#bergen_county

"Excuse me, I was -taken- to the Lodge, after I tried to help with that crab. They, you, like, -took- me there when everything was crazy and then I had to make that Oath or everyone would mess with my mind, mess MORE with my mind. An'... an'.... an' it was -cool-... an' now I can't go back."

Dagmar squeezes her hands into fists. "I know. I've asked."

A long pause.

"Not you, Sam. You're cool. I know you asked, thanks." Subdued.

"But these are my friends. My... family, you know? Close as I have to one."

"I know. You gotta... gotta take care of yourself, them. I know."

"Frank, he's a Liam, they protect mortals... that's why they got the thing, right? And Chief has to make sure you're cool, and she... I dunno, she doesn't yet, and I don't know what'll do it yet. Keeping the Oath, that's part, but... but I dunno..."

"What thing?"

"The creepy feeling, right?"

"He said he wasn't cursed, though."

"That's the Oathbroken feeling."

"Well, it's not exactly a curse, it's like a curse?"

"But it's not his fault, is what I meant."

"All Liam give off that vibe, because, like, thousands of years ago the first Liam broke an Oath to defend a human."

"That's magic, you know?"

"Sorry, Liam broke his Oath to a sidhe in order to defend a human."

"So if I break my Oath, I get that too?"

She nods. "The funny feeling, yeah, plus what the oath said you get."

A scowl.

"If trolls break an Oath, we get weak. We lose our strength, on top of the other stuff."

"Yeah, well...." Tree-poke.

"Well, you aren't gonna break yours."

"Then, Chief'll see - right?"

"I mean, she has an Oath to protect the Freehold, and everybody."

Frustrated huff. "How long'll -that- take, though? Could be -years- right?"

"She also has to uphold the Escheat. And I guess Ignorance is really weird with kinain and the rules aren't so clear."

"...I dunno."

"I'm not ignorant." Scowl.

"No. The Law of Ignorance."

"Like - the law that says we have to keep secret. Because if I told, like, a teacher I was actually a Knight and not just some kid, I could get my parents in trouble, or get put back in the system, or sectioned. And the last is extra dangerous - hospitals are..." She considers. "Cold. They make you feel sick. And if you're there too long, you can forget."

"There's a -law-?"

"Kinain don't get sick like that...."

She nods. "The Escheat. Laws we gotta follow, no matter the court or kith."

She counts off on her fingers. "Demesne - the freeholder is in charge, their word is law. Dream - Mortals are allowed to be free and dream and you can't hurt them to steal glamour. Ignorance - keep us secret from mortals..."

"Rescue - if a fae is undone or forgotten orbout to be lost, you gotta do something to help. Safe Haven - a fae in need can go to a Fire for three days, and you can't just turn them away."

"Last is Life - fae don't kill fae."

Adam listens carefully. "Nothing about me, though. Kinain."

She shakes her head. "Nope, exactly. But you aren't a regular human, either."

"And you can see without being Enchanted, right?"

"So... like, you need to know stuff."

Adam wanders away a little. "So, like.... I'm gonna have to obey those laws, but they don't apply to me so they don't protect me, an' if I make Glamour or whatever then anyone can take it. And I see stuff and it can hurt me but I don't get Rescue or Safe Haven."

Stubborn jaw. "Right. It isn't fair."

"Although.. you making Glamour won't hurt you... like... it's like... giving off sunlight. Ravaging is when you hurt someone to make it happen, and that's what Dream is about - protecting mortals from that. We can't steal it, that's different from soaking up what radiates."

"Yeah, but I don't get to keep it or use it, right?"

"I... don't know if you can?"

"Like, you can have dross to keep enchanted, but I don't know if you can use Glamour."

"You use it to make magic, right? Sally Mae said sometimes kinain can do magic."

She rubs the back of her neck. "If you run out of Glamour, your enchantment ends. You'll still see us, but won't be able to touch. If, like, I run out... I... I don't get to be Dagmar. Not unless someone brings me back."

She nods. "So maybe you can? Then you'd be able to keep it, maybe. If you can feel it, I guess."

"How do I -make- Glamour?"