Chapter 23 — The Baker’s Son

The next morning, Ria was up early. She thought finally having a bed to sleep on after a grueling journey would make her want to sleep in, but she was too used to getting up with the sounds of dawn now.

Though… instead of bird cries and buzzing insects, here it was the gentle lapping of water and sounds of apprentices preparing the workshops for the day’s work.

After unpacking and taking stock of her remaining inventory, Ria used the trusty stockpot and magic stones to prepare hot water for her towel bath. Her still-surviving linen breeches had become her towel of choice of late… a new towel was definitely on today’s purchase list. Soap too.

She couldn’t help sighing at the pathetic sight of the tiny sliver of scented soap that still remained. It was enough to wash her hair, and she wanted to look her best if she was buying clothes—and for first impressions. Being the daughter of a dressmaker, this was her first time shopping for clothes, and she was going to have fun!

Ria twirled in place, sending droplets of water flying from her long, wet hair.

“Wraur, woof, wup,” Ranger complained at getting wet.

“Heh, oops.”

The cool morning air felt nice on her skin as she combed out her hair with her mother’s comb. Unlike in the highlands where the chill of winter was already approaching, the gentle warmth of the fading summer had yet to leave this place.

She could probably buy a nice summer dress for cheap, now that the weather was turning colder. Though, the thought of pairing a cute summer dress with her fur coat made her chuckle at the mismatch.

A glint of morning light drew her attention to the silver comb in her hand. She rubbed her fingers over the floral motifs, and her thoughts drifted back to how much she had lost over the past two months. There was a possibility what the bandit had said about her mother’s fate wasn’t true, but…

No. She already spent too much time dwelling on what happened.

Ria forced a smile back onto her face. This was a moment she had been yearning for—that kept her placing one foot in front of the other when the cold and aches and awfulness of everything had tested her will: today she would start her new life.

Today she would make new friends and a new future for herself. In her favorite books, the characters were bold. They met interesting people and had adventures. In this new village, she didn’t have to be the shy girl she had always been. She had magic now.

Magic! Even after two months of determined and at times frustrating study, the thought still made her grin in wonder and excitement.

A knock came, and Grandma Fana poked her head in the door.

“Ria? Breakfast will be—girl, do you have an allergy to clothes or something?”

Though embarrassed, Ria couldn’t help a laugh at the woman’s reaction and waved her hand in denial. “Nothing like that. I was just washing.”

“’Suppose it can’t be helped. And better in here than out in the stream.”

As Jarrel’s mom started to close the door, an idea prompted Ria to sweetly ask, “Um… Grandma Fana? Do you have any hair ribbons that I can borrow?”

Grandma Fana looked surprised at first then smiled and nodded. “Alright, girl. I’ll go see what I can find while you get dressed.”

After Grandma Fana left and the stairs could be heard creaking, Ria chastised Ranger, “You’re supposed to warn me when someone’s coming, you know.”

“Waraur, woof.”

“No, it’s different than guarding against threats—more of a social thing.”

Ria hurried and got dressed. She would have preferred to wash her clothes as well but didn’t want to keep Grandma Fana waiting.

Escaping before Grandma Fana had a chance to complain about her outfit had been a goal, but she had missed her chance for that. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be forbidden from going outside. Ria really wanted to wander around and meet some of the other apprentice-aged kids.

Breakfast was warmed bread with butter and bacon. Bacon! And butter! Two foods that she sorely missed. A mug of chilled milk was just luxury on top of luxury! And Ranger was just as thrilled. His tail was going like crazy as he scarfed down his helping of bacon.

Grandma Fana had found a pretty blue ribbon that matched Ria’s eyes and helped with tying up her hair the way she liked—with a high ponytail keeping her hair off her forehead and neck but letting her long side bangs drape to her chest. When she saw the bow tied on top reflected in the window glass, Ria thought she looked super cute and was in high spirits.

“That lazy son of mine needs to get up,” Fana grumbled. “His breakfast is getting cold!”

That was Ria’s cue to make her exit. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine on my own. I can ask around for directions.”

“Oh, no you don’t. Not dressed like that!” came the feared response and her shoulders drooped, but there was an unexpected follow up. “Wear your coat. And be careful carrying that much coin around.”

“Thank you, Grandma Fana! Ranger will keep me safe from bad guys, won’t you?”

“Roof!”

