“Saxa!” Lexi gasped for air. “Don’t run.”

“Why? We won’t have time if we’re slow,” she questioned.

Frida chased after the two with a sigh. “The butcher’s this way.”

Saxa stopped, turned around, and scratched her cheek. “I knew that.”

Stalls lined the street, filling every foot. Their bright banners and unusual designs grabbed Lexi’s attention. The street was full of constant buzzing of footsteps and voices as people wandered around. They were checking out stalls, negotiating prices, and bartering for the best deals. As the group navigated the crowd, the scent of freshly cooked meat floated over.

“Look.” Saxa nudged Lexi’s shoulder, directing her attention to a food stall. “Doesn’t that smell delicious?”

Drool dripped from her mouth. “Yeah.”

Saxa faced Frida with a longing expression and pointed towards the stall. “Can we?”

“Fine.” Frida sighed. She approached the stall and bought a meat skewer. “Here, you can share.”

With lively eyes, they grabbed the skewer and each took a bite. Lexi savored the rich, oily flavor of the meat as it rolled off her tongue. It tasted amazing, unlike anything they had at the church. She wondered why there was such a difference. “Thank you, Sister Frida.”

Saxa ended up devouring her half with great vigor. It only took a few moments before she had nothing left to eat. Afterward, she stared longingly at Lexi’s share, desire dripping from her gaze.

“Here,” whispered Lexi, “You can have another bite.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Frida rolled her eyes and led the pair down an alleyway. The alley was dark, quiet, and a bit gloomy. There were no people there. But on the other side, Lexi could see a continuation of the street, the cheerfulness and shining glow of the market.

When they approached the butcher shop, they noticed a group of people in front. Everyone was bargaining for better deals with a reptilian in an apron.

As Frida approached, the man noticed her. “Good morning Nun Frida.”

“Morning Mr. Rou. I have some goods for you to inspect.” She lifted her hand, referring to her ring.

“I’ll be right with you.” Mr. Rou the butcher addressed the crowd, “We can negotiate later. I need to check our supplies.”

The crowd groaned but dissipated away. The butcher walked towards Frida, noticing the children as he neared. “And who are these?”

“This is my sister Saxa and her friend Lexi.” Frida turned towards the girls. “Say hello.”

Saxa quickly waved. “Morning.”

“Hello,” said Lexi as she hid behind Frida’s skirt.

“Anyways, where can I put the crates?”

Mr. Rou led them towards the back of the shop and motioned towards the floor. “Here is good.”

With a wave, five boxes emerged from the subdimension. The butcher examined the meat inside, inspecting their quality. “500?”

“600,” replied Frida. Lexi stared at them confused.

“525.”

“They’re negotiating,” whispered Saxa.

She challenged, “550.”

Lexi was slightly dazed. “Oh.”

“530.”

“Deal.” The adults shook hands, and Mr. Rou handed over a pouch of gold coins.

Frida quickly counted before nodding her head. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“As always.”

Frida took the girls, and they walked out of the store. The group took a right and headed down a calm street. There were a few people but much less than the market.

“Where are we going now?” inquired Saxa. She was a little jumpy and excited to explore.

Frida fiddled with her bag and rings. “Potion shop. Then the Librio store.”

“Then can we explore?” expectations in her voice.

“Post office and herb shop before that,” replied Frida in a slightly amused tone as she rubbed their heads.

They headed towards the herbs shop, and Frida negotiated with the owner. Sister Fauna and Rose created some medical pastes and salves that they wanted to sell. Apparently, the owner was thankful for their previous help, so Frida easily got a good deal.

Afterward, the group strolled towards the Librio store.

“What’s Librio?” asked Lexi. She knew the butcher and potion shops but had never heard of Librio. Is it some kind of bookstore? It sounds like library.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“It’s the magic shop. Librio is the global magic hub, and this is one of its stores.”

Lexi had heard about them from June. “Oh.”

When they entered, a bell rang. Ting-a-ling. Lexi and Saxa looked up, kind of surprised.

“Welcome,” greeted a female human from the counter, “How may I help you?”

Frida nodded. She reached into her bag, pulling out Sister Lena’s package. “I’m here to sell some research papers and manuscripts.”

“Hmm…” The woman opened the package and examined the documents. “280 for everything.”

“I'd also like to purchase sparrow feathers, turtle scutes, and a bottle of black sand.” Frida pulled out a card, showing it to the clerk.

“All the items and 220 gold.”

“Deal.” And they completed the exchange.

Throughout the negotiations, Lexi and Saxa were exploring the store. There were accessories on display, all engraved or enchanted with magic. The store even had an option for magic tattoos.

“Look.” Saxa pointed towards a tattoo on Frida’s left arm. It looked similar to June’s magic circle. “I’m gonna get one when I’m older.”

“Wouldn’t that hurt?” wondered Lexi.

She grinned, “Scales don’t hurt as much as skin, and it’s better than dying.”

Lexi nodded. A tattoo would hurt less and protect you.

Frida stored all the materials in her ring, and they left the store.

