Chapter 21: The Market
The portcullis was up on the city gates, watched on either side by a pair of heavily armoured guards. The men made no move to stop them, but their eyes, mostly hidden behind the visors of their metal helms, followed their progress through the gate. To them they seemed like a couple out for a day of shopping with their handmaid, or maybe even slave walking slowly behind to be traded or sold. This was a place were people could find work, there were jobs for anyone and everyone. All you had to do was sell yourself to get them.
Hitomi was shocked by the number of people walking around the city in the golden light of the dying day. Many of the people she passed eyed her with interest. It made her uncomfortable, so she moved closer to Van's side, holding onto his arm tighter.
The market looked like the ones she had always saw in the movies, such as Sinbad or Aladdin. The words 'Arabian night', came to mind. It was dusty, with canvas covered stalls worked by men of all kinds, some shady, some with missing teeth, others with bellies so large they threatened to knock the wares from their stands. Smells rose in the air from the scent of fresh baked breads to dung while the men shouted out their wares to the passers by. The houses that lined the streets behind the stalls were smooth stone, painted in many light earthy shades with flowers in the windows. The city had a warm, welcoming feel, but even still, many eyes followed her progress down the street; this was a place that Hitomi would not have liked to be in alone. She felt naked under so many eyes and there was a strange feeling in the air that made everything seem almost unclean.
Hitomi became more uncomfortable the further they walked into the walled city. As the clamor of the market places quieted, screams and whimpers of pain and the sounds of whips could be heard from within passing houses. The cries of women and the triumphant laughter of men also filled the air. Hitomi pressed herself closer into Van's side.
"It'll be alright Hitomi. You're safe with me. I won't let anything happen to you." Van promised her softly.
"Van, why do we need to be here anyways?" She pulled the hood of her cloak down over her face a little more. Why did everyone they pass have to stare?
"Well…" Van paused to shoot an angry glare over his shoulder at a rough looking man that had just bumped into him. "We need some food and blankets and maybe we could also find a place to stay for the night. Then we wouldn't need to camp in the woods tonight."
Hitomi looked around her carefully, eyes the shadows watching the every corner. "I'd rather sleep in the woods." Hitomi mumbled to herself.
Van chuckled at that. "So would I."
It seemed like every crossroad within the city featured its own market place. As they moved free of the shadows of the street and into the open area of the crossing, men called out to her. Seeing a woman of worth, they waved to her. Urging her to move her attentions to their wears. One small wooden stall was piled high with many different items, so much so that Hitomi was unsure as to what he was trying to sell.
"My Lady," The man bowed as she neared. "You must be quite beautiful indeed if you must hide yourself beneath that hood." A small round hat sat on top his large round hairless head, fat hands with square fingers laid clasped over his rolling stomach, a heavy jewelled ring on each finger. He smiled brightly at her, seeing that he had won the lady's attention. "Ahhh…. Come closer miss, and tell me what you are searching for this fine evening."
Van and his mother had stopped at another smaller stall on the opposite side of the street from her. She managed to catch Varie's eye and the older woman gave her a small nod before turning back to help her son pick out items to purchase. They had very little coin for what they were looking for, but it would be enough they assured her.
The merchant followed her eyes across the market and smirked a knowing smile when he noticed the handsome young man with his servant across the way. The smile was still on his lips when Hitomi's attention returned to him. "What is it you desire?" He asked again, his voice flowing with an unusual accent.
She looked over the items in his booth. He has vases with painted scenes of nature, small carved stone animals, fine fabrics in an array of colours. Nothing they would need for their trip. So she made her excuse and began to turn away.
"Oh, is that all you wish to buy today, M'lady?" The merchant asked disappointedly as she turned.
It wasn't his voice that stopped her, but the tug on her sleeve.
"Hitomi? Lady Hitomi, right?" The voice was high and young. Hitomi turned surprised to see a small young girl tugging at the end of her sleeve. How did she know my name?
She looked uneasily down at the child before her. "Yes, what is it?" She must have been no more then nine years old, dressed in what had once been a light coloured dress, now stained a muddy brown. Large brown eyes and matching curly hair fell around her small shoulders. Despite the dirt that covered her, she was really rather cute.
The girl smiled brightly, a dirty smear on her cheek. "I knew it was you!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down a little in her excitement.
Hitomi smiled despite herself, but wondered how this little girl know her name and where had she come from. Hitomi took a quick look around the market, several curious pairs of eyes watched her.
The girl smiled happily, ignorant to Hitomi's growing unease. "Yeah! My brother doesn't know…" The young girl dropped her voice. "But I've been listening to all the news about the war, and about Lord Van. I heard that he was travelling with a beautiful lady named Hitomi, and that you two are in love." Hitomi to blush in embarrassment at the comment.
"The seeress!" The merchant gasped from the stall, stepping back in what seemed to be fear, or was it shock? It was hard to tell. Around them others turned to look at her.
Hitomi looked around anxiously for Van; she didn't like where this was going.
The girl tugged her sleeve again to get her attention. "I've also heard," The bright eyed girl continued happily. "that after the war is over, you will marry Lord Van and then you will be the Queen."
"What?" Hitomi yelled a little too loud, gaining the attention of most of the other people around them. Where were people getting all these idea from?
A man on the street stared at her in awe. "The young King's lover…" He bowed low, slowing moving back. Others murmured.
Hitomi looked around again, hoping to catch a glimpse of Van in the growing crowd. She wasn't sure what to do,
"Pardon my little sister, M'lady." A young man appeared behind the girl, his hands resting on the her small shoulders. The girl looked sheepishly up at her older brother, her small cheeks pink under the dirt.
