Of Thorns and Glamour

The Beach

Days passed, Inchiki was attentive to my care and thankfully I was able to do my own bandages, as I thought I would die if I had to be conscious while he took care of my wrapping. Now I finally didn't need them anymore as my wounds were just scars that were still healing and soon to disappear. I found out I had multiple broken bones that all healed well enough, hence why Inchiki didn't want me moving around too much.

But today was a special day.

"I'm ready to go to the town." I call out to him from downstairs, my cloak covering my appearance. He came down swiftly, his own black cloak hiding his white hair along with a mask.

"Here."  He hands me a mask similar to his own, but more feminine. I pull down my hood and hold it up against my face, turning my back to him to have him lace it. He gently grabs the lace and ties it taunt, the tips of his fingers against my temple makes me blush a little as he adjusts my hair. His skilled hands set the mask perfectly and I step away, pulling my hood up. Seeing through the eyeholes isn't difficult, but my breath feels hot against the mouth opening that only has a small slip between the mask's lips. I can smell the majick of the enchantment, but also mint and citrus like Inchiki's handkerchief.

"Allow me." He says while opening the door to let me through first. I nod in appreciation and step out on unfamiliar ground. The road was paved and the sun was bright. He steps out behind me, "I changed my shops location about every eight hours, that's how I stay unnoticed." I could hear cries in the distance, and salt stings my nose. "This is the town of Rosegulf, it's a port town on the planet Trae in its northern hemisphere. I have two planets I change back and forth as needed, Trae and Nordheim, but only occasionally, as it takes immense of majickal energy to do."

I understood somewhat, but it sounded like a great way for me to get to see a whole lot of locations easily. "So there's an ocean nearby?" I ask him and he nods. I almost start running but he grabs my hand.

"Might have to put a leash on you." He teased and chuckles as he offers his arm for me to hold. I blush intensely but thankfully he cannot see my face. I link my arm around his, feeling his body heat more. It felt so intimate, and as we start walking my mind is racing.

As we walk my mind wonders over these past days we have gotten closer to each other, sharing space and him telling me of places he wanted to show me. He was a phenomenal cook, and I got to try dishes I hadn't had before. I became exceedingly more comfortable around him, so I'm sure he didn't even think twice about offering his arm. He directs us down the street, a slow enough pace so I can look at the houses that have little flower pots hanging on the windowsill and beautiful lanterns that lined the street. Finally people started passing by us, one on a contraption that consisted of two wheels and he seemed to move gears with his feet to make it turn.

"A bicycle, it allows the rider to propel forward by pedaling with their legs, rather recent invention." I was grateful for Inchiki always being ready to educate me as I have a lot to learn. Occasionally someone in a coach drawn by horses would pass us and we would have to move out of the way or be ran over. We didn't seem to be noticed by anyone as we walked by, as expected with our enchanted masks adorned on our faces. We went over a small arched bridge that had a street below, and then I caught a glimpse of the incline of the hill the buildings were stacked on. It went down towards our left side to more rooftops.

I could hear more people talking, some shouting, and I wondered what was going on. We turned another corner and it opened up to a place lined with tables, and there were people looking at items on them.

"This is the upper market of the town, where you would get more fine goods. It's where I get many of my ingredients for my apothecary. The area gets a mixture of different types of buyers as well, and there's gambling closer to the docks. It's great for my business as I tend to sell to those who are more on the desperate side, but with something to actually buy with." I take note of it, seeing some vendors with dresses hanging on headless mannequins, but we turn away from the market and go down more stairs, and follow a winding path. Some people were dressed in very utilitarian like clothing while others had very nice clothes that looked too stuffy and eloquent for this weather, probably a type of fashion of this area. We opened up to another expansive space and I saw metal groves on the ground along with black rope that crisscrossed above us, following the groves.