Sleeping Roses

Butterflies in the Smoke

"Kilan! Kilan, wake up! You'll waste the day like this!"

Kilan growled into his pillow, still tired from his own dreams. He had been teaching Briar the different languages spoken in each country across the continent. Turned out, she could speak most of them to some level, some fluently; some basic but she could speak them. He couldn't even compare his variety of languages to hers. Her command of language astounded him, and yet her skill was completely wasted by never travelling.

When he had asked her the point behind learning so many languages, she had replied that it was the thing for people like her to do. They learnt languages so they could converse with anyone. When he asked who she could be conversing with, Charles the cat had interrupted and turned the conversation to the languages of the east.

"Kilan!"

Jeremy wrenched off Kilan's covers and Kilan sat bolt upright in surprise.

"What the heck?" he snapped, reaching for the covers.

"Get up, Kai, now!" Jeremy said, keeping them out of the reach, "We're going out. You can't really want to spend your first day off asleep. Move!"

"But now?" Kilan grumbled, snatching his covers back.

"Yes, now. Come on Kai, it's market day. The best stuff is in the morning. The Masters are both at town, these days off are the best because there's no rush back. Millie has her half day off this evening, she's bringing a picnic, Tobias is gracing us with his presence for once, come on. Up."

He said all this while riffling through Kilan's draws and threw clothes at him, smacking him in the face.

"Give those injuries of yours a break," he said and Kilan sighed.

"Alright, alright," he said, sliding out of bed.

Once he was ready, he and Jeremy went down for breakfast, catching Millie to discuss when and where they would meet her in the afternoon. They then went to Jem's office to collect their desired allowance for the day where they met up with Tobias and then all three left the castle with everyone else who was off that day.

Once out of the forest, servants went their separate ways, leaving for their desired village. Jeremy led the way to the closest village.

"Master Beldon's cottage is down that lane," he said as they walked the road that was lined with wheat fields.

"A cottage?"

"I say cottage, it looks like a small country house, his father kept expanding it until Beldon stopped him. The village isn't much further. Have you been to this village?"

"Briefly, the first time I came here, I was in the village."

"Well it hasn't changed in those months since, so you'll know it," Jeremy said with a grin just as the village came into full view.

So early in the morning and it was heaving with people; buying, selling, haggling and gossiping. Other servants were already there, browsing the stalls or finding friends.

They wound their way through the crowds until Jeremy spotted a stall he wanted and grabbed Tobias's arm.

"Tobi, there, the fabrics stall."

"Stop with the 'Tobi'" Tobias said and Jeremy ignored him completely as he dragged him over.

"You know about fabrics better than me. I want to buy something for Millie, help me choose."

"What?" Tobias said, surprised, looking at him.

"Help me choose, you said you'd help me choose. Lace right? Jem said I could afford lace."