Her life was turning upside down, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Ejection from the palace meant starting life afresh.
Traffic was fair. There were just pizza delivery trucks and motorcycles cruising the road at the time. Her eyes darted to the rear view mirror of the cab and she cringed. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her cheeks were flushed and her nose was pink from sniffing.
"Is it the first street of Rudolph?" The cab driver asked. Priya's eyes met his in the mirror.
"Just keep driving. I'll give you directions." Priya's accent was thick, and her consonant blends were always very heavy.
Fallon had never been anywhere this far. Rudolph was nothing like a typical New York's Thruway, but the night view of this part of the city looked beautiful.
"Take a right turn when you get to the used car mart up ahead." Priya directed. The cab man nodded respectfully
Fallon heaved a sigh of relief when the cab came to a stop. Leroy alighted first to help Fallon out of the car. The cold wind of the night hit her bare legs first. Her outfit appeared like she had dressed in the dark. She didn't have enough time to dress up as the guards that had been ordered to kick them out of the boys' quarters were very impatient.
She wrapped the baby shawl around Danika protectively. Leroy went round to retrieve their things from the trunk of the cab. Priya's arms were wrapped around herself. The night was chilly.
"I'm so sorry we had to drag you into the cold on a night like this." Fallon said to Priya. A car wheezed through, the noise swallowing the end part of Fallon's apology. But Priya heard. Priya could hear anything.
"Oh, come off it. You could have done the same for me. Besides, I should have come out with a cardigan." Priya's teeth were chattering even as she spoke.
"My friend's house is the next after this one," Priya continued, pointing to a big white bungalow a few feet away from the small duplex in front of them.
"We need to be quick so the owner of this house doesn't see us in front of his fence. He is as hostile as a bloodhound."
She moved to the other side of the road to haggle the transport fare with the cab driver. Leroy wheeled the bags out of the way, moving them closer into the space of the big bungalow.
The wind rustled the trees around, and Fallon snuggled Danika closer to her chest to keep her warm. Fallon watched as Priya paid the cab driver before bending to carry the largest of the luggage Leroy left behind.
Priya led the way, despite the heavyweight bag she was carrying. She led them to the house's front porch. She let the bag drop to the ground, wincing when it landed with a thud.
"I'll be quick so you don't have to stay out in the cold." She told them. She went to the other side of the house, the backyard presumably. Fallon wondered why she didn't just step up the porch to knock on the front door.
Barely two minutes later, Priya emerged from the back of the house with a stout looking brunette who looked even bigger than Priya. Where Priya was plump, the brunette was huge and plump. Dressed in a tank top and yoga pants, she looked like a wrestler.
"Fallon, Leroy, meet Chica, my friend. She's Italian, but she was born in South Hampton in your country." The introduction was short, but it was straight to the point.
Chica came forward and peered into the shawl in Fallon's arms. Fallon shifted awkwardly.
"Such a beautiful baby. Are you the father?" Chica asked Leroy, who was blushing tomato red. He nodded shyly, expecting her to make a remark about him being a young father. But she didn't. Color slowly returned to his face as Chica stopped looking at him to focus her gaze on baby Danika.
"Ha!" Chica exclaimed.
"I see the resemblance." She continued. Her excited voice breaking out through the cold like a child who got her math homework right. Fallon's legs hurt, but she didn't want to sound rude by asking Priya's friend to hurry up.
"She has got your fae ears. And your trumpet nose too! And nothing from the mother!" She exclaimed yet again like a young scientist who had just come up with an interesting hypothesis. Leroy turned his face away. He wasn't about to blush in front of the chirpy woman.
"The royal family must be so inconsiderate. Sending you out as though you were orphans into a cold night like this with your baby!" Chica remarked, stretching out her arms to carry Danika. Danika stirred in her sleep as Fallon transferred her to Chica.
Fallon wanted to cry. Wasn't that what she was? An orphan.
"Chica, show them their new place." Priya urged her friend. With Danika in her arms, she turned to the front door.
My previous tenants were troublesome people. I lost my garden to their naughty kids, which is why I have my garden at the back now. I hope Priya is right, that you're good people." She turned to face them, as if to confirm if her words left imprints on the young couple.
The house was a big bungalow with four apartments on each side of the house. Two in front, two behind. One would have to walk through the hallway Chica was leading them into to get to the last apartments.
Chica led them through the dark hallway. At some point, she stopped to flip a switch and bright white light filled the dark hallway, swallowing the darkness. Fallon squinted her eyes to adjust them to the bright light.
Chica stopped in front of a door. She passed Danika to her mother so she would have more room to open the lock. Her muscular arms went to the back of her denim jeans to fish out a key. She battled with the lock for a few minutes. Fallon wished a chair would appear out of nowhere so she could sit for a while. She was exhausted and famished.
Leroy's hand found her free hand that wasn't wrapped around Danika. He entwined their hands, a voiceless reminder that he was with her. Always with her.