Chapter Text
Working in the Elven District of LA came with its privileges and its down sides. Alice knew all too well just how tenuous her life here could be. She worked at one of the most upmarket and reputable restaurants in the district. Human waitresses were cheap labour compared to elves, and humans were considered the middle ground in the service industry.
“That’s shit you don’t see every day; like an elf with a mop…” Montehugh had said.
Orcs were the cleaners, the drivers, the delivery workers of the elven world. Humans were the waiters, the servants, the lower market cashiers. Alice had done them all in an effort to afford a more decent life for herself. She had very few family members left, and none of them lived in LA. Without her job at the restaurant, she couldn’t afford her small apartment in the small human community of the district. It was a small collection of apartment buildings built especially for humans who could afford the rent there. Still, they were segregated from the rest of the elven community, just to remind themselves they were superior.
Status was important to elves, and within their tight-knit community, even an elf could ‘fall from grace’, so to speak. Alice’s colleague was one such elf. Kyra’s parents had been Inferni. Killed when she was a small child during a shoot out with the Magic Task Force, she’d been placed in the only care system available; the human one. In essence, she was almost considered human herself and lived within the same apartment complex as Alice. She was small and delicate in appearance, and because her status was widely known, she often bore the brunt of elvish rudeness.
For the most part, Alice tried to take the tables and bookings that she knew would give Kyra a hard time. Abuse was something she had long become used to, and something she knew she’d have to put up with if she wanted to keep her job and her home. She’d had it all. From insults about her curvaceous appearance, to jibes about her hazel eyes and auburn hair. She’d become mostly hardened to it, and a night with a restaurant half full with Magic Task Force agents celebrating some successful mission would be no different.
Kandomere surveyed himself in his floor-length mirror. A deep purple suit, tailored to perfection, along with his customary accessories, and he was ready for what would likely turn in to a messy night. It wasn’t often that humans got to eat in one of the finest restaurants in the city, and he knew that his human colleagues would make the most of it. His partner Montehugh was a fortunately happy drunk, which, given his normally gruff personality, was quite amusing to watch, especially when he drank elven whiskey.
He surveyed his hair one last time, then slipped on his jacket as Montehugh waited for him. Kandomere drove the short distance from his apartment to the restaurant, confirming the reservation with the desk clerk and entering first. They had a selection of the finest tables reserved towards the back of the restaurant, wine, whiskey, and an array of fancy aperitifs waiting for them as they took their seats. Kandomere took a seat so he could see the rest of the restaurant. He knew it was a force of habit, but he felt more comfortable if he could see exactly what was going on. Crime within the elven district was rare. Security was usually impeccable, but he knew that anything could happen with the recent Inferni activity.
Alice had been told to come in early. A large party of Feds were expected, and given that it was a Friday night, she knew it would be manic. Kyra didn’t do well in large crowds, but there was one table she feared serving the most. Faltorin was an upmarket property developer, and a regular at the restaurant with his wife. Both blond and beautiful, they were known as purists. Any blending or changing of the elven race was considered abhorrent to them, and he never tired of reminding Kyra of her low ranking, even once telling her that she should have been euthanized as a child after her parents were killed. Alice hated him more than anyone, and the past few times he’d been in the restaurant, she’d managed to ensure Kyra was nowhere near his table. Unfortunately, she had no choice this time, and was booked to wait hand and foot at the Fed’s tables. With half of them human, it wouldn’t be such a surprise to be waited on by a human. This unfortunately meant that Kyra would have to wait on Faltorin.
“Boss, you know how he treats her… I can wait on him. I don’t care what he says to me. Let Kyra have the Feds,” Alice begged, trying her best imploring look on him. It doesn’t work.
Norkas didn’t get to his prestige position as the owner of the most high-end restaurant by being soft. He was a generally moderate employer, but he expected nothing less than loyalty and respect, and an obeisance of his orders. This time was no exception.
“Absolutely not. You know how Faltorin is. As much as he dislikes Kyra, he loathes humans.”
“But, I can handle him! I don’t care what he says about me!” Alice was pushing her luck.
“I said no! I will not lose one of my best patrons just to please Kyra’s delicate sensibilities!”
Norkas spun on his heel and strode out of the office. Alice cursed under her breath ‘fucking purists’ and grudgingly followed him out. It would be a long night.
