Chapter 20 Market Place
It's been about a month since we've returned from Brightport. Since then, Aaron's been training me to be Phoenix Drop's 'decoy lord.' One way he's been doing this is by teaching me sword fighting. However, I'm not that good at it.
Aphmau fell onto her butt as Aaron once again knocked her down. "Owie!"
"You need to pay more attention to your opponent, Aphmau", Aaron lectured as he hovered over her.
"I'm trying", Aphmau stated. "But it's hard to pay attention to what my opponent's doing while I'm also trying to remember what stance I should be making!"
When Aaron heard my frustration, he got an amused smirk on his face. He then kneeled down beside me, and got really close to my face.
"You know, if this is hard for you, we can always pick someone else to be the decoy lord, stupid potato", Aaron said. Then, he flicked Aphmau's forehead with his finger.
During our first sword training session, I ended up falling into a potato field. Since then, Aaron always calls me 'stupid potato' whenever I mess up during training. I don't like the nickname, but that just makes Aaron use it even more.
When Aaron called Aphmau 'stupid potato' she pouted in annoyance. Then, she stood up and pointed her wooden sword at him. "Let's go again! I'll get it right this time!"
Even though Aaron's nickname annoys me, seeing him be more relaxed than when I first met him makes me happy. He also smiles much more. It's probably because his family is with him, and he always has the biggest smile on his face when Jacob is with him."
"Daddy", Jacob yelled as he ran up to his father.
"Hey there, buddy", Aaron greeted as he kneeled down. His son then ran into his arms, and he lifted him into the air. "What have you and your friends been up to?"
"We were teaching Leona how hunt small animals", Jacob replied excitedly.
Leona was really shy and timid when I first met her. But ever since she started hanging out with the other werewolf pups, she's been slowly coming out of her shell.
As Jacob continued to tell his dad about his day, Garroth walked up to Aphmau and Aaron.
"Good afternoon, Aaron", he greeted. "Good afternoon, Lady Aphmau."
Ever since I became the 'decoy lord', Garroth has started calling me 'Lady Aphmau.'
Embarrassed by Garroth's new title for her, Aphmau's cheeks turned slightly pink. "You know, Garroth, you don't need to call me 'Lady Aphmau' when it's just us."
"I think it's good practice for me to simply always refer to you by that title so that I don't forget to do so in front of others", Garroth said. "Speaking of which, that's actually why I came to see you and Aaron. A couple of merchants have set up stalls in the market place."
"Already", Aphmau asked happily. "That's great!"
"Garroth, when you have a moment, please send a message to Brightport thanking Merida for telling the merchant's guild about Phoenix Drop."
"I will do that as soon as I can, my lord", Garroth said.
"Okay", Aaron said. "You really don't need to call me that, Garroth."
Garroth just chuckled at what Aaron said before continuing to speak. "Anyway, since we have new arrivals in the village, Lady Aphmau, you should go introduce yourself to them."
It was finally time for me to actually act as the decoy lord.
"This is it, Aphmau", Aaron said. "Do you remember the things I talked to you about when it came to talking to new arrivals in the village?"
"I do", Aphmau replied. "I wrote what you said to me in my diary so I wouldn't forget it."
"Good", Aaron said. "But remember, no matter how many times you study what to do in a certain situation, it can never really prepare you for when that actual moment comes. Are you sure you're ready for this, Aphmau?"
I was a little nervous after Aaron told me this, but I was determined to do what I could for Phoenix Drop. So, I took a deep breath, and said…
"I'm ready, Aaron", Aphmau reassured him. "I won't let you, or Garroth, or Phoenix Drop down!"
"Good", Aaron said. Then, he placed Jacob back on the ground before kneeling down next to him. "Jacob, daddy has to go work now, so can you go back home?"
"Okay", Jacob replied, before hugging father. "See you later, daddy! Love you!"
With this, Jacob ran off, and Aaron smiled at him.
Aaron always has such a soft expression on his face whenever he looks at Jacob. Whenever I see it, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest. I like it when Aaron smiles.
When Aaron and I arrived at the market place, we saw that two people had set up stalls. We went to the first one, which was being run by a man with blond hair. He was talking to one of the residents of the village.
"Oh", a woman said when she saw Aphmau and Aaron walk up to the stall she was at. "Good afternoon, Aph…I mean, Lord Aphmau."
