#please comment!

Every courtesan who worked there had one, framed in gold and hung in the same order of the apartments they occupied, painted skillfully and richly by an artist friend of Marion’s. They were explicitly provocative, what wasn’t directly on show was strongly hinted at, full of winks and nudges to particular skills or specialties. For example, there was a reason that Beau- Jade, according to the plaque under her portrait- was depicted eating a peach and twirling a cherry between her fingers, in a way that could only be described as delightfully obscene. To the prospective clients walking past them, these portraits made promises and crooked fingers. Come in and call me yours for however long your gold lasts.

But Vex knew Marion looked at these portraits and saw her family. The names on the little brass plaques might be their stage names, gemstones rather than people, but the grande dame of the Jewellery Box had made sure they never felt like possessions here. To her, the one who’d welcomed them all no matter where they’d stumbled in from or how heavy they’d thought their burdens were, these paintings were a very unconventional family portrait. Vex had often caught the soft spoken older tiefling gazing at them with a gentle expression, before she went out to light the red lamp every evening. 

Some of the Jewels looked at their portraits with a wry smiling pride. Some rolled their eyes at them, cringing fondly at some of the decisions made in the heat of the moment. Some of the ones who’d been here the longest lamented the times when they’d been that flexible or wondered where that particular piece of jewellery or silk had ended up. Most felt many things when they looked at these depictions of their selves who weren’t themselves, the roles they played as long as that red lamp was flickering above the door. 

Everyone saw something different, things that were hard to put a name to, things that hid behind other things that were easier to deal with. But Vex’ahlia had only ever seen one thing. 

The courtesan’s name was Onyx. She was depicted in a forest, standing tall with her curtain of black hair swept back by a wind that you could almost feel in the richness of the oils, proudly showing her slightly pointed ears. Majority of the material she wore was on her forearms in the form of two fine leather braces, very little left to preserve her modesty anywhere else but that wasn’t exactly the point now, was it? What was left was soft and dark as shadow to match her hair, like she was some hunter goddess cloaking herself in night. Her only ornamentation that wasn’t designed to stop an arrow was a necklace laying in the valley of her breasts, a purple crystal on a leather tie. All her finery was instead concentrated into the magnificent bow she drew back, all supple, gilded wood with fantastic carving, all the power of it bending to her wiry muscles. Onyx was strong, unapologetically so. 

Vex’ahlia often spent her quiet moments, in the milky light of dawn when the rest of the courtesans were stretching and chatting in the lounge or devouring a well earned breakfast or simply collapsing into sleep, sat in the foyer gazing at her painting. Sometimes she would doze off sitting here, usually to be found by her brother, who’d just wake her gently and help her upstairs to her room without asking questions. 

Art may be subjective but Vex knew exactly what she saw when she looked at her portrait. She saw someone she’d always wanted to be so desperately. Someone she’d lost, back in Syngorn, when she’d so briefly held that bow before it was taken and broken along with any faith she’d ever had in herself. Someone she’d been trying to be after they’d left, when Vax had needed her to take charge and lead and find a path for them, but it had never fit right, like a pair of boots on the wrong feet. 

Vex saw the person who, now she was safe in the Jewellery Box, she was growing to know better and better each day. Someone she wasn’t going to lose again. 

Every Jewel had their own ritual for getting ready. But Vex and Vax did things the way they’d always done it. They did it together. 

Vex was wide awake, as always, already fed and watered and washed, twice over after a long visit to the archery butts Marion had kindly put into one of the unused tower rooms for her. Vax slouched through the door that adjoined their rooms just as the sky was darkening into dusk and the lamp was an hour or so from lighting. 

“I’m not doing your makeup for you,” Vex said, as soon as she saw him skulk through the background of her dressing table mirror. 

Her brother gave a plaintive whine, taking a nose dive into her bed, messing up the way she’d neatly made it half a day ago, “Stubby…don’t make me walk all the way up to Shaun’s…”

“Shaun should tell you the exact same thing I’m about to tell you,” Vex was unmoved, opening a gilded box of powder and starting to dab it lightly onto her cheeks, “Quit being lazy and do it yourself.”

There was an indistinct noise from her pillow, one she knew her brother well enough to interpret. 

“You’re too sleepy to do it because you wake up half an hour before showtime,” Vex reminded him, moving onto her eyes, applying kohl with a much heavier hand than she’d done the powder. 

