Gates to Glory: Epic Fantasy Adventure Tale (Ashurran #1)

3.01. Lysse of Lakhor

The free city of Lakhor was big and rich. High walls and armed guards protected it from both brigands and kings which sometimes could be more greedy and cruel than brigands. The city was also safe from the Elves, for it had the peace treaty with them and paid tribute in horses, corn and iron ore.

Merchants from all over the continent were coming to Lakhor, selling their wares and increasing the city's wealth. And the city prospered as well as its people. They were happy and cheerful, clad in expensive clothes, dripping with jewelry. Their stores were brimming with exquisite food, their houses had every luxury. Also the people of Lakhor were famous for their beauty, because beauty often blossoms with idleness and prosperity.

Among the youths of Lakhor one was especially praised for his looks, and that was Lysse, son of the city councilor. His beauty eclipsed the full moon in a summer night. His lithe body was like a naked blade, cutting into the sight of every onlooker. Beside that, he was well-mannered and virtuous, as every heir of a rich and respectful family should be.

One day Lysse went to the market with his friends, intending to buy a saddle for hunting. On that day he chose to wear white silk embroidered with silver. The wide and long sleeves of his dress were beaded with pearls. His small ears were adorned with moonstones. His hair, clasped with an ivory clasp, poured down on his shoulders in rivulets of pale gold. He looked so lovely that any words would fail to do him justice. Merchants of both sexes smiled at him and offered outrageously low prices.

Lysse walked through all the shops yet didn't find anything he wanted. One of the female merchants winked at him and said, "Boy, it seems you don't like to spend your money. True, with a face like that you're probably used of getting everything for free."

There was not only mockery in the woman's voice, but also admiration, and Lysse felt embarrassed, not knowing whether to say 'thanks' or 'go to hell'.

He looked at the woman and saw that she was tall and sturdy, her hair raven-black, her eyes midnight-blue. She didn't just smile, she grinned showing white teeth, and stared at him as openly and arrogantly as a brothel hostess.

She looked at the youth and saw that his eyebrows were like delicate swallow's wings, and his face as white as a lily blossom, and the blush on his cheeks made him even prettier.

So the woman showed a dagger to him, made of silver-white steel, richly adorned with precious gems, and said, "Open your window for me tonight, and you can have this dagger."

Lysse was even more embarrassed, for he was prudent and shy, and not very experienced at love affairs. He liked girls his age, pretty and lithe, whereas the black-haired woman was broad-shouldered, with womanly curves, and much older than him. Although her midnight-blue eyes were beautiful, and her mouth lush, no one would call her pretty. Also Lysse's parents thought a woman's best feature was modesty, and Lysse did too. Despite all that, the woman's attention pleased him, and he couldn't help but smile, lowering his gaze.

"It seems we've suddenly found ourselves in a red-light district, not in a market street," Lysse's friend said, annoyed. "Let's go."

"Is he your lover to tell you what to do and where to go?" the woman mocked.

Lysse blushed and bit his lip. "Let's come inside," he said.

And the woman spread out her wares before them – saddles and bridles, spurs and stirrups, embroidered horse cloths and other things. Speaking to him, she burned him with her eyes and touched his sleeve time and again, and Lysse felt as if the floor was dropping from under his feet. At last he chose one bridle and paid what she asked without haggling over the price.