With the bounce back in her step, she grabbed her coat and hurried downstairs, Ranger following behind. Once out of sight, she tied the arms of her coat around her waist, wearing her coat like a skirt, giving her outfit a feminine flair and probably making it even more scandalous. Ria chuckled. She was sure to hear an earful about it later, but she could tell that Grandma Fana was getting excited about having a granddaughter to spoil.

Because there were already customers in the shop when she stepped into the front room, Ria quickly made her way to the exit, hopefully before anyone could make a fuss.

“Morning, Grandpa Orlan. I’m heading out to play. I’ll be back for dinner,” she called out cheerfully.

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Grandpa Orlan waved with a smile. “Have fun and stay safe.”

Hoho! He helped facilitate her escape instead of making her sit through tedious introductions. She’d have to bring him back a treat later.

As the door was closing behind her, Ria could hear the housewives already raising a racket. It truly was a narrow escape.

Ria wanted to stop by the leatherworker's shop next door, but changing over her coins was the first priority. She waved and said good morning to the sandy-haired apprentice who was cleaning the front of the shop. The boy mostly stared in shock but managed a half-hearted wave at the last second as she skipped away.

The morning sun was just high enough to cast long shadows, and the dramatic lighting dazzling off the glass of the shop windows only added to her excitement at getting to explore a new village. Rather, wasn’t this village large enough to be considered a town?

An appreciative whistle and mutter of "by Anasari's gloriously golden abs, that fur-wearing girl’s sure a looker..." or some such came from a storefront Ria had just passed and left her momentarily stunned. It was the first time a boy had commented approvingly on her appearance.

A grin spread on Ria’s face, and she twirled in place to give him a better view. She had grown maybe two inches over the last two months, and her chest had grown some too—though not much if she was honest about it, but enough to give some shape to her wolf-fur top.

As Ria caught sight of the brown-haired teen boy paused mid-sweep in front of the shop, another great idea formed in her head. The girl sweeping nearby and making an annoyed face intimidated her a little, but Ria wasn’t a shy and spoiled seamstress’ daughter anymore. She was a battle-tested hunter and witch of the wilds—at least that’s what she told herself as she waved and bounded over to the older boy while puffing her chest out just a bit.

“Hey! I’m Ria, and this is Ranger!-”

“Woof!”

“-What’s your name?”

The boy blushed and looked to the side. “Um… I’m Leon, and this is my sister, Emily.”

“Morning,” Emily said suspiciously, eyeing the barbarian outfit. “Are you visiting Vorshan’s Hills?”

“Nope! I’m new here, and I’m staying with the butchers just down the road. Your family runs a bakery?” Ria asked, doing her best to sound friendly, but Emily’s gaze drifted to the dagger partially hidden under her coat-skirt.

“Yes, but the first batch of bread won’t be ready for a while yet, and the pies won’t be ready ’til noon,” Emily advised.

The pleasant scent of baking bread was filling the air around the bakery, and Ria took two big sniffs before saying, “It sure smells good! I’ll have to try some later. Say, since you’re not busy right now, mind if I borrow your brother to help me find my way around town?”

Leon’s eyes widened in surprise as he glanced up from scratching Ranger’s ears to look over at his sister, who sighed. “Fine, but you better be back before the lunch rush.”

“Thanks, sis!” Leon agreed excitedly and handed over his broom.

“Hahaha! Alright, Leon, let’s go!” Ria encouraged, leading him away, and seeing that he was properly keeping up, she asked, “So, first, I’m looking for Bessel the moneylender. Can you help me find him?”

“Old man Bessel, who the adults are always complaining about and calling ‘a rich bastard’ and ‘money-hoarding goblin’—that guy?” Leon confirmed dubiously.

Ria laughed. “Sounds about right.”

“Not sure what you want with a guy like that, but I know where his shop is,” Leon admitted.

“Nothing bad, I promise. Just need to exchange my old coins for Crysellian ones so I can go shopping." Ria twirled back and gave him a reassuring smile before darting off ahead and calling back, "So which way?"

Leon was stunned for a moment then let out a laugh of his own. "Left, but wait up... how am I supposed to show you the way if you keep running ahead?"

"Hahaha, how about we race? You can call out the turns. Ready, set, go!" Ria took off, still laughing, glancing back nervously to see if he was following, and he was! Ranger was right by her side, woofing and galloping along, also excited.

"Hey! Wait, Ria! You're too fast! Right!" Leon called out from behind, his flustered voice and her antics attracting the attention of the adults who were out and about.