Vax turned his head, hair spread in an inky halo around him, “I had a long night! The Marquet ambassador wanted me and Mollymauk at once.”

“So you did half the work you usually do?” Vex arched her now accentuated left eyebrow at him. 

“I had to keep up with Molly!” the indignance was enough to sit him up, “Do you know how hard that is? The guy’s a bloody acrobat!”

Vex rolled her eyes, “Very well. You had a long night. What’s your excuse for oversleeping the rest of the time?”

Vax broke out his most devastating weapon, pouting and filling his eyes at will in a way only a trained actor could do. Or a brother. 

“Because I have the best sister in the whole wide world who helps me get ready. Usually…”

Vex sighed and put down her lip paint, pushing back her chair, kicking it out and pointing to it, “Fuck you. Sit down.”

Vax’s face lit up like a sunbeam, triumphant. He scrambled out of her silk sheets to sit down before her, tilting his face up expectantly. Just like every evening.

“You could break Shaun so much faster. Why do you bother with me?” Vex sighed, though they both knew fine well she’d already planned her outfit and finished her make-up so she’d have plenty of time to help him. Just like every evening.

Vax smiled a little guiltily, “Please don’t tell him this because I still want him to marry me. But I like the way you do it better.”

Vex chuckled, putting a steadying hand under his chin, “That man is head over heels for you, Scrawny. He’d marry you anyway. Close your eyes.”

“Still, I’m not taking any chances,” Vax obeyed as powder puffed up in clouds around his cheeks, “So. What’s Onyx’s book like tonight? Will I be able to steal you away for a dance?”

“You can have as many dances as you like,” Vex hummed, lost in the comforting familiarity of applying makeup to a face identical to her’s, save a few light scars here and there, “I haven’t got any pre-arranged appointments tonight.”

Vax’s eyes snapped open in shock, causing him to yelp in pain a second later when he inevitably got powder in them. 

“Rub your eyes right now and I will end you,” Vex told him calmly, “I told you to close them.”

“Come on!” Vax frowned but he did keep his hands at his sides, “You’ve not had a free night since you started working here!”

Vex dabbed gently at the tears that were running down his cheek, “Well, I had Lady Ashra but she had to cancel last minute. Not enough time to find someone else to fill the hours. You know how it is in the summer, so people off at their fancy coastal manses…I’m looking forward to a quieter night, actually.”

Vax had never been one to flatter herself but she’d learned better since becoming a courtesan. She knew she was a very popular choice in the Jewellery Box, she always had been. Her books were usually full months in advance, with parties and galas and fancy dinners during the evenings and a string of paying lovers every night. Those who paid for her time praised her conversation skills, her wit, her dancing, giving her something of a reputation about the city. 

It was amusingly ironic. Not good enough for the elves of Sygorn but more than fine for the nobles of Rexxantrum. It was an effort not to think of the cruel things her father would say at that. 

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be someone’s lucky night,” Vax hummed, his voice soft and musical and just the right amount of mocking, “A surprise visit with the famous Onyx…”

“Shut up,” Vex rolled her eyes as she lightly filled in his lips with a lighter red than her’s, “What about you? Who’s Obsidian spending his night with?”

“Well, technically I’ve got de Rolo on the books tonight, he’s in the city on a trade deal,” Vax hummed, clearly enjoying the gentle touch of the brush, he’d always loved having his makeup done, “But I think I’m going to bring Shaun into it.”

Vex paused, “De Rolo’s coming round? He’s a big ticket, are you sure you want to share?”

Not that she had personal experience. De Rolo wasn’t one to ascend the winding stairs with a lady but he had the generosity they often saw with people who couldn’t be themselves outside of the Jewellery Box. Secrets were worth a little more. 

Vax tilted his head, “Me and Shaun are the same pot, Stubby. I’m kind of about to sign up to share everything with him. And besides, de Rolo needs it, the poor fellow’s got daddy issues coming out of his ears and you know lads like that absolutely flock to Shaun...”

“Oh does he now?” Vex smirked, folding her arms. 

Her brother opened his mouth, realised what he’d said and snapped it shut again, raising an accusing finger. 

“Hey now.”

Vex cackled, shooing him out of her chair and back towards the door, “Thank you, Scrawny. I’ll be smiling about that one all night.”

“Fuck you,” Vax groaned, though his heart wasn’t in it, he was fighting a wry smile himself, “But one dance. Promise?”

