Druids of Novinha

Part 10 - Market Time

The market is beautiful. Each booth has a white cloth roof, with colorful stripes corresponding to the type of wares being sold. Clothing can be found under the red stripes, food under yellow,  jewelry and other trinkets under green, books and art under blue, and everything else under purple.

I'm here to get salt and some fruit, just the stuff we need now. It's dad's birthday tomorrow, and we need salt to bake a cake. He used the last of it to keep snails out of the garden. As for the fruit, I finished off the strawberries last night, and dad loves apple slices with his cake, so it makes sense to get more of each. Oh, I almost forgot! I need a present for dad. Mom bought him a new birdbath, Celia drew the card, and Victor made a blanket. I was thinking of getting him a cookbook, but I don't have a solid plan yet.

I take a deep breath, savoring the distinct smell of the market. I smell fresh flowers to my right and old books to the left. Everyone yells to each other, greeting friends and hawking wares. I pass a booth with sizzling meat and the young woman in the booth, Elamy, calls me over. "Hey Oriel!" she waves at me.

"Just call me Ori, Elamy." She was a couple of years ahead of me in school, so we never talked much, but we were on the swim team together for a year.

"That's Amy to you," She shoots back with a smirk.

"Amy, then."

"So, Ori, what brings you here today?" She asks, flipping a steak.

"Dad's birthday is tomorrow, I need a present. Oh, and some salt."

"Hold on a sec, I have some extra salt sitting around in the back." Before I can protest, she disappears behind a white tarp and comes back with a little jar of salt. 

"Thanks!" I chirp as she hands it to me. 

"Of course. Ooooh, before you go-" She leans in as if to tell a secret. "I heard that there's a salesman from the city here."

"Okay?" I don't get why she deems that important. She wiggles her eyebrows.

"He's hot," Amy giggles. I shake my head, laughing with her. 

"I'm gonna go get that present." I walk away, still chuckling.

"Go check him out for me, 'kay?" Amy yells after me.

I probably will go see what the deal is with this guy later, but for now, I have things to do.  I pick out a booth with yellow stripes in the next row over and start making my way there. A bee settles briefly on my shoulder as I pass a booth buzzing with bees. Finally, I make it to the fruit. I purchase a small basket of apples, strawberries, pears, and blueberries, then set off to finally get a present for dad.

I spot a poster with Queen Scarlet sitting above a prisoner in shackles and wrinkle my nose. Queen Scarlet, the glorious leader who saved us from all the druids. It's because of her that my family has to hide our powers, powers that could be used for good. There was a huge flood last year, and all the shops at the riverfront had almost half a meter of water covering the floors. Dad and I could have been there, helping, redirecting the water. Mom could have helped, making sandbags and walls to keep the water from getting into the shops. We all could have done so much, but instead, we have to hide.

I sigh, walking past the poster. There's a crowd gathered at the edge of the marketplace, where a microphone is usually set up for live music. Unfortunately, the path to the book stand where I plan on getting the cookbook is blocked by the crowd. I start picking my way through, grateful for my height, allowing me to see over most everyone's head. "Let's see, can I get a volunteer?" This catches my interest, and I look over to the speaker. He casts his eyes around the crowd, then makes eye contact with me. "How about the lovely lady in the back, red hair?" My eyes widen as everyone turns to look at me. 

A/N - Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while! To try to make it up here's 700 words for you, enjoy! :)