Deianira

Chapter 4

June 30th, 2026

Charlotte Greenwell

The streets of the Residential District were bustling at this hour, perhaps because it was barely noon or because the holidays were just around the corner. The Sun was at its highest point in the sky and burned Charlotte's skin as she wove through the crowds of sellers, locals looking for a trade, and people just trying to get around. Despite the name, the Residential district had more and more local vendors camped out in the streets over the last year than when it was first built. The Market District at the lowest point of the city had become overrun with people from all over the region who pushed the local vendors into the residential streets in hopes to still sell.

The buildings of the residential district stood two to three stories tall, directly carved from the mountain around it. Some of the stone walls had intricate patterns or paintings and others were blank and chipping with wear. The walkways between them were definitely not built with large crowds in mind, which led most of the local vendors to place themselves in the small crevices between buildings. Items for sale were stacked on small thin shelves or hung from rope over the walkway as to avoid being trampled on. Above the buildings, you could view the massive ribcage of the dragon skeleton shielding some of the sun. Charlotte always found the name of the city to be uncreative and simple, but in these moments during the hot summer she found herself appreciating it. She especially thanked the skeleton today as the crowds of people only seemed to thicken the further toward the district center she got. Holidays always brought people out to shop. Even people who struggled daily to keep food on the table seemed to scrap enough together on the holidays to celebrate.

Charlotte's goal was to reach her basement, her home which unfortunately had a front door that faced out into the district square. Every other day she loved the location of her home, but on days like this where the sun was hot and crowd thick she hated it. It would take her forever to reach the district center let alone get across it. The crowds themselves made it very hard for her to see. So many emotions, so many auras, and not enough space to see through them all. Not to mention the whiplash of emotions surging through her body as her bare shoulders touched someone's skin as she passed. It took every ounce of her strength to maintain her own thought process as the emotions slammed into her. She knew she was going to have one Hel of a headache when she was finally away.

Suddenly with one pull on her arm she found herself in a tight alleyway between two houses. She tensed and gripped the hilt of the dagger strapped to her leg. The chest of the culprit was pressed tightly against her back where she could feel the rise and fall of every breath, and their strong legs pressed her knees into the concrete completely leaving her immobile. The large warm hand of the man grazed down her right arm and wrapped around the hand that still gripped the knife, not like she had enough room to draw it in the first place.

The emotions hit her first as her bare shoulders touched their bare chest. Confident amusement, admiration, and a tinge of lust. The smell of pine, rain, and books hit her next, allowing her to relax against his chest. The smooth baritone of his voice rumbled against my back as he bowed his head to my ear, his curly black hair hanging in my view, "Ikaika dear, you've been missing for a few days and now you aim to kill me when I pull you aside? What's got you all twisted up? It doesn't look good on you." His other hand found purchase on my waist trying to pull me closer. Charlotte's head fell backwards, but maintained the straighter posture in her shoulders and back, "Firstly, I told you not to call me that. Especially out here. Your parents gave me that name. Secondly, I don't have time to tangle with you Ranunculus."

Ranunculus's real name was Kaleo Akana. Son of Kaimi and Akamu Akana, the founders of the Curiosity Market. His family was perhaps one of the biggest targets of Jonas and the guard. Probably because most misunderstand the Curiosity Market as a black market for everything illegal. Charlotte guessed the association wasn't entirely false. The market did sell anything and everything, but it also didn't sell assassinations, poached goods, or malpractice. It was simply a place of exploration of everything from science and literature to the sexual enjoyment of things not so easily defined. Hence, how they met. After all, she frequented the market frequently enough for the family to notice her and ended up visiting Curiosity, a bar known to be frequented by the roguish Kaleo himself, and the rest was history. Well, near history anyway.