Free By Moonlight Wrought (Bt Moonlight Wrought) by John Crandall Page A

to her desk
where she sat down.  She tallied the price and showed it to Jiles.  A look of
astonishment crossed his face and Cinder chuckled, thinking, as she rarely did
anymore, of how her father would be proud of some of the things she did; and
not so proud of others.
             “You’re an expensive girl, Cinder,” he
said.
             “I’m not.  The perfume is,” she
whined politely but with a gorgeous smile.
             “Yes, that’s what I meant,” Jiles said as
she placed the bottles in a small box and handed them to him.  “It would be a
shame if you did not accompany me to dinner now,” he pressed, “I mean, after
helping you keep your job.  Besides, you need to come and pick up your
fragrances,” he said, holding up the small box and rattling it from side to
side quickly.  Cinder stepped forward nervously, hands up to stop him from
shattering the delicate jars.  “Dinner tonight?  At seven bells?”
             “For me?” Cinder asked, her sarcasm noted
by the man.  “Oh, I’m sorry.  I can’t tonight.”
             “Tomorrow?”
             “No,” she said.
             “Anytime?” he asked, this time more
impatiently.  Cinder thought for a few moments.
             “Yes,” she said.  “This Fornday, at eight
bells.”  Jiles Anderson, spice merchant, smiled as he handed Cinder the money
for his costly purchase, pressing a healthy tip firmly into her palm. 
             Cinder cast him a big, friendly smile. 
“Thank you.”
             “I’ll see you on Fornday, then,” he said.
              Cinder had worked at the perfume shop Winds
of Spice , Andrelia’s most famous, for just a week.  Darlene Sanders,
proprietor, had been drawn to Cinder, as had most of the prospective employers
she had attracted in the single hour as she stood stunningly beautiful in the
market place.  After a brief discussion regarding pay and benefits, foremost of
which was the permission to use any of the fragrances in the store, Cinder
accepted the offer of needed employment.  Perfume was such a human concept that
Cinder could not resist, and the aroma’s tickled her elven senses heavily. 
             Ms. Sanders hoped that Cinder’s
personality and beauty would charm many a customer into purchases, and the
half-elf did in fact prove good for business.  Not only did the male clientele
return more often that first week, ostensibly to buy scents for their loves,
but Cinder was even liked, and her opinion valued, by the women who shopped
there.  The job did not pay well, but it was a good atmosphere and Cinder was
able to meet many people; exactly what she had wanted.  Her research was
progressing at quite a satisfactory pace.  Just as Jiles Anderson had gone out
the door, Ms. Sanders came in from the back room, carrying several bottles of
perfumes.   Not an overly attractive woman, Ms. Sanders gave the appearance of
one with her tasteful attire, soft flowing brown hair, and heavy, but skillful
use of cosmetics.
             “Ms. Sanders?” Cinder pressed, almost
giggling.
             “Yes Cinder?” she asked, turning around
to look at her assistant.
             Cinder raised her brows curiously and
lightly said “Ding.”  Almost simultaneously, the great clock sounded ‘gong’. 
Ms. Sander’s eyes narrowed and she tried not to smile, though Cinder’s
playfulness would have been a delight to even the most dour citizen.
             “I told you...”
             “Ding,” Cinder repeated in unison with
the tower.
             “...I told you not to do that,” Ms
Sanders urged.  “People will think you’re a witch, and besides, it makes me
uncomfortable.  What do you do, sit and count the seconds?”  Cinder simply
smiled.  Ms. Sanders sighed and turned to continue stocking her shelves with the
new perfumes, unaware that her new clerk was half-elven