Leon wasn't nearly as fit as she was, so she had to slow down enough to match his pace, and she would twirl back to face him, cajoling him onward every time he started to fall behind. Ria was amazed at just how much her two months of hiking and climbing in the mountainous highland wilds had improved her fitness.

When she was called to a stop by Leon, they were in the wealthier section of the village, closer to Lord Vorshan's manor. The house had a gated iron fence and a small garden being tended to by a maid.

"Hahaha, that was fun! Sorry about that, Leon. I was just too excited," Ria half-apologized and stuck out her tongue.

"H-how are you… not even… breathing hard?" Leon asked in wheezing disbelief as he caught up.

"I'm a hunter's apprentice, of course!" Ria said like it was obvious and flashed him a big grin.

He gave her an unconvinced look, but to her delight, he smiled back, though it was a bit wry. Cute.

Moving around without a heavy pack weighing her down was so much fun. Ria laughed and spun around one more time, her long hair making a cool spiral shape before settling back into place.

The dark-haired maid was staring at the commotion she and Leon had just made, or maybe just staring at the barbarian at the gate prancing around in high spirits.

"Hello, miss. Is Bessel in?" Ria called out to the maid.

The maid's mouth twitched in a fake smile, but she properly answered, "He is… but what is your business with Mr. Bessel?"

"Money, of course! I need some coins exchanged, and I heard that this is the best place in all of Vorshan's Hills," Ria said and jingled her sack of coins.

Her ridiculous response was greeted with an eyeroll. "Alright, follow me, but the dog will have to wait outside."

"Ah, okay. Sorry, buddy. Wait in the garden for me… and don't dig up anything, okay?" Ranger woofed at Ria's instructions and wandered off to investigate the plants. The whole exchange drew an odd look from Leon.

The maid led them to a windowed reception room that had a large fancy desk and chairs placed in front of it. She told them to wait there and left.

Poor Leon was still winded, and Ria felt bad about pushing him so hard. "Um… Leon. Thanks for coming along to play with me, even though you'll probably have extra work to do when you get back."

Leon looked embarrassed, glancing down and fidgeting with his hands at her sudden thanks. "Uh… sure."

Ria gathered heat energy in her palm. "Hold still for a bit, and I'll restore your energy."

"Huh?"

Pressing her palm against Leon's chest, Ria focused on casting the healing magic to restore his stamina. She didn't have much practice using healing magic on other people, so she wasn't sure if it would work, but his labored breathing eased almost immediately… his heartbeat was still a little fast though.

"Wha-? H-how?"

"It's a secret," Ria whispered with a finger on her lips.

Her ears went beet-red when she realized that she was touching an older boy's chest, and she hurried to sit in one of the chairs, which was only partially successful, as she had to move the money sack to her lap to sit properly. Ria guessed that even her newfound boldness had limits as she glanced timidly at the shocked teen boy who joined her in the adjacent chair.

"Ria… are you a witch?" Leon whispered.

Awah! Last time she said yes, she almost got arrested.

"Ah… what do you think a witch is?" Ria hedged and wouldn't meet his eyes.

Leon was watching her carefully. "…they have familiars. They make potions and call on strange powers. They charm people to get what they want. They practice dark magic and perform dark rituals."

"Hmm… well, I don't think I can do any dark magic or dark rituals… unless shadow magic counts? Does it?" Ria asked and stuck her tongue out.

"Wha-? What are you saying?" Leon stuttered in disbelief.

"It's okay. Lord Vorshan has promised me a license to practice shamanic magic, but I'm a little worried that people might still react badly if they know," Ria reassured him.

Leon looked even more shocked.

"Are you scared of me?" Ria asked and looked down at her hands gripping the money nervously.

"I don't know… did you use your magic on me?" Leon worriedly asked.

Ria tilted her head in confusion. "Well, yeah. I just restored your energy, remember?"

"No! Not that," Leon said angrily. "I mean… are you using your magic to make me… like you?"

It was Ria's turn to stare at Leon in shock. Grandma Fana was right! This outfit really is too dangerous!

But Ria couldn't help the corner of her lip from rising in triumph at her success. "Nope. I don't know how to do anything like that."

Leon's mortified expression when he realized what he had let slip was way too cute.

Ria laughed and wasn't above gloating a little.

"Shut up," Leon sulked, looking away to hide his embarrassed face.