“So people can just be whatever they want here?” I asked. “If you want to cut hair you just cut hair? Where do you get the money, the materials?”
Shadow and Arrow looked at each other.
“Believe it or not, we are civilized,” Arrow said. “And we have our ways.”
Shadow snorted. “You act like it’s a bad thing we can choose what we want out of our lives.”
I stared straight ahead, afraid that if I moved an inch, I’d get my neck twisted again. “Well, what if everyone wants to be a healer or a farmer?”
“People have different talents, different interests, and passions. We use that to our advantage. We don’t force anyone to do anything they wouldn’t want to,” Arrow said, and I heard what she wasn’t saying.
Not like you do in Elwen.No one was forced to do anything in Elwen, but most often, people followed in the footsteps of their parents. If their father was a farmer, they took over the farm. It was practical, ensured that everyone had a place in our society.
“When you turn fifteen, you start your apprenticeships,” Shadow said. “Each month of your next year is focused on doing many different types of work. That way, you can figure out where your interests lie.”
“And did you apprentice to be a thief?”
Arrow yanked on my hair.
“Ow.” I brought a hand up to my head.
“Sorry,” she said in a sickly sweet voice, her red-painted lips forming into a pout.
“We all came to the academy in different ways,” Shadow said, not elaborating. “Penn found each of us, helped us in a time of need.”
I doubted that. I couldn’t imagine the king of thieves helping anyone but himself. He’d probably manipulated all of them, made them think he was some hero saving them, when really he was brainwashing them. It was like they were in a cult.
“And everyone is just okay with that here?” I gestured out the window to the town. “They’re okay knowing that they have criminals, thieves, just walking among them?” I realized my words sounded harsh. “No offense,” I added.
“We’ve earned our keep,” Shadow said with a smirk. “We bring many items of interest to Mosswood Forest.”
Well, I had no idea what the hell that meant, but I supposed after everything I’d heard of the mountain dwellers it didn’tsurprise me. My father had always said they cared little for the law, for any kind of justice system. Though this town surprised me. I’d always pictured the people here living in bushes or caves, nomads with no structure or organization to their lives. This all felt very organized, like they had actual systems in place.
“Who is in charge here?” I glanced around, like at any minute the person who ran this town might step out of the shadows. “After the false king and queen died, who took over?”
“We have a council who make decisions,” Shadow said. “They’re the ones who rule over us and enforce the law. And we often have town halls where the people can voice their opinions.”
That sounded similar to how I’d always thought I would rule. I saw the stress placed on my father by him insisting on doing it all. I’d often told him it would be wise to have a council of people to help him, but he wouldn’t listen, and it had frustrated me to no end. I saw all the ways he failed our people time and time again because of his stubbornness, and I resolved to learn from his mistakes.
“Okay, we’re finished,” Arrow said.
I realized I hadn’t even been paying attention as she had snipped away at my hair, the conversation distracting me. Now my stomach twisted in anticipation. She grabbed a small mirror and held it up in front of my face, and I gasped in horror.
“My hair!”
I tugged at it, my black strands now hanging right above my shoulders. “Blood and earth, what did you do?”
“Do you not like it?” Arrow asked, green eyes wide and innocent.
I whirled in my chair. “No, I do not like it. I barely have any hair left. I look like...”
Someone else.
Shadow cocked her head. “I think it actually suits you quite well.” She grabbed the mirror from me and held it up, and I triednot to flinch back from my reflection. I barely recognized myself, my face so gaunt, my skin so pale, and my hair now so much shorter than it had been before. I ran my fingers through it. At least it had regained some of its sheen, the hair thick and healthy again. It was just so much shorter than I’d ever worn it.
“I never knew what you looked like with your long hair.” Shadow gestured. “You know, before it got all tangled and knotted. But I imagine it served as a good mask.”
“A mask?” I had no idea what she was getting at.
