Elfsong - Elaine Cunningham [20]
It was often said that one could buy virtually anything in Waterdeep. While this was true, shopping was also a form of entertainment. Musicians performed in the streets and courtyards, setting a festive mood. The warmly lit shops and bazaars offered every comfort and inducement. Servants circulated trays laden with delicacies and tiny wine goblets. Beautiful shop attendants, wearing samples of the clothing and jewels available, mingled with the customers, offering advice and flattery. These were skilled in the art of making patrons believe that similar beauty could be theirs, for the price of a few gold coins.
In one of these shops, Rebeleigh's Elegant Headwear, a tall, silver-haired woman stood before a mirror and considered her reflection with a mixture of wry humor and resignation. As Lady Arunsun, Laeral faced a number of social obligations. With the Midsummer festivities right around the corner, these seemed as persistent and endless as the heads of a hydra.
"This will be perfect for Lady Raventree's masquerade ball," gushed the shopkeeper, standing on tiptoe to adjust Laeral's headdress of delicate links and tiny coral beads. "It's authentic, you know. It once belonged to a Moonshae princess who died more than two hundred years ago."
"I can see why," Laeral quipped. "If she could afford decent chain mail, she'd probably still be alive."
"Oh, yes, quite," Rebeleigh said agreeably, whisking off the headdress. The shopkeeper was a slight middle-aged woman, a weather vane for the winds of fashion and a walking calendar of social events. She knew nothing of Laeral's years of adventure, intrigue, and combat. All that Rebeleigh gleaned from her customer's comment was that the headdress was not pleasing, and that was enough. She snatched up a fanciful confection of ice-blue velvet and silver ribbon. "This would suit you well, my lady. Stoop down a bit if you please."
Laeral did as she was bid. She glanced at her reflection andburst outlaughing.
"You seem to have singularly bad luck with headwear," commented a sweetly venomous voice to her side.
Laeral turned and look down into the lovely, insincerely smiling face of Lucia Thione. A scion of Tethyrian royalty, Lady Thione was a powerful figure in Waterdeep society. She was a popular hostess and a much-sought-after beauty, and she was widely acclaimed for her business acumen and her charm. She never wasted this charm on Laeral, much to the mage's secret amusement
Lucia Thione bristled at the glint of humor in Laeral's silver eyes. Lady Thione despised the mage, whose birth and early life were swathed in mystery, and she envied her role as Lady Arunsun, a position to which she herself had unsuccessfully applied. The diminutive noblewoman also felt insubstantial next to the six-foot mage and completely eclipsed by Laeral's unearthly beauty.
"At least that hat is not enchanted," Lady Thione continued, since Laeral was apparently too dense to recognize a well-bred insult She smiled again. "I suppose you'd hate to go through all that unpleasantness again."
The noblewoman was finally rewarded with a reaction: Laeral's face became very still.
"A street musician was just singing about you. Come, hear for yourself," Lucia said softly. "I'm sure you'll find it fascinating."
Without waiting for a response, she glided out of the shop and rejoined the small crowd clustered around a street singer. The minstrel was a jolly-looking man of middle years, and although his voice was mellow and pleasant, the people shifted uneasily as they listened. Lucia made her way over to Caladorn and gave his arm a sympathetic squeeze.
"He is singing that dreadful ballad again?"
"Yes," Caladorn said through gritted teeth. "I thought all the bards in town had been officially cautioned against singing it."
Lucia looked sharply at her young