Puddles

Chapter 15: Its Just A Disguise

"Stop here, Bronsen, if you please. I must pick up my goods before they're sold to another customer."

The second tallest of the group, looking exactly like Tinian, stepped from the carriage and walked straight over to me. Or so I thought, before a young woman impatiently pulled me back, hissing in my ear as she did, "Don't stand there gawking so, Miss! Move out of the Prince's way."

I watched with ever increasing shock as the young man, tossing a grateful smile my way, as a master would condescend to do so to his servant, stepped up to the angry little man's counter. With only a word of thanks to the vendor from Prince, the man handed over the afore mentioned 'goods'. I nearly fell over backward with shock as the seller produced two blue glass elephants and placed them in the Prince's palm, the very ones the woman had tried to buy!

I played the scene over and over in my mind, a surge of mixed feelings coursing through me from head to foot each time. What right...? How dare he...? To come down from his princely tower and mix with us, as if he could blend in, acting the perfect humble ruler, come from his high places to grace his lowly subjects with his great presence. For all the kingly treasures he must have hoarded in his father's palace, he came to this, the Runnins' only break from every year's hard toils, and would actually presume to buy such a small trinket, and rob a little girl of a rare privilege! He must have been feeling really good about himself just then, to have the courage to take candy from a baby, he, who must have every other desirable pleasure and treasure in the world. And with that, the haughty prince stepped back up into his carriage, gave a quick order to his driver, and rode off. The crowd closed in again and the woman and child were nowhere to be seen.

I stomped on, aware of the drawn attention of nearly every Westmarkian citizen. A small, sunny voice calling my name above the crowd broke through my stormy thoughts, and I beckoned Posy over.

"Rose said to...come find you and...tell you that its...your shift now," the small seven year-old gasped between heavy breaths. I nodded submissively and followed Posy's acute sense of direction to the now near empty doll station. Just as we arrived Rosa popped out from behind the counter and shook our hands playfully.

"Good luck, partners!" Rose grinned widely, her green eyes twinkling, before she darted off into the crowd.

Posy walked around to the back of the counter and began arranging the dolls. I stepped inside the small tent we had set up behind the counter, and brought out a small chair, and placed it behind the counter. I knew Posy would want to arrange the dolls to perfection herself, and never had been a great flower arranger for my mom anyway, so I sat back and played the part of the hawk on a tall tower.

Commoners and better dressed peasants strode about each street, unconsciously sharing their purses. Pit-pockets scampered across the cobblestones like rats, alike to their vermin cousins in smell and habitations. I laughed quietly to myself as I watched a small man send a monkey towards a peach stall. The vendor, obviously acquainted with this cooperative trick, turned around and around in search of the thief he knew should be right behind him, but the man was well hidden by a stack of old crates. In taking his eyes away from the real thief, the vendor allowed the monkey a chance at two of his best peaches. Before he could apprehend the primate, he had scampered off into the crowd. I turned around to point out the unfortunate yet hilarious scene to Posy, but she was nowhere in sight. I stood up, called her name, checked in the tent, but in vain. Posy was gone.

Just then I saw her, talking hurriedly with a tall, blonde-haired man, who I recognized as the guy that looked like Tinian, one of the 'Princes of Westmark'. He suddenly looked up and we locked eyes. He saw the confusion impressed on my face, and that seemed to please him, because he smiled, and then, with surprising alacrity, he picked up Posy and ran with her into the crowd. And I, with characteristic stupidity, ran to catch up, all the while screaming for him to give Posy back.

~ ~ ~ ~

Street after street I ran until I thought I had lost them. A dark hand stretched from a dark alley to pull me into the narrow space. The hand turned me around to face 'Prince' Tinian Monel, but I wiggled away from his light grasp. I opened my mouth to let out the torrent of questions I had, but he spoke first.

"Erin! What on earth are you doing here? I thought she promised to have everyone there..." he trailed off in thought, his light brow furrowing in frustration.

"I should ask the same of you! Why shouldn't I be here? Does it bother you that someone here knows who you really are? Does that disturb Your Greatness? Never thought it'd be Erin Cloude who discovered you, did ya?" I paused, for the first time noticing the shivering little girl standing behind him. In and effort to lower my voice, I whispered, "What are you doing here, Tinian? The way I understood it, the leaders of Runnin couldn't risk being in the open."

Tinian assumed a calmer manner in response to mine. "Its a complicated story, Caderra, and the only thing I can tell you is I don't have the time. But understand this: my disguise is only a further endeavor to get closer to the enemy and his secrets. Don't suppose that I enjoy this; I pretend to be one of them only for the sake of Runnin."

I nodded slowly, staring all the while at little Posy. Tinian's story seemed questionable, but there were still so many things about Runnin and its fight for freedom that I had yet to understand.

"Why did you take Posy?"

"I knew you would follow, and I needed to explain myself to you, before you had the whole of Runnin convinced I was a traitor." A plausible answer, of course.

"OK," I gave in finally. But some question in the back of my mind still desperately screamed for an answer. "But what did you mean about someone promising something? You said she promised to have everyone there."

"I told-"

But a loud call for his name and the clippety-clop of horses' hooves cut him off. "Until next time Erin. And remember, its just a disguise." Then he was off. I watched from the shadows as Tinian climbed up into the carriage, accepting the Prince's outstretched hand with an authentic 'Thank you, Brother,' and the first called to his driver.

"Hullo there, Bronsen. The festival is closing on account of the rain. Drive on to the palace, won't you?" And they were off, the rain driving down behind them. I took poor Posy's hand and we walked together back towards the festival.