Lissa had a bad feeling as they walked into the bar. One half was clearly marked for and filled with Silver Shields. The other half was for the riff-raff. Both sides had a few heads turn to look as they entered, and a few on both sides gawked. Though it wasn’t the ones that stared that gave her this feeling. In both the Silver Shields section and the riff-raff, a pair of eyes tracked her like a hawk. One set was a fairer blooded man, and the other was a human woman, the same one that was being chastised when they entered the Silver Shield outpost.

Once Lissa met their gazes, they turned away to whisper to those around them. Moving through the tables and chairs, they eventually reached the bar where to Lissa’s surprise, stood an Elf. Man or woman Lissa could not tell, she was enraptured at seeing them. Their eyes were black as coal and sparkled as if they were full of stars. The hair was cropped short around their ears, which added a good few centimeters to their height and were covered in gems. They brought their gaze up and smiled, showing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and a high soothing voice came from their lips, “How may this humble elf assist you, oh lord and ladies?”. When they finished, a few patrons seated at the bar sniggered.

“Hyla, you don’t need to……” one man at the bar started to say before the words died on their lips at the sight of Lissa, Saida, and Micah. “In this case, Marcus protocol dictates I must. Now please make room for our esteemed guests.” Hyla shooed to their sides, the gems on their ears glowing momentarily as the stools moved along with their patrons. Three unoccupied seats quickly filled the space, allowing them to sit. Saida and Micah promptly sat while Lissa stood back, her gaze shifting from Hyla to the stools and back again. “My lady? Have you never seen an elf before? Surely you have considering your c……” Hyla spoke before their eyes flicked to Saida, and whatever they were about to say changed.

“…Current position as an emissary,” Hyla smiled cheerfully as Lissa took a seat. “I am afraid I have not, Owner Hyla,” Lissa said, joining Micah and Saida. Lissa was not surprised Saida had seen pure elves before, but it did come as a shock that Micah had. “Ah, it is always a pleasure to meet someone who understands how to greet me properly,” Hyla did a smaller bow now.

“I was instructed in Elven Etiquette at the academy,” Lissa thought for a moment on what to say next. “And I would like a small glass of sweet wine if you have it,” Lissa decided she would indulge her sweet tooth a little bit. Saida and Micah both raised their eyebrows at her before ordering a pint of beer each. Lissa watched Hyla dance their way up and down the bar procuring both the glasses and drinks. It was fascinating watching them work so effortlessly. After Hyla set down their drinks, Lissa glanced at the mirror behind the bar. She had to force herself not to turn as a gentleman with the same intense golden eyes as her dream sat in one corner. Their entire body was covered in unnatural shadow, “Whatcha looking at Lis?” Saida’s question made Lissa glance at her for a moment and then back to the mirror.

The figure was gone, “Nothing, I thought I had seen someone I knew. Must have been my imagination, though.” Saida shrugged while taking a sip of her beer and smacking her lips approvingly. Lissa shook her head, clearing the apparent hallucination from her thoughts and sipped her wine. It rolled across her tongue in a wave of fruity tartness. After appreciating it for a moment, she swallowed, and it left behind a sweet tingle on her tongue. “That is outstanding Owner Hyla,” Lissa said after taking another sip and feeling the warmth settle in her stomach.

Hyla sidled over to Lissa and smiled, “My lady, you mustn’t continue with the formalities. We are friends. You can just call me Hyla.” Lissa smiled while looking into their eyes, “Do you like what you……” Hyla’s voice trailed off, and their gaze shifted to something behind Lissa. Turning, Lissa found a pair of women, one with red hair and the other a brunette, with knives out yelling at each other. She couldn’t make out what was being said over the growing shouts of alarm from those around them. Lissa went to stand when a surprisingly firm hand was placed on her shoulder. “No need to bother Lady Lissa,” Hyla’s soothing voice reached her ears. Lissa looked down as she felt something stir from under her and found coils of rope snaking their way to the women.

Micah yelped in alarmed after seeing the ropes move under him. Saida seemed unfazed and continued to sip her beer while the more perceptive members of the bar moved away from the lines of rope. Lissa could see the shouting of the woman reach a crescendo and finally heard a snippet of what was going on. “You expect me to believe that from you! That a lowly bitch like you seriously could take them away from me!” The redhead shouted while wildly swinging her knife at the brunette. She backpedaled the clumsy swing and collided with a patron behind her, almost falling. The redhead pounced, seeing an opening, but Lissa could see it was a feint. The brunette quickly brought her forward into the path of the other woman whose momentum prevented her from stopping in time. The dawning realization of her mistake was cut short as ropes lashed out at both of them.

