Three:

"I smell sea air," Shizuru smiled serenly.

"Pazzio is a port city," Natsuki said, "Which is why it's the perfect place to sell these marten furs."

"More travelers, more potential customers," Shizuru nodded, "It makes sense. Is this a place you come often as a merchant, then?"

Natsuki shook her head, "Not really. I mean, I've been to Pazzio before, but the last time was three years ago. And I have some friends in the city."

The cart passed the checkpoint at the gate to the city. They found roads lined with stalls and shops almost immediately.

Shizuru's eyes widened, "What is that delectable aroma?"

Natsuki grinned, "You're going to have to tell me, Shizuru. I have a good nose for business, but there's a dozen different smells in here, and I don't know which one you mean."

"There!" Shizuru pointed, "It's coming from that stall. Those delightful looking red fruits! What are they?"

"Apples?" Natsuki blinked, then gave a soft smile, stopping the cart, "Here. Here's a Trenni silver. Get some apples for both of us, okay?"

Shizuru startled Natsuki by buying an entire Trenni silver's worth of apples.

"I know I said to get some apples for both of us," Natsuki shook her head, "But…seriously? How much do you think I eat?"

"Ara, but I am willing to wager that I can turn that single coin into a profit for us both," Shizuru grinned at her.

They made arrangements at an inn, while Shizuru ate a good many apples, while carrying the rest into the lodgings they'd secured. Natuski also made a few discreet inquiries, then reported her findings to Shizuru.

"I suspect that I know which coin Zeiren is going to claim is going up in value," Natsuki leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms over her chest, "And given what I've learned, it's definitely a lie. And you're sick to your stomach, aren't you?"

Shizuru was laying on one of the beds in the room, her stomach bulging, a half contented, half pained smile on her face.

"Apples are the fruit of the devil," Shizuru sighed.

"Should I leave you here?"

"No," Shizuru crawled slowly out of bed, "I find your world very fascinating, and I wish to learn more. Let us go."

"Welcome to Milone Trading," a clerk greeted them.

Natsuki explained to Shizuru that since Milone was based in another country, they tended to offer higher prices for goods in order to draw in more merchants and get more variety. They also kept their ear to the ground to listen for changing markets and potential trouble.

"I've been here before," Natsuki informed him, "Three years ago. We traded in barley. Today, I've brought some furs that I'd like to sell."

"Barley? Hmm. Yes, I remember you. It was really very high quality. And these furs look to be in good shape. How many?"

"Seventy, in all."

"Then, in the interest of a good continuing relationship, how about one hundred eighty Trenni silver?"

Natsuki coughed into her hand, "I want you to note the luster of these furs, which survived the freezing rain, intact. There were bountiful harvests, this year, and so the farmers were busy tending their fields. There were few men to hunt and trap these martens, and yet look how many I've managed to procure, and of such uniform quality."

"I do appreciate the quality," The clerk smiled, "As well as the lie. Shall we say a hundred ninety, then?"

Natsuki opened her mouth to agree, when Shizuru tugged on her sleeve, "I don't know the market? How is that?"

"It's pretty good. About fifteen percent above going rates."

"Follow along," Shizuru whispered gently into Natuski's ear, then loudly, "Sister, how can you not have told him? Do you mean for this man to overlook the most unique quality of our goods?"

"I'm sorry," Natsuki bowed, "My sister is a novice merchant, and I have promised to allow her to present the goods. Sister…"

"Take a good sniff of these furs, sir," Shizuru insisted. The man looked puzzled, but Shizuru picked up a fur, then sniffed it, smiling. He followed suit, and blinked in surprise.

"Why…they smell of fruit."

"Indeed. Furs take many washings to eliminate the stench of beast. Yet, just as the farms were busy this year, so too were the forests full of many ripe fruits. These martens grew large on the fruits of the field, and indeed are infused with their very essence. How much would that be worth, a garment made from the hide of a beast that didn't rankle the nostrils?