"Hi, Donna", Aphmau greeted her.
"Logan", Donna said as she turned to face the man running the stall. "This is the Aphmau, the lord of Phoenix Drop."
After Donna told the owner of the stall that I was the lord, he looked up…and gave me a look of disbelief.
"You're the lord of this village", the stall owner asked in disbelief. "Forgive me for saying this, but you don't really look the part."
"I…don't", Aphmau asked sadly.
"Well, I guess a less than impressive lord fits a less than impressive village", the stall owner said, before clearing his throat. "My name is Logan. I am a traveling merchant."
"What are your wares", Garroth asked.
"Nothing specific", Logan replied. "Just anything I think I can get some good money for."
"Would it be okay for us to look over what you have in your stock", Garroth asked.
"Go ahead", Logan replied. "But if you break anything, you buy it!"
"But of course", Garroth replied. Then, he began looking over Logan's stock.
"How long do you plan on staying in Phoenix Drop", Aaron asked him.
"When I first arrived here, and saw the state of this place, I was going to leave right away", Logan replied.
"You were going to leave", Aphmau asked. "Why?"
"Look at this place", Logan said. "I doubt anyone here really has the money to buy any of my wares for what they're worth."
"Logan", Donna said, and he cleared his throat.
"However, thanks to this lovely lady here, I have decided to stick around for a bit", he replied, which made Donna giggle.
"All done", Garroth replied. "There doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary amongst your wares, Logan. You are welcome to keep shop here in Phoenix Drop for as long as you like."
"I just hope that I actually make some money here", Logan said. Then, he turned to look at Aphmau. "And, LORD Aphmau, please do speak up more. I mean, your what kind of lord lets their guards do most of the talking?"
"Have a good day, Logan", Garroth said. Then, he and Aaron quickly ushered Aphmau away.
If I was being honest, Logan's words had gotten to me. I felt like I was already failing as the decoy lord.
As Aphmau was feeling down, Aaron and Garroth led her to the next stall.
The next stall was being run by a woman. The two things about her that stood out to me was her golden hair, and her pointed ears.
"Good day, ma'am", Garroth greeted her.
"Hello there", she greeted. "My name is Zoey. I'm an elf from the Yggdrasil Forest."
"Nice to meet you, Zoey", Aphmau said. "I'm Aphmau, I'm the…I'm the lord of Phoenix Drop."
"It's very nice to meet you, Lord Aphmau", Zoey said.
"So, Ms Zoey", Garroth started. "What are your wares?"
"I sell fairy lights", Zoey replied.
"Fairy lights", Aphmau asked.
"I have some hanging on my stall", Zoey replied. Aphmau then looked up, and when she saw the fairy lights, her eyes widened in awe.
"Wow", Aphmau said. "They look so pretty!"
After I saw the fairy lights, It made me think of something. I turned around to look at the market place, and I got the idea.
"Aaron, Garroth, I have an idea", Aphmau said. "Why don't we buy a bunch of fairy lights, and hang them around the market place?"
"That would make this place look more appealing", Garroth said. "And it would also add some light in the market place at night."
"It's your call, Lord Aphmau", Aaron reminded her.
"Right", she said, before turning to look at Zoey. "Zoey, we're going to need enough fairy lights to hang around the whole market place!"
"You've got it", Zoey said. "And since you're giving me a big sale, I'll give you a discount!"
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging up the fairy lights around the market place. By the time we were done, it had gotten dark, which meant we could perfectly see what the fairy lights looked like.
"Wow", Aphmau said in awe. "The fairy lights look so pretty!"
"Nice call, Aphmau", Aaron said, before smirking. "Guess you can be a smart potato too sometimes?"
Aphmau pouted when Aaron called her that. But then, she smiled.
"Aphmau", Zoey said as she walked up to her with something in her hands. "To thank you for giving me such a big sale, here's some more fairy lights on the house!"
"Really? Thank you", Aphmau said, before taking the fairy lights. She then took a closer look, and saw what color they were. "They're purple."
"It's the color of your coat", Zoey pointed out. "So I figured you really like it."
"I do", Aphmau replied while smiling at Zoey. "Thank you very much, Zoey!"
The fairy lights Zoey gave me are now hanging up in my room. They're so pretty!