“A dance,” Vex put her palm on his chest, over his heart, the way they’d always done when they were making a promise to each other, “Now. Go put on something revealing and expensive.”

She watched as her brother disappeared into his own room, lingering a few seconds longer than she really needed, just like always. Just in case. Only when she could hear him scrambling through his wardrobe, making silks whisper and ornaments rattle, did Vex close the door. 

Onyx was rather looking forward to a quiet night. 

“Friends, please, show your thanks to our wonderful Petal!”

Vex and the other Jewels scattered around the lounge hardly needed to be told twice. While the clients applauded, they stamped their feet and whistled and whooped, bringing a grin to Petal’s face as he bowed up on stage. His routine was worth the clamour, the lithe halfling had seemed to untether himself from gravity entirely, turning and twisting in mid air and conjuring bursts of pink blossoms from nowhere to swirl around him and look like extensions of his costume. 

But what really lit up the stage was the fact that Petal- Orym to his family, once the lamp had gone out- so clearly loved what he did. That faint sadness tucked into his eyes only ever faded when he danced. 

With the performance done and the next one not for another few hours, their bard shifted into something light and airy, something that could facilitate conversation but also someone could close their eyes and lose themselves in it if they needed a moment. This new bard was still finding his feet amongst the Jewels, still blushing and stuttering whenever anyone teased him as they always did with the new ones. But Storm certainly knew his business even if Dorian was still getting comfortable. He would though, they always did. 

Not everyone could be a Jewel. But those who did were always meant to be. 

Vex made her way to the bar, thinking she could allow herself another drink. The night was maturing and still her time was her own. She did love her job but this chance to linger in the lounge and chat with her family, enjoy the music and the dancing alongside them without being whisked up the stairs, was proving to be a treat. 

Like Storm and Petal, Sapphire wasn’t a Jewel in the sense that her time could be purchased. But she had been the first to get her gemstone nickname from Marion, the one who had started the tradition in the first place. A gift from a mother to her daughter that she’d then so kindly extended to the rest of them. And those who’d been here long enough could still remember when Marion’s little Sapphire- Jester, a true name she’d more than earned- had been too small to be seen past the bar she now operated every night. 

As Vex approached, passing from the brighter lights of the stage area, through to the softer lamp light of the bar and the semi-private booths, Jester was handing off one of her dangerous concoctions to an unsuspecting customer. The glass was piled high with as many fruit garnishes and magical flourishes as could fit and the colour alone could cause a bitch of a hangover.

“I call it Rainbow Candyfloss Toxic Explosion!” Jester announced grandly, conjuring a burst of confetti along with her exuberant jazz hands. 

Vex laughed as she leaned against the bar, watching the customer teeter off with their listing tower of fruit, sugar and alcohol, “I hope that comes with a health potion chaser. They’re going to need it.”

Jester beamed brightly, “Does that mean you don’t want one, Onyx?” Only gem names once the doors opened to the public. 

Vex pretended to think, humouring her, “Perhaps later. For now I’ll take another of your lovely Marquet Sunrises.”

Jester blew a raspberry, “Boring. But only because it’s you.”

“Thank you darling,” Vex reached across the bar and gave her a pat on the cheek. 

However much she’d rather be experimenting, Jester soon had a tall glass full of swirling, glittery yellow and red liquid in front of Vex. 

“It’s nice to have you downstairs tonight,” Jester pushed it over to her with a sweet smile, a smile for a friend and not a customer. 

“Nice to be here,” Vex gave her one in return, though some commotion by the entrance drew her focus. 

“De Rolo is in the building,” Jester hummed, happily snacking on her own garnishes, “Your brother better have stretched good.” 

Vex snorted, wrinkling her nose at Jester. The bar had a good view of the gossamer curtains of the entrance, she didn’t even have to crane her neck to see the tall, handsome Julius de Rolo standing there, all of his lordly charm on full display as he kissed the back of Marion’s hand and bowed low before her. He looked every inch the man he was, oldest son and heir of the famously beautiful, famously rich city state of Whitestone, confidence lighting him up from the inside. 

Only the trained eye of an experienced courtesan saw the relief he hid behind that smile. The full, deep breath he was finally taking, now he was in a place where he didn’t have to hide. Where he could go upstairs with whoever he wanted. 