"Shall we say…three Trenni apiece? Then it would be two-hundred ten Trenni."

Natsuki managed to close her mouth before the clerk turned to her, again. Shizuru had just netted her a profit of an extra twenty silver coins. It more than made up for the costs she'd incurred these last few days.

"Still," Natsuki said as they sat to dinner, "It is strange. I slept in those furs and I didn't notice any…SHIZURU! You tricked him!"

Shizuru grinned, "Natsuki is wise. She figured out my trick. I did tell you that I would turn a profit with your silver coin. As the saying goes, 'if you only get angry when tricked, you will learn nothing.'"

Natsuki sighed, fishing a few nuts from a bowl, "Is that trick yours, originally?"

Shizuru shook her head, "No. A particularly crafty merchant plied that scheme in Pasloe many years ago. I paid attention. It was days before the villagers realized that they'd been tricked, as well."

Shizuru giggled, "I wonder what became of him. Ara, I hope, dear Natsuki, that I didn't wound your pride."

Natsuki shook her head, "I'm a pragmatic person. One Trenni silver's worth of apples got us twenty extra coins in profit. That's in my pocket, regardless of how it came about, so I'm not the sort to complain. And I did tell you to earn your keep, after all."

"Natsuki is a reasonable person. And we're to meet Zeiren tomorrow?"

"Yes. I believe he is going to tell me that the Trenni silver coin will be increasing its silver purity. In fact, my connections to the royal family have informed me that the King is heavily involved in a land deal to the south that has stretched his purse strings very thin, indeed. They'll want to reduce the purity of the silver in the coins to recoup some money quickly.

"The possibilities are that Zeiren was mistaken, or that Zeiren is lying. If it's a mistake, I'll learn as much, tomorrow. If it's a lie, there's a scheme. And schemes can mean money if you pay attention to them."

Shizuru frowned, "That creature did not strike me as capable of scheming on his own. His is of that ilk that thinks himself far more clever than he really is."

"I would agree," Natsuki said, "And his handlers may well be watching."

They made their way back to their room.

"You could have saved money by getting a room with only one bed," Shizuru smiled at her as she fell backwards onto her own mattress.

"You insisted on telling the innkeeper that we were master and apprentice," Natsuki pointed out, "Taking a single bed would have caused them to ask questions. Questions that could lead to your true identity being exposed, and both of us sent to the stake."

"I see," Shizuru looked out the window, "That would be troublesome, yes."

Natsuki was drawing at the desk.

"What is that?"

"A shop. I would like to open one, once the business of my mother's murder has been solved and put behind me."

"A shop? I would have thought you would have returned to the courts, a member of the nobility."

"It's an ivory prison, and I've come to enjoy my freedom," Natsuki flipped her hair over her shoulder, "It was going to be a little place I opened, and ran it with Nao, until she married or I did."

Shizuru frowned, "Nao must be very important to you."

"She's a friend. Probably my only friend before I met you, Shizuru."

"Then, I am in good company."

"You're drinking very good wine," Zeiran noted as he joined Shizuru and Natsuki at the table at the bar, "I assume your other business went well, then?"

"Yes," Natsuki gave Shizuru a small smile, "We were most fortunate in our negotiations. So, then, to our business. Your terms?"

"I will tell you the name of the coin being revalued," Zeiran sipped his wine, "and in exchange, I want ten coins of that denomination for that information, plus five percent of your profits."

"Are you absolutely certain that this information is valid?" Natsuki met his eyes with her unflinching emerald gaze.

Zeiran looked squirrely for a moment, then sighed, "I mean, there are no absolute certainties in business."

Natsuki nodded, "If you told me that it was guaranteed, I would have known you for a liar at once."

"You're shrewd," Zeiran grinned, "If my info about the value going up proves to be wrong, I'd return your ten coins, of course, for bad information. But in exchange for keeping my share of the profits low, I don't want any grievances should the information prove wrong."