When they arrived at the post office, there were people behind the counters but barely anyone else. The people were probably busy wandering the market and bargaining.

Frida approached a counter and took out some packages from her bag. She also passed over some coins. The worker took the packages and coins before shuffling around the back of the shop. He grabbed a box from the shelf and handed it.

The girls had found a seat and were talking about later.

“Did this happen last time too?”

“Eh, it was probably shorter.” Saxa pondered over the question. “Less tasks, and it wasn’t this busy.”

Lexi thought about it. “Yeah, that makes sense. So what are we doing after?”

Saxa smirked, “We’ll be free. Sister will take us anywhere we want.”

“Really? Then, can we watch the play?” Lexi remembered passing by a street performance. She didn’t have a chance to observe them because they were busy.

“Sure.”

Frida led them to the herb shop. She sold some bundles of herbs and summer mushrooms before buying Finley’s requests.

Saxa watched as Lexi examined the herbs. She had told Lexi not to touch anything because we don’t wanna cause trouble. Lexi stared at the plants, trying to remember their names or if she had seen them before. While she recognized some, most of the herbs were unknown. I should study more.

With the herbs bought and packaged, they left the store. Lexi was still in a daze as she attempted to commit the plants to memory. Of course, she failed.

When she came to, Saxa and Frida were discussing bags.

“How about a belt bag?” suggested Frida. She motioned around her waist, describing how it would hang.

“That would work.” Saxa thought about it and agreed. “Lexi would want a backpack.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s always trying to carry books with her. I need to remind her to pack light since they’re hard to carry for a long time, AND they limit movement.”

Frida thought about it. “Yeah, I can see her doing that. Do you think she’ll want a messenger bag?”

“Messenger bag?” interrupted Lexi. She knew what a backpack looked like, but what’s a messenger bag?

“Oh, you’re back.” Saxa pointed towards Frida’s bag. “That’s a messenger bag. Do you want one?”

She could carry her journal in that bag. Her eyes sparkled as she nodded. “Yeah!”

“Great. We’ll head to the tailor next.” Frida led them down a different street to a slightly crowded part of town. It was less noisy than the market, but there were still many people.

The group approached the tailor shop, and there were clothes on display. Lexi felt confused. Weren’t we talking about bags?

But everything made sense when they entered. In addition to clothes, the store had a selection of different types of bags, including customized bags. Frida found an attendant and brought the girls over.

“We’d like to see your belt and messenger bags.”

“Of course.” The attendant walked towards a corner of the store. “Please follow me.”

Saxa and Lexi both chose a bag. Saxa’s bag was sleek black with dark green embroidery lining the edges. It comfortably hung from her waist, matching her scales. In contrast, Lexi’s brown messenger bag wasn’t eye-catching. The size was slightly too big for her, wrapping around her shoulder and hanging to her knees. But she was very happy. It can hold more books if it’s bigger.

Frida paid 80 gold, with a children’s discount, for the bags. After they left the store, Saxa led the group to the street play. There was already a group of children and adults watching the performance.

It was a retelling of a fairytale: The Dragon and the Mirror.

“The dragon roared, trying to defend his homeland from the invasion,” narrated the teller. The stage mimicked the scene with shadowy figures rising from the ground. The dragon actor roared and slashed at the figures.

“But he failed. Even with its magical abilities and infinite wisdom, the dragon was no match for a world of mirrored monsters.” The dragon collapsed as the shadows climbed up, pulling it into the shadows.

“But when all hope seemed lost,” the narrator dramatically paused as the dragon looked up. A light descended from above the stage. “An angel descended from the heavens, blessing the dragon’s ability.”

“With newfound power, the dragon stood back up and protected its home.” An angel came on stage and held hands with the dragon. The shadowy figures backed away from their light and back into the shadows.

The entrance closed and all seemed well before the teller continued the tale. “But they both knew peace wouldn’t last forever. Despite that, the angel and dragon fell in love. They gave birth to a child who would become the guardian of the gates and protect the world they loved.”

“The end.” All the actors took off their costumes and came on stage. The audience cheered and applauded the performance. “We’ll be back later with The Crown of Thorns.”

“Hey Lexi, isn’t that your favorite fairytale?” asked Saxa.

“Yeah! Anto also likes it.”

“Then how was the adaptation?”

“It was awesome. Sister Frida, Saxa.” Lexi beamed. “Thanks for today. It was a lot of fun.”

“No problem,” said Saxa, “I had fun too.”

“The day’s not over yet” Frida pointed towards the sky. It was early in the afternoon. “Let’s explore for a while more before going home.”

------

Today, I went to the city with Saxa and Sister Frida. It was market day, so the streets were crowded. We visited a lot of shops to complete our chores. I saw the magic shop that June likes, the Librio. I also saw a lot of plants that I have never ever seen before. Sadly, I don’t remember all of them.

After chores, Sister Frida took us to buy bags. Saxa got a pretty belt bag, and I got a messenger bag. Now I can take my journal on adventures. I could probably fit a lot of herbs in it too.

We also saw a play about The Dragon and The Mirror. I think the ending was sad. The guardian must be lonely guarding the gates by itself.