Tarot sat among the men and his sister as they chatted about the ins and outs of Earth.
He said little, preferring to chew on orange slices and feeding pieces here and there to his little familiar, a small five pound chimpanzee named Lola.
It was now day two of the journey. The train had been moving swiftly through the snow-packed region and they were now nearing the mountain pass that would lead them through the tunnel which led to New Orleans.
"How different is Faria as opposed to Earth?" Vander asked no one in particular.
Tarot blinked and turned towards him.
"You've never been there?"
"No." He shrugged. "I travel extensively, but only within our world. There was never any reason for me to world-hop."
"Well, Earth is more—modern in a way." Tarot pursed his lips. "They have to be, simply because there isn't much magic there."
Talia nodded. "I didn't even know magic was real until I met Devin and saw with my own eyes, how he transformed into a dog and back into a boy again."
Andre grinned. "That's rich. A witch who didn't know that magic existed."
"I was born on Earth." She gave a rueful grin. "Nobody around me did any magic, so there was no way for me to know that it was possible."
"That's why we have to be discreet." Cedric cautioned. "When we get there, we must act as if we are inert. No transformations and no transmutations are allowed in front of the locals."
"He is absolutely on point." Talia sighed. "You don't want to get Lynch mobbed. They will drag you off and do bad things to you. Stay incognito as much as possible."
Talia glanced at Vander. "I know you need blood. There are ways to get it without raising any suspicion. I can help you with that."
Vander nodded with gratitude.
Ever since he'd been staying at the royal palace, Talia had sent blood in a chilled covered pitcher to him every single day without fail. Now that he was heading into her world, she was once again taking care of his needs.
Vander felt as if he was clutching at straws just to stay afloat. He was drowning deeper and deeper into a soul debt with her that he could not find a way to repay.
"There is also one other thing."
Talia looked at each of them in turn.
Tarot had on his usual grey pants and tunic so he at least did not look too out of place, but he would need to find some more appropriate clothing for a young teenager soon.
Vander, on the other hand, wore all black.
It melded in with his deep shiny black hair which hung loose around his shoulders. Added to all that darkness were his dark eyes with that wild streak of red within the pupils.
All in all, he looked like a devastatingly handsome ghoul—or at the very least, an emo lead guitarist of a goth metal band.
Then there was Andre.
Other than the fact that this tall handsome man put the average male models to shame, he looked fairly normal, with his dark brown wavy long hair and grey eyes. Unfortunately, he was also wearing something that made him look like one of the three musketeers.
Being the only blond in the group, Cedric was the one who stood out the most. Not only was his hair a shade of pale gold, he also had on black wool pants, a white shirt, and a gold brocade robe with faceted gems embellished on the lapels.
He was so golden that he dazzled the eyes. It was absolutely appropriate for a Monarch of a kingdom as wealthy as Faria, but for Earth—it was far too ostentatious.
Talia sighed and shook her head.
"This is not going to work. You men are dressed too Renaissance-y."
"What?" Andre turned questioning grey eyes at her.
"I mean…what you are wearing is perfectly fine for Faria, but on Earth, you look like you're going to a Renaissance Fair."
Cedric laughed. He was the only one who knew what she meant.
"It's a lucky thing not all my Earth clothing burned in the fire. I have a couple of trunks of clothing that we can dig into."
He turned back towards Tarot.
"I'm sorry. I don't really have anything that would fit you."
Tarot grinned. "It's fine. I'm sure Talia can get me something that I can wear."
Talia nodded. "Absolutely. Once we get back to Earth, I can go buy something more age-appropriate for you."
Within about an hour, the men were appropriately dressed in blue denim jeans and white button down shirts. It took away their renaissance-gothic image, but it did nothing to dampen the eye-candy quality of their looks.
Talia tapped her lips for a moment as she regarded their appearance.
"I think you men need a little bit of help with the hair."
Cedric frowned. "What's wrong with our hair?"
"All of you men have hair that is way too long. It's appropriate for Farian styles, but on Earth, it's best if you don't attract too much attention."
"So what do we do?" Andre scratched his head.
"Give me a few minutes and let me see what I can do."
Talia rummaged around in her bags and found several hair bands which she used to tie each man's hair back at the nape.
"There you go." She smirked as she inspected her handiwork.
"It's so funny. One of you is blond, one has brown hair, and one has jet black hair. All we're missing is a redhead."
The men all looked at each other and threw back their heads with laughter.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Darling, you obviously have never seen people with blue or green hair." Cedric's eyes crinkled.
"Hmm. That would be a sight to see."
Tarot threw her a glance. "What about you?"
Talia turned back to Tarot. "What about me?"
"You're still dressed in Queen's robes. What are you going to wear?"
Talia gave a toothy grin.
With a single flick of the hand, she undid the buckle of her belt. In a heart-stopping moment, her long voluminous skirt fell from her waist onto the floor in a pile of thick midnight blue velvet.
"Oh my God!" Andre gasped and averted his eyes.
Vander meanwhile, recoiled from the sight of her wearing a black mini skirt under the velvet shirt that had accompanied the skirt that was at the moment, puddled around her ankles.
"Relax." Talia laughed. "This is normal wear for Earth women."
Cedric grimaced. "Unfortunately, she is not wrong. Earth women wear even shorter and tighter skirts than this, as well as very tight tops that expose half their breasts."
Tarot's eyes grew round. "And they walk around like that?"
"Yes." Cedric and Talia nodded.