Chapter Text
Riven was damn good at his job. He had been a salesman at Silva’s Alchemy Shop for six years now, and he had come to pride himself on his skills. Apothecaries such as Silva’s tended to steer old-fashioned, with a seat at the counter and a helpful clerk to guide you through every step of your purchase. After all, when it came to potions and spell-binding objects, you wanted to be absolutely sure of what you were getting. Riven had always been good at swaying people, so sales fit like a glove.
Still, on a day like today, he couldn’t help but take a moment on the bench outside the door. He was in a good mood, all things considered. It was late August in Solaria, meaning the summer sun was still shining and the heat was still blazing, but wouldn’t be for much longer. It felt cruel to spend the day inside peddling products. His thoughts were interrupted by the approaching footsteps of his coworkers.
Riven caught the tail end of what appeared to be an impassioned debate. Or rather, Dane giving one of his typical overenthusiastic speeches to a barely interested Terra. “I’m telling you, Terra. There’s a certain elegance necessary when delivering for Silva’s. I represent the store. We’re not a butcher shop or a blacksmith. We’re an alchemy shop. Which means we’re, well—“
“Stylish?” Riven couldn’t help but chime in.
“Exactly!” Dane agreed, oblivious to Riven’s mocking.
“And we always get the tilt of our hat right.” Riven extravagantly mimed tipping a fedora.
Dane rolled his eyes. “Alright, you’re mocking me. I still maintain that this job requires a sort of quiet dignity.”
Terra gave him a sidelong look. “And how many pixies have you mowed down on your delivery bike so far today?”
“None! And that was one time!”
“Well, it’s still early.”
“Alright, I’m miraculously not in a shitty mood today, so if you two could try not to sully that with your bickering, I’d appreciate it.” Riven chuckled.
“Well, your mood couldn’t possibly be as good as hers is,” Dane said, gesturing down the street. Riven glanced in the direction they were looking, noticing a figure with fiery red hair all but skipping towards them, a smile plastered on her face.
“Bloom spent the night with Sebastian again.” Terra giggled, whispering. “She always kisses him goodbye at the newsstand, and then walks around the block to make us think she’s been at home.”
Bloom, oblivious to the gossip happening pertaining to her, plopped down next to Riven on his bench with an overdramatic sigh. “Anyone mind if I take the day off? Running around doing errands on a day like today feels like a special form of torture. Plus, I’m in desperate need of a tan.”
Bloom, for one, had never had the same appreciation for Silva’s as Riven. As the shop assistant, she spent the majority of her days sorting botanicals, keeping candles lit with her powers, and flirting with Sebastian when Silva wasn’t paying attention.
“What if we all ditched work today? Went down into the meadows by Alfea and had a picnic?” Bloom continued.
“Do I hear talk of breaking rules?” All of a sudden, a smirking Sebastian had seemingly materialized in the huddle of employees outside the door, clearly having followed not far behind Bloom Of course, he quickly diverted the subject to flirting. “I love your dress today,” he said, snaking a hand around her side while she blushed.
“Isn’t that the same dress she was wearing yesterday, Sebastian?” Terra cut in.
“Okay!” Riven broke the incoming awkwardness. “I, for one, am with Bloom. How’s about these hooky plans?” He grinned.
Suddenly, the front door to the shop was thrust open. In the entryway stood none other than Silva himself. “What are we all congregating for? Let’s get inside and have a great sales day!”
Oh, well.
———
“Well, Riven, was the chicken the usual success?” Sebastian turned to Riven when they both had a moment free of customers.
“Hmm?”
“Last night. You had dinner with Silva and his wife again, am I wrong?”
“Oh, yes!” Riven replied. Silva had been like a father to Riven since he was in school. He was eternally grateful to the man for giving him his first job, and had kept up a great relationship with him since. He had dinner with Silva and his wife nearly every week, with most of the time spent with Silva teasing Riven about his love life, or general knack for debauchery. It was true that he had a bit of a reputation for partying, sleeping around, and never settling down, but he had certainly relaxed a bit since he was in school. Still, Silva was all too keen on trying to “find a nice girl to settle down with.”
“Did you talk to Silva about replacing Aisha?” Terra chimed in.
“I mentioned it.” Riven shakes his head. “It’s not happening. With business as slow as it’s been—“
“But it’s bound to pick up now!” Sebastian groaned. “With Rosalind’s closed, there’s no way we’ll be able to handle all the new customers on our own without Aisha. Has Bloom replaced the tiger lily powder? I’d better go make sure we’re stocked up in case there’s a rush.” He wandered off into the back room.
With the sales floor empty, Riven turned to Terra, attempting to hide a smile. “I’ve been talking with her some more, Terra.”