Both women tried to fight off the ropes with their knives, but it just made it easier for the ropes to subdue them. The bar grew quiet as the women fell silent and struggled fruitlessly at their bindings. “Now now, ladies, I know both of you are regulars.” Lissa could feel Hyla’s grip tighten slightly as the ropes slithered over to the bar with their cargo. Everyone made room for them to pass, and as they drew closer, both of their eyes grew wide. Filled with fear, this made Lissa turn to look at Lissa, and she saw a wide toothy grin across their face. Their eyes were devoid of star-like lights in them and just black voids. “You both know my rules well enough,” Hyla said while flipping over the bar, their voice still calm and soothing.

Hyla strode to the women who continued to struggle, and Lissa noticed the nails on Hyla’s hands were growing to talons. Hyla rubbed them across both their faces, and they stopped fighting. The bar itself was quite enough to hear a pin drop. “Normally, on the first offense, I wouldn’t do much other than throwing you out.” Hyla plucked the knives from both women’s hands. “Considering though it seemed you were intent on actually killing each other. I must sadly move onto the punishment for the third offense.” Hyla’s hands stopped mid-stroke and slowly turned to bring one talon to the cheek. Both the redhead and brunette were crying, and the ropes gagging them worked well to muffle their screams. The nail touching their cheeks glowed brightly before Hyla carved a deep gash.

It went along their cheekbone to their jaw and finally ended at their chin. The wound smoked as it was made, and even with the gags, everyone in the bar could hear the blood-curdling screams. After a minute, Hyla stopped, turned, and walked back to the bar licking the blood that dripped from their nails. Hyla stopped abruptly after reaching the bar, and the gems on their ears glowed. The ropes slowly fell to the floor, and each woman screamed, grabbing their marked face. “Now, ladies, those should be treated by a healer, but let it be known they will scar.” Hyla turned their head to them both. “Both of you are banned from my bar. Now get out before I make you.”

Both women scrambled to their feet and rushed out the door while the bar remained quite. Hyla flipped back over the bar, Lissa spun back to face them and saw the light was back in their eyes. Hyla spread their arms wide, “Now I will give everyone a free round to get the good mood back!” The gems glowed once more, and dozens of ropes appeared to dispense drinks to all of the patrons. Soon enough, with the alcohol flowing, the mood returned to what it was. “Aren’t you worried about the guards causing trouble for you?” Lissa asked after waiting for Hyla to get back to them.

Hyla smirked and shook their head, “No, I am protected, they know my methods, plus I keep most people here happy and the unsavory types from causing trouble.” Hyla finished with a hand on their chest, brimming with pride. “If I may be so rude, may I ask if you are a man or woman?” Lissa turned to face Micah as he spoke while Saida audibly coughed after inhaling beer. Lissa brought her face close to his and whispered with gritted teeth, “Micah, you know it is rude to……” Before she could continue, Hyla laughed and waved her away. “Not at all, my Lord. Though sadly, my caste doesn’t have a gender.” Hyla looked at both Micah and Lissa, who were stunned at that revelation. “You didn’t know? Was that not covered in your courses?” Hyla looked between them still hand hovering just below their chin.

“No, the academy, and by extension, the Dominion doesn’t teach that,” Saida interjected after finishing her beer and putting it on the bar. Hyla’s gaze fell on Saida, “And how could you as Royal……” Lissa turned to look at Saida as well and saw a strange expression cross Hyla’s face for a moment before her gaze settled on Saida. Lissa saw a brief flicker of something cross Saida’s eyes before disappearing, “Emissaries be ignorant of such things.” Hyla continued after breaking eye contact with Saida, who nodded and looked back at Lissa.

“So what caste were you, Hyla?” Micah asked, appearing to be ignorant of any pauses or hesitations. “Hyla is part of the Guardian caste,” Saida answered for Hyla, whose mouth was just starting to open in reply. “The only reason I know if my mother and father taught me about them,” Saida said while absentmindedly playing with her earrings. “She is correct, Guardians only had one duty protecting our assigned Noble with our lives. Gender would only hinder that duty.” Hyla continued biting their lip for a moment, “Or at least that is what we were told.”

Lissa frowned. “Is this something you should be sharing this openly?” Saida asked while she looked at Hyla, who only smirked. The gems on Hyla’s ears were glowing, “As soon as Lord Micah started asking questions, I created white noise around us. Both to allow our conversation to go unhindered and to keep unworthy from knowing this.” Hyla tapped a finger on the bar, “It is rather taxing, though, do you have any further questions?” Hyla looked between Micah and Lissa, “I don’t have any besides to ask if you are comfortable being called Miss Hyla.” Micah looked sheepishly into his empty mug as he finished.

