48 Do You Trust Me?

In hindsight, Reed got really lucky that he was able to hide his daughter away for as long as he did without anyone noticing. By the time her parents died she was perfectly used to concealing both her appearance and her powers.

Flint thought his niece was an oddball for wearing her glamour at home but didn't think much of it. Then he noticed she had some very strange wings a few decades later when she needed help applying a poultice on a tear.

His suspicions grew that there was something off about her but they weren't confirmed until Flora came running up to him excitedly one day hollering, "Daddy! Daddy! Ruby made me a necklace, see?"

It was a gaudy thing consisting of five large tear-shaped sapphires of differing sizes on a thin silver chain and it changed everything. Ruby had panicked when Flint and Lily came outside to confront her about it, demanding to know where she got it.

When she explained that she had made it neither of them believed her until she showed them exactly what she did. They had both been amazed by her power…until they saw the horrible truth behind it.

Fairy appearances were based on powers. Every fae knew this. The moment Flint and Lily saw what Ruby actually looked like they had been horrified. Great power comes with an even greater price.

He sincerely hoped that the vampire he made a deal with wouldn't care what she looked like as long as he got what he wanted. If she decided to be stubborn and he had to use blood control on her there was a decent chance her glamour would drop.

No one would guess that the girl beaming at her companion under the shark tunnel had such a grotesque secret. She seemed much more relaxed around this vampire than she ever had around her own kind.

Good. If she was more comfortable with vampires than fairies she would fit right into her new home for the next hundred years.

===

Ruby was having a great time at the aquarium until she felt a pair of eyes on her. Not only once either; it really felt like someone was staring at her the entire time they were there.

She adjusted her angle purposely so it looked like she was talking to Ash normally but could get a better view of the person watching her. They were wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses but she would recognize that glamour anywhere.

Flint. He came for her after all. How did he even find her?!

No, that wasn't important. Getting out of here without making a scene was. Ash already knew she was hiding from her uncle so dragging him out of there shouldn't be too difficult.

Ruby tugged on her companion's icy hand. He looked at her questioningly and she hissed under her breath to alert him what was going on. "My uncle is here. We need to run NOW or I'm toast."

Ash didn't let go of her hand and maneuvered them through the crowd with Ruby behind him so her wings would be safe. He ducked into a clothing store inside the hotel after checking to see that the coast was clear.

He frantically scanned the racks of clothes looking for something and eventually held up a sweatshirt. Was he serious? It was June in Las Vegas! He might be a humanoid ice statue but it was about 110 degrees outside. He would stick out like a sore thumb.

"You can't do that," she told him. "It's too hot outside. You'll be wearing a neon sign that screams 'suspicious.'"

"But your uncle knows what my glamour looks like!"

"I know. I have an idea but it's kind of terrible. Do you trust me?"

Ash looked her dead in the eye and nodded. Ruby immediately grabbed the items she was looking for and dragged him into the nearest changing room. The makeover would require a little finagling but she was confident she could get it done.

He grimaced but didn't say a word as she snapped him into a bra stuffed with balled up t-shirts and flew up to yank a sundress over his head. He was about a foot taller than she was so she wouldn't have been able to reach otherwise.

When they left the changing room, Ash had released the glamour on his hair only and was wearing a floppy sunhat that largely hid his face. Makeup would complete the look but Ruby didn't have any on hand. The hat would have to be good enough.

She glamoured herself into a blonde young man she had seen in the aquarium earlier and went to go pay for the items that made up Ash's disguise, saying he would prefer to wear them out.

"Now hold my hand and act like we're a human couple," Ruby instructed. "We need to get back to the hotel and clear out our things. If he already knows where we're staying we can't break character and give ourselves away."

"You are never allowed to speak of this again," he said flatly. "Ever. Not even three hundred years from now."

"Okay, just come on! And don't say anything unless you have to because he might know our voices."

They had to move slowly holding hands side by side because walking in a way that obviously protected her wings might be a giveaway too. Flint didn't know about her unique glamour but since Ash's face hadn't changed they might still get caught.

Taking the tram back to Excalibur was nerve-wracking but making it back to the hotel was worse because Flint was scanning the lobby for them. He knew they would have to come back eventually and decided to wait when he lost them.

Ash pulled his hat further down over his face with the hand not holding Ruby's. Holding hands with him for so long was making her fingers go numb from cold despite the heat outside.

They walked right past Flint without difficulty and made their way to the elevator. Once inside the hotel room, Ruby frantically stuffed things into their suitcase as Ash searched for stray items to hand to her.