It wasn’t that he was unconcerned about handing over that much coin without any safeguards to speak of. Kaln was well aware that as strangers to this city, dealing with what appeared to be a well-established business with connections to Shima Vaat’s wealthy, should Madame Ludensky try to take his money and run it would be his word against hers and he would not win that.
But Kaln had her pegged as someone who took too much pride in her craft to cheat, and anyway, frivolously wasting Atraximos’s fortune hadn’t yet ceased to be satisfying. In the worst case, he’d just have to find another source of clothing for Percy. The stakes were really whether they ended up in a situation in which he’d have to restrain Pheneraxa from lashing out.
What would be, would be; for the rest of their shopping trip he had more immediate things to worry about. Specifically, managing his entourage.
Percy was not accustomed to large numbers of people, or strangers in general; while she warmed up quickly to new acquaintances, her first interaction with every shopkeeper, messenger, city guard or passersby they met consisted of nervous stammering and staring down at the pavement. Shadrach didn’t like people. He mostly hung back, making disdainful faces and refusing to participate, but one never knew what would prompt him to insert a spiteful comment and create a situation Kaln would have to smooth over. Pheneraxa, fortunately, had neither her father’s misanthropy nor her mother’s reclusiveness; she was interested in everyone and everything they came across. Less fortunately, she had a dragon’s arrogance and had never learned anything resembling manners. She did not take being questioned or challenged gracefully, which often became relevant as she tended to pose all inquiries as pompous demands.
Kaln was absolutely in his element.
Time and again, he gently encouraged Percy to show merchants her shopping list, adding apologetic expressions for their benefit when she mumbled and wouldn’t make eye contact. None took offense, not with the prospect of coin to be made, and anyway most of them seemed willing to accept any peculiarity from her as part and parcel of dealing with rich young foreigners. He immediately clapped back at Shadrach, swiftly positioning himself and whatever merchant they were talking to against the mage—who, as the morning wore on, seemed to be enjoying this game himself. And, of course, managing Pheneraxa was a matter of correcting her high-handed attitude as gently or firmly as the situation required. That could have been so much worse, but she seemed to have accepted Kaln as an authority figure. He tried not to read too much into that; dragons respected strength and on a physical level, he could manhandle her any way he pleased.
He didn’t; that would have ruined the fun.
This was what he was good at, what had been missing from his life for the last year and change. It wasn’t just that he missed the Archives, the comfort of being surrounded by books and knowledge and people who appreciated them; Emeralaphine’s library was better by most objective measures. But her library was lonely, with nobody ever there but Emeralaphine and Pheneraxa. Back at the Archives, Kaln had always been the organizer and path-smoother among his peers; even though he didn’t occupy a management role, he’d long since inferred that the Lord Scribe was grooming him for one, and helping mitigate disagreements and keep people organized just came so naturally to him that he couldn’t not do it.
He’d missed people. Fooling around with Izayaroa in Boisverd had been a vacation, a very much-needed reprieve from the events of the last year, but this was more in keeping with his actual talents. He was being useful, and helping, and hadn’t realized until now how much he’d missed it.
The majority of Percy’s list were various toiletries, which posed the greatest problem from Kaln’s perspective because he was only able to supervise from a distance. Her Verdi sensibilities deemed it inappropriate that he be involved in this. Kaln hadn’t realized just how gendered Boisverd apparently was, or maybe they just had particular ideas about public and private spheres of life. Whatever the reason, Percy was scandalized at the thought of Kaln even knowing she might own bath towels, to say nothing about the variety of merchandise he could understand as actually, reasonably private.
So there were a string of episodes of Percy and Pheneraxa insisting he and Shadrach remain at a distance while they talked with merchants, which invariably went exactly the way he expected it to, even before Shadrach began heckling from his private peanut gallery. Kaln quickly got very adept at hovering at a precise distance from the pair that Percy wouldn’t consider him to be eavesdropping, but was close enough that he could swoop in when things started to go south and before Pheneraxa could escalate.
And still, he couldn’t resent it. Well, he resented Shadrach’s contributions a little, but even that did not spoil his mood. Looking after the girls was gratifying. Meeting and working with new people was fun. He was helping—he was genuinely important here.
