In Exchange for Magic

"Nope," I said again. "There is no way I'm putting that thing on."
"Rose! I've already told you! There's nothing else that you-"
"I don't care!" I barked. "Find me something else! That isn't a dress... It's a shirt!"

My disguise consisted of a miniscule amount of fabric that Ez seemed to think was a dress. It was black and, of course, deeply v-necked. The hem line would fall at, about, my upper thighs. There was a severe amount of sparkles, rouging, and lace at the chest, and the shirt poofed out slightly.

"Rose," Ez explained, still waving about the dress. "I've told you time and time again... You have to pass yourself off as a vampire."
"Okay, that doesn't mean I have to wear that!"
"Yes it does!" he cried. "You don't have the right color skin, and your teeth are not pointed, so we have to play up the sexiness!"

"But... But..."
"I'm sorry. I really am. It was the only magical creature I could think of who looks remotely human. I stole this thing a while ago. It came with the entire laundry basket... If I could have gotten you something a bit more appropriate, I would've."
I groaned and scowled at the dress.
"Unless you want to be found out as a human..." he coaxed.

"Gimmie the dress."

A few moments later, I had slipped into the thing. To be honest, it was worse than the dress I'd been wearing when I arrived here.

"I don't like it, Ez," I grumbled. "I don't like it one bit."

I tried to simultaneously cover up the sizable amount of cleavage I was showing and hide my thighs under the hemline, but it didn't work.

"Well, that's too bad," he answered. "Because I do like it. I like it a lot."
"Pig!"

He studied me for a moment.

"We can't have that," he said, pointing to his mother's elf-gold necklace.
"What?" I asked. "I need it!"
"It's too noticeable... And rare. It would stand out."
"But, won't the-"

Ez took the sides of my face and planted a quick kiss on my mouth. His fingers gripped my jaw, but his lips were soft. It stunned me in to silence.

He pulled away, with a serious, business-like face, as if kissing was all part of the job. Which, it pretty much was. I was still frozen in shock, so he reached around to the back of my neck and undid the small clasp to the golden pendant himself. Before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine again.

We broke away, and Ez was smiling softly.

It was then that I realized that he hadn't been the one to initiate the second kiss. It had been me.

"I... I... The one kiss wasn't enough magic to... erm... It wasn't enough to hide my human-y...ness. I guess."

He chuckled and cleared his throat.
"We should probably get going, huh?"
"Y-Yeah. That would be good."

-_-_-_-_-

"I keep getting strange looks," I whispered to Ez.
"They think you're hot," he whispered back.

I quietly elbowed him sharply in the side and he winced.

There is absolutely no way to describe the Royal City. The buildings were all stone, cute and quaint looking. The streets buzzed and the many shapes and forms of creatures spoke many shapes and forms of languages. My head swam with the raw energy of it all.

Suddenly, Ez grasped my hand. He tensed as a long line of Royal Guards marched in front of us. The Guards were Cyans, with nut brown skin. They wore blue uniforms with red stitching and shiny golden buttons. Their close-cropped black hair caught a gleam in the midday sun.

"Relax," I instructed. "You're going to look suspicious..."

His fingers tightened around my own.

"I'm scared," he muttered.
"Well, don't be," I ordered. "Because if you're scared, then I'm doomed."

He blinked forcefully and squeezed my hand even tighter, digging his nails into my palm. His eyes darted up to the castle... The looming monster on the hill, looking down upon the city.

"I can't do this today," he told me out of the corner of his mouth. "I can't face the Palace."
"It's okay. I understand. We'll just go back into the woods and try again to tomorrow."

He breathed out a soft: "Thank you." And we turned around to head back to where we'd come from. But, just as we'd taken our first step, we both noticed something. The Royal Guards who had been patrolling the area weren't just there for show. They were all lined up... Marching towards the woods that surrounded the Royal City.

"Great," Ez grumbled.

I leaned over to a fairy who was looking curiously up at the Guards.

"What's going on?" I asked her.
Her pink face lit up at the prospect of gossip. "They're searching the woods," she revealed, as if she was giving me an important exclusive. "There have been rumors that a Half-Breed is in the area!"

"Oh," I managed to choke out. "How... Erm... Horrible."
"Isn't it just?" she asked, and trotted away, her shopping bags swinging wildly about her wrists.

"Ez?"
"I heard."
"We're in deep shit, aren't we?"
"Oh yeah."