Hitomi gave a nervous laugh. "It's alright, no harm done." Gods, she'd give anything to just run and hide. Her cheeks were flushed and people kept staring, even with her hood still covering her face.
The boy had the same brown eyes and slightly curly brown hair as his sister, however his hair was longer. He had it pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, a few loose curls framing his rather handsome face. He was quite tall too, as Hitomi had to look up to meet his sparkling eyes. He looked no older then Van or herself.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hitomi, is everything alright?" Van asked, suddenly beside her.
She smiled in relief. "Yes Van, everything is fine. I was just talking to-" Looking back at the siblings, Hitomi saw that they were bowing low to the ground.
Van wasn't happy with the extra attention their actions gained them and frowned deeply. "Rise." He commanded and they did.
"Your Majesty…" The little girl said, keeping her head low, not meeting his eyes. "I'm sorry for speaking to the Lady so..." Her small voice seemed even smaller, as if she was about to cry. She's scared of Van.
Hitomi knelt down in front of the girl, ignoring the stares. "What's your name?" She asked gentle.
"It- It's Luna." She whispered shyly.
Hitomi looked at her for a moment. Why were they acting so differently now that Van was here? "That means moon right, your name?" She asked instead. Luna looked up with a grin and nodded, her fears suddenly gone. Hitomi smiled back. "And you are…" She questioned, looking up at the girls older brother only to see the boy's dark eyes locked with Van's. Not a very friendly gaze either. Standing, she looked between the two. "Van?"
The girl's brother blinked, his face pleasant once again. He took Hitomi's hand in his, and raised it to his lips, but didn't kiss it. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Tal Looten, and this," He patted the young girl's shoulders. "is my little sister Luna."
"It's nice to meet you both." Hitomi said, nodding to Tal as he let her hand go.
"Yeah, nice to meet you." Van said, looking away.
Tal just snarled, also looking away.
Hitomi sighed. See could tell that those two weren't going to get along very well.
"Now aren't you sweet." Varie walked over to join their small group. She smiled warmly to the young girl. "What's your name, child?"
"It's Luna ma'am, and this is my brother Tal." She introduced. For a young girl she had wonderful manners.
"Luna? How sweet." Varie cooed, ruffling the girl's curly hair.
"What are you doing here in Alimere? If you do not mind my asking." Tal asked, directing question to Hitomi and not Van.
"We're on our way to Asturia to meet back up with our friends, but we needed to pick up a few things along the way, and maybe," She glanced at Van out of the corner of her eye. "find a room for the night."
"It's not safe to stay here, M'lady." Tal frowned. "If it were my choice, I wouldn't even have entered the city."
"Why, can't you leave?" She asked innocently.
"We can, but we don't have anywhere else to go." He replied simple, avoiding the real reason for his concern.
"Hitomi, come on. We're leaving." Van turned to leave. He didn't like this Tal guy, and he knew he had seen him somewhere before but couldn't put his finger on it and besides, all he was doing was flirting with Hitomi. Couldn't she see that? Or was it that she was enjoying it?
"Wait, Van." Hitomi called, her green eyes shifting from Tal to Van, then back again, but he stop, waiting for her a little ways down the street. "What do you mean? Don't you have any other family elsewhere?" She asked.
"You see, we're from Fanelia." Tal casting a sidelong glance at Van, who still had his back to them. "When it was attacked, our whole family was killed; the only ones that lived through the night were myself and my sister." His voice was very sad. "When we finally stopped running, we found ourselves here."
Hitomi cupped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, besides, before today we didn't even know if our King was dead, or just hiding scared. Now we know that he's been hiding." He scowled at the young King, who had now turned angrily back to face the other man.
Van reached for his sword. "It was not my choice to run from that battle." His voice dangerously low, he did not draw his sword however, but the warning was there.
"Brother!" Luna scolded, shooting her sibling an angry glare before turning back to the others with a cute lopsided smile on her round face. "He didn't mean that, Lord Van. I've told him that you didn't run. I've heard about some of your fights. They say you ride a dragon into battle. Is that true?" Her innocent question seemed to lift all the tension from the air.
Hitomi watched with slight amusement as Van's face seemed to soften, his hand dropped away from his sword. "No, Escaflowne isn't a dragon, but it does look like one."
"Really?" She asked eagerly.
"Yes dear." Varie confirmed with a smile. "But we should be leaving. I've asked around, and we don't want stay here tonight. We have everything we came to get, so we might as well continue on our way."
"You're going to Asturia, right?" Tal asked, looking thoughtfully at Varie. She… she looked awfully familiar to him, but he could not place her face. Where had he seen her before? "How are you planning to get there?"
"Walking." Van answered simply, turning his back again.
"You've got to be kidding. It will take you weeks to get there."
"Do you have another way?" He snapped back. Tal was starting to wear his temper thin. Why would the boy just not leave?
"Van." Hitomi whispered, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. 'Why is he being so hostile all of a sudden?'
"If you'd like, I could get your Highness," The title he said as an insult. "some horses. It would cut your travelling time down to a week. If you're in a hurry." Tal left the offer hanging in the air.
"That is very sweet of you." Varie said, nodding in agreement to the idea. She stepped forward, enduring her son's angry glare as only a mother could and looped her arm through Tal's signalling for him to lead the way. They started down the street, Luna walking right behind.
"What's wrong, Van?" Hitomi stepping up to his side as they followed behind Varie and Tal through the rest of the market. The sun was almost set, and most people had returned to their homes for the night, so they met fewer and fewer on the streets.
"I don't trust him." Van said in a low voice. Something told her that there was more to it then just Tal accusing Van of running away from his country and people, but she let the thought go. She would figure it out later.
To Be Continued