Lux [h.s]

thirty-eight

Later that night Cora found herself walking down the main road of the Fair, just behind the stalls. Harry had told her not to, but she couldn't help it. The lights had called to her, it would've been unfair to ask her to ignore them.

A woman she'd seen around the Fair a few times before had given her a paper bag with freshly made candied almonds, and she was now strolling around, watching people laugh and run along and remembering what it'd been like to be them.

She popped another into her mouth and breathed in the sweet early winter air, smiling. The scent of fruit and candy mixed with the burning wood from the torches and ovens, reminding her of the Fair celebrations in Beilyn. The sinister street she'd walked only the night before was now enlightened so brightly that she could see the faces of everyone walking past, and the fire fended off the chill.

It was when she was nearing the first houses of Idais that Cora crossed paths with Adair and Naomi.

She gasped and hid behind one of the stalls before they could see her, waiting for them to walk past her before running towards the city. She only stopped when she took a turn, slamming her back against the building and catching her breath, a healthy flush on her cheeks.

She opened her eyes again just to discover that Skat was sitting in front of her, looking at her with a mildly curious look in her amber eyes.

She stared at Cora for some long moments and then turned around and vanished around the corner.

"Hey!" Cora called out, running after her. She turned the corner just in time to see Skat's silver fur turn another, and scrambled to get to her.

They went on in that fashion for some minutes, Skat running away and Cora chasing her. She stopped every once in a while to allow her to catch up with her, but moved away again before Cora could reach her.

She turned one more corner. Cora turned it as well, stopping in the middle of the crossroads when she lost track of her. She peered at the dark streets in front of her, but she wasn't hiding in any shadow—she'd left.

"Skat?" Cora called, her voice trembling hesitantly. Skat had moved too quickly for her to memorise the path they'd taken—she was lost. Was it some odd revenge Skat had planned for her? She'd never gone against her, but she'd always had the feeling that cat didn't particularly like her.

"Hello."

Cora squealed and spun around, letting out a relieved sigh when she saw Harry was standing behind her.

"It took you a while."

"A while?!" Cora hissed, hands on her knees to catch her breath. "How can you even say that? I've never run this much."

Harry laughed, and she sent a glare up at him.

"The next time just tell me where to meet you. Or give me a map, if you're so worried I'll get lost. I swear she went as fast as she could on purpose."

He gave her a solemn nod. "Yeah, a cat is most definitely plotting against you."

"It's not funny."

"It is, a little."

"It isn't."

Harry sighed. "As you wish."

Cora straightened up and glanced around. The street they were in was surrounded by closed shops. "What are we doing here?"

He shrugged. "I believe I promised you a breakfast in Idais," he said. "Naturally that isn't an option now, so I thought I'd take you around the city instead. It's very peaceful when it's quiet, and all the citizens are at the Fair. We're alone."