It was better for his spirit than any amount of divine power.
At Kaln’s gentle prompting, they took care of everything Percy considered private or sensitive first. He’d been thinking it would be easiest to have what was apparently stressful to her out of the way so they could enjoy the rest of the trip, but began to think he’d miscalculated by the time they emerged from the Silken Quarter, with her new set of towels—the fluffiest things Kaln had ever touched, prompting him to buy some for himself—safely ensconced in his bag of holding.
The worst part was that he hadn’t noticed it until then—and in fact only noticed it secondhand, this time. Pheneraxa, he realized, had begun watching Percy closely, often with a little frown. Focusing on the princess’s expression, Kaln belatedly realized why.
She remained hard to read—her default expression was a blank, wide-eyed stare, as if she were trying to absorb as much information as possible while leaking as little back out as she could. And that was still the case, but… It was a subtle difference, only apparent when he really focused. Her expression was frozen, her pupils shrunken to points as if under blinding light. Percy moved more stiffly than she had an hour ago, practically rigid with tension.
Damn it, this would never have happened if they’d let him stay close.
“Why don’t we take a break?” Kaln suggested casually.
Mechanically, Percy shook her head. “I’d like to get this done as fast as we can, please.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” he agreed, attempting to project calm for her benefit. “But remember there’s a limit to how much we can hurry. Madame Ludensky will need most of the day to make all the alterations to your clothes—if we rush everything now we’ll find ourselves having to sit on our hands all afternoon. It makes more sense to pace ourselves, don’t you think?”
“I see.” She frowned, staring into the distance, and made no other reply.
“Hey, I saw a confectioner back there near the entrance to the food district,” Pheneraxa chimed in brightly. She was clearly not experienced at putting on a front of good cheer. “You were telling me about candy in Boisverd, remember? Why don’t we go see if they have anything familiar?”
“Oh. Yes.” Percy blinked, and actually seemed to relax a bit. “Yes, that’s… Boisverd produces a lot of honey. We have excellent candy. Maman made me cut back to very occasional honey drops; she says I’ll lose all my teeth before I’m thirty, eating it every day.”
“That sounds like good advice to me,” Kaln said, grinning. “But I’m pretty sure the magic we have access to now can fix teeth. Let’s indulge a bit!”
He noticed, as the group turned and changed course, that Shadrach was now watching Percy intently, and for once, he didn’t look annoyed or disdainful. Actually, Kaln couldn’t quite put a name to that expression. On anyone else, he might have taken it for well-concealed concern.
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The diversion into the restaurant quarter proved quite successful. Eventually; their first foray didn’t end so well. After Percy innocently (and loudly) commented in the confectioner’s shop that Verdi honey was clearly superior and even Kaln couldn’t soothe the offended sugar artisans, the group had to beat a hasty retreat, with Shadrach cackling and opening little holes in the air to intercept the overripe fruit being hurled after them.
The rest of the diversion was more positive, however. The group went from one shop to the next, sampling pastries and treats, and at Percy’s suggestion began to lay in a stock of prepared food. It hadn’t been on her list and hadn’t occurred to Kaln either, but both his bag of holding and the food storage chest in his kitchen back home would keep their contents in perfect suspension; they could spare themselves some reliance on his dubious culinary skill by buying up fresh meals at the market and keeping them frozen in time.
“Um…you’ve been here before, right, Shadrach?” Kaln asked as the group wandered into a street lined with food stalls.
The mage narrowed his eyes at him. “Why? Mind your own business.”
“You commented on the bureaucracy, back at the customs office, so I assumed it wasn’t your first visit. I was just going to ask, about how spicy is the food here?”
“Oh.” Shadrach looked somewhat mollified. “Eh… About comparable to Rhiva cuisine, I’d say. They use different spices, though. More…tangy, less heat.”
“That sounds excellent!” said Kaln. “But, um…”
“Right, right, we’ve got a couple of milk-drinking northerners along.”
“I beg your bloody pardon, you conceited little sand lizard,” Pheneraxa snarled. “I am accustomed to the taste of fire. Do you actually imagine any spice not instantly lethal to humans would bother me?”
