Disclaimer: this is a rough, unedited first look and does not fully represent the final product. Respectful feedback is welcome
Vashti stepped down the path alone, her heart heavy and her bags more so. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She checked her disguise. Elvish, silver-haired, green-eyed. She snapped her pocket mirror shut and ground her teeth. At least it wasn’t human. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
Dust stirred up the trail. Rocks bounced and clattered over the hill as she took a deep breath. Trotting of hooves loudened as a carriage descended upon her. It was now or never. The elf traveler held up the hem of her dress and flagged it down.
The stagecoach stopped. Another lady drove the cart. She wore a straw hat, a rich tan, and devilishly pointed ears. Her short dress teased her scarred legs, and a flintlock clasped to her belt. Pink gloss coated her lips, and Vashti smelt candy.
Beside the elf driver sat a man, a human, with hair a sandier blond than the woman’s. The fact of him being human alone made Vashti’s lip curl. Such puny, fragile creatures were beneath her. Not that she wanted them beneath her.
Vashti averted her gaze. Her face reddened, embarrassed. She didn’t dare ask for help.
Beaming, the driver clacked on her gum. “Need a ride, love?”
Vashti stared at her shoes and nodded.
“Well, don’t be shy. Hop in. The fare’s one gold Werk.”
Vashti choked on her spit. “One Gold?”
The human spoke up. “It’s that or roaming the wilderness with raiders, bewilderiths and hulet-begs.”
The driver elbowed him.
“Ow.”
“You’ll have to excuse my brother. Momma dropped him on his head as a child.”
“Did not.”
Brother? Vashti’s eyes narrowed. She supposed it made sense as she’d never seen a blonde elf before, but even half human was one half too much. Why did they have to run the only taxi carriage?
The driver whispered. “Look at her—alone, dropped in the woods, afraid. Cut her a break.”
“That’s what she wants you to think,” he shot back. “How do we know she’s not bait?”
The sister rolled her eyes. “Sure. Climb aboard, love. It’s on me.”
Vashti’s heart panged with guilt. Perhaps she misjudged the driver. She curtsied and ascended the steps of the coach.
Inside the cabin sat two men and a clownfish person of sorts. Vashti studied him, unsure what to make of the absurd creature. A porcelain plated banjo rested on his lap and he puffed a canteen like an inhaler. His red eyes widened and bright orange, white, and black bands patterned his porous scales. Suspenders held up his oversized pants, and the clownfish took another sharp hit from the canteen.
His fat lips smacked, and he began to sing. “Waillllllllll! Walrus went to town, and he did ride an urchin. Oh, Walrus went to town, and he did ride an urchin! Ohhhhh!”
“Guppy!” The brother snapped from the driver’s seat. “What have we told you about singing?”
The clownfish hung his head in shame. “To not to…”
The elf driver silently scolded her brother. The other passengers slowly unplugged their ears, and Vashti took her seat. Her fingers drummed with contempt toward the clownfish. She knew his kind: minstrel. Bard.
The sister hollered back at her brother. “Pipe down, Jack. He’s four.” She leaned through a small window behind the seat. “Now Guppy, what did Miss Candy tell you?”
Guppy blinked in a thousand-yard stare with crossed eyes. Candy snapped her fingers, and his eyes narrowed, falling into place before he tightened his leather seat belt and zipped his frog-like lips.
Candy smiled. Jack stole the reins while she was distracted, and they returned to full speed. Vashti eyed the men accompanying her. The entire cabin reeked of booze and cheap cologne. Or was it aftershave? Thought Vashti. Not that it mattered. She despised humanity and hated their company.
The carriage jostled, hitting the wheel wells and rivets of the road. Humming, Guppy swayed his head, keeping rhythm. He puffed his canteen and his eyes watered. The lights were on, but no one was home.
Vashti clutched her bag close in her lap. To her left, the man smirked. He belched a breath of whiskey and tiptoed his fingers up her thigh.
She snatched them away, and his bones crunched in her grip.
The other man craned his neck. “What the devil’s a matter with you, elf.”
Vashti tossed his companion’s arm aside, and he wept, massaging his fingers. “Don’t touch me.”
His companion struck her face.
Jack yanked back on the reins so hard the six-legged horses sat down. Those unbuckled hit the ceiling followed by the front wall. Guppy clapped with joy.
Candy pulled her gun and swayed it, gesturing towards the door. “Out.”
The drunk rubbed his head. “But she—”
“Out.” She pointed her gun for emphasis.
The broken-hand drunk unbuckled.
“Way to go, Carl,” griped the other.
“Not my fault she ain’t flirty like the others. I thought all elves were nymphs,” said Carl.
