The Ascension (Book One): Toss the Dice

Chapter Thirty

We stepped back out of the room, pushing aside more clothing as we went. The woman made sure to brush off all the dust that I couldn't see before we stepped out of the room. When we did the merchant looked over at us. The women held up the two outfits and the merchant smiled.

"Ah. They're perfect. My wife always picks the right outfits."

"Oh stop it, you tease." She said, stepping up next to him. She turned and gestured for me to come and stand next to the table so that the little princess could see when she held up the outfits to me. When I did she looked up from the piece of fabric she was examining. The women held up the first outfit. The little princess eyed it, the maids behind her watched with just as much interest as the little princess. She nodded.

"That one will do. What of the other one?" The women held the second outfit up for her to see as well. I looked down at the pants and smiled again. I couldn't help it. It would feel so good to be in pants again. When I looked up the little princess was looking at me with a smile on her face. I quickly wiped the smile from mine and replaced it with a frown. Her smile faded but she turned to look to the women again. "Do you have more outfits similar to this one that might look good?"

The women put a finger to her chin, thinking, and then she nodded. "I think I might. In the back room. I'll be right back." She bustled off, stepping back into the room again. We waited. The little princess went back to examining the silk and discussing the fabric trade with the merchant. The maids were standing stoically beside her. Not knowing what to do, I stood where they had left me, going unnoticed. After a while of boredom the women came back out with a couple different outfits similar to the second one she had shown the little princess. All eyes went back on me again as she held each of them up. Every single one of them had pants. The little princess looked at the outfits and so did I. Occasionally I would look up and see the little princess's eyes on my face and not my clothes. In the end she bought five outfits. She bought the first outfit, the second one, and three more that were similar to the second one but with different colors. When she had finished wrapping them all in gauzy paper and setting them into a bag the little princess waved the maids forward. They pulled a small pouch out of the bag that the dragon maid had been carrying. The little princess turned back to the merchant.

"How much?" She asked. "And don't try to swindle me like the first time. I know how much things cost. Don't try to confuse me by convincing me otherwise and selling them to me for more than their worth. I may be young but I have a lot of resources on my side that you don't."

The merchant held up a hand in mock defense, one hand draped dramatically over his heart. On a man who looked like he did it was comical to say the least.

"You wound me." He said. "Why would I ever cheat such a young, beautiful, spoiled, rich brat such as you out of extra money that you won't even notice." His face lost just a touch of mockery and he said in a deadpan. "It'll be 78 twill for the whole thing."

The women bashed her husband on the head a bit, making him duck and wince in pain. "This man is good for nothing." She said. "It'll only be 54 twill and don't let him tell you otherwise." She smiled good naturedly down at the little princess. "If you would like I can also add a discount because you are such a good customer to us."

"That won't be necessary." Said the little princess, smiling back with the first real smile I'd seen her make directed towards another person. "But thank you for offering. If you lower the prices too much for me then you won't be able to make money or pay the rent on your home."

"Oh pish." Said the woman, waving her hand dismissively. "What really matters in life isn't a roof over your heads or money to spend. It's the people you have to spend those things with and you are one of those people."

"But I warm house with a roof that doesn't leak might help quite a bit." The merchant grumbled to himself. His wife must have heard him and gave him another bop on the head without even looking.

"It's fine." Said the little princess, counting the money out of the bag and setting it on the table. "But I am glad that you consider me a friend. I consider both of you allies as well."

"Well that's good." Said the women. "Don't forget that you are always welcome to come and eat with us. It was so very pleasant having you last time."

My ears perked up at that. She had already eaten with them before? As in, she had eaten their food at their table? Food that wasn't prepared by a chef at her mansion? A place where the whole house was probably the size of her bathroom? This little princess seemed to become more and more mysterious the longer that I spent in her company. The dragon maid and the others picked up the bags of carefully wrapped clothes and the little princess, waved goodbye to the merchant and his wife as we made our way back down the street, farther into the market instead of back towards where we had left our carpet.

"I'm hungry." Said the little princess, her snotty little attitude back. I kind of liked how mature and not childish she had sounded at the merchants booth. She had sounded almost like a reasonable human being. But now that we were away from the people that she knew she was back to being immature. "I'm so hungry that I think I might die. I need food." She paused for a brief moment in her speech. "I want something really greasy and sweet."