In the end, Velvet went to sleep.

She had some curiosity about her body changes, wanting to see if something in the dream had changed too.

Unfortunately, it seemed futile, the dream still the same.

“Not even a step closer…”

“You know, I could take a congratulatory gift! Like a stare, or a tremble!”

“A bit of visibility would be fine too.”

Nothing, not even her being delirious and imagining something.

In the end, the dream went like always.

…

Velvet woke up late, stretching herself lazily, not wanting to get out of bed.

Of course, she ended up getting ready and leaving the room, going to bother Gertine.

It’s not bothering, I want my rewards.

She was in the same spot as yesterday, eating breakfast.

“A fellow late riser!” She sat in front of her, after picking some breakfast.

“I had to send a lot of letters.” She took a bite of toast, and a sip of some strange smelling coffee.

“That coffe…”

“It has Baileys.”

Velvet grimaced. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“Aren’t you too young for alcoholism?”

Gertine didn’t bother answering, cutting a piece of cheese.

“Huh, I didn’t see that one in the buffet.”

“Of course, I brought it here with me.”

Velvet noticed the cheese had some charms around it, probably so that the smell didn’t stick to Gertine’s clothes.

“Is it that good?” Gertine cut a piece, offering it to Velvet, who ate it. “Oh! It’s good!”

“My family has a cheese factory.”

“As in… the Doyles?”

Gertine nodded, before changing the theme. “I have your rewards here.”

She put two books and an envelope in front of her. One book was bigger than the other.

“Knowledge spells here, lust spells here.” She pointed at the big book and thin book. “The envelope has 1000 auris.”

A thousand?! Velvet had to use all her willpower to not scream. Dammit, isn’t murder a bit too lucrative?

“Huh, didn’t Baraviodos say that you couldn't afford more than one Selected? How much does it cost to enter someone?” She was curious about that for a while.

“Each selector can pick one mage for free. An extra apprentice cost a hundred thousand auris.”

Velvet froze at that, not even knowing what to say. So she changed the theme after drinking a bit of her own, non alcoholic coffee.

“Do you just carry that much money around?” She picked the three things, putting the envelope in the hidden pocket of her dress.

“No, my mother just sent it to me.”

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“How?”

She saw Gertine lifting her eyes to look at her through her glasses. “Making a contract with a fae.”

“Teach me how to do that.”

“Didn’t you just get rewarded?”

“Cmon, we are stuck here for four days more. There’s nothing else to do, and we can become friends!”

Gertine was going to refuse, not really interested in Velvet, but, if there was something the Doyle’s head always said was: ‘Keep on making connections, especially if they can connect you to someone else!’.

Velvet wasn’t important per se, but she had spoken to Irsen Kartal, and it seemed they didn’t have a bad relationship. That was verified by Baraviodos.

The demon was no longer with her, having been sent to her mother. But he did make some emphasis on that.

And Irsen Kartal might not be a noble, but he was the Scales of Poine leader.

So he was expecting Velvet to want to become my ‘friend’. Alright. She wasn’t the Doyle’s selected for nothing, understanding what they wanted from her in a moment.

“Okay.” She said, after making a short pause on purpose. “But you’d better not be causing problems.”

“You will discover that I am but a perfectly behaved student.”

…

When they finished eating, they went to Gertine’s room.

“Take out anything made of iron that you’re carrying in your body. You can leave it in the bathroom. Also, I would tell you a few things you can do and a few you can’t. Non negotiables.”

“You have aaall my attention.” Velvet went to take off a few things, her boots included. She took off any metal in her person, just in case.

When she came out of the bathroom, Gertine had cleaned the center of the room, and was making a circle out of tiny bells.

“Faes like the sound of small bells,” She explained. “Small. Remember that. No bigger than a nail. Jingle bells work too. Also, don’t call them anything else from faes, faeries or fairies. Unless they told you so.”

“Why?”

“Fae includes a long array of beings. From a fenodyree to a pixie, to a gnome, to a banshee, to a boggart… All of them are ‘fae’, but call an Aes Sídhe a vila, and you’re going to have a very offended, very powerful being.”

Velvet nodded.

“Don’t give them your name. That one is already known, but important nonetheless.”

“They are not humans, nor feel like humans, even if they look like humans.”

“Meaning…?”

“Don’t sleep with them. Even if they seem interested. They get jealous very, very easily, and, unless you’re planning on living the rest of your life, if you don’t end up dead, closed somewhere in the Fae Realm, you will listen to me.”

“I wasn’t planning on doing that!”

“Faes can’t lie, but they can find loopholes in words. Double, no, triple check anything they say.”

“Summoning a fairy isn’t like summoning demons. With demons, you bring their Realm to your location, and they don’t really do anything about it, but fairies don’t like being ordered. At all. Summoning them is like lighting a fire in the dark, if they feel interested, they will come on their own.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then maybe the ones that saw the fire are not interested in you, or the location is wrong, or the air is too humid. Just wait a few days, change the summoning place or change the incantation.”

“What incantations do you have?”

“None I can give you. The messenger fae we have contracted is private. Giving you the name could endanger us. Just think about what you need. Someone that can repair clothes, someone that can send letters with frequency…”

Velvet didn’t need anything at this moment, but she wanted to see how the summoning worked. “I can write a few letters in a moment, just give me a moment…”

Gertine waited for Velvet to write them. She saw her making envelopes and putting some things inside apart from the letters.

“Alright, done.”

“Good. A faerie chant needs a few things. One, it has to be specific. In your case ‘A helpful and pleasant, non Lothrigern faerie that can safely take these envelopes to…’ whoever you need. Be specific, for example, take this envelope to John Doe that lives on Wishbell at Daly Street door number 8. If he isn’t home, leave the envelope on the kitchen table.”

“What if I don’t use the pleasant part? What is Lothrigern?”

“Faes can do very mean pranks. It’s not like they will try to murder you on the spot, but better safe than sorry. Lothrigern is to faeries what Andras Apolyon is to demons.”

“But you invite Andras when you summon demons, here, you are excluding Lothrigern.”

“Exactly.”

Both of them kept silent for a few seconds.

“Well, tell me why.”

“You cannot summon Andras, just call for His attention, but there is a chance to call Lothrigern to your position. It is not recommendable.”

“Why?”

“You can’t be in their presence. Either you lose control on the spot, or their aura shapes you into something. I know of a few mages that became trees or melted on the spot.”

Gertine almost flinched when Velvet suddenly turned to her, a strange look in her face. Then, she turned back to face the circle once again, as if nothing had happened.

“So,” She said, “A helpful and pleasant, non Lothrigern faerie that can safely deliver these envelopes to Madam Dorna, in Casrey’s orphanage, returning them to me if they can’t find her.”