Lilith walked through the new neighborhood.
The streets here were different. Wide. Quiet. Cobblestoned with a precision that didn't exist in the rest of the capital.
Unlike other places, the houses weren't crammed together. Each property had immense grounds. A piece of meadow. A block of private forest. One next to the other. But despite all that space, the building itself wasn't hidden at the back. The façade faced the street directly. Imposing.
Lilith swung a basket in her right hand.
Inside it, a thick bed of white cotton. On the cotton, four cut-glass bottles. One green. One blue. One red. One yellow. They clinked softly against each other, muffled by the padding.
She arrived at the noted address.
She knocked on the heavy carved wooden door. Three sharp knocks.
A moment passed. The bolt turned.
The door opened just a few inches. A stern-faced maid peeked out.
"Who is it?" she asked. Her tone was dry. Serious.
Lilith composed her face. The smile appeared immediately, bright and harmless.
"Hello!" she said. "I'm a saleswoman. I bring products from the perfumer Eugenio Dromanoc. I've come to present some new lotions in case you're interested."
The maid looked at the basket. Then at Lilith's eyes.
"For the lady of the house?"
"Yes!"
"Well, she's not in. Excuse me."
The woman pushed the heavy oak door to close it.
Lilith slid the tip of her shoe into the gap.
The wood struck the leather. Stopped short. The maid looked up, bewildered by the strength of the young saleswoman in front of her.
"Please!" said Lilith. Her tone remained cheerful. "They're just hair lotions. I'm sure she'll love them."
The maid grunted. Frustration wrinkled her forehead.
"I'll be back."
She released the pressure. Closed the door completely. Lilith's shoe returned to its place on the cobblestone.
Lilith waited. Her heel tapped the ground once. Twice.
She looked at the bottles in her basket. Adjusted the cotton.
The door opened wide.
It was her. The girl from Profot's mansion. She wore a light dress, her hair loose.
"Hello!" said the young woman, smiling.
Lilith brought her index and middle fingers to her lips. She opened her eyes wide, feigning surprise and shyness.
"Oh... how pretty you are."
The girl blushed slightly. She lowered her gaze for a second.
"Thank you."
"What... what happened to the lady?" asked Lilith, tilting her head toward the inside of the house.
"Ah. My mother isn't here. But I want to see what you've brought."
Lilith nodded.
"All right. I have a lot of variety."
She lifted the basket.
The girl peered in. Her eyes ran over the tinted glass. Emerald green. Sapphire blue. Ruby red. Amber yellow.
Her expression changed.
The smile disappeared. She raised her eyebrows. Let out a small sigh.
"Oh, no."
"What's wrong?" Lilith lowered the basket a little.
"I already have these lotions."
Lilith's eyes opened wide. Her heart stopped for a second.
"What? How is that possible?"
"It's just that my mom gave them to me as a gift days ago. She must have bought them."
Lilith lowered the basket completely. Her shoulders dropped. Her posture became defeated.
"I don't know what to say. I was sure that..."
The girl laughed.
"Don't worry. Actually, you can help me with something."
"Yes?"
The young woman reached out. Took Lilith's wrist.
She pulled her inside.
They entered the house. Rushed down the hallway. Climbed a wide oak staircase. Lilith let herself be led, her steps quick behind the girl, the basket swinging in her free hand.
They reached a room. Entered.
Lilith stopped short.
She was amazed. Not by the size of the room or the luxurious furniture.
By the walls.
Paintings. Dozens of them. They occupied every visible space. From the baseboards to the ceiling moldings. Oil paintings, charcoal sketches, watercolors.
"Wow," said Lilith. Her surprise was real for a fraction of a second.
"What are these?"
The girl let go of her hand. Walked to the center of the room.
"Do you like them? They're my paintings. Places I've visited."
Lilith approached the nearest wall.
"All of them? Are they real?"
"Yes."
Lilith walked around the room. Her eyes admired each canvas.
She saw impossible structures. Pyramidal fortresses of black stone rising over green plains. In another painting, houses hanging from giant trees, huge inhabited cocoons connected by rope bridges.
"Incredible," said Lilith, not taking her eyes off the pyramids. "But that doesn't look like anything I've ever seen."
"It's just that they're not human," the girl explained, approaching her. "They're different nations. Other races."
Lilith turned slowly.
"Races? You mean goblins? Elves?"
The girl laughed again. Walked toward her desk.
"Yes, something like that. But they're not so horrible."
The young woman began to rummage through some drawers.
"But back to the matter at hand," she said. "What I wanted to show you was this."
Lilith approached the desk.
The girl raised her hand. She was holding something.
"What is it?"
"It's a chewable."
In the girl's palm rested an amorphous mass. Of an opaque pinkish color. It shone slightly in the window light.
"No matter how much you chew it, it never comes apart."
She held it out to him.
Lilith took it.
The texture was gummy. Damp. It stuck a little to the skin.
She brought it to her face. Smelled it.
The smell hit her nostrils violently. It smelled of rancid saliva. Bitter, old resin. An organic, cloying stench that immediately churned her stomach.
She hid her disgust. Squeezed the pink mass between her fingers, weighing its usefulness against what she had just discovered on the walls.
"I think so," said Lilith, returning the mass. "I can get it. The perfumer will know what to do."
The girl jumped. Clapped once.
"Excellent!"