“It’s so sad,” Jester was clearly seeing it too, her voice pitched low, “I’m sure if he just told his parents he was gay they’d be fine with it and he could be happy…”

Vex reached over and took Jester’s hand where it rested on the oak bar, squeezing gently, “Their problems aren’t ours, Jessie. We can only give them what they need while they’re here with us.”

Vex didn’t blame her for being optimistic, for having a storybook ending in mind for everyone who walked through their doors. Jester had only ever known the Jewellery Box, her mother who loved her and cherished her, the adoration of her two girlfriends, and a family all around her. She’d always felt safe. 

But the world wasn’t The Jewellery Box. 

“Oh,” Jester’s voice flooded with excitement, her eyes widened and fixed back on the entrance, “Something new!”

Vex glanced over. The something new was another man, younger than Julius. The feature that struck first and hardest was his eyes, probably because they were amplified by a thick pair of owlish glasses. Then the rather unruly mop of dark brown hair that had clearly fought back against the attempt to wrestle it into anything acceptable. Then the strong jaw, the large nose, the myriad of familial similarities that left no doubt as to who this young man was. 

“Not de Rolo,” Jester hummed interestedly, “De Rolo s.”

Vex tilted her head, sharing her friend’s immediate focus on this new but not so new face in their midst, “I thought the next one was a sister? Maybe she’s not one for the cat house.”

“I’m not so sure this one is either.”

Jester wasn’t wrong. This younger de Rolo- though not as young as Vex had first thought, he simply had a youthful face- was looking around the Jewellery Box like a chick who’d wandered into a nest of snakes. A lot of first timers came in with that look, especially if coming here hadn’t been their idea. And judging by the way he clung to his brother’s sleeve, that was the case. 

Greetings given and introductions made, Julius steered his younger brother towards the lounge, clearly his appointed time with Vax’ildan was not for a while. Once their backs were turned, Marion caught Vex’s eye deliberately and signed a quick message to her, in the hand signal language all the Jewels knew. 

New. Undecided. Reassure. Downstairs for now.

Vex gave her mistress a subtle nod, hunger’s eyes tracking the brother’s movement through the fairly ample evening crowd. They took a table by the stage, Julius immediately turning to greet the Jewels around him, while his sibling sat frozen. 

Jester had seen her mother’s message, “Have fun, Onyx.”

Vex took her drink, blowing Jester a kiss as she moved back into the press of bodies, “Thanks for the drink, Sapphire.”

She took her own table next to theirs, waiting for Julius to leave for his appointment before making her approach, sipping her drink and listening to the music. But, as she’d always done, even before she was Onyx, she let a little of the conversations around her tune in. A survival tactic she’d never quite managed to shake. 

Julius had turned back to his brother and his tone was a one she recognised, she’d both heard it from Vax and had given it to him, “Perce, if you’d be more comfortable waiting at the hotel, I don’t mind. I’ll even come back with you if that’s what you need.”

His brother had an edge of panic in his voice, “No! No, you don’t have to do that, I…I know how much you look forward to coming here. Don’t ruin that just because I’m being-”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Julius’ voice was still gentle, “Percy, it’s okay. It’s a new place full of people and you’re far from Whitestone. But that can be a good thing. You’re safe here, I’d never bring you somewhere dangerous.” 

“I know,” some of the nervousness had left the voice of the young de Rolo- Percy, she could now think of him as.

“Maybe in time, this place can do for you what it’s done for me,” Julius said reassuringly, “And if not, that’s fine…look, I need to head upstairs. Just have a drink, listen to some music, try to relax. I won’t leave without you.”

A scraping of a chair being pushed back and footsteps that vanished into the low murmur of the crowd. Percy sighed and Vex heard him shift, probably looking around anxiously for how to order a drink. 

Her cue. 

“Good evening,” she didn’t inject anything into her voice but genuine friendliness, standing and turning to face him with a dazzling smile as though she’d just been happening by, “I haven’t seen you around here before. Though your face is familiar…”

Those owlish eyes widened in alarm for a second before he registered the welcoming tone, “Oh…um, good evening, my lady.”

Vex liked him already, “My name is Onyx. And yours?”

Percy took her hand and, honest to the gods, pressed a kiss to the back of it like they were at some lord’s ball, “Percival de Rolo. At your service.”

“Percival,” she rolled the name around her tongue, smiling, “Well, it is a pleasure. I know all this can seem a little daunting at first, we Jewels do like to go all out but it can make the basics a little hard to decipher for newcomers. So might I order a drink for you?”

