The Heirs of Death

14.2 The Fawn Market

THE FAWN MARKET

The man, unfortunately, was polite enough to turn back and apologize for his briskness. I had put on my hood as fast as I could but there was no escaping it; he'd seen the face beneath the massive fabric. And so did everyone that had been staring at our direction when it happened.

His face—their faces—had bleached as they realized who was in front of them, the face familiar because they had watched the ball, like every other person in this continent. And for a hard moment, they were unmoving bodies that attracted the citizens around us.

It got worse when they kneeled.

It was like the entire market had stopped moving, noting the bodies that were almost groveling in the middle of the space. When I looked around me, Father had magically disappeared.

'Where are you?' I asked through our bond, eyes roaming over the curious faces staring at us. There was no way to get out of this. I removed my hood.

Gasps and whispers broke before the market seemed to shift as one, everybody kneeling and bowing.

'Back at the old man's stall, watching how you'll make it by your own.'

Indeed, he was next to the seated man who stared at him with a trembling soul. It was something big, trading with the King and queen-to-be and going as far as falling for the King's perfect acting. I wasn't sure if the man would boast, flashing the money we gave him or hide it as a reminder. Father smiled, hood half swept back so the vendor could see his face, and I could swear the latter was a sliver from having a heart attack.

I extended one hand and said with a clear, loud voice, "Rise, my people."

A good few dozens of shadowed heads stood at first, the fabric falling back as they did so, revealing many noble faces. The rest stood shortly after. The man who had run into me was so pale I wasn't sure he was breathing. I smiled at him, hand falling on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. His eyes only grew more shocked.

I stirred my eyes from him, taking both the common and unfamiliar faces in the crowd that still stared at me. And the king behind me. Father, true to his word, didn't shift an inch to help me through this.

Thus, I voiced, "Please, let this market continue. I am sure we all have many things to do and insure before all goods sell out."

Eyes burned through my soul as everyone stared at me before they obeyed, returning to their occupations, one eye on me, the other on what they were doing. The air was still stiff as I noted my friends, Luthian and Hydn being the closest to where I was.

I made it to them and pulled Luthian into an embrace, well aware of how the attention was on us. He seemed to have understood it the moment I lifted my arms and hugged me back even tighter. Hydn, to his credit, played along even when I could feel his muscles tensed beneath my touch. But it was symbolic, declaring to everyone watching that these two men were not to be messed with.