Sneaking out

"Wow, you've never been to a carnival before?" Not sure if Queen Frey knew what a carnival was, Elijah explained "A carnival is sort of like a mini-amusement park; there are rides, games, some shops, lots of foot. I think you would love it. I know I do." He gave her a huge grin.

It was true. As a child, whenever he could scrounge up enough money (or steal it in later years), he and his friends would always go to the carnival when it was in town. It served as a nice respite to the hell he had to go through in the rest of his young life as a homeless orphan.

"Ah..! Rides and games."

*she blinked at these statements, sure she'd like it as well*

"Lead the way then..I think I heard of the carnival coming to town by some of the ladies in the castle. They were going to go today. I hope they don't see me.."

Elijah scratched his chin as he thought of a solution. "Hmmm...If you would be willing, I could buy you a glamour to use at the carnival. There's a magic shop nearby that sells them."

"A glamour?"

*she thought about it for a moment..then nodded*

"That's a good idea. That way I won't be spotted. Hopefully people won't notice enough to realize it's me."

*she laughed a little*

"They might call some guards to bring me back. That is if I don't catch and quiet them first."

*clearing her throat she looked off with guilt*

"I liked to see that," Elijah joked.

He led her to the magic shop, which was about a half a block down from the tavern. Like almost all the other establishments along this street, it had a seedy look, with even seedier-looking characters entering and leaving the building.

"Here we are, Goyle's Magic Emporium," he announced.

"Oh! I've never been here before. Have you?"

*she looked in the windows, watching the shopkeeper, wacky looking fellow, tend to the people who just entered the building. The inside seemed filled with drab colors...and bright ones, an array of jars upon the back wall*

"Ah..well...shall we go in?"

"Yes Ma'am," Elijah opened the door for Queen Frey to enter, then followed her in. Once in the store he stepped in front of her and made a b-line for the front counter. The store owner, Edrin Goyle, was manning the counter this evening. He was a strange looking man; with rough, stone-like features, and a grey palor to his skin, he looked like a living gargoyle.

"You're a bit early Hart, your order doesn't arrive until tomorrow." Goyle had a raspy voice. He was referring to Elijah's bi-weekly order of special seasonings and spices, for the purposes of cooking. Despite the shoddy appearance of his shop, Goyle always had excellent supplies, and they were usually cheaper than what the nicer-looking stores offered.

"No, I'm here to purchase a glamour. Do you have any in stock?"

Goyle scratched his chin. "Plenty. What's your preference?"

Elijah turned to Frey and asked, "What do you want to look like?"

"Haha like Skye. That'll be a laugh."

*she chuckled and rolled her eyes. Alyss gave a charming smile though to the shopkeeper, giving a nod of a greeting before saying

"Perhaps something exotic? What's most popular in your...list of glamours?"

Goyle opened a small record book on his desk, and began skimming through the pages to find the appropriate statistics. "Hmmm...for females, "the Zelda look" appears to be the most popular. They're very attractive looking, with pale skin, green eyes or yellow eyes, and long black hair. Would you be interested in purchasing this glamour?"

'Black hair stands out much less than pink hair for sure...'

*she nodded in acceptance*

"Sure! I'll take that one. How much will it be?"

*the girl reached into her pocket to pull out the appropriate amount of money for the good shopkeeper*

Elijah held up a hand to stop Frey. "No...Rachel, I'll pay for this." He could feel himself wince as he called Frey out of her name; but calling woman younger than him, 'Ma'am" may raise suspension.

He looked at Goyle, "How much?"

"360 credits," Goyle answered as he produced the glamour spell - a folded piece of thick parchment - from under the counter.

Elijah nodded and pulled his wallet out from of his backpocket. He proceeded to remove several bank notes amounting to 360 credits and gave them to Goyle. Goyle in turn, gave him the spell. Elijah thanked the man, then led Frey back outside.

"So, do you know how to use these things?" he asked her as he passed her the glamour spell.

"Not a clue."

*she looked over the thick parchment, running her fingers along the rough paper. She opened it a little to peek in, then closed it. Turning to him, she gave it back to him, laughing a little*

"You'll have to help me on this."

Elijah nodded and began the process of setting up the glamour spell. He unfolded the parchment to its full size; at full size, the parchment was a yard (.9 meters) in length and width, a perfect square. A large black ring was painted in the center of the otherwise blank square. He set it down on the ground in front of Frey.

"Ma'am, please step inside the circle, and then I can activate the glamour."

*she did so, curious and fascinated*

"So...how does this work..."

"When you say the word 'contego' (latin for " to cover"), the spell will activate. The ring that you're standing inside will activate (it will become a glowing orange color) and rise over your body. As it rises, it will coat you with the glamour, and then you'll be ready."

"Well umm..."

*she hesitated, looking around before she said the word, not sure if she heard right*

"C-Contogo?"

*nothing happened and Alyss looked embarrassed. Shaking her head, she studdered*

"Conmetgo! Contomgo! ...Contego?"

*instantly, as he had described, an orange light began to come from the circle around her, engulfing her completely. As it covered over her cloak, her boots, and everything in between, an intricate long dress replaced it instead. And as it came to cover her hair, her hair grew shorter and black. Passing over her face, her blue eyes went away and were replaced with yellow eyes, cat-like and a beautiful broad nose. Turning to him, she curtsied, interested in this guise*

"How's it look?"

Elijah couldn't help but chuckle as Frey struggled to pronounce the activation word correctly. After several tries, she finally got it right, and the spell activated.

After she had transformed, she curtsied asked him how the glamour looked. "You--er the glamour looks great." Ellijah responded, having to correct a small gaffe as he spoke. She really did; although she hadn't changed drastically (her basic form and most of her facial features) she looked a lot more feminine with the dress, and the color change of her hair and eyes made her look even more attractive. (Elijah had always had a thing for raven haired girls with strange-colored eyes. )

"The glamour will last for 72 hours, but if you want to dissolve the glamour before that time, say 'aperio' (latin for 'to uncover') three times in quick succession. So, do we go to the carnival now?"

*bump*