian woman called out, turquoise hair pulled back by a colorful headscarf. Around the crinkle lines of her golden eyes were iridescent scale-like spots like pearls inlaid in her sun-bronzed skin. She gestured toward the dresses hanging off the metal grid forming a wall underneath the tent of her stall. "That red hair would look beautiful with perhaps a blue or a purple dress. . "
Sorrel stopped. Her breath hitched as she saw it. "Oh, it's beautiful."
Among the traditional Lemurian dresses was a sea green, with layers of peach gauze that matched the details of peach-pink and orange flowers embroidered along the hems and edges of the dress, ending in a handkerchief hemline.
"You like this one?" Coppelius stepped into the stall, allowing others to pass them by. He looked to the stall-owner. "Anything for men?"
"Oh, yes!" The stall-owner stood, her golden eyes glowing with delight. "I believe we have a matching set, perfect for the happy couple, yes?"
Sorrel opened her mouth to protest, heat rising in her cheeks when Coppelius stretched his arm around her shoulders.
"Yes, this wasn't exactly the honeymoon we'd hoped for, but we might as well make the best of it." He smiled at the stall-owner conspiratorially.
The stall-owner nodded enthusiastically, rising from her table and chair to take the green dress off of the makeshift wall. "Indeed! You know how the saying goes—when life gives you the sun-fruit, you must made it into a cocktail!"
"I'm not familiar with that one," Sorrel admitted.
The stall-owner waved a dismissive hand. "You'll learn soon enough. There's a reason every politician and businessman and celebrity wants a mansion in Avalon. It's the good life here—much better than the Border Worlds like Perrault, or whichever one it was."
YOU ARE READING
Crystal Magic
FantasyOne good deed will change the lives of Sorrel and Gwynn Marchand. They were supposed to have lived in an age of civility and mundanity under the flag of the Society of Worlds, an inter-planetary government. However, in the wilds of Undiscovered Spac...
