The bustle of activity throughout the emporium seemed to be more audible than ever, especially with the holidays approaching. Fiona noted that the store had easily…twenty percent more people than the average at this given time of day.

She adjusted her tie and vest, smoothing her hair for the third time, and waved to the new arrivals from the kiosk, smiling. Greg smoothly intercepted the recruits fresh from the mage academy, leading them to the general goods and the enchanter station, where Bonnie was bringing her new apprentice up to speed.

So far, the kid hadn't set fire to anything. That was a good sign.

"You still do that, huh?"

Fiona glanced to her left, noting Bianca wore a similar outfit, but with a blue tie. After the store image she'd started a few months ago, she'd bought multiples to look presentable, and while it was a bit loose on Bianca, it was serviceable until she could get a tailor to adjust the size. Bianca wore a small smirk, tapping keys into the kiosk.

"I do what, still?"

"The hair toss. The one you do when you're trying to impress someone." Bianca's gaze floated to Doug, currently attending to a tall, thin woman in a wide-brimmed hat raked to one side.

"I…don't think the impressing part is needed anymore," Fiona conceded. "Anxious habits die hard. Get used to the kiosk?"

"It's better than that piece of junk mechanical one you were all gaga about when we ran our place, but you were insistent it would sell the rustic image." Bianca ran her fingers over the device, the keys depressing without resistance. "It was kinda cute."

"You miss it?"

"I miss a life of normalcy. You and I…we haven't had that in a while." She smiled politely as an older teen brought a set of starter armor to the front, the leather smell still strong, as though it were freshly made. "Fi, how much for this one?"

"I have a crib sheet under the counter, but generally they should be tagged." She examined the leather armor and noted the tag. "Fifty gold."

"Thanks, Fiona!" the man called out happily as Bianca tendered change, then she jotted the sale in the datapad. She really needed to automate that someday, and Kali was currently working on an improved inventory and point of sale system.

Right now, he had a book open, looking at rune schematics for the intended effect and tracing them with his feathered finger, absorbed in the study. "Kali. Kali?"

"Sorry, Fi." he clasped the book shut, threaded another wire to the back panel, and tied it back so the conduit paths were neatly arranged and marked. "Building your own system for logistics is a bear."

"Ahem." A man with the face of an ursine beastfolk gave the youth a sour look.

Kali's spine stiffened, and he stammered for a few seconds. "Uh, sorry."

"Kids these days," the ursine muttered, before dropping a few potions at the counter. He peered intensely at Bianca, then at Fiona. "Another new hire, Miss Swiftheart?"

"Do you see me scurrying my fair elven backside twenty different ways lately?" she asked in an amused tone. "Hi Torvin, how's the guild lately?"

"Busy. And we have to put four guards in rotation on that VIP that you and Bonnie brought in, so, you know…it's tense, too," he shrugged. "What are you, some kind of weekend warrior?"

"Har, har. Every time I put down the hammer, there's a monster or villain that shows up, and needs to take a beating or three." Bianca grunted audibly next to her and turned her head away.

"And uh…who's the new trainee?" Torvin asked, looking amused.

"This is Bianca, she's from…out of town, you could say," Fiona deflected. "She's still learning the ropes a bit. Oh, and that'll be thirty gold for the three potions."

"Really? The sign says forty," he countered with a smirk. "You sure you aren't losing your touch, Fi?"

"Nah, besides, I know those potions will likely be force-fed to a naive, green recruit who gets beaten up by their first slime monster, or red cap, or maybe a ferocious forest animal." She placed the items in a bag, which he took in hand.

"Well, you're probably more right than you know. Our alchemists are working their butts off, on account of Jake being jittery, which, for that stout fella, is rare to see. All I know? Aegortin ships were spotted off the coast, just sailing back and forth, but especially down south, near Vale."

This caused her to freeze up for a second. "Any idea what they're up to?"

