A Tale of Crown and Country

Lea

The next morning Lea descended the stairs for breakfast. She found Arlan as well as several other apparent guests sitting at a long wooden table in one of the front rooms of the inn. Jakques stood at the door. He nodded to her as she entered, but no chill ran up her spine. She'd spent the morning rationalizing over her possibly delirious midnight thoughts. Perhaps she had been wrong; perhaps Jakques was just another ridiculously tall old man with a penchant for catching people's eyes.

    Hely noticed her enter and brought a cup of water and a bowl of cereal to her. She gestured towards Arlan, who was busy stuffing his face with bread from the table, as if to say he was no longer frustrated with her. However Hely knew of the conflict between them, she didn't know. Lea justified it as Arlan telling her and left it at that. Even though she'd already become less paranoid than the night before, Lea was determined to follow Arlan's direction and not judge people so harshly.

    The problem was Lea had gone through so many changes in environment and personality needs that she no longer knew who she was or what kind of person she needed to survive. At first she'd been trusting, then wary, then paranoid. Now maybe with their distance from the capital she'd figure herself out. That was today's goal anyways.

    Arlan didn't seem to be coming up for air anytime soon, so Lea dove into her breakfast. By the time she reached for a slice of bread to finish off her meal he was waiting patiently for her to finish. She'd never seen him like this.

    "Are you... alright?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't even sure if the question directed at his eating habits or leftover resentment at the previous day's lingering conversation.

    "Fine. A little hungry is all. We've not had the best luck with stable lodgings."

    Lea couldn't help but agree.

    She was silent again as she downed the last of her water. Her ears picked up on a conversation nearby, one that she found mildly intriguing.

    As they brought their dishes to the innkeeper, Lea whispered in Arlan's ear: "It's market day in the main square."

    "And?" he asked, not understanding the implications.

    "Well, I've never been to a market before. Not that I haven't been to one," she rambled on, "it's just... I've never been to one not as, well, me."

    Arlan pulled her into a doorway out of the way of the rest of the guests. "You mean even after last night's paranoid spectacle, the thing you really want to do right now is go out into a massive crowd?"

    Apparently he hadn't forgotten.

    "It's not like anyone will recognize me," she offered. "If you don't want to come, that's fine by me."

    Arlan looked offended and backtracked as quickly as he could. "Large markets aren't my favourite," he said. "But I don't hate them."

    "So its settled," she said brightly. "We're off to the market!"

    Lea almost ran to the front door. She abruptly turned back to face her friend.

    "What does one do at a market?" she asked sincerely.

    Arlan smiled. "Let me get a few coins."

    Lea marvelled at the sight. It was something else to see so many people in such a small space. Sure she'd seen markets before, but she'd never experienced one like this. Here she was on the ground, surrounded by people of all shapes, sizes, and nationalities. Colours hurtled past her and she almost lost her footing as a small boy ran by. Every corner of the square was filled with jolly people. Merchant stalls lined the edges; a band played a merry tune in the corner; a magician performed tricks for the crowd.

    Arlan's hand slipped into hers, tightening around her palm. Momentarily unsettled, she was glad for the grasp as three large young men pushed past them. Arlan stepped in beside her. He spoke into her ear so she could hear him above the din of the crowd. "This is what market day is like." It sounded like a warning and an "I told you so" all wrapped into one. But Lea wasn't paying attention to his tone or its subtext.

    "Its brilliant!" she cried.

    The sun shone brightly over the crowd and music filled her ears. Laughter, bartering, and music surrounded her and all around the joyous human experience reminded her why once more why leaving Aldira had been the best spontaneous decision of her life. She had been missing out on so much of life! She revelled in the impetuous crowd, the pushing and pulling like an ebbing wave of people. She wanted to bargain for cloth and eat pastries off a stick. She wanted to watch the magician perform his tricks and dance to the lively folk music in the corner. Both of whom she could already tell were better than the courtly entertainment she was used to. Perhaps because they weren't scared of her father's wrath, only the annoyance and eventual departure of a dissatisfied crowd.

    "Lea?" Arlan asked. She'd missed whatever had come before. "Lea?" he waved his hand in front of her face.

    "Yes?" she asked, showing him he had her attention.

    "Don't get lost, alright? We should be able to see one another at all times. That way we don't get lost."

    "Don't worry so much," she chided. "Where did you learn all these ridiculous rules?"

    "My mother took me to the market days in Aldira," he answered honestly. It might have been the first time he'd openly and willingly offered information about his past, albeit rather trivial.

    "And did you listen to her?" she asked jokingly.

    Arlan didn't answer.

    She laughed, matching the sweet rhythm of the music, and dove into the crowd.