Terra lit up. “With the girl?”
“God, it’s incredible, Terra, I’ve got to read you her last message.”
“Did she send you a photo this time?”
“Well, no, you know she can’t—“
Terra shook her head. “Did she say anything about meeting her face-to-face?”
He felt the need to evade the question. “Not yet, but we definitely will soon.” He wasn’t sure if he believed it himself.
It had all started about three months ago. Riven was no stranger to intimacy. He had used nearly every dating app, been on countless dates, slept with all kinds of people. He was content with this, albeit perhaps bored. He had wondered if there was any part of him that longed for something more, just like Silva had been insisting for him.
That was when he saw the advertisement for a different app. Dear Friend. An Otherworldian invention, it was meant to magically pair you with a perfect match for you, with one catch: no names, no photos. Intended for having real conversations and going beyond the surface level, making a real connection. Something about the app called to Riven. He figured it would be an immediate bust, but if he hated it, he could always just delete it.
The person he was paired with surprised him. In her first message, she had remarked that the name of the app didn’t fit. “I have no idea who I’m talking to. I feel like I should be calling you ‘Dear Stranger’ instead,” she had said. And that’s exactly what they did. In the months since then, they had spoken nearly every day. He had learned that she was funny, smart, she had little family but cared deeply for all those around her, and her dream was to be a dancer. He wasn’t sure he had ever met anyone like her before. He had never met her, learned her face, or her name, and he was almost certain he was in love with her. He hadn’t bothered to look at another dating app since.
He read her last message aloud:
“Dear Stranger,
My heart races every time I get a notification from this app. It excites me, and it terrifies me. It’s bizarre to miss a person so badly when you’ve never met them before. I know so little about you, and yet I feel like I know everything. Everything I know about you is words on a screen, but if I could, I would read them all day.”
Riven turned expectantly to hear Terra’s thoughts when Silva emerged from the back office. “Terra, can you pass me some ginger root of the mountain?” She pulled some out from behind the counter, and Silva uncapped the bottle and took a sip. “Thank you. It’s Riven’s fault, really. Every time he comes to dinner, Farrah makes so much food it gives me heartburn!”
Riven laughed, shrugging. “I’m sorry, Silva. I guess Farrah just loves me too much.”
“You know what I think? I think she’s trying to fatten you up so you’ll settle down. Enough running around with different women and going to fairy clubs every night, and finally find someone that you really like!”
Here he goes with this again. Riven rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Silva, I haven’t been to a fairy club in months.”
“Oh, I know what you bachelors are like. You can’t fool me, I was one myself…” He trails off when he notices Dane enter through the front door carrying a large box. “They’re here!”
“What is it?” Terra asks.
“A little surprise. A new stock item.” He grabs the box from Dane, placing it on the counter and opening it up. Out of the box, he pulls a small black stick, not much longer than half a foot.
“What is it, a wand?” said Bloom, who had wandered in with Sebastian at the sound of Silva’s excitement. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but we magic-wielders don’t tend to use those.”
“Not exactly. Look.” Silva gave the item a quick, strong flick through the air. Out popped an open, very plain umbrella. “Isn’t it amazing?” He said with a look of genuine excitement.
Riven was puzzled. “What else does it do?”
Evidently, that was it. “What do you mean, what else? It’s a magical portable umbrella! No one in Solaria will ever need to be without them again! And at only $20!”
“But who will buy it?” Riven asked, still finding the item to be slightly pointless.
“You seem to be in a grouchy mood today, don’t you? Sebastian, what do you think, will it sell?”
“I don’t see why not. I think you’ll put water fairies out of business by the end of the week.”
Silva turned back to Riven with a smug smile. “How about a bet then? I’ll bet you $20 we sell the first one in an hour.”
“Ah—“ Riven smirked. “I don’t want to take your money, Silva.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared. $20. One hour. Is it a bet?” He held out his hand to shake.
With confidence, Riven shook it. “You’re damn right it is.”
———
Half an hour had gone by and Riven was feeling extremely sure he would be leaving work with an extra $20 in hand. Silva himself had attempted to pitch the umbrella to more than one customer in the store, all of which had declined. Riven was attempting to watch him fumble yet another sale when he heard the chime of the door opening.
In entered a petite young woman who must’ve been about his age, with dark hair to her shoulders and what seemed to be a face full of determination. Internally, Riven beamed. He was always his best at selling when it was to a cute girl, and she certainly was one. What could he say, his status as a (former) flirt came in handy sometimes.
“Welcome to Silva’s. Can I help you find something?”
The girl looked puzzled. “No.” She turned around and then immediately spun back to face him. “Or actually, yes!”