He visibly relaxed, “Please. Would you join me?”

“I would be delighted,” she said earnestly, like doing just that wasn’t the task she’d been set for the evening. 

She signalled over to Jester at the bar for two glasses of wine. Wine was always a safe choice with young lords, they’d grown up on the stuff. It always set them at ease and, crucially, it was easy to water down when needed. 

“Apologies, I didn’t answer you,” Percival spoke with the formality of the upper classes, “I probably look familiar because you know my brother, Julius.”

Vex gave a sigh of realisation, like this was new to her, “Oh of course! Dear Julius, he’s such a favourite around here.”

Percy nodded and opened his mouth to say something more but at that moment a large crowd of young rakes moved past them, the loud voices and clamour raised by alcohol and frivolity making Percy flinch hard and duck his eyes. Vex frowned gently. 

“Yes, he’s…he’s my brother, my older brother, I…” Percy tried to pick up the threads of his thought but his eyes were darting around the room now and his fingers were tapping on the mosaic tabletop.

“So you live in Whitestone too?” Vex asked kindly, leaning forward, trying to distract him with a question, “Julius has made it sound so beautiful.”

Percy’s wide eyes flickered back to her. The wine glasses appeared on their table at that moment, making Vex send a prayer of thanks to Jester, and the young lordling eagerly seized his. 

“It, ah, it is,” Percy took a small sip, more grateful for the glass to hold than the contents of it, “The peaks around it are beautiful and…and the snow…”

The room around them erupted in sudden cheers, as some overly merry sorcerer Fearne had in her lap ascended the table and conjured miniature fireworks that filled the space with sound and light, probably to amuse the faun courtesan who they knew as Alexandrite. 

Vex laughed in delight as gemstone light fell across them all in bursts. Sometimes the clients provided their own entertainment. 

“Would you believe that’s one of the top mages of the Arcana Guild?” she chuckled, turning back to Percy. 

Only to see him ashen faced and shaking. 

Vex acted fast, reaching across the table and putting her hand on his, feeling them tight and ready to break the glass in his hand, “Percy?”

“Is…has Julius gone upstairs already?” his voice was barely audible under the crackle and fizz of the miniature fireworks but Vex had good hearing. 

“He has but I’ll get him for you,” Vex promised, already guiding him to his feet, “Come on, I’ll take you upstairs where it’s quiet. Is that okay?”

Percy nodded, muscles tensing hard at every fresh burst. Vex put a steadying hand on his arm, finding the shortest route through the tables and knots of people, taking them towards the door tucked away in one corner, the one that was surrounded by gorgeous stone carvings of erotic scenes and climbing ivy. She pressed the gem of her onyx bracelet into a particular leaf that looked no different from any of the others but every courtesan could find in the dark. 

There was a low, faint rumble of stone but nothing discernable changed about the door itself and Vex knew no Jewel in the tower felt any shift. Such was the magic that allowed Marion’s tower to hold exactly the number of rooms it needed, no more and no less, and to save any tipsy clientele from a possibly dangerous trip down the spiral staircase that did exist beyond the door if no room was summoned. 

Pushing open the thick oak door revealed Onyx’s room. Not Vex’s room, that was carefully hidden away behind the back wall of this expansive space, with its enormous bed and windows that showed a lush forest beyond that didn’t actually exist. It was tastefully and extravagantly decorated, all with Vex’s input, but she was sure Percy didn’t care one jot for the hunting tapestries and decorative bows bolted to the walls and faux animal skins. It was quiet as soon as the door creaked shut and that was all that mattered. 

“Here, come sit,” she guided him to the bed, sat him down, “Deep breaths now. In and out, that’s it.”

Once Percy’s shallow, rapid breaths had started to lengthen and deepen, Vex snatched up a jar of large glass beads set on the bedside table, designed to magnify the candlelight. 

She tipped them across the blue silk sheets, “Here. Count these for me, Percy. And keep up those deep breaths, you’re doing well.”

He seized on the task with palpable relief, setting his shaking hands to sliding one bead at a time over to his side, mouth moving silently as he counted. By the time he was at twenty, his fingers were still and he was breathing evenly again. 

Vex smiled gently, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder, “Good. Feeling alright again, Percy?”

