Of Soot And Cinders

XVIII

SOOT

The booths that had been set up in the main courtyard were packed so close together that they seemed to melt into one thing. They were all full of visiting people's and creatures who were selling all sorts of things.

Jamie had given us each one copper penny to spend and told us that if we left the courtyard he'd know and give us thirty lashings to the calves and ten lashes to the shoulders with a bamboo cane, but other than that we were free to look around for an hour. Though we'd been chained at our wrists before being allowed to wander.

It was exhilarating, having money to spend. I hadn't been allowed to buy anything or even own anything in years. Even the clothes on my back were property of the king. And as I moved slowly from booth to booth—too scared to stop and look for more then a few seconds—I grew anxious with excitement.
I couldn't choose one thing, I didn't really need anything, and anything I did buy would likely be taken away later on.

I stopped in front of a stall swathed in black cloth, trays of glass and metals spread across it. In each tray laid a selection of jewelry and rings. There were a few lanterns waiting to be lit, but it was still light out and the reflection of the sun on the jewelry set the stall ablaze.
Nobody was waiting behind the stall, much to my joy. I wasn't sure how to purchase something and if I had to buy something from a stall once I walked up to it. Or maybe once the I talked to the vendor that meant that I wanted to do business. It was just better if I could sneak away without having to talk to anyone. So I found myself stepping hesitantly closer.

I held my chained wrists close to my chest as I leaned in to look at the trays, clutching my copper penny tightly in my hands.
If I couldn't get something for myself maybe I could give it to Grimm. I bit my lip and looked closer at the mirrored dish holding an assortment of rings. Each was thickly banded and had a large stone set in its center. Some of the bands though had little carvings on them and others had even more smaller stones embedded in the metals.

One caught my eye. It was a gold banded ring with rich amber colored stone set in its center. In the stone looked to be little rivers of gold frozen like ribbons. It was so strange, the color—it reminded—
I gasped.
It was the color of the beasts eyes. The one in my dream who had held me tight and safe. That bright glowing umber which seemed entirely wild and free. If I could just touch the stone, I wondered if it might feel hot like a fire.

It bounced along with the entire table and all the other jewelry as something cracked into the underside of booth. I stumbled back, heart racing as a stream of heavy curses met my ears.
A head popped up from behind the cloth, hands rubbing at a spot under an unruly mess of hair. The girl turned to me grimacing slightly. She had big horns coming from her temples and curling backwards around her ears. A stayer.

"Oh, hello." She said, smiling but still rubbing her head.

"Hello—" I whispered.

"Sorry to scare you I was trying to find somethin' and then brought my head up to quick." She drawled. "We're you looking at somethin'? Maybe I can help you?"

I felt my lips waver for a minute as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to say. I ended up stammering for a few seconds before someone parted the black cloth at the back of the stall and joined the stayer girl.

"I'm back, got some bread and cheese, and a canter of ale." The male stayer said, not yet noticing me.

The girl smiled and lifted her cheek up to be kissed by the male.