The girls spent the entire morning sorting and tidying up their things, reclaiming some sense of normalcy after Elsie and her entourage had practically ripped them from their old dorm.
By the time they finished, the rooms looked nothing like the disaster they had walked into and they felt a little pride at finally having things under control. For now, this was enough.
Daisy plopped down on the newly repaired wooden chair, all thanks to Lila, who had pieced together the broken scraps they’d discovered in the living room. Ivy, meanwhile, had already put in an order for a proper sofa set to be delivered as soon as the rain cleared.
"I’m hungry," Ivy complained, rubbing her stomach.
"Me too," Lila added.
Daisy eyed her curiously. "You actually eat human food?"
Lila said casually. "Of course. Though it’s nowhere near as incredible as Fae cuisine. Just one taste of our dishes and you’d never go back to anything else. But human food isn’t that bad, you know. You guys come up with some wild combinations."
Daisy’s brow quirked up. "So you get hungry the same way we do?"
"Yes and no," Lila explained. "Unlike the average human, I can go weeks without physical meals, surviving on magical energy. But I’ve been in your realm long enough that I’ve kind of... adapted. Let’s just say I’ve been conditioned to crave food like a human does."
Ivy couldn’t help but ask. "You’ve been in the human realm for how long, exactly?"
At that, Daisy and Violet both looked up with curiosity.
"I’ve been here since the day the queen sent me to find the princess," Lila said simply, leaving them to fill in the blanks.
Violet paused with suspicion, tilting her head. "How old are you, exactly?"
Lila shrugged, answering in the most casual tone, "Oh, I’m not that old, just a hundred and sixteen."
And that was the final straw.
Ivy fell off her seat with a yelp, while Daisy and Violet’s jaws dropped.
What does she mean by not that old? The words stunned Daisy especially.
Her grandmother hadn’t even lived half that long. They were friends with someone they should be calling their ancestor.
After a moment of stunned silence, Violet cleared her throat to break the tension. "So... you guys said you’re hungry, right? Let’s go get some food." She checked her phone. "It’s lunchtime."
Ivy and Daisy turned disbelieving stares on her, like she’d suggested leaping off a cliff. Finally, Daisy found her voice. "Where exactly do you think we’re going to eat? Please tell me it’s not the dining hall."
They all remembered the morning’s humiliation clearly enough. The glares, sneers, and the unfriendly vibe was enough to tell them It wouldn’t bode well for them, being Rogues now.
Violet, ever stubborn, refused to bend. "Where else if not the dining hall?"
"You’ll draw attention," Daisy warned. "Let’s wait until lunch is over so we can go in."
But Violet shook her head firmly. "Sorry, but I won’t settle for leftover crumbs."
Lila tilted her chin up. "Exactly. I like my croissants hot, and nobody’s going to stop me from enjoying them."
Daisy shot a pleading look at Ivy—who was finally back on her chair—but Ivy merely gave a half-hearted shrug. "If we’re serious about toppling Elsie, we can’t do it hiding in this shack. She probably thinks we’re cowering by now. Let’s prove we’re not so easy to break."
"Until they break us," Daisy said dryly, then sighed in surrender. "Fine. It’s not like I can talk you two out of it anyway."
A wry grin spread across Violet’s face. She stood, jerking her chin at the door. "Come on, then. Let’s get the hell out of here."
But the moment they cracked open the door, the pouring rain made them pause. It was a downpour, the kind that soaked you to the bone within seconds. Daisy groaned dramatically, "God, I hate Alaric."
Everyone knew this was no ordinary storm, and Ivy only shrugged.
"What did you expect? Violet broke his heart," Ivy pointed out, earning a sharp look from Lila. She hated people speaking ill of her princess.
Violet shook her head. "There’s no point arguing. Let’s focus on how we’re going to get to the Silver Court in this weather."
Daisy frowned, calculating the distance. "We won’t make it there looking like anything other than drowned rats. That’s not exactly the grand entrance we wanted."
She continued, "I think we should take a rain check. At least until Alaric decides to have mercy on us."
Ivy’s stomach growled loudly. "But I’m starving!" she whined, clearly unaccustomed to such discomfort.
Violet steeled herself. "I’ll go," she declared abruptly.
Lila straightened at once. "No, I’ll go. Let me handle it."
Violet shook her head. "I caused all this. I need to do something about it. I’ll go to the Silver Court and bring back lunch for us."
Lila folded her arms. "Then I’m going with you. I’m your protector, don’t even start telling me to stay put, Princess."
Violet hesitated, but ultimately relented. "...Fine. Let’s go."
Better two than one, anyway.
They made to leave, only for Ivy to shout after them, "Don’t worry, I’ll order umbrellas for us this time!"
Violet gave her a quick wave in acknowledgment before she and Lila dashed into the rain.
The downpour hit Violet like a barrage of icy needles, making her shiver from head to toe. Yet they moved on, and feeling Lila’s hand wrap around her own, kind of encouraged her.
They splashed through growing puddles, droplets stinging their cheeks and soaking their clothes until it felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. It was at that moment Violet realized how much trouble they were truly in.
Back at the old dorm, it had only been a five-minute or less jaunt to the Silver Court when they walked. But now, it was more than fifteen. Worse still, there were no campus transport shuttles for them to hail, no stops for them to duck under. They had been cut off, not just socially, but from every little convenience.