“My lord Micah you can call me that if you wish, I don’t mind.” Lissa looked closely at Hyla and saw they were hiding a smile behind their hands. She also noticed the gems were starting to fade, and sweat was breaking out on Hyla’s forehead. “Hyla, I think you can stop using magic now,” Lissa suggested hoping to relieve the strain. “Also, can you get us another round?” Saida asked, idly fiddling with her empty mug. Hyla chuckled and bowed, “Anything for you, my lady.” Quickly retrieving their glasses and cups, Hyla refilled them all.

Lissa slowly drank her wine over the next hour while Saida and Micah finished three more mugs. Hyla doted on them all the while, Lissa noted that if she was preoccupied with them, a rope would attend to whoever called. Lissa was fascinated by Hyla, her hearing was exceptional. It seemed that each time her name was mentioned, Hyla’s ears twitched in that direction. Lissa couldn’t help but stare at them, not only for that reason but her earrings. Unlike other focuses that Lissa had seen that were jewelry, these lit up individually rather than all at once. Lissa wanted to know how the Aether flowed through them or was controlled by them, but didn’t want the resulting migraine it would cause.

As Lissa finished her glass, she saw Hyla reach for it to refill it but waved her off. “No, I think we should get going. If nothing else so you can get back to work without doting.” Hyla looked disappointed as Lissa’s words but acquiesced. “If you say so, my lady,” Hyla quickly scooped the half-finished mugs from both Saida and Micah and downed them both. Saida looked disappointed as the booze was consumed, “Oh, come on! I wanted to see Micah drunk!” Hyla raised her eyebrow after placing down the mugs, “Considering his current state, I can say with certainty that he is.” Lissa turned to Micah, who was supporting his head with one arm on the bar. He was staring at Hyla, Lissa knew he was smitten or at least entranced by her.

Saida blinked and smiled as she began studying Micah as well. “Lis! Is he with anyone?!?!” Lissa felt Saida hold her tightly and whisper loudly into her ear. Lissa rolled her eyes and used her tail to pry Saida from her, “I don’t think so, and I don’t think you needed to get him drunk to have him look like this.” Saida moved in front of Lissa and smirked, “I know, but this is more fun!” Lissa could smell the alcohol on her breath as she spoke, “Could you please just calm down we need to go.” Saida, still smirking, waved Lissa off, “I will take care of the tab you take Micah out.”

Lissa took Micah by the arm and slowly pulled him from the bar while Saida rummaged through her pouches. Hyla leaned on the bar and blew a kiss to Micah while waiting for Saida. Lissa couldn’t see Micah’s reaction, but based on Hyla’s smile, it was good. Lissa slowly made her way to the door navigating through the happy crowd. Soon enough, they both walked out of the bar into the midday sun. “Shit, we were in there longer than I thought,” Lissa said while readjusting Micah to be more comfortable on her shoulder.

Lissa heard the door open behind her and watched Saida gracefully waltz out and slam the door. Lissa raised an eyebrow, “Was that necessary?” Saida shrugged before answering, “Not really, but it felt good to do it,” Saida gestured behind her, “Plus, some Silver Shields were behind me.” Lissa pinched the brow of her nose and sighed, “Your hatred for them is going to bite you in the ass one of these days, you know.” Saida stepped away from the door as a rather large barrel-chested woman burst through. Her red hair seemed to ignite as she glared at Saida, who stood a head shorter than her. “What is your deal! You knew we were behind you,” the woman shouted, getting in Saida’s face spittle flying.

Saida looked unconcerned as the large woman closed on her and merely glanced behind her. “Oh, I am sorry I was in a bit of a hurry and tripped backward into the door.” The woman stepped closer once again and pointed a giant finger at Saida, “Bullshit! I saw you look at us before you did it!” Saida shrugged at the woman and her companions who were gathering behind her. Lissa expected the confrontation to escalate and was prepared to push Micah away and intercede. Saida did the unexpected and offered her hand to the woman who flinched for a moment expecting a punch. “Well, I am sorry to both you and your companions. I will make sure to not be so careless in the future.” Saida waited for the woman to take her hand, who still expected foul play.

Lissa watched all of this surprised, as both Saida and the woman shook. “Uhh, apology accepted, and sorry for yelling had a bad day. I had a bit to drink too, so,” The woman rubbed her head, and turned to her companions. As she was speaking to them, Lissa turned to Saida and saw something strange over her shoulder. It looked like a pair of red eyes that disappeared as she blinked. Lissa shook her head, chalking it up to the alcohol, “That was surprisingly civil.” Saida looked at Lissa and shrugged, “I wanted to prove to you both I can be civil sometimes.”

Saida didn’t allow for a reply before walking away towards the Inn. “I am sure we will run into someone on the way back. If not, we can leave him in the Inn to sober up while we find the bathhouse.” Saida turned to look at Lissa with a mischievous smirk on her face. “You do owe us all a luxury bath visit.” Lissa and Micah groaned, one due to drinking and the other due to their already lightening purse.