"Nah, it's a bad time of year too, with the winter storms. The ice forms up by the coast up this way, and it's hard to navigate safely. Our guys down in Vale are lying real low, because Vale's border guys are super jumpy."

"I wonder why that would be," Fiona murmured, casting a knowing glance Bianca's way. "Anyway, catch ya later, Torvin!"'

"Keep smiling, Fi, and maybe do some holiday singing. You're already prepped for the part, on account of the elven grace and long ears," he added with a grin before leaving.

She squinted and made a haggard face. "Did he just make a joke about Santa's elves?"

"No. Apparently, the Bar'dathi throw some pretty impressive holiday parties down in the plains," Bianca answered. "Even for this looney tunes place, I think eight reindeer and a flying sled would be too far a stretch of the imagination."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Ten gold says you're wrong."

"I'd take that bet, Fi, but knowing you? It might prove true," Bianca laughed.

***

The pace of the traffic only increased throughout the week, and Fiona found herself ordering gift boxes to stash in storage. "How long is this celebration period anyway?" she asked Bonnie, when she had a few moments of downtime at her workstation.

"Oh, up here in Fiefdala? It's like two weeks of people getting all cozy at home, throwing parties, and some festivals pop up outside of town," the kitsune added with a waggle of her hand. "What'd they have on Earth?"

"December was an entire month of festivities. Some people took it a little too generously," she added with a laugh.

"Uh huh. Party girl Fiona making any appearances?" Bonnie teased.

"No! Well, maybe a little. I can't hold wine like I used to. And that's not saying much."

"I think," Doug said as he approached, looking confident, "That we should close the shop for at least a few days, take a break. And introduce our elf and her co-transmigrator to the wonders of the festive season."

"But, we have plenty of work left to do," Fiona countered. "Not that I wouldn't love that idea, though. Liam said he'd be dropping by this afternoon. He sent a note to my relay to discuss how the meetings would go."

She heard a flap of wings by the front door, and a familiar orange and yellow-scaled dragon landed with impressive grace by the street outside, scaring some older lady, and a couple of young kids whooped with delight. Liam ducked his head low to avoid the door frame and tucked in his wings tightly. His wings were coated in snow from the snow squall gusting in from the lake.

"Speaking of," Doug added, glancing at the doorway. "Guess we better greet and meet, yes?"

"Glad you and I think alike," Fiona grinned, taking Doug in arm and walking over to the snow-covered dragon, shaking his feathery mane with one large clawed hand. "Hi Liam, I see you're a little early."

"Yeah, I caught a good tailwind. It sped up my flight. "Do you mind if I shift to human? I just didn't want to take up space here."

"Oh, by all means, go ahead!" Fiona hadn't actually watched this part yet, so it was still a small surprise when Liam's wings faded into his back, and his draconic features melted into a more human face. The claws gave way to calloused fingers, and a head of dirty blonde hair draped over his face.

All told, the whole process took about fifteen seconds. She also noted how his clothing shifted with him, avoiding a possible moment of indecency, though the fabric and style matched his jacket and leggings he'd worn on the way in. He let out a sound of delight and stretched his arms. "Ah, much better. So, I've got word that we'll be setting the stage for some dignitaries. One of Rikkard's ideas was to do a showcase of the store when representatives of Balderdain, Arkantine, and the Bar'dathi traders come into town. Still not an exact date."

"Security detail?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, something like that. I was also apprised that your friend from Earth was–oh, hi."

Bianca was currently staring at the freshly transformed human, eyes filled with excitement. "Oh my goodness. I want one, too."

Want one…what?" Fiona asked, confused.

"A dragon."

Liam burst out laughing and Bianca shrank a little, her cheeks getting rosy. "Oh, believe me, I get that a lot. Mostly from kids. You wouldn't believe the number of times I get someone asking me for a ride on a dragon. It's not very safe without a harness."

