~ Amber ~

“Amber!” Vulga’s voice came from downstairs.

Amber, who was in her room, turned her head to the door. Ruby, who was several feet away, also looked over.

The twins had been working on tidying up their room during the morning hours. While both were quite good at keeping clutter from growing, it had been a while since they had swept and dusted, and the entire room had taken on a dirty atmosphere. Thankfully, Ruby had a lot of experience from their time growing up keeping the house well-kept, and Amber was good enough at following her sister’s directions that the two of them were making good pace.

Amber looked over at her sister, who had gotten back to dusting.

“Ruby, I’m going to go see what Vulga wants, okay?”

Ruby nodded in response.

“Sounds good. I’m going to keep working at this.”

Amber headed downstairs to find Vulga in the kitchen, frowning slightly while looking into the cupboard.

“Amber,” she started, “It looks like we’re out of food. Would you mind running to the market and picking up something for us? I’ll leave it up to you what we eat tonight.”

“Sure,” Amber slowly agreed, “But is there any reason you can’t do it?”

Vulga gave her a long look, which elicited a light groan from Amber.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Amber retorted, “I was just curious.”

Vulga looked away, not completely comfortable with this line of conversation. Amber immediately noticed her discomfort, and made an attempt to calm her down.

“If it’s too much, you don’t need to tell me,” she offered.

Vulga shook her head.

“No. With all you’re doing for me, you deserve an explanation,” she acquiesced.

“The truth is, I’ve spent the last month or so looking for work. I know you two can look after yourselves, and despite the Selection coming up, I know I need to find a long-term answer to my financial problems. I think I found a place that I can help with, and I have an appointment to meet the owner later.”

Amber nodded slowly, fully understanding the situation. If anything, she was just glad that Vulga was finally being open about this. It simply reinforced her decision to participate in the Selection.

Understanding her goal, Amber made her way out of the house and walked toward the city’s market.

Clove City was split into six different districts, each of which held a different purpose. The Agriculture district was where Amber and Ruby spent most of their time. The main purpose it served was to provide the city’s food supply, and it was by far the most spacious district. Unlike the other districts, which were similar in size and largely singular, the Agriculture district described the outskirts of the city for all 360 degrees, looking like a ring around the other five districts.

Four of the five remaining districts were shaped like quadrants of a circle, with the fifth making up the very center. The market district, which was Amber’s destination made up the southeast quadrant, and was the commercial center. The Common District made up the southwest quadrant, closest to Vulga’s residence, and it housed most of the residency for the city. In particular, it was where Allium, Lamina, and Lily lived. The Noble District provided the housing for the upper class in the northwest portion of the city. The final quadrant district, the Production district, provided services to the other districts. In a sense, it was an extension of the commercial districts, only rather than selling goods it produced them.

The center of the city, the Royal district, was where the palace sat, as well as all of the governmental and military headquarters. The Kingdom Academy was also in this district, which trained future leaders and soldiers in politics, history, and warfare.

The walk from Vulga’s home to the market district was about forty-five minutes, which spoke to how dense the inner city was. The most efficient path was to go straight into the city until reaching the Central road, usually just called the Central, which was a wide road that ran around the perimeter of the Royal district. The Central, due to being close to the center of the city, could easily traverse between districts, and most general sellers attempted to position themselves close to the Central as a result. However, both Amber and Vulga knew better than to shop at the closest sellers, as they often had the longest lines.

After a long, boring walk that Amber had long grown used to from her visits with Vulga, she finally reached the market that their household frequented. It was similar to a farmer’s market from her world, somewhat tucked away behind the Central markets. Not only was the produce high quality, but Amber had become familiar with a number of the vendors, making her far less anxious during her visits.

Amber made her first stop at a booth that she was very familiar with, and her arrival prompted a smile from the owner.

“Why, if it isn’t Amber!” the owner exclaimed with a smile.

“Good morning, Manior,” Amber greeted, “How’s business?”

Manior’s smile turned into a smirk.

“Quite well this morning. As a matter of fact, I’m having the best sales in half a year!”

The two had met about three months after Amber had arrived in Clove City. Vulga was a longtime customer of Manior’s, and his stand was the first one that she brought them to at the time. The middle-aged man had immediately taken to the pair of girls, and always remembered to greet them personally whenever they came around.

“Tell me,” Manior requested, “How’s Vulga doing these days?”

“She’s doing all right,” Amber informed him, “She’s probably had better days but she’s getting along fine, I guess.”

