Curse of Blades (Blades #1)

Chapter 14

[Note: This was originally included in Curse of Blades: Book 2, but as of July 28th, 2021, I began combining the 3 Curse of Blades books into a single one.]

Anil was enjoying the tour through the city. The sweet rolls they had gotten from Wildas's aunt were delicious, and the sights and sounds around them were exciting. She could tell Myri was anxiously watching the prince for any sign that he was pushing himself, but she was distracted from her worry when they arrived at the healers' house. Wildas explained that it was where all the healers who worked for the royal family lived and worked when they weren't at the castle. Myri was clearly in awe of the size of the place, though it wasn't nearly the size of the sorcerers' house.

Anil was intrigued by everything she saw. There were so many shops with colorful or glittering merchandise, including clothing, children's toys, jewelry, and even weapons. There were a couple of taverns, a large inn, and a stable that caught Anil's attention. There was even another massive building at the end of the street.

"That's the brothel," Wildas stated, motioning to it.

Anil wasn't very familiar with such places, but, having been in the city of Arren several times, it seemed a little too large, even for Ryal.

"Is it the only one here?" Coulta asked, probably thinking the same thing.

Wildas snorted as he turned his horse around again. "Catering to just those living in upper Ryal, where we're going next, yes. In all of the city? No. It's actually four separate brothels in one building. Two for men, and two for women, all of which do excellent business, or so I've been told."

Knowing what she did about the structure of the royal family, Anil was not surprised by this. She tried not to wonder if Wildas actually had visited either of the brothels catering to men. It truly wasn't her place to consider it, let alone ask.

They passed through an open gate and into another part of the city, one that was slightly less crowded. Anil noticed large buildings on either side of the gate that were clearly stables, but every other building looked like a house.

"This is where the nobles in the city live," Wildas explained. "We call it 'upper Ryal'. Most of those living here are members of the royal family or of other noble families distantly related. Others are wealthy merchants who live here when not traveling."

"How are the nobles related to the royal family?" Myri asked.

"Mostly through marriage. Some families are descended from the relatives of former queens or Second Kings. One of the first things every Grand King does when he takes the throne is to name his spouses' families as nobles. From then on, anyone in that family until the end of time is a noble. Typically it comes with a gift of money and a large piece of land. And status, of course."

They didn't ride down the streets on either side to see the houses, but Anil could see that they were all well-kept and that some had small gardens. They were too close together for her liking, though, with barely space enough between them for someone to walk. The space between the walls was large enough for four rows of houses on each side of the wide street, and Anil knew the road was slightly longer than it was in the upper market. The houses against the walls had small gardens in the front and narrow pathways in between, the backs of the houses completely flush against the wall behind them. The houses in the center had small gardens behind them, and narrow alleyways between.

There were a few well-dressed people in the streets, and they all gave Wildas a brief gesture of greeting - older people often nodded to him instead of bowing, while younger people tended to bow or curtsy. The red-clad guards who wandered among them gave him bows, no matter their age. Myri was the one who finally asked about it.