4. Evangeline
Evangeline
LaLa was wearing a long, flowing, deep-dyed teal dress threaded with gold that matched the strings of golden belts wrapped around her hips.
Gold bangles were stacked from her wrists to past her elbows, concealing the dragon fire tattoos that went up her brown arms. The bracelets created soft music as she moved, little twinkles of sound that made LaLa seem even more inhuman than usual.
LaLa was another Fate, the Unwed Bride. People always thought of the Unwed Bride as a tragic figure, but LaLa was more of an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. She was all sequined skirts and daring smiles and reckless choices. And Evangeline adored her.
“Oh my—” LaLa nabbed a mug of steaming cocoa from one of the tables as she looked around at the tavern’s mess. “What happened here?”
“Evangeline and I were just getting frisky until you interrupted things.”
“Jacks!” Evangeline squealed, with a scolding look that only made him grin wider. “It was the wind,” she said to LaLa.
“The wind?” LaLa shot an unconvinced look toward the open window; outside it was clear and calm, save for a pink baby dragon rolling around on top of an oversize mushroom.
The wind didn’t seem to have touched the garden.
Jacks frowned, as if also unsettled by this. “Where are you two going again?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s this wonderful new shop,” LaLa said. “You’re going to love it, Eva! It should have everything you need for your curiosity tent—and a number of things you don’t need. You’re going to thank me endlessly for finding it.”
“Does this place have a name?” asked Jacks.
LaLa gave him a look of mock offense. “Do you not trust me?”
“I don’t want her getting cursed or killed … again,” he deadpanned.
She huffed dramatically. “We have both made mistakes, Jacks. And only one of her curses was my fault. You really need to get past it. I think all of this worry is giving you some wrinkles.” LaLa scrunched her nose distastefully.
Jacks’s scowl deepened.
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Evangeline said. But Jacks wasn’t listening to her.
“The name of the place?” he repeated, irritation creeping into his voice.
LaLa wobbled her head back and forth. “Well, there wasn’t exactly a sign. I found it in this dungeon, off the edge of a swamp that smelled like sulfur, full of these large beasties—”
Jacks made a sound that came disturbingly close to a growl.
LaLa laughed. “Relax, you grouch, I’m taking her to the Tinkering Toy Chest just outside of Merrywood Village, run by this cute old couple who have never cursed or killed anyone. We’ll be just fine. And while we’re gone, you should have plenty of time to clean this tavern up.”
LaLa winked at Jacks before threading her arm through Evangeline’s. Evangeline leaned toward him, to give him a goodbye kiss. Their lips brushed far too quickly before LaLa was pulling her toward the door.
Evangeline looked over her shoulder and started dragging her feet. There was still so much to do before tomorrow. And Jacks’s behavior was a little odd. “I don’t know if this is the best—”
“Oh no,” LaLa said. And then she was practically carrying Evangeline, with preternatural strength, into the sun-soaked day. “Don’t even think about staying.”
“But—”
“I know I’m your dearest friend,” LaLa interrupted, “but I’m also a Fate, and it’s a really terrible idea to break plans with me. You and Jacks can do all your fooling around when we return.”
“That’s not what I was thinking about.”
LaLa raised a dubious brow. “I’ve seen you two together. You’re like two sexy little magnets.”
Evangeline felt her cheeks go hot. “We—”
“I’m honestly surprised he let me take you away from him,” LaLa continued. “Did you see the way he kept glowering at me? I felt like a dragon stealing his treasure.”
She laughed as if it were all a great joke, and Evangeline wondered if, perhaps, she’d been making a little too much of Jacks’s mood. Fates were notoriously jealous.
She started down the path with LaLa, trying to enjoy the warm feel of the sun and the sweet smell of the flowers. But she halted at the sight of a freshly painted postcard nailed to the center of her Grand Reopening sign.
“What is this?” Evangeline ripped the postcard off the sign, leaving a bit of the pretty paper stuck to the nail.
Evangeline’s reopening sign was bright, but this postcard was even brighter, touch-it-and-it-might-leave-paint-on-your-fingers bright. The cardstock was thick, expensive, and velvety to the touch. The border was gold—real shimmer-in-the-light gold.
The longer Evangeline studied it, the heavier she felt inside.
It was more like a party invitation than an advertisement.
Behind the frame was a pink-and-violet forest that looked like the end of a sunset, with a gloriously old tree in the center that had windows and doors and golden words that sparkled amid its leaves:
Now, normally, this was just the sort of place that would have excited Evangeline Fox. Wonders! Whatnots! Illustrations tipped in gold. It looked lovely and magical, but all she could think was that people were going to want to go there instead of to the Hollow.
“I can’t believe someone stuck this here.”
“Yes, I agree,” LaLa murmured. “But”—her eyes lingered on the shimmering golden border—“aren’t you a little curious?”
Evangeline shook her head. “It looks like competition for the Hollow, and clearly they feel the same, or they wouldn’t have stuck this on my sign.”
Evangeline had made postcards, too, but they were far simpler than this. Hand drawn, with little handwritten notes that she had thought were sweet but now seemed a bit backward.
“Eva, darling, don’t fret. It’s going to give you wrinkles like Jacks—”
“But what if—”
“Ah, ah, ah,” LaLa scolded. “No imagining the worst until we check this place out.”
“I am absolutely not going there. What about the Tinkering Toy Chest?”
“I’m no longer sure toys are what we need. This place looks far more intriguing. And it’s always a wise idea to spy on the competition.” LaLa waggled her dark brows as she plucked the postcard from Evangeline’s hands.
“But we don’t even know where it is,” Evangeline protested.
“Now we do.” LaLa flipped the postcard around to reveal a map showing that the Emporium of Else was located in the heart of Merrywood Forest. There was also a painted token for free caramels.
Evangeline hadn’t thought to give people tokens. Perhaps if she and LaLa went to this Emporium, she might get a few more ideas. And, despite what she’d told LaLa, she was a little curious.
“Should we tell Jacks?” Evangeline asked.
“I say we keep this one a secret. Jacks only thinks he needs to know everything.” LaLa’s long skirts brushed against the brick path as they left the Hollow behind.