“As I keep having to bring up, Pheneraxa, you’re about a week out from discovering what sugar tastes like,” Kaln reminded her. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Actual, physical heat is not the same experience as spicy food.”
“Actually, there’s an argument to be made that it is,” Shadrach commented. “The sensation of burning mouth is caused by chemicals in those plants triggering the nerve endings that detect heat. It’s a false positive, but they’re not unrelated.”
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“Be that as it may,” Percy interjected, “I am in agreement with Kaln. He let me try one of the peppers he ordered.” She shuddered and her whole face scrunched up in reminiscent pain. “I do not want to eat anything as hot as you Rhiva apparently like it, please.”
“Well,” said Kaln, “it’s a big city, and a big market. Let’s see what we can do.”
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He thought they did pretty well, collecting some snacks to munch while they browsed, as well as putting aside a decent stockpile of pastries, fruit, and grilled veggies (sans peppers). It proved difficult to find any meat dishes in a Missari marketplace that weren’t spicy enough for the smell alone to set Percy’s eyes watering. The two Rhiva indulged, though, as did Pheneraxa.
Clearly Shadrach’s theory was only partly correct, to judge by her rigid expression and bright flush. But she kept doggedly chomping, and Kaln graciously refrained from making fun of her. There was really no need, Shadrach had that amply covered.
With Percy seeming a bit less tense, they moved on to some of her other requests.
Pheneraxa seemed mildly offended at the request for books, given Percy’s access to Emeralaphine’s library, but quickly accepted the explanation that books which belonged to Percy would be different. They visited several booksellers, who held their businesses conveniently close together in a particular district, and purchased literally everything on astronomy that could be found, and then miscellaneous other topics as an afterthought.
It went very smoothly, except for the books Percy picked up about dragons and dragonborn, which irritated Pheneraxa anew.
“Why would you need—I could explain anything you can learn from that firsthand, and more thoroughly!”
“Yes, you’re very helpful, Pheneraxa,” Percy said seriously. “I enjoy talking with you, and appreciate your willingness to educate. But there are subjects on which you are the furthest thing possible from an unbiased source.”
Pheneraxa stared at her, mouth slightly open, until Kaln gently closed her jaw with a fingertip.
They acquired some furniture, as Percy felt rather uncomfortable living with relics from Atraximos’s hoard—both because they were without exception gaudy and tasteless, and because they had probably all been stolen from victims murdered by the dread dragon. The shopkeepers were absolutely fascinated by the spectacle of Kaln putting entire chairs, tables, and a four-poster bed in his bag of holding. It was a really excellent bag of holding; this was the least of its capabilities.
Supposedly it was also impossible to steal. He didn’t get to see that tested, and suspected that the lack of any pickpockets bothering them despite the money he was throwing around had to do with the fact that they were undoubtedly being shadowed by government intelligence agents.
Government intelligence agents who would not want Pheneraxa to have any reason to throw a tantrum.
Fortunately, and somewhat to Kaln’s surprise, they were able to locate telescopes. A total of three, across the market in different variety shops. He’d been correct that such devices would most likely be ordered directly from specialist artisans by their buyers. Three wasn’t bad, even if they weren’t of the size or quality Percy had hoped. Still, he was able to buy her a nautical spyglass and two larger ones on their own tripod mounts which made Percy giddily excited despite them not being quite up to her most optimistic specifications.
The sight of her clutching each protectively to her chest as soon as the coin had changed hands, then reluctantly relinquishing them and hovering worriedly as he carefully added them to the bag of holding was quite heartwarming, especially after his earlier worry.
He wasn’t the only one who thought so. Kaln caught Pheneraxa watching Percy with a particularly mushy expression as the last and largest telescope was stowed away. Noticing his look, she switched to a glare, and decided once again not to tease her. If Shadrach had seen that, she’d never be allowed to forget it anyway.
Mostly, Kaln was glad that Percy was feeling better. It wasn’t entirely clear to him what had so stressed her out about their first round of errands, so her more relaxed and happy demeanor came as a great relief.