Natsuki sipped the wine, nodding, "Fair enough. My losses are my own. So, we'll draw up a contract and have it notarized. I don't like doing business blind, you understand."

"No, that's reasonable. I'll see you at the notary's office in the morning. So, your companion? She doesn't say much. I know you told the church she was your sister, but…"

"She's my apprentice," Natsuki said, "Shizuru. She tends to listen rather than speak for the sake of speaking."

"A wise policy," Zeiran grinned, "But might I see the beauty of one whose mind is so sharp? Surely, it is a blessing from God that we've met, and so you should let me see the countenance of my other partner."

He was reaching over to touch Shizuru's hood. She smiled, breaking her silence, "Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. With dogs, the bark, and not the bite is the most frightening. And a woman is always more beautiful in the mind's eye than the beholder's. Whatever dreams you have of my beauty, they will have to sustain you, lest my true appearance disappoint."

"That's an amazing apprentice you have," Zeiran nodded, "She's going to be formidable in business when she is trained."

"Undoubtedly," Natsuki sipped her wine.

After Zeiran left, Natsuki met with a representative of Milone Trading, who was sitting in the bar as well, and had overheard everything.

"It does seem that the information you brought us this afternoon was correct," he said, "As expected of someone who could concoct something as clever as that scheme with the fruit."

Natsuki gave a soft chuckle, "I can't take the credit for that one. My apprentice learned it from her previous tutor. Though, I'm smart enough not to try it twice with you."

"Indeed. Our agents are tailing Zeiran as we speak. You're certain that he's lying about the coins appreciating in value?"

"Not certain. Not yet," Natsuki said, "But it feels right."

"Agreed," the man said, "We will wait for your confirmation of the coin, then make our move. Our contract is made. Five percent of the total profits will be yours."

Natsuki bowed, "I appreciate your integrity in this matter. We simply have to learn who is behind the scheme."

They retired to their room at the inn.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki sat at the desk, looking at her sketches of her potential shop, "Do you have a long term goal in mind? I'm happy to transport you wherever you would go. But…I also have plans to make for my own future, you know."

"Does Natsuki wish to dissolve our partnership?" Shizuru looked downcast, sitting on her bed, holding her tail.

"No," Natuski shook her head, "But…do you intend to trek back to your homeland? Or is your plan to stay with me for my own travels?"

Shizuru gave Natsuki a weak smile, "Natsuki, it has been centuries since I left my homeland. The others of my kind…they're probably long moved on by now. The only thing returning to Yoitz would prove is that my home is gone. That's a heartbreaking thing, don't you think?"

Natsuki remembered her own lost mother, and nodded, "You can never truly go home again. Because when you return, it will be changed from what you remembered."

"And loneliness is a disease, Natsuki, that is dreadfully lethal. When I settled in Pasloe, I had a friend who I adored. His name was Kanzaki, and he was such a nice fool. The only one I knew who didn't cower in the sight of my true form. But he was, sadly, mortal, and has been gone for a long time. The villagers of Pasloe were always careful to pay fealty to me, but it was not out of love. I like you, Natsuki, and I have been alone for too long."

Natsuki sat beside her, "I understand, Shizuru. It is the plight of the traveling merchant, too. I am alone on the road for long stretches. Days without seeing another person. The fear of bandits and wild beasts is a real one."

"That's why you carry a crossbow?"

"It's a handy deterrent," Natsuki grinned. She handed Shizuru a sheet of paper, "Dry your eyes."

"Ara, but your sketch…"

"I've done hundreds," Natsuki said, "And…"

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Natsuki called. She knew they hadn't been loud enough to disturb the innkeeper.

"May I come in, Kuga?" an all too familiar voice called to them.

Natsuki flung open the door, "Nao? What are you doing here?"

Nao shut the door, "We must speak quickly, and quietly."

She spotted Shizuru, and gasped in alarm and surprise, "I heard it from Zeiran, and still…I didn't believe it."

"Nao, what's going on?"

"Kuga, I need you to save me!"