A Court Of Fire And Pain

And they meet.

Chapter 4 Aelin:

Someone was following me. She had been following me all day, and even though she was trying to be inconspicuous I knew she was there.

She was currently hiding in a crowd of people looking at clothes. Even when I couldn't see her I could smell her scent. It was confusing, smelling mainly of night and lilac, but also of strange power. (For this part I literally searched up what Feyre smells like. Anyone who sees my search history will be so confused lol) Whoever she was, she wasn't very good at sneaking.

I had first noticed her when I left the inn after breakfast to wander around and try to scent my children. I don't know why she's following me, but her scent reminded me of the one from last night. If she was connected to that, then she was probably connected to what happened to my children.

I paused at one of the market stalls as a pair of glittering earrings caught my eye. This wasn't a time to shop... but they were so pretty. They were little stags made of silver, with glowing blue eyes. For some reason they reminded me of the Lord of the North.

I forced myself to walk away. I had no money, and stealing wasn't an option in this strange town. But they were so nice, and...

No. I made myself turn away, only to catch the night person staring right at me. She had brown hair that spilled out from under her hood. I tugged my own hood down lower. So far nobody had spotted my ears or canines, but it was only a matter of time.

(I realized that after she lost her power Aelin couldn't shift anymore. Right?)

With a slight shock I realized she was probably my age. That didn't matter though. Now I knew what she looked like, so I wouldn't have to rely on smell.

I turned around and walked toward the pub from 2 days ago. It was nearly midday, and I was starving. Since I had settled 2 years ago, my appetite had grown and I ate nearly all the time.

I sat down at a table that had a full view of the door, and sure enough, the night lady walked in.

I noticed somebody else watching me. It was the guy I had asked all those questions. He must come here regularly then. He looked between me and the night lady, then turned to her.

"So you found your partner then?"

Feyre:

I had followed the fire lady all day, and she didn't seem to notice me until she caught me watching her look at jewelry. She stared me right in the eye, tugged her hood down lower, and walked into the pub from before.

As I walked past the jewelry stall I paused to see what she had looked at with such longing. There was a pair of earrings shaped like stags, and sure they were pretty but I didn't get why they would be so important.

I walked into the pub to find the night lady already seated and watching me. Then I saw the man from a couple days ago look between us.

"So you found your partner then?"

Crap.

So this was the girl I was looking for. She had stilled and her stare turned predatory.

"Why yes, she did find me." The fire lady purred, her eyes never leaving mine. "Now come and sit."

There was no way out of this. I slowly made my way over to her, and lowered myself into the chair across from her. Still, her eyes never left mine.

She leaned closer. "Let's talk."

I swallowed. There was something unnerving about her.

"So what did you find me for?"

What... Right. "For the project we're doing about the world. Remember?"

"Ah yes. I have multiple things going on right now so it gets hard to keep track. But before we talk, let's eat."

She summoned a waiter over and ordered a bowl of stew. We sat in silence as she waited for it.

Just as the tension was becoming too much, the food arrived and she finally lowered her gaze from mine to focus on her food.

Within seconds all the stew was consumed. She wiped her hand on a napkin, and somehow bumped her hand on mine.

"Sorry."

She called the waiter over again.

"I don't have any money, but I do have this ring, will it be enough?"

I didn't think anything of it, until I saw the ring she was holding. It was mine. My wedding ring I stole from the weaver. "Hey-" I started, but the waiter cut me off.

"Yes this is fine." He swiped it out of her hand and started to walk away. The fire lady grabbed my hand and dragged me from the table. On the way out the door she bumped into the waiter, apologized and we exited the room. She switched her hand that was grabbing mine and pulled me down an alley. 

Oh by the Cauldron, I was going to die wasn't I.

A/N 

I feel like I mentioned smell way too much in this part, but it's the only way I could think of.  

Also, I want to say thank you to bookdragonSh for being the first to comment on this. I appreciate it :)

The story gets more interesting now, since they are finally meeting and weird stuff will happen don't worry.