Riven’s sales speech was refined down to the word. “Well, we have a complete stock of mists, potions, remedies—“
“No!” She blurted.
“—botanicals, fauna components—“
“No!”
“—health cures, love spells, color-changing cosmetics—“
“No!”
“—spell books, small and large cauldrons…“
“No!”
“We have a special, this week only, on Rose of Linphea! Let me grab you a sample—“
“No!”
At last, Riven paused at her objection. “No?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not here to buy anything. Not today. Is Saul Silva here?”
“He’s busy in the back. I’m sure I can help you with whatever it is you need.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling. “I don’t think so. I need to speak with him personally. Will he be busy long? I don’t mind waiting. I will just—” she grabbed the closest chair in front of the sales counter and settled right on it, “—sit here and wait.”
Whatever this girl wanted, she was incredibly stubborn about it. When the door chimed again, he had no choice but to leave her to her waiting while he helped a customer with actual plans on making a purchase. While he rang up the customer for her vials of dragon scales and mandrake powder, he couldn’t help but watch the girl out of the corner of his eye. There was something off about her, maybe even familiar, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
After about 10 minutes, she called for his attention again. “Um, excuse me? I was just wondering, Aisha, the one who used to work here who’s having a baby—she hasn’t been replaced yet, has she?” She looked sheepish.
Riven scoffed. “Are you looking for a job?”
The girl’s face turned a deep shade of pink, and she laughed unconvincingly. “No! Okay, I guess you could call it that.”
Riven walked away. There was no point even entertaining her request; he knew for a fact Silva would be uninterested. Unfortunately, her persistence didn’t let up, and she followed close behind.
“I am a very good sales girl! And I know the apothecary business inside and out! I worked at Rosalind’s for five years! Five years and eight months! In fact, I have a letter from Rosalind Hale herself…” She placed the purse she was carrying on the sales counter and began frantically searching through it while she continued to talk. “I’ll tell you what it says! It says that I am honest, dependable, dedicated. Dedicated! And it is in here somewhere!” She then stopped looking in her bag, had a visual epiphany, and pulled a clean white envelope out of her bra.
“That is all well and good, but we are not replacing Aisha at this time, so you’d best run off.” He was becoming exasperated with the woman’s overeagerness and the conversation as a whole.
“Please!” She begged. “I’d like to speak with Saul Silva, please.”
Riven snapped. “I’m afraid it’s just not possible! Enough!”
A voice sounded from behind him. “Not possible? At Silva’s, nothing is impossible!” said Silva, disapprovingly. He turned to the still seemingly flustered girl. “Perhaps I can help you?”
Knowing how the conversation would end, Riven cut to the chase for her. “She wants a job.” The girl looked at him hopefully.
“It’s not possible.”
She broke into the same speech as before. “I have a letter! From Rosalind Hale! It says I am honest! Dependable! Dedicated! I would be a perfect fit—“ She continued on even as Silva began to walk away.
Riven retreated back behind the sales counter as he watched the young woman follow Silva around the room just as she had him only minutes before. When it was finally made clear to her that Silva wasn’t going to budge, he watched her eyes scan around the room, landing on a customer who happened to be examining one of the umbrella wands. Riven couldn’t help but stare as she approached the customer, unsure of what she intended to do.
“Aren’t these things just marvelous?” she said, with what Riven would consider to be a bit too much fervor to be believable. “And for only twenty dollars! Can you imagine!”
“What does it do?” the customer replied, perplexed.
The girl scoffed as if the question were absurd. “What does it do? ...What does it do? Well…” She took the wand from the woman and examined it in her hand, dragging it through the air. She let out a loud yelp in surprise when the umbrella appeared, but immediately attempted to mask it by laughing far too loudly.
“Why, it’s an umbrella!” The girl exclaimed. Riven looked past her to notice that Silva had stuck around by the door, watching the interaction from behind her back. She continued with her over-the-top sales pitch. “What a brilliant invention we have here. A portable umbrella! Never be without one again! Ha ha!”
The customer still appeared unconvinced. “This doesn’t seem very useful to me…”
“Well, of course it is.” Upon a closer look at the girl, Riven could see her eyes glowing a dim purple. There was no way—the girl was a mind fairy. And she was using her powers to influence a customer, right in broad daylight. “I think that this tool could be a lifesaver to you.”
The customer’s face changed. “You’re right! I’ll take it!”
“Oh, why thank you!” The girl giggled, her eyes returning to normal as the customer turned to have Sebastian ring her up.
Silva approached her from behind, beaming with pure joy. “You’re hired! Miss-“
She grinned. “Matlin. Musa Matlin.”
Oh, fucking hell. Riven reached into his pocket for his wallet.