Castle Thief {A Momojiro Tale}

Chapter 12

"Alright," I whispered, "get off... now!" I jumped to the ground and landed in a crouch just as the horses began to slow, Momo didn't.
"It's going too fast!" she yelled, "just give me a second!"
"You have to jump now," I ran behind the carriage, "otherwise you'll be seen," I held out my arms, "you won't get hurt I promise!"she hesitated for only a moment. Muttering something to herself, then she jumped out. Stumbling on the cobbles but I made sure she didn't fall.

The carriage barreled on without us, civilians gave us strange looks but no one did anything about it. That's what I liked about the cities: everyone minded their own business.
"Have you done that before?" Momo asked, brushing the dust off her skirts.
"More times than I can count." I replied with a smile, recalling the moment just after I jumped where time seemed to stop and just for a second I thought maybe I could fly; I always landed back on the ground.
She returned my grin, "Where to?" she asked,
    "That's a good question," I muttered looking around the narrow streets, "let's go this way."

We went towards the center of the city, hoping to get out of these alleyways before the sun set. The wind picked up as we wandered past houses and closed shops, lifting her loose hair from her shoulders. It would soon be winter, if I was still on my own I would be huddled in the tailor's shop, swaddled in as many fabrics as I could manage—even though I knew at the end of the long night I would be chilled to the bone—it was one of the small comforts I could afford.

Momo shivered. The peasant clothes she was wearing weren't really designed for wandering around in the cold winter streets, "You cold?" I asked, glancing over at me,
She shrugged, "Maybe a little bit," she admitted,
"We could get something hot on the way to wherever we're going," I suggested, "but for now you can have my scarf. I'm wearing a lot layers anyways."
We stopped walking and I took off the bright scarf—one of the few colored items I allowed myself to take from her closet, it was cold after all. Peasants normally only wear dull garments for the sole purpose of keeping ourselves warm—turning towards her and draping it around her shoulders, I pulled the knot tight. And when we started walking again her cold hand found it's way into my warm gloved one.

     "I think Arisu told me about a good soup place in town," I said, "we could start by going there."
     As we drifted through the path, Momo swung our hands back and forth as if we'd done this a thousand times before. "sounds good," she hummed.

The streets were strangely quiet, at this time of day I would have expected peasants coming home from long days of work, returning to their families and the warmth of their homes. But then we rounded a corner; the air was thrumming with energy. Music floated through the square, colored streamers hung from ever eave, merchants selling anything they could market as being carnival related wandered with their wares on their backs. It was the annual harvest festival. I'd been to many harvest festivals before, it was the best place to pickpocket from unsuspecting tourists. But this festival was much more extravagant than the ones I'd been to, the capital city was the richest in the nation and didn't spare any expense.

     A string quartet elevated above the swirling dresses and stomping shoes were playing a song I knew well, I turned to Momo to tell her about it, but before I could she pulled me into the mob of dancers, letting me spin away from her when she stopped, but keeping hold of my hand. She grinned from two arms lengths away, "May I have this dance?" she asked all too formally, "I've only danced in stuffy ballrooms before," she pulled me back into her, executing a perfect pirouette"this looks a lot more fun."
     I tried to tell myself my heart was beating fast for normal reasons, "This isn't anywhere near as fancy as those," I told her, "I'll show you how I was taught to dance."

I pulled out of the dip, but kept a hold of Momo's hand to lead her into an open spot for the ongoing square dance. Other pairs flocked towards the open spots we were creating, "Follow my lead." I whispered in her ear. She nodded, all seriousness, like this was the most important moment in the world. And who's to say it isn't?

We surged in circles as the caller yelled out commands. At each new call I tugged her with me, despite her supposed prowess in a ball gown, she wouldn't have stood a chance in the buzzing crowd of smiling dancers if it wasn't for me.

The caller sung out, she sat on a barrel in front of the stage. A well known song about a farmer who forgot to wear his overalls on the night of the harvest, "And suddenly, two moons hung in the sky!" A cheer went up in the crowd as the next command was to lift your partner into the air and spin. I turned to tell her we didn't have to do this one—most people didn't—but before I could she grabbed a hold of my waist and hoisted me into the air, and we spun.

For only a second I was scared I would fall, but when she didn't let go. Once again today I felt as light as the air around me, and it didn't matter that a few seconds later I landed because this time it was in her arms. Laughing and smiling among the dancers who kept spinning around us, and time didn't stop or even slow for a second because we were here, in the moment. And I knew, it is the only thing that would ever matter. Here and now.