The chatter at the Feds tables was energetic with an undercurrent of masculinity. Males within a law enforcement role always seemed to have something to prove. Even the elves who worked as SWAT for the Magic Task Force Bureau found it easy to be swept up in the macho bullshit, something Kandomere had never fully understood. Generally speaking, elves were remarkably self-assured in themselves, confidence ran through their veins. Kandomere was no exception. Humans would call it ego, but for elves it was deeper than that. It was the realisation of their innate strength and skill, of their beauty, and their ethereal connection to the world, both mundane and mystical. For the most part, they didn’t feel the need to parade themselves quite so obviously. They exuded confidence purely by existing.
As it was, his subordinates were currently engaging in a competition of drinking, seeing whom could drink the most elven whiskey and remain conscious. Montehugh chuckled, knocking back his first drink as Kandomere perused the menu, shaking his head at the somewhat childish antics.
Alice gathered herself together, smiling comfortingly at Kyra and she made her way over to Faltorin’s table, keeping her head down in an attempt at supplication. Alice hated leaving her to deal with it, but Norkas’ word was law in the restaurant, and she couldn’t afford to lose her job. She took a calming breath and made her way to the rowdy table to start taking orders.
As was protocol, she took the orders of whoever was the senior figure first. She waited patiently as the supremely dressed blue-haired elf considered a few selections, finally looking up at her smiling face to give his order.
He was immediately struck by the wideness of her smile. It was partially forced, given her status within the district, but it was kindly enough. Even as his voice spoke the words of his chosen meal, not once wavering as he took in the sight of her, he couldn’t help but linger a second longer on her hazel eyes. They were large, warm, and full of life, complimented by the flush of her cheeks, the faint dusting of freckles under her eyes, and the faint glint of red in her hair, highlighted by the ambient lighting over their table. There was no mistaking her humanity. But, unlike so many humans that worked within the Elven District, she hadn’t yet been trodden into a shadow of her former self.
For a moment, he wondered if perhaps she was a new employee, but the skill in which she simultaneously took down orders and took away menus without her eyes barely leaving her guest’s faces belied that assumption. Perhaps he’d simply never been waited upon by her, and given that the restaurant was so large, it was no wonder he’d never noticed her before.
As she walked away with the orders, Kandomere watched her. Montehugh caught the look and chuckled, nudging Kandomere’s arm.
“See somethin’ you like?”
Kandomere rolled his eyes. “I was merely curious. I don’t recall seeing her here before.”
“Uh huh… Sure…” Montehugh grinned.
Kandomere wasn’t usually quite so obvious, and it irked him that after all these years, his partner had managed to learn his subtle tells. He shook his head lightly and went back to his menu, considering a dessert for later.
The Feds orders were with the kitchen. The chef had a busy night ahead of him, given the large orders from the humans. Alice went out to check on Kyra and found her fighting back tears as she waited at the bar for drinks for her table.
“Hey, what happened?”
“Oh… just the usual…” Kyra whispered, keeping her eyes downcast.
Alice huffed, leaning in close. “He’s such an arse. Try not to take it to heart. He’s probably perpetually angry about his small cock!”
Kyra’s eyes went wide a moment, then she giggled softly. “You’re so terrible!”
“So what! He’s a prissy, rich elf. Just let him spend his money and piss off,” Alice whispered, picking up her tray to deliver more drinks to her tables.
Kandomere had been surreptitiously watching the curious exchange. He’d smirked slightly to himself at the human waitress’s words, strangely appreciating her boldness, despite the possibility of being overheard. When she returned with his and Montehugh’s drinks, his face was its normal neutral expression, inclining his head in thanks as she politely smiled.
Alice found him unusual. Not so much odd, as a little less elf-like than she was expecting. She was so used to serving snobbish elves who never said thanks, and always treated her like a glorified slave. This man was different. She wondered if his time working within a more human organisation had influenced him in some way. He was still gloriously beautiful and impeccably dressed, with the customary icy eyes and pointed ears. His hair was a curiously grey-blue colour, and looked very much as though it would be softer than a puppy’s fur, should she dare to touch it. She rather liked the longer hair on elves. The few males she’d seen with shorter hair seemed odd to her, as though they were attempting to appear more human, without looking too inferior. Elvish fashion was a minefield. Given that most of her money went on rent and bills, she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about high end fashion. Comfort and value was the order of the day, and given her more curvaceous figure, high fashion simply wouldn’t fit.