“Yes,” his eyes moved to her face, embarrassment opening up deep wells inside them, “I…I’m very sorry, my lady, that was…I shouldn’t have allowed myself to lose control like that…”

Vex cut across him gently, “You don’t need to apologise at all, Percy. Apologies are for when you’ve done something wrong. I’ll just message my brother and we can have Julius down here in just a moment-”

“No,” Percy yelped and then instantly blushed, “I mean, forgive me. But please, I really do feel okay, I don’t want to interrupt Julius. He deserves a night to…to himself, I don’t want to ruin it.”

Vex frowned gently and sat next to him on the bed, “I’m sure Julius would care more about you feeling safe.”

“I do feel safe,” Percy insisted, “Now. Here. With you.” The blush on his high cheekbones darkened. 

“I’m glad,” she smiled fondly, delicately breaking their gaze to gather up the beads, giving him a chance to compose himself. 

“How did you know what to do?” he asked after a moment of cleaning his glasses on the hem of his shirt, “It was exactly what Julius or my sister would have done, I thought there was some instruction manual for my mind that only they had access to.” 

Vex chuckled gently, running her thumb across the cool, smooth beads in her hand. Suddenly, she wasn’t meeting his eye for her own benefit. 

“I used to have moments like that myself. I simply did what my brother would do for me.”

Her voice was small all of a sudden, as if the unexpected truth was a weight pressing down on it. Why she’d chosen to give this stranger a piece of herself, her real self and not the courtesan they all came here to see, Vex couldn’t say. And she braced herself, fingers tightening around those beads, waiting for the inevitable punishment, a reflex from another place and time. Vex had been trying to be braver since she became a Jewel but showing a weak spot like that was just reckless. 

But Percy’s voice was as tired and as gentle as it had been since she’d met him, “I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m glad you’ve got someone to help you, like I have.”

Vex glanced up, surprise meaning she didn’t care if it was a good idea of not. But the young man sat across from her just looked exhausted, a little lost but glad to be sat there with someone who could understand at least a small part of him. An understanding that could go both ways.

Vex tilted her head, smiling, “Would you like to stay up here with me until Julius is done? You’re safe here, I promise.”

Percy looked hopeful but he bit his lip, “You must have better things to do tonight than that, my lady? This might be my first time in the city but even I’ve heard of the famous Jewels and your name is always one of the first anyone mentions.”

Vex shrugged coyly, leaning back against the pillows of the bed she never slept in, “Actually? I was looking forward to a quiet night.”

It might not have been the night she was expecting but Vex couldn’t say she hadn’t enjoyed herself. 

They sent down to the bar for a second attempt at some glasses of wine and just sat and talked. Percy’s nervousness never left entirely, it seemed to just be an indelible part of his personality, but he grew comfortable enough to chat with very little coaxing from Vex. She had a suspicion that Percy rarely got this kind of attention on himself.

Which made a lot of sense as he explained that he was in the middle of six other siblings. He was the spare, the second oldest boy, enough into his majority now to start being noticed and getting some duties of his own that he didn’t feel ready for. Tagging along with Julius on one of his many business trips to sell the family residuum in the city was something of a test run. Percy had always been excited to go on these excursions with his older brother but, as it happens, doing it while feeling the intense scrutiny of your parents somewhat took the fun out of it. 

Percy didn’t tell her any of this so explicitly, of course. But Vex was an expert at reading around and through the words people actually said, she always had been. There was so much to be heard just under the surface, you could follow any thread to their hopes, their dreams, their resentments. In the same way there was never just one noise in the forest, no matter which one happened to be the loudest.

Especially with someone as innocent and instantly trusting as Percival de Rolo. He was clearly a young man who’d been given no reason to believe the people around him had anything but the best intentions. These things happened when you grew up in a palace and you had the right surname. 

But Vex had told him she was safe here and she’d meant it, so she let him open up to her. She only reclined back on the pillows and listened, sipping her wine and enjoying the part of her job she’d always found easiest. 

It turned out Percy’s deepest desire wasn’t to be a diplomat or to hammer out deals or take over some arm of his city’s government or any of the options normally open to a second born son. Percy de Rolo wanted to be an inventor. He wanted to take things apart and see how they worked, he wanted to make them run better and easier and more efficiently. Not to be rich, not to make piles upon piles of gold, but simply because he enjoyed doing it. 

Vex realised at some point, when she had no reason to be realising anything, that she’d stopped smiling because she was doing her job, because she was playing the role of Onyx. She was just smiling because she felt like it.