Thus, in the fateful moment that proved him wrong, he wasn’t even watching her, having taken a moment to scan the surrounding crowd in the busy marketplace just in case he could spot one of their government mandated minders.
“Percy?” Pheneraxa suddenly cried in alarm.
Kaln whipped back around to find Percy, who moments before had been walking along in apparent calm, was hunched into a ball on the ground, barely balancing on the balls of her feet and rocking quickly with both hands pressed to her ears. It was a familiar position; though he couldn’t see her mouth from this angle, much less hear whispering, he had a strong feeling she was reciting the names of stars to herself again.
“What’s the matter? Is she all right?” asked a nearby map seller, leaning over her counter.
“Give her space,” Pheneraxa snapped, hovering protectively over the huddled princess even as more onlookers pressed forward, craning their necks and asking well-intentioned questions. Kaln tried to politely urge them back, but couldn’t seem to make himself heard without raising his voice. Yelling was probably not going to soothe Percy any, but if there was nothing else for it—
“Ugh,” Shadrach snorted loudly enough to be audible through the hubbub, and snapped his fingers.
The crowd, the noise, and the market itself vanished. The four of them were suddenly standing in a quiet side street which Kaln recognized as a home to much more upscale shops outside the food district. It was all fancy restaurants and bars here; three passersby jumped and exclaimed at their sudden appearance, but they were vastly less crowded.
“She’s just overstimulated,” Shadrach grunted in response to Kaln’s surprised look. “All she needs is a little space, time, and quiet.”
“Good thinking,” Kaln agreed. “Thanks for—”
Percy suddenly squawked in alarm as Pheneraxa scooped her up in both arms, turning to stride toward the nearest door.
“Or that, that works too I guess,” Shadrach drawled. Repressing an exasperated sigh, Kaln hustled after them.
Pheneraxa’s long legs and digitigrade claws gave her a very lengthy stride when she wasn’t deliberately matching her pace to theirs; even across that very short distance she quickly left them behind, and by the time he caught up seconds later, she had already barged into the establishment she’d picked at random and begun causing a problem.
“No, I don’t have a reservation,” Pheneraxa barked at an alarmed-looking hostess, clutching a quivering Percy to her chest. “What’s wrong with you? Get me cool water and a place to—”
“Heel, Pheneraxa!” Kaln snapped, yanking her physically backward by the tail. She turned a shocked and outraged glare on him but seemingly didn’t dare do more with an armful of princess, and he brushed curtly past her.
The young woman in a clearly expensive sari leaned back from him in wide-eyed alarm, and Kaln swiftly recalibrated his approach; he had more damage control to do here than he’d expected.
“I am terribly sorry about her,” Kaln said, bowing and putting on his most charming, soothing smile. Instincts from his time at the Archives prompted him to be diffident and accommodating, but that would probably just get them thrown out; he deliberately hung onto some outward pride and confidence, trusting a person in the food service sector would instinctively defer to a rich client. “I assure you, we’re not here to cause a disturbance. Quite the contrary. The young lady there is simply a bit overexerted and needs a quiet place to recover, and the other young lady completely forgets her manners when she’s worried.”
“Ah, I understand,” the hostess said, inclining her head with a calmer expression. “Is she quite all right?”
He glanced at Percy, who had curled herself into a ball in Pheneraxa’s arms and was visibly trembling; he couldn’t see her face, but her ears had gone bright pink.
“I believe so. Since we are here and it’s not too early for an early lunch, would it be possible to request a private room in which our friend can compose herself over a meal?”
“Why, of course, sir,” the hostess said more graciously. “It is the Rose’s pleasure to be just such an oasis for any valued patron. As the gods have smiled upon us today, one of our private lounges is indeed not under reservation at the moment. If you would follow me?”
“Thank you kindly, I would be delighted. Come along, Pheneraxa, and by the uncounted heavens behave.”
“Hmph,” she grunted, sweeping past him.
Now that he belatedly looked around, Kaln realized they were in a very upscale restaurant, which was mostly empty at this hour, though the three well-dressed patrons already in the main dining area were watching them with unabashed curiosity. Well, he had promised Shadrach lunch. Apparently it was just going to be more expensive than he’d planned. No harm in that, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford it.
