Mina looks at her best friend Libby as she pauses outside a tenement building called mermaid house.
"Look, Mina. I just need to say that this side of my family is fae. I should probably go over the rules first."
Mina rolls her eyes, "Libby, I've been here loads of times. I think I know how to behave."
Libby looks at Mina seriously, "Mina, we are going through Mermaid House. My queen's rules won't protect you if you make a mistake. So, for my own peace of mind. Please?"
Mina sighs, "Fine."
"Thank you. First of all, remember everything is a trade."
"I know, I know."
"No, you don't. I mean everything. Even someone asking you to dance, or taking some food even if it seems freely offered. If you don't place limits or give something in return, then they get to decide the cost. And I've known some fae that have danced a century straight. If you get in trouble with that, find my mom or Aunt Inari, they might be able to get you out of it."
Mina starts to shake, "Libby, when I accepted the invitation, I thought…"
"I know, and when I offered it to you I didn't know it wasn't going to be held in our court. We both should have read the fine print."
"I think I have some change in my purse."
Libby nods, "The second rule is that everything you eat and drink there will tie you closer to faerie. Offering payment will help, but once we pass through the circle we're in faerie proper and there's nothing we can do to stop it."
"Hang on, why aren't we having it in your court?"
"Armsmaster is getting married to Dragon and Deidre, and as Deidre was born in another court, her previous queen was given an invitation. I heard Taylor complaining about the fact that she had to send invitations to the seasonal courts in Europe. If any of them turned up it would basically be handing the court over to whoever turned up. So, Faerie. Third rule."
"How many more are there?"
"Undoubtedly a lot. But this is the last one I need to tell you. Third rule is read the rules. If you break them, then the presiding fae will have power over you. If that's Aunt Inara, then you'll be fine. But if it's a royal fae from the seasonal courts…"
"What?"
"You remember that brass plaque by the elevator? As this is an official event, there will be something like that there."
"The brass plaque that I can't read without a magnifying glass?"
Libby nods, "That's the one."
Mina swallows hard, "Can you… No, will you help me?"
Libby smiles, "I would offer to take your humanity off your hands, but we don't have time for you to recover. I think I'll use Aunt Amy's example. I offer you a trade, an eye for an eye. Specifically, one of my eyes for one of yours."
Mina looks at the door and worries at her bottom lip. Then she takes the invitation out of her purse and glances between it and her phone. Seeing just how little time they have left, she swallows hard and says, "I accept on the condition that you offer it back to me before we next go to school."
Libby's face makes one of her too wide smiles that still makes Mina flinch. Then there's a flash of pain and Mina reels backwards as she's momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information from her new eye.
Libby says, "Done. Finally, I can watch TV again. I hope you decide to keep the eye."