"I…I would like a ride–I mean uh, welcome to the emporium! Sorry about that," Bianca corrected hastily. Liam laughed harder and gave her a welcoming hug, nonetheless. "Oh, you're so…warm," she said in a ghost voice.

"I know, right? Even with kids learning about all the Folks of the world, everyone forgets that dragons are big, feathery furnaces!"

Fiona gave a glance at Doug, his snout upturned. "Was it like this for you, Doug, an aura of awesome that surrounded you?"

"Oh, please. No aura farming needed for me," he huffed, pretending to sound bothered. She gave him a pat on the horns. "Oy, we talked about this!" he squawked.

"Must've slipped my mind," she said, pretending she didn't, while wearing a smirk. He grumbled under his breath while Bonnie leaned on the counter, wearing a vixen smile.

"You two are so cute, you know that?"

"I'm not convinced you didn't put a spell on Fiona," Doug huffed before he turned to Liam and put his cordial attitude back up. "So, what are you thinking, Liam? We've got a security setup here."

"Oh no. We're gonna have to upgrade a bit. Especially for a black tie event." He peered at the windows, taking measurements of them, and tapping the glass with one finger. "Tempered magicite glass. Strong stuff. Miss Revere, is it alarm triggered?"

Backup barrier spells trigger if the window is breached," she answered. "You might have noticed we get some attention here. Sheesh, was it only last week those suit dudes were smashing the place?"

"Sure. They were smashing the place. With their faces," Fiona shrugged. "Hang on a second, how many people are we talking about visiting? A few dozen, a hundred? Why's Rikkard not hosting this at the palace?"

"Hosting it here sells the image of real results, real proof of the reliability of Fiefdala's commerce," Liam answered, measuring the length and width of the room, and examining the arcane console Kali had upgraded. "Sheesh. Someone even labeled and color-coded the conduits. Talk about dedication. And I believe you have barricades for the front door?"

"Also tied to the alarm and fire suppression systems. We did our homework," Bonnie said, looking proud. "But really, how big a crowd are we expecting for this?"

"Two hundred. Easy. Dignitaries and trade reps always bring a support staff," Liam explained.

That's a pretty big crowd. Fiona's first instinct was that they just did not have the room for it. Not even close. Maybe if they rearranged some items or put them in storage, but it would still be a massive undertaking. Even Bonnie frowned at that number. "Fi, we do have the second floor, we're not using much of it. Combine that with the floor space, move some things…we could do it. Not easily."

"Could we...add space magically?" Fiona proposed. "We have dimensional bags. Perfect for placing precious items or people in innocuous places."

"I could come up with a dozen reasons why that is a terrible idea, and while it's doable, it's also done by professional mages who know how spatial magic works. My hat? That took a lot of work, and I certainly wouldn't camp out in it for a while," Bonnie said with a sigh. "It's easiest to set up when a building is being constructed, and it's prohibitively expensive to keep it stable, and with required redundancies."

A hidden snackatorium was now off the table of possibilities, no matter how much she pouted her lip, while Bonnie wore an amused smirk. "No, dear. I am not creating more places for you to stash pastries."

"I think you can read minds," Fiona accused her, folding her arms tightly and giving the kitsune a narrow-eyed sus look.

"I just know you too well. It's not like magical fox girls have the ability to read minds and soulbind to kindred souls," she continued with a toothy smile. Fiona felt a chill down her spine as she said that, for some inexplicable reason. "Liam, we may need some assistance to reorganize the store if we commit to this."

"Isn't this what the elf is for?" Doug proposed. "Lifting heavy objects? I seriously do not know how you can knock around a half-ton dragon, even with that magical hammer."

"I think it only works when it's convenient," she shrugged. "Snow shoveling still is a pain. Either way, it's going to be a lot of work."

Fiona put her hands on her hips, and glanced around. She wanted to make this work. If not for showing off what they'd managed to build, but to help shore up Rikkard's efforts to put the kingdom back on track.

She put forth a confident smile. "Liam. Let's talk details. I want to make this place shine."

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