“Well, tell her I’m always willing to help an old friend out if she needs it,” he offered magnanimously, “Now, how’s little Ruby doing? It’s been a while since you two came together.”

“You know, I should be offended, since calling Ruby little is basically calling me little too, right?” Amber deadpanned, “Well, I guess it’s fine. Ruby’s doing okay. I think she’s still a little unsure with what she wants to do with herself.”

“That can happen around that age. I have a girl about ten years older than you two, and the transition to adulthood was tough for her. I think she was talking at one point about running off with the local barber’s son or something. I mean, the kid was ridiculous. He kept going on about how unfair the world was, without actually saying why, and being the son of a barber sported a ridiculous looking mohawk. I’m grateful that phase in her life only lasted so long.”

“I, uh, don’t think that will be an issue for Ruby,” Amber replied hesitantly, “She’s a lot like me, and neither of us really want that kind of…excitement in our lives.”

“That’s good,” Manior commended, “Look for something that will keep you going, day to day. Don’t get wrapped up in big dreams only to lose sight of the here and now.”

Amber couldn’t respond, so she simply looked away nervously. After all, she had a big goal for the future, and the very idea of it had dictated the way she lived her life for the past three years.

After a few minutes of back-and-forth, Amber decided on the ingredients she wanted to buy, and Manior was happy to supply her with what she wanted. The main shopping done, Amber headed back toward the Central Road.

During her walk back, she pondered Manior’s advice. The man wasn’t one to often give unsolicited advice like this, as he was more the type to talk about his own life, past and present. Amber could remember numerous stories he had told while she was shopping with Vulga, and it painted the picture of a man who really wanted to be less normal, to have excitement in his life.

In that instant, though, it was as if Manior had seen right through Amber and her greatest desire. Amber’s greatest goal had left her with little in her life outside of preparation. In her mind, she was mainly training to be self-sufficient; fit enough to be able to physically labor for extended periods, intelligent enough to make informed decisions when under pressure, emotionally strong enough to be able to both keep her own self under control and be assertive in a group. She had plans: soon, she wanted to start training in a form of martial arts or weapon-based combat, and she wanted to find books that would help her survive when traveling in uncharted territory. All of this was to make sure that she could find Jasper, and bring him back alive.

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However, Manior’s words struck a chord. Had she been doing enough to keep herself happy in the meantime? Sure, she had been working hard and never found herself bored, unlike Ruby, who often complained about not having enough to do, but was she really enjoying what she was doing?

These thoughts were interrupted by a large force crashing into Amber’s back, knocking her to the ground. Thinking fast, she threw her arms out in front of her to cushion her fall, just as she had done while running many times in the past.

Using her bent arms to push herself up quickly, she could see someone running off in the direction she had been walking. It appeared to be a man of unknown age and a decent build, but his black clothing and conspicuous hood made it impossible to make out any features from this distance.

Checking herself over, she noted that she had only sustained a minor bruise on her knee, and the rest was just minor scratches. However, before she could finish, another figure slammed into her at full speed, knocking her onto her side this time.

“Ow,” she murmured, trying to turn her head and see who had run into her this time. She could see it was a male, but no more from the poor angle.

A groan could be heard coming from the person above her, implying that whoever had run into her had gotten quite banged up from the fall himself. After a moment, his weight disappeared from Amber’s side, and she was able to stand up.

As she got to her feet, she observed the boy. The first thing she noticed was that he wasn’t much older than she was, likely within a year or two of her. He was slightly shorter than she was, and seemed to have a lean build. Despite this, he carried himself with confidence, almost as if he was raised to do so.

“I’m sorry for running into you,” the boy offered his apologies, “I was in a hurry, and I was distracted for a moment.”

Amber nodded, rubbing her side.

“It’s all right,” Amber accepted, “What were you in such a hurry for, if it’s not a problem?”

His eyes widened immediately as he scanned the area behind Amber, before his face fell in despair.

“No,” he murmured, closing his eyes, “Damn it!”

“Uh, hello?” Amber waved, “You okay there?”

He shot a slight glare at her before quickly recognizing what he was doing. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, this isn’t your fault. Why don’t we find somewhere to sit down, and I can explain the situation?”

“Sure, but can you give me a name to work with?”

His eyes widened.

“Oh! How rude of me!” he exclaimed.

The boy stuck his hand out formally.

“I am Mint.”

Amber grinned and shook it.

“