“But I’ve been talking about myself for hours,” Percy stopped suddenly, some of that learned formality slipping back in as he clearly realised he’d been talking about clockwork for longer than most people tended to talk about that sort of thing, “Apologies, my lady…”

“Onyx, please,” Vex smiled soothingly, waving away his embarrassment, “It’s my job, to listen to talk about themselves, after all.”

“And you don’t mind that?” Percy tilted his head. 

“Not in the slightest,” Vex answered honestly, “I love every part of my job, I wouldn’t do it if I did.” 

“No. I don’t imagine you would. I don’t think anyone could make you do anything you didn’t love,” Percy gave the kind of smile that made Vex realise that, where she was a listener, he was an observer. She heard things beneath the surface, Percy saw them. 

“Not any more,” she said softly, again surprising herself with how easy it was to let this young man see past the silks and jewels. 

Percy didn’t press, just like he hadn’t last time. If these small vulnerabilities were sudden metallic glints beneath the sand, he was simply nodding and letting them be, instead of digging for treasure. 

Or bits of broken glass. It depended on where you stood.

All Percy did was nod and give a smile edged with familiarity, “I’m glad. I’m glad you got out.”

Vex wanted to ask. She almost did, in spite of what she’d told Jester, in spite of one of the foremost rules of the Jewellery Box that kept them safe, Vex wanted to ask. Their problems aren’t ours. But something about the way Percy smiled, the way he meant his words so sincerely, made her want to ask why he felt this connection with her. 

“You will too,” she settled for reassurance, reaching across the space between them to rest a hand on his knee. 

Percy blushed a little, in that endearing way he had, “Thanks…maybe when I’m older and Jules is in charge. Or perhaps I should run away and be a courtesan, hm?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d be a wonderful Jewel,” Vex grinned, sipping the last of her wine even down to the last few drops, never one to waste any, “I think you’d look very fetching in silks.” She twitched the hem of her own translucent blue gown. 

“Well, I couldn’t be a worse courtesan than I am a client,” he admitted, throwing a gangly arm across the backboard, pulling open his dress shirt where he’d undone the laces. 

Vex tilted her head, letting a little more of Onyx into her eyes, “Well. Next time Julius comes to visit us, maybe you can have another go?”

The way Percy nearly dropped his glass, spluttering for an answer and turning the colour of the wine dregs inside it, warmed something in her heart that she’d feared had grown a little numb in all the time she’d been doing this job.  

“I mean…” Percy caught his wine just in time, mouth still moving with more words than it could handle, “I…if that wouldn’t be…I would love to, obviously…”

Vex nearly didn’t hear the soft message sent through her onyx earring over the sounds of their giggles. 

All done with Julius, Stubby. Put his brother back together and bring him down.  

Vex rolled her eyes at the note of amusement in Vax’s voice. She could practically hear the eyebrow waggle. He’d only laugh harder when she told him how she’d actually spent her time upstairs with Percy. 

Though she didn’t want to know what he’d say if she told him it was the best night she’d had in a while. 

Back in the foyer, Percy’s armour of awkward formality returned, lingering with her while his brother went to hail a carriage. He even kissed the back of her hand. 

“I did have a wonderful time tonight, my lady,” he said sincerely, “Thank you for your kindness.”

Vex stroked her braid absently, her smile soft and fond, “It was my pleasure, Percy, honestly.”

He straightened, eyes drifting to the portraits on the walls, catching on her’s. A terrible fear seized Vex’ahlia in that split second, a fear that came from the younger version of herself that still flinched at every flaw whether it was really there or not. That frightened young half elf in a city where every brick told her she was worthless, she worried Percy would look at her portrait and think it was tawdry, cheap or, worse, that he’d just see another item on a menu. Because wasn’t art subjective?

But Percy just smiled, behind those adorable owlish glasses of his. 

He looked back to Vex and murmured softly, “She looks strong. And I’m very glad to have met her.”

“Then make sure you come back,” Vex spoke softly too, as if they were trying not to be overheard. Like this moment was just for them. 

“I’m sure you’ll see me again, my lady,” he promised sincerely, giving her a last, low bow before finally disappearing out into the hazy light of early dawn. 

Vex didn’t go back upstairs, not yet. She sat on the soft, velvet benches and spent some time in comforting silence, gazing at her portrait, the way she’d done so many times before. 

Vex’ahlia knew what she saw when she looked at her portrait and now she knew it wasn’t just her imagination or wishful thinking.