The hostess led them down a side corridor and opened a door, bowing and gesturing within. She was sufficiently poised not to react when Pheneraxa rudely brushed past her. “Please make yourselves comfortable. I shall have a server attend you at your convenience. Would you like to order immediately, or do you prefer a few minutes for the young lady to regather herself?”
“If you’d be so kind, I think she’d appreciate some cool water and a soft towel,” he replied.
“Of course! They will be brought immediately, and menus made available as soon as it is convenient.”
“Thank you kindly, miss.”
She bowed gracefully, then glided back toward the front.
“Nice,” Shadrach commented quietly as soon as she was out of earshot. “I guess you’ve had money long enough to have the smell on you. I thought for sure we’d get thrown out but apparently she believes you can afford this place.”
“Well, it’s not as if I can’t, after all. Hey, Shadrach—thanks. That was a kind thought, getting us out of the crowd like that.”
The mage grimaced and shrugged with one shoulder, glancing away. “Yeah, well… Fits like that clearly aren’t the victim’s fault. No point blaming people for what they can’t control.”
“That’s very—”
“Especially when there’s nonsense they can and should be blamed for.” Shadrach turned his face back to Kaln, scowling. “Knowing she’s prone to that kind of episode, coming to a place all but guaranteed to trigger one, and not warning us it might happen is the act of a thoughtless, reckless asshole.”
At least he had the minimal decency to keep his voice low enough it probably wasn’t audible to the girls inside the adjacent lounge.
“Hey, give the kid a break,” Kaln replied, just as quietly. “She’s the most sheltered person I’ve ever met. There’s no reason to assume she would know what to expect in a place like that. Considering everything Percy’s been through recently, and her background, she’s holding up amazingly well.”
“I don’t give people breaks,” Shadrach said curtly. “That’s how you get walked all over, and I’ve got the strangest feeling you know that from personal experience. You’re not paying me to play nice. You couldn’t afford that. Better teach Miss Prissybritches to get ahold of herself before she gets in genuine trouble. You have any idea what would’ve happened if Pheneraxa’d been panicked enough to actually hurt someone?”
“I don’t think there’s any need to borrow trouble, we have plenty of our own. If you want to be like that, Shadrach, fine: I am no longer asking. Be nice to Percy. If you don’t have it in you to be nice, be silent. I recognize you’re being imposed on here, but you are also being handsomely rewarded and I’m not going to stand for that young woman being bullied on my watch.”
The portal mage sneered at him. “You know how easy it would be for me to just ditch you here? All I have to do is think about it hard enough and none of this is my problem anymore.”
“That’s a great idea, Shadrach, you should definitely do that. We’ll get a nice inn room and play tourist for the two days or so it’ll take Emeralaphine to wonder where we are and come get us. Then you can have the fun of explaining yourself to her on top of not getting your special glasses.”
The sneer slid from his face, replaced by a glare. “Threatening people with your dragons is a dick move, Zelekhir.”
“Threatening people who have dragons is a dumb move, Meshabedan.”
They locked gazes in silence for a handful of heartbeats. Then, reluctantly, Shadrach cracked a smile.
“Well, I’m forced to admit you’ve got me there.” He leaned forward, grinning just widely enough to show the tips of his white teeth, and lightly tapped Kaln’s collarbone with a fingertip. “You have managed to be a massive inconvenience every single time we’ve spoken, but…that’s everyone, really. I have to say you’re never boring, and that is not something most can claim.”
With a final, lingering look, he turned about and sauntered into the lounge, leaving Kaln behind to recover his own poise.
It wasn’t that he was so very ruffled by the blatant flirting, or the attractiveness of the one doing it. Shadrach was, indeed, still as unfairly good-looking as ever—and despite how he often carried on, obviously knew how to deploy it. But the impression left behind on Kaln was not desire.
On the contrary, he had ample personal experience with incredibly attractive people who skillfully flirted as a way to be cruel. With one such person, at least. The sudden recollection left a sickened knot in his stomach.
He inhaled deeply, let it out slowly, straightened his shoulders, and then stepped into the lounge to see what he could do to look after everyone, before one of them caused yet another problem.