Chapter 5: Market
There was a hustle and bustle going on on the market. An organized chaos which cheered all the visitors up.
Colourful banners everywhere, booths with different goods were brightly decorated and the salesmen as well as the women were regocnizable because of their colourful clothes. And their skills in trading of course.
Mary was running from one booth to the other, looking at everything, buying stuff here and there. Most of it she probably never would need. But it was the pure joy, the love of life inside her that was desperated to get out.
The musicians let out squillions of joyful songs in the air and showmen sweetened the walk over the market for the visitors.
It was like the bad times had never existed.
As if they would never return.
Mary loved those markets. Often her parents had taken her to the towns to join the hustle and bustle. And they had shown her how to separate the magicians from the ordinary showmen because a market with all its miracles was the perfect place for keeping magic secret and using it at the same time.
The knights following Mary always stayed a few steps behind. Uther had insisted on the guard. In the past there had been robberies, fights and encroaments involving nobles. So it seemed to be safer for the King giving Lady Mary a kind of escort.
Mary did not mind that as long as the knights did not surround her all the time. After all she wanted to see everything.
All of a sudden she could feel a prickeling on her back. She knew that feeling all too well, she had learned to be mindful about it in her childhood. That had helped her parents a lot.
She turned around to find the reason for that prickeling and made a beeline joined by a cheerful laughter to the next stage on which showmen showed their skills in juggling. The knights followed the Lady on foot.
While a gleeman lit a torch and the others still used balls, the prickeling came again. Mary took a close look at the showmen, delighted about that feeling, curious. But it was none of them. She was wondering. Who else would use magic if not the showmen?
Slowly she walked along the stage, searching for the gleemen's eyes, looking at the crowed but she would not get any smarter.
"That is stupid", she just mumbled insulted when she felt it again. More clearly than before.
And then she saw him.
A little boy at the edge of the stage. Stitting there, unflashy, looking at the crowd, resting his eyes every once in a while on a person and focused.
Mary's curiosity grew with every second. What did he do?
She walked to him, careful to not scare him away. She had already forgotten the knights behind her.
As the boy focused his eyes on a wealthy dressed man Mary followed the trace of magic. And got startled.
Shocked she stood still and one of the knights ran into her, held her, turned her around and asked: "What happened, Milady?"
Mary looked at him speechless with wide opened eyes, not able to talk, she was so shocked by what she had seen. She pointed to the boy silently.
The first knight nodded to the second one and both of them went to the boy, who was too focused to realize this. Mary stared after them. Slowly her mind came back. Just to be shocked again realizing what she just had done.
That moment the soldiers grabbed the little boy, pulling him down from the stage and several wallets and some jewellery dropped down on the ground.
He screamed, struggeld, fought and everyone stared at the events.
Mary just stood there like she was rooted to the ground, not moving at all.
Other soliders came to aid the knights because the gleemen tried to free the boy.
A hand was put on Mary's arm and scared she turned around.
"Come with me", Gwen said, standing behind the Lady closely. "You should not see that."
Mary once again turned around to see the riot. But as she saw how the soldiers pulled their swords and one of them knocked the boy out she turned away. Her face white like chalk and tears were in her eyes she stared at Gwen.
"This is not my fault, is it?" she asked desperately.
Gwen smiled at her sadly, took her hand and led her away.
"They have locked him up", Gwen reported a bit later.
The maidservant had brought Mary to a field, far away from the riot.
After that Gwen had gone back to find out what had happened.
"And what will they do with him?", Mary asked.
"Well, he's a thief and even worse, he used magic." Gwen shrugged and lowered her head. "I do not think that Uther will show him any mercy just because it's a child. Robbery is forbidden, magic is even worse."
"He will have the boy executed?", Mary asked, revolted.
Gwen just looked at Mary surprised.
"What do you think would become of him if they let him go? He would go on, grow up and would become cruel", Gwen said soberly.
"How can you know that?", Mary continued asking.
"I have been living in Camelot for long enough", was the easy reply.
They sat next to each other quietly.
Mary was thinking.
It was so unimaginable to her that magic could be missconducted like that. She had seen cruel magicians as her parents got attacked. But it was new to her that there were magicians using her gift for lower reasons like money. The gleeman family must have raised the boy in a way that made him think that his deeds were good and necessary. They had not looked haggard. Not like they would have needed to steal.
But what was robbery next to murder?
Mary had handed over the boy to a man who seemed to kill and destroy everything close to magic.
She had betrayed the boy.
Because she had not been careful about what she did.
Mary sighed.
"It is not easy to survive in this world", she said silently.
Gwen looked up, took Mary's hand again, got up taking the Lady with her and went towards the market.
"Do not let this take away your joy for the market. Everyone is responsible for themselves and the gleeman knew what they where doing." Gwen's solace was thin so Mary could see the lie behind it. Even Gwen did not like what had happened. But like so many other people in Camelot she just was used to it.
With bitterness she had never known before Mary realized how well the citizens of Camelot were used to looking the other way.
Still she walked along with Gwen. Also because the maidservant did not leave her with any other choice.