Hidden Before Their Eyes

Chapter 2: A Snake for a Copper

Tomorrow will be the day. I will walk into the Academy and hope to all that is holy that they will not see me as I truly am but as the human who I pretend to be. Madh has been complaining to me about how once I leave things around here will get rather stale. I promise to come to see him again given the chance, but I do not know if I will be able to hold true to the promise. If the magic that surrounds the Academy overpowers the magic that has altered my appearance, then it would immediately result in being shipped back home.

Getting bored of Madh's endless complaints, I head out into town. The city is quiet compared to how it has been for the past week. Tension arcs through the air and everyone can feel it. Tomorrow the course of so many lives will be set through the motions of change, for better or for worse. One of the city rats comes up by me, and I watch him carefully. He is quite literally a ratfolk, and most all of them around here are known for snatching coin purses from the unexpecting.

"Carino, news is you're applying tomorrow," He chuckles, calling out to me.

"Where did you hear that?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

"Word gets round ya know. You've been 'round here for a while now making a name for ya self," he says, his accent heavier than before.

"That is why I have been sticking around this long. I am normally a traveler," I sigh in response.

"I'll watch for ya tomorrow," he says. He gives a small wave and then hurries off, presumably to go look for a snatchable coin purse.

It is because of situations like this that I have not stuck around any one place for long. Being here for the past couple of weeks has made me far too comfortable. I need to put my guard up before tomorrow. If I see him with the state of mind I currently have, I will be a goner. I may have run away from him but along the way, I had fallen in love with my betrothed. Maybe not in an entirely romantic sense, but I at least loved him like family, the only family I ever felt I had. We were always together, so it was natural to sway to his quirks. However, tomorrow I cannot think like that, I have come too far to turn back so soon.

As the sun gets closer to setting the day, the market starts picking up once more. Sellers becoming desperate to sell more of their wares before a portion of the crowds begins to depart later tomorrow and the next day, having already sent off the people they had come with and for. As I stroll by a few stalls, one seller startles me by wrapping a snake around my shoulders.

"A snake for a copper, Miss?" He asks.

Of course, I am tempted, but I do not even know if the Academy will allow a non-familiar pet. Taking my chances with the seller, I follow him back to where he has set up his stall. Inside there are many beauties. I adore snakes, as most of our society does. They are symbols of peace, longevity, and fertility. One snake, in particular, catches my eye. He is unnaturally colored, hinting at the magic he likely possesses. I hand the seller the snake from around my shoulders and slowly approach the magical one. He shimmers even in the low light of the setting sun. His scales purple and blue, he speaks to me unlike anything else has, especially recently.

"That one ain't friendly Miss," the seller says from deeper in the tent.

Completely ignoring him I open the cage and offer my arm to the snake. He gives me a look and then slithers over. Ever so slowly he wraps up my arm, all the while eyeing me. I close my eyes and let myself feel the faint tickle as he moves along my arm. I suppress a giggle when I feel his tongue dart to and fro, grazing ever so slightly on my neck. When he starts around my neck I freeze momentarily, before realizing that he is not going to attempt to constrict me. Once he comes to a comfortable stop, I open my eyes and gasp. A large majority of his scales now flicker green instead of purple, the blue still being present.