She took away some empty glasses, thinking about him. He was quite the enigma. He seemed more than happy to be served by a human, and was sitting amongst both humans and elves as though they were equals, and yet, he wore the crest many elven males wore – ‘ELVES ABOVE ALL. ABOVE ALL, ELVES’. It didn’t seem to fit his manner. She wondered if he simply counted on most humans not knowing how to read Elvish.
Just another prissy elf…
She wasn’t so convinced.
Kyra had taken a quick five minute break to compose herself, but as she returned, she could already hear Faltorin shouting across the restaurant for her. She wanted the night to be over, but he seemed intent on drinking as much as possible, which only served to make him more abusive. She dreaded what he’d say, what he’d do. As she neared the table, he yelled at her in a combination of Elvish and English, and she couldn’t be certain if he was purely too drunk to recognise the erratic shifting or he thought she wouldn’t understand complete Elvish. She tried to placate him, begging him to lower his voice and that she’d get him anything he needed. He simply shouted louder.
Alice was just bringing the first lot of meals out to her tables when she heard the screeching voice of their worst customer. Fuck. He always had to make a scene. She kept looking over her shoulder at Kyra trying to calm him down, and almost tipped Kandomere’s plate directly into his lap.
“Oh! I’m sorry…” she apologised, putting his plate down properly, fumbling with the cutlery.
Kandomere was momentarily annoyed that he’d almost ended up wearing his meal, but he watched as his server’s head moved to look over her shoulder at the yelling across the restaurant. He recognised the elf girl being yelled at as the one she’d reassured earlier. He could feel the concern coming off her. It was so strong; it tainted his palate a moment, until she moved on down the table to deliver more meals.
Alice went back to retrieve the rest of the meals. Faltorin was still complaining. She was annoyed that Norkas was nowhere to be seen, clearly more concerned with the fullness of his customer’s wallets over the safety of his staff. She shook her head, huffing loudly, and didn’t notice the moment Faltorin stood up and grabbed for Kyra’s arm.
Kyra yelped at the sudden movement, attempting to step back, but Faltorin, despite his inebriated state, was too fast. The grip he had on her was bruising, and she was begging for him to let go.
Alice almost dropped her tray as she tried to shove it back on the bar, running over to pull Kyra from him.
“Keep your fucking hands off her!!” she screamed at him as she fought to pry his spindly hand off Kyra’s wrist.
Faltorin was momentarily surprised by the outburst from the chunky, auburn-haired human. He yanked on Kyra’s wrist harder. “Fucking mongrel dog human! How dare you speak to me in such a manner?”
Not willing to let him hurt Kyra any longer, she gripped his hand and shoved her nails down hard into his pale skin, gripping until he yelled out, and finally let go of Kyra. The second he did, she shoved Kyra behind her, looking at her in warning, to keep her away from him. It was unfortunately enough time for him to gather himself together and just as Alice looked back at him, his right hand connected hard and fast with her cheek, backhanding with tremendous force. The superior elven strength knocked her back into a display cabinet, glass shattering everywhere as her eye socket exploded in white hot pain, the force of hitting glass causing semi-unconsciousness as she lay in a crumpled heap amongst the debris of the cabinet.
Kandomere had watched the whole exchange. Most of his colleagues had been talking and laughing far too loudly to notice what was going on, but he’d heard the exchange. He’d been admiring her courage and strength. Very few humans would stand up to an elf, not least because they were outmatched for strength.
The instant he saw the blond elf strike her, he was out of his chair and vaulting over tables to stop him from attacking again. The elf waitress was by the human’s side, trying to rouse her, her voice becoming more worried as the seconds ticked by. Kandomere secured the attacker with cuffs, signalling to Montehugh to hold on to him whilst he checked on the human.
Alice was far too dazed and drowsy to focus on anything that was going on. She needed a hospital. Kandomere lifted her easily, looking to both Kyra and his partner.
“She needs a hospital. You’ll need to take him in. Assault and Battery.”
“Um… we don’t have insurance… we don’t get health benefits here…” Kyra said quietly.
“Then I will take her to one of ours,” he stated, moving to leave.
“But she’s not elf-kind! They won’t treat her…”
“We’ll soon see about that.”
He turned on his heel, carrying the prone woman out to his car, setting her onto the back seats and flicking on his lights to get through the traffic. He didn’t bother to wait for anyone else. He knew the damage an elf could do to a human, and he needed to make sure the attacker hadn’t caused any permanent damage. He found it disconcerting to imagine her losing any of that fire he’d seen in her. In his mind, it would be a tragedy.