Bella extended one long, elegant leg from the cab and pushed herself out of the vehicle, suppressing a shudder of revulsion as she did so.  There had been too much iron in the cab's frame for her to travel comfortably, and she found herself missing her sidhe steed, long since lost when the magic had first begun to wane.<br/><br/>The Unseelie Court would have snapped her up in a heartbeat, of that she was acutely aware.  Even when she had belonged to the glittering throng of the Seelie Court, several emissaries had been sent on behalf of Andais and half the nobles to her to inquire about her pieces.  But after the ugliness that had spawned from all sides during her summary banishment, she no longer had any desire to participate, even passively, in the politics of the court system.<br/><br/>Iron had its uses though, she mused, watching Thad step out of the cab behind her with the iron-reinforced briefcase cuffed to one wrist to prevent any fae or mortal trickery to get at her near-priceless pieces.  She'd hired the mortal assistant a few years back after he'd shown great promise within the arts of jewelcrafting.  He leaned back into the cab long enough to pay the driver, then followed her into the shop.<br/><br/>She swept into the shop, and as always found herself smiling faintly at the jingle of the silver bell above the door.  Sometimes, the old classics were best, and Ardara certainly knew how to put elegant touches on her shop.<br/><br/>"Good morning, Ardara," she said, with just a hint of warmth to lighten her tone, and made a gesture with her hand to bring Thad forward with the briefcase.  The mortal had long since been trained to efficiency, and without needing to be told what to do, he uncuffed the case from his wrist and set it on the counter.  "I trust the day finds you well."