“Oh, shut up.”
Jack tossed the luggage in their faces, and they fell backwards. Candy aimed, with her finger hovering over the trigger and resting her elbows atop the carriage’s roof.
The drunk whined. “It’s four hours to town, we’ll—”
Jack cracked the whip, and the carriage sped, ditching them in clouds of dust.
Vashti rubbed her eye. It swelled in a mushy plum hue. She matched inside and out now.
Candy hung over the edge of the carriage until she was for certain the men fell out of sight. Once satisfied, she checked on her passengers. She clacked her gum like a cow. “You alright love?”
Vashti breathed in deep and fought tears. She nodded.
“I can make you a compress if you’d like.”
Vashti shook her head.
Candy tsked. “Oh, you poor thing. So shy.” She stood up and her dress caught the wind, buffeting her brother in the face.
“Do we have to do this now?”
“Will you hush up? The little lamb’s been through enough. It’ll only take a second and maybe if you’d bite your tongue more often, you’ll find yourself a lovely dove like her.”
“Ha, yeah right, and run this business? And take care of you? And fend off bandits? Keep at it; you’ll make a decent comedian.”
Candy stuck her tongue at him and dug through the saddle bags, pulling a cool steak wrapped in parchment paper and butcher’s twine. She reached in the window to the traveler. “Here ya go.”
Daring, Vashti took it and seemed unsure what its meaning was. She sniffed it. Salty.
“You press it against your eye, silly.”
Vashti raised the cool meat to her socket and winced. Her toes curled.
Candy stared at her expectantly. “So, what’s your name?”
Vashti’s eyes darted. Did she dare reveal herself? What was she thinking? Who were they to be feared? No, life was the other way around.
“Vashti,” she found herself saying.
“Oh, like the dragon?”
Vashti immediately regretted her decision. They’d expose her. She nodded.
“How lovely. Makes you sound fierce and exotic,” said Candy, marveling.
A smile crept through Vashti’s scowl.
“Dragons,” chimed Jack. “You know you have to watch for those around here. Ugly hotheads like that will char you silly.”
“I’ll have you know that my full name is Vashti, the adorable,” Vashti snapped.
“Her full name,” Candy corrected with a laugh.
Vashti fell silent. “Yes, her full name.”
“I meant no offense.”
“Pipe down, Jack,” said Candy.
She patted him on the back. Jack muttered in his seat. Candy squeezed through the tint window and buckled in beside Guppy, and he clapped at her trick.
“So, Vashti, what brings you to the Bolo’s Grotto area?”
“Lots of questions,” muttered Vashti.
“Only small talk, dearie.”
Vashti sighed. “I’m looking for a man.”
“Ha, ain’t we all?”
Jack laughed. It seemed only Vashti and Guppy didn’t get the joke.
Candy let out a nervous chuckle. “Just teasing, love. Why so quiet? Did he give you butterflies in your tummy?”
Vashti palmed her navel. “Something like that.”
Candy’s face lit up. “Wait, is he waiting for you? Or are you looking for the lucky someone?”
Vashti’s knuckles cracked. “I’m hunting him down.”
Candy read her body language, but appeared nervous. “Well, I hope you find him. It’s not too often we meet other elves. Right Jack?”
“Sorry, can’t hear you.”
Candy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Selective hearing,” she muttered. “I said, it’s not too often we meet other elves. Right Jack?” She spoke through gritted teeth, “Talk to her.”
Jack scratched his head and looked away.
“He’s shy too… And desperate…”
“Candice!”
“You are! Look at you. You’re diggity-desperate.”
Vashti pressed the raw meat over her eye with an aching head as the mortals quarreled. Such bickering was beneath her. In life, you take what you want; scorched or be scorched. And she already let herself be scorched once. Vashti prayed she wasn’t showing.
Guppy offered Vashti a bite of his sandwich, and she politely refused. Guppy blinked and crossed his eyes before wedging the entire slab down his throat. He finished it in one bite and swallowed. “Turkey,” he praised.
Finished arguing, Candy waved Jack off in their spat and patted Guppy on the head. “He likes his turkey.”
The clownfish’s lips curled in a menacing smile. “Turkey.”
Candy cupped her lips and whispered. “He’s a few flapjacks shy of a short stack.”
“Guppy play Banjo!” he belted before wheezing. He coughed, out of breath, and puffed his canteen.
Staring, Vashti couldn’t get past his type, bard. It transfixed her. A different bard had left Vashti breathless too that night, so many lonesome nights ago. Vashti crossed her legs, playing with her jade necklace, as her mind couldn’t help but recall the ordeal. Something tiny kicked in her gullet. She hated humans.