Blood Bound ||The Arcane Legacy #1

27/ Bloodline

The wheels bumped and rolled over the worn dusty road littered with rocks, rocking from side to side. The sound of shuffling stones followed their trail. Seron's feet hung off the driver's bench, swinging with each jerk of the cart. His grip on the whip was firm but sweaty as the donkey pulled the wooden carrier to their destination.

The animal pulled the cart into a small neighborhood. Similar-looking one-story cabins stood fifteen or so meters from the main road, with individual paths connecting to it. Each had enough square land around them, adequate for farming land or small gardens.

He tugged the reins to a stop before a familiar cottage, waving at the yellow-haired girl running to him with a smile. Her simple cream dress fluttered with the wind as her flat shoes tapped against the dry dusty grass.

Lylia clambered up beside Seron easily on the bench and grinned. The butterflies in his stomach fluttered restlessly at her beautiful smile. Blond strands were plastered on her face and neck, visible sprinkles of sweat making her heart-shaped face glisten. 

The heat from the sun was an omnipresent factor in their lives as they lived a few kilometers from a desert. Seron's faded shirt was already glued to his back, the sweat cool on his body. His brown, baggy trousers did nothing to keep the heat at bay and he wiggled the toes in his boots in discomfort.

He smirked in kind and asked, "Ready to go?"

"I've been ready since last week," she declared, fingers tapping restlessly on her thighs. "Let's go."

Seron snapped the whip in the air and the donkey set off once more in a steady canter. The lines of wooden houses eventually grew clustered, pooling into a circular lake of buildings. 

Lylia glanced at the cargo in the cart. "Wow," she said, leaning on her hand to see the piles hidden under a tarp. "You have a lot of goods to trade today."

He shrugged, eyes on the path. Now they were surrounded by buildings. The pedestrians wore light garbs in the humidity of the town but he could see the sweat on their foreheads. "Been storing them for this pre-festival trade fair. I'll get good sales from them."

"Yes, well," she twisted back to face the road, "don't forget we're going to stop at the actual festival later on."

"How can I?" His smirk grew, eyes alight. "It's the biggest festival of the year. Everyone in Ilyot will be there." He steered the cart to the left, tipping his head to a shirtless, dark-haired man pulling a handcart loaded with large jars of water. The man smiled in gratitude. "That's why I want to get to the market early enough so I can sell to early customers."

"Good." She folded her arms and closed her eyes contentedly. "Then I'll help."

"Like you had a choice."

Lylia hit his arm and laughed, a sweet tinkling that filled his ears. Even though they had grown up together, he never tired of her laugh. And somehow, it seemed to have matured as she turned sixteen a few weeks before. He was only three months older than her, yet her bloom into puberty made a significant change in how he saw her. 

They forked left and finally reached the already brimming market. They quickly unloaded and stocked their goods. Within minutes, customers had already gathered to get the freshest fruits and vegetables available. It was two hours from dawn at that time, and by noon, nearly all his merchandise had been sold.

Seron's eyes bulged at the money-box. "I've never made so much in a day!" he exclaimed. The excitement was bare on his face. "Uncle will be shocked as well."

Lylia shone him a smile. "Magic of the Fien Festival." She leaned over the counter and glanced at the sun as Seron took a big whiff of the silver coins. "It's past noon," she noted, looking back at him. "We should get going."