Chapter 2: The Fortuitous Freebie

Night had fallen upon Floristica City, but the township was far from asleep.

The sprawling central market area was a bustling, well-lit hubbub of activity, with merchants and townsfolk animatedly haggling over the sale or exchange of a myriad of goods.

Locally produced silks and spices, jewels from the mines of Jawar, the finest weapons and armour from the smithies of Tyria, warm, opulent furs from Fefruzaan in the frozen north, richly woven fabrics from Qalam-Lephri, and a veritable cornucopia of food and drink – the countless stalls boasted all these and so much more besides.

Through the crowded bazaar hurried a vision of brunette loveliness dressed in a simple yet tasteful dress of lemon-yellow silk, narrowly but deeply décolleté beneath an exquisite, beaded jacket.

Flitting from kiosk to kiosk like a nectar-seeking butterfly amidst a field of wildflowers, she methodically picked out and paid for meat, eggs, flour, butter, seasonings and several other ingredients for a winning recipe that was all her own, deftly depositing the items into a capacious canvas tote bag.

"Darn it all, Afura, you really could have told some of us that you were bringing Makoto down," she groused. "He could be tucking into his first square meal in ages right now, instead of having to wait for me to prepare it."

"I very much doubt he'll have long to wait, Nanami, not with you wearing the chef's hat," reassured her companion, a petite, white-clad nymphette with purple tresses, rose-hued eyes and a winsome smile. "Or that he'd even MIND the wait, for that matter. Your cooking's totally worth it."

"You're sweet, Alielle," said Nanami Jinnai, the younger girl's infectious cheeriness instantly dispelling her frustration. Her jaw set in a hard, square line and her eyes flashed with determination. "Believe me when I say that once Makoto's tasted what I'm going to whip up, he'll never leave the palace again."

On the verge of making a remark on how the sure-fire way to a man's heart was through his stomach, Alielle Relryle remembered Makoto and Nanami's history together and wisely thought better of it.

Squeezing Nanami's hand affectionately, she left her chum to complete the grocery shopping while taking the opportunity to browse.

Looking around the booths, she found herself drawn to a gaudily decorated tent crammed with curios and objets d'art.

Its owner, a smallish, cloaked man, sat cross-legged on a mat amongst his unusual wares.

The hood of his garment largely obscured his face but did not hide the smirk he gave when he saw Alielle approach, scrutinise the items for sale and then linger fascinatedly upon one.

"Nice, isn't it?" he purred, his tone enticing and conspiratorial. "It can be yours if you want."

"It's really tempting, Mister," said Alielle, "although I'll have to see if I can afford it first. How much are you wanting?"

"No, no. I'm happy to give it to you."

Alielle arched one dainty eyebrow. "You're kidding me. Honest?"

The merchant's even white teeth glinted in the lamplight as his lips parted in a sly chortle. "It isn't often that an attractive young lass such as yourself visits my humble parlour. We'll call this thingumajig a souvenir of your visit."

Alielle could scarcely believe her luck as she stammered her thanks and hurried off with her new acquisition.

As she rapidly put distance between herself and the tent to re-join her companion, she suddenly found herself wondering if it had in fact been there yesterday.

The stall looked, felt and smelled as though it was a permanent fixture, and the merchant definitely seemed like he had been plying his knick-knacks for ages, but surely she would have remembered such an unusual establishment and owner, girl-about-town that she was.

"There you are," said Nanami as Alielle caught up with her. "I was wondering where you'd wandered off to."

"Sorry," Alielle sheepishly cast her eyes down to her feet. "Was doing some shopping of my own." Her expression then turned gleeful as she patted a large bundle beneath her arm. "I got Makoto something from that place over there; it's really going to get his motor running."

Nanami craned her neck to see where Alielle was gesturing, but her view was largely obscured by a troupe of street performers – acrobats, clowns, jugglers, stilt-walkers, sword-swallowers and fire-eaters – that twirled, tumbled, somersaulted and swaggered across the market with a great clamour, attracting throngs of amused onlookers. "I can't make out the store," she remarked.

"You what?" Alielle exclaimed in disbelief, turning her head to look, but to no avail; her lack of height, coupled with the sizeable crowd, meant that she stood no chance whatsoever of relocating the tent compared to the already hampered Nanami.

"Yeah, I can't see squat, not with this circus blocking the way. But hey," she went on, taking the bemused Alielle's arm and dragging her off down a winding side-street towards the palace, "tell me more about your stuff later, alright? The marketing's done and I'm ready to cook up a storm!"