Vara

Chapter 5

The market was crowded that day, bustling with the energy of people from all walks of life. Vara sat inside a small carriage with Elira, sitting across from the younger girl and stared outside the window beside her. "You act as if you've never been to the market before." Elira spoke, teasing a small smile out of Vara. "I haven't been in a carriage before," she lied. She had, but it was so long ago that if she didn't know better, she would have thought it was a dream. "I enjoy watching the scenery as we pass." She admitted, the princess nodding in agreement as their escort stepped down from the driver's bench in front of the carriage and opened the door for them. Vara quickly hopped out, not even sparing a glance at the outstretched hand the man had offered.

Elira however, took his offer with a beaming smile and gracefully exited the carriage. "I will have to teach you manners too, won't I?" Elira's tone had an air of smugness to it, making the woman roll her eyes. "I suppose so, your highness." she replied, purposely slouching. She could tell Elira wanted to roll her eyes at her behavior. But instead, the princess just cleared her throat. "Let us go shopping, then. Sir Alexei, lead the way." The guard nodded, his dark metal helmet shining in the sunlight. Vara stuck close to the princess as they walked along the old cobblestone pathways, looking into shoppe windows. "Vara, what is your favorite color?"

She hummed in response as her eyebrows furrowed. She could not remember a time when someone had asked about her favorite color, or if she even had one. But as they neared a dress shoppe, her eyes caught sight of an elegant dress in the window. Vara would never wear that dress, it was too much for someone of her social standing. It was made more for a noblewoman and Vara was certain the price was sure to match. However, she still pointed towards it to show the princess. "That color is nice." she stated simply. The dress was an arctic blue towards the top, getting to darker blues the further it went until the hem of the dress itself had more of an indigo shade. "That is nice... Keep those colors in mind and point them out to me while we look at materials. Do you prefer silk or something else?"

"Cotton would be best, your highness. I know that you wish for me to look nice, which I appreciate more than I can express, but you must remember that I am a slave. I was bought to serve you, not for you or your family to spoil like some rich woman." Vara explained for what felt like the millionth time. Though she had a feeling that Elira was either not listening, or did not care. 

The guard was silent the whole time, not even turning his head to spare the girls a glance as he walked in front of them. Though he was tall, easily more than six feet in height, Vara could not tell anything else about him because of his armor. He reminded her a little of the Dark Knight in an old fairy tale she used to listen to when she was young. Though he did have the crest of the royal family on his shoulder pad. The armor was a dark charcoal grey hue, though the royal crest looked as if it was painted on with a very dry brush. It was of two black dragons circling a honey yellow sun. Vara found herself glancing at him from time to time before paying attention to the princess again.

The closer the three got to their destination, the thicker the crowds became until the guard grew tired of weaving through the crowd. Instead, he started announcing the presence of the princess, shouting at people to clear the way so that they could pass with ease. Most people bowed or waved to the princess, the blonde responding to the crowds by waving politely and nodding in acknowledgment. Vara was uncomfortable with the attention. There was so many people, yet only one guard accompanied them. Vara told herself she was being paranoid, that thinking this could or would get out of hand very quickly. But they passed with ease, the shoppe owner even coming out to greet the princess with a nervous smile.

"I am so very honored to have you visit my humble store." the older woman stammered as she bowed. Just by appearance, she could tell the shopkeeper was very experienced. Her hair was silver, her skin dark from the sun and wrinkled by age. "Are you looking for anything in particular? Perhaps you wish to order something for yourself?" the she continued, following the small group into the small building. "My new maid here has no robes, I was hoping to find something so that my seamstresses could make at least three." Elira spoke cheerfully. The shopkeeper nodded, walking around her shoppe while the princess followed close behind. The room was covered from floor to ceiling in different materials of different colors. But the shoppe was small enough for Vara and Sir Alexei to just stand idly by, watching the young girl connect with the older woman.