Rags and Riches

Ch. 12: The Smallest of Gestures - Shayne

Head down. Silent. But stay close together.

No one must notice us. Either of us. If someone recognizes the princess, we'd be mobbed, effectively trapping us and notifying the Sun of our location at the same time. If someone recognizes me...? Let's just say I wouldn't see the light of day for a looong time.

Courtney wore my outer garment atop her head like a shawl, making sure to hide her brilliant blonde hair underneath. As we traveled into the opening of the city, we stuck close to each other, almost to the point of constantly hitting the other at the hip.

Back at the market, Courtney suddenly became a new person. Someone struck a match within her, and this new Courtney Miller seemed so much stronger and bolder than before. She was determined instead of fearful, and was willing to fight for her right to live again. She was a butterfly that exploded out of its chrysalis; that's how sudden it was. I really admired that.

But even with this newfound confidence inside her, she was still the same excited and curious girl I met a couple days ago. We were supposed to keep an eye on each other, but with each side glance I gave to her, her eyes were alight were elsewhere, sucking in the city she has been missing out on for 14 years. Even with a shawl over her, she seemed to glow with an uncontainable enthusiasm that shone even with something that tried to conceal her. The little smiles that managed to escape seemed to overshadow everything else.

Suddenly, I felt the corners of my mouth form a little smile of its own. It was contagious. But I was conflicted. What was a world of full of hate and "not enough" for me was a world full of opportunity and wonder for a girl like her.

The city - Hsoms - was our home, but the way we see it could have been two different planets completely.

"Oh my god, are those..?" Courtney's whispered voice of passion abruptly shoehorned itself into my thoughts. I looked to where she was pointing as she tugged on my shirt.

A famous bakery sat in front of her finger, showing customers lined up around the corner just to get inside and buy some of their treats. But there was one thing in particular she wanted. "The Sprinkled Donut? Don't you get them in the castle?"

Yeah, it's kind of lame. Why would a donut be what a country was known for? Whatever might have happened to cause this to be, Hsoms' world known Pink Frosted Sprinkled Donut sat above all other pastries on display.

At my question, Courtney only seemed to tug at my shirt even more aggressively. "Well, yeah, but I never get the ones made in the city! Olivia told me that they were the best kind of Sprinkled Donut, and they were even better than the ones made in the castle!" Her incessant tugging eventually led us over to the bakery itself. The Princess of the goddamned Valley then began pressing her face against the flipping window while I frantically tried to cover my face with my hands in front of the long line of awaiting clients. It was just my luck that a wanted poster with my face on it just so happened to be hanging nearby the shop entrance. Why must the fates be so cruel?

"Come on, Shayne! Please please please??" With each plea she lightly hit me on the arm, but each hit came down harder and harder. "Don't you have your own money? You're the goddamn princess!" I furiously whispered. "No, all my money was with Olivia! I was only there that day to enjoy the sights!" Her playful beatings continued until...

"Okay, fine!" I unfortunately lost it. "Let's go inside, but we have to be-" But before I could lead us both into the bakery, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "No, I want to go in by myself."

Alarms went off in my head. "Yourself!? What do you mean yourself? It's really dangerous to be by yourself!" She wouldn't meet my gaze as she tried to explain myself. "It's just a bakery... There are lots of people around with probably no one paying attention on who is around them." She grew more confident as she continued. "Plus, it's crowded as all hell in there. If the Sun was in there, killing me would be really hard without blowing their cover." I was going to argue once more before her grip on my shoulder strengthened. Her demeanour changed. It was one that was soft, almost pleading, yet it was firm all the same. The new Courtney was here again. "I want to prove to myself that I can do something without being guarded or protected by someone else all the time. If I can't walk into a bakery by myself without always being scared for my life, how could I take on the Sun when it comes to it?" Her green eyes looked deep within my own, as if searching for my soul. "Please, let me do this one thing. It'll only take a little while. I know I can do this."