"Sure," Leo said with a smile. "Want to inform Carl before you leave?"

"Hey Carl, we're heading out!" Ryan called out.

"Alright rascals, make sure to have a fair-ry good day!" Carl's voice echoed from the back room.

Ryan couldn't see the man, but he could hazard a guess that he was laughing at the inside joke he'd just uttered.

"Did he just say fairy?" Leo asked with a bemused expression on his face.

"Shut up!" Ryan said as he groaned in embarrassment, the merchant leading the way out of the tavern with his face down, trying to hide his embarrassment.

The cool, crisp air of the day hit them face first as they stepped out of the tavern. The silhouette of Arson was still rising for its shift — the red sun's glow coming upon them. It wasn't as warm as when Arson would get to its peak, but he'd take whatever he could get.

"So, you're still selling at the Eastern gate?" Leo asked as they began their trek.

"Yep," Ryan replied a little self-consciously.

"Huh, I thought that place rarely got any traffic? Or have things changed?" Leo asked, perplexed.

"Nope, it's still the same boring part of the market, but I manage to make a few sales here and there. It could be better though," Ryan said, skipping over a dislodged cobblestone.

"So, have you considered moving?"

"I have, but it's way too expensive for me to even consider doing something like that right now. Besides, I have other pressing issues."

"Like what? What would be so important to you that you wouldn't want to leave that... place?" Leo said, seemingly changing the last word at the last moment.

"Nothing too serious, just a little hiccup. I'll sort it out today," Ryan said, opting to keep the information on the trader's fee a secret for now.

Ryan stole a glance at the big man; he seemed to be tired but happy to be there with Ryan, and it warmed his heart.

He didn't have any idea what Leo was working on or who he was working for, but the big man had taken time on his off day to see Ryan, and it was nice. At least the years hadn't torn them apart, yet.

"Have you heard from Maria?" Leo asked in a whisper.

Ryan couldn't blame the guy; Maria was his first love, after all. It must've been hard for him, watching her disassociate herself from them — from him.

"Not a single word," Ryan said apologetically.

Leo sighed and ran a hand through his sandy-colored hair, his shoulders sagging at the response.

Ryan perfectly understood the situation. His brother had probably hoped that she'd asked for him.

He remembered when Maria had just begun to give them the cold shoulder; they persisted with visiting her often, hoping that it was just a phase or that she was under duress, but she never changed.

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It got to a point that Ryan had to let Leo know the truth — Maria had outgrown them. As painful as it sounded, it was nothing but the truth.

They couldn't force her to remain friends with them; if the grass really was that greener on the other side, then he wished her the best.

It was left to Ryan to convince Leo to stop visiting her; the wiry, heartbroken boy had readily agreed then, but Ryan knew better.

He knew when Leo snuck out to try and see Maria, the boy picking up wildflowers to try and impress her.

He also saw the same wildflowers wrapped in a crude bow in the trash of the messy inn. Ryan wanted to confront the boy but knew that there was no point trying to convince someone in love to open their eyes.

They'd wake up whenever they were ready, and Ryan just had to be there when his friend did. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't there when Leo's eyes did clear.

____________

It was during one of the boy's late afternoon unannounced visits to Maria's family compound. Apparently, the foolish boy decided to confront her at her room as she had refused to meet him anymore.

As you might have guessed, it turned out to be a very terrible decision. He was caught trying to sneak into her room and handed over to the guards. The worst part of being caught was knowing who the whistle-blower was — Maria.

She'd screamed when she saw Leo at her windowsill, holding wildflowers that had been freshly plucked. The noise attracted the guards of the house who did not hesitate to capture Leo and hand him over to the town's guard.

Ryan didn't even know about all that until he got to the tavern after locking up the shop. Carl was the one to tell him.

Ryan had barely walked into the tavern before the bartender left the counter to meet him one-on-one.

"I've got bad news, kid," Carl said sadly.

Ryan couldn't understand the expression on Carl's face; had someone died... or was the old man dying? The bartender looked quite healthy to him.

"What happened?" Ryan asked, not liking the expression on Carl's face.

"It's Leo," Carl said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He was caught trying to sneak into the Brigsby mansion."

Ryan's eyes widened like saucers.

"That idiot. Where's he now?" Ryan asked.

"The barracks."

Ryan wanted to turn but found out he couldn't; Carl's left hand clamped down on his shoulder as his right offered him something — a pouch.

"Not so fast, boy. Here's five hundred silvers, might come in handy," Carl said as he freed Ryan to go.

Ryan stared in disbelief at the pouch that was being offered to him. That was more silvers than he'd made within the week. With a nod to the bartender, he snatched the pouch and ran out of the tavern, sprinting to the barracks in the middle district at full speed.

The coins jingled as they bounced in the pouch as he ran, but Ryan couldn't care less. If anybody thought to rob him of what could save his brother, there would be hell to pay.

He got to the barracks and had to go through the entire process of finding the cell that they'd thrown Leo in. Then he assured his friend that he'd find a way to get him out.

Thus began the process of haggling for Leo's freedom. You see, the thing was that the guards in Denair were corrupt and were open to suggestions when sufficient coins touched their palm.

Fortunately for Ryan, people like the Brigsby's didn't really care what happened to people they put in jail. After all, it was another low-life that had been put off the streets.

So that meant that Ryan wouldn't have to fork over too much to get Leo out of the cell. The 'negotiation' went slow as Ryan tried his best to cut the cost.

"I have two hundred silvers here, please, can you release my friend?" Ryan begged, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

"Are you trying to bribe us with that measly amount?" one of the two officers on desk duty said.

"The only reason we are talking with you is because the boy claimed that he was courting the lady, and the flowers on him help his case," the second officer chipped in.

"Ah yes, the foolishness that love drives us into. Unfortunately, that does not excuse your friend's behavior. You give us one gold, and your friend gets released," the first officer offered.

Ryan almost broke; where was he going to see one gold at this point? Ryan tried minor increments in his initial offers, but the officers didn't budge from their price.

So Ryan had to let Leo sleep over in the cell while he hustled the money.

He managed to get the money the next day, and he paid for his friend's release just to be told that Leo would only be released after three days, in case the Brigsby family wanted to visit the 'hoodlum'.

Ryan wanted to curse at them, to scream and hurl profanities at the smug-looking officers, but he kept it in for the benefit of his friend.

After three days, Leo was released, and as far as he could tell, the boy had never gone back to look for Maria.

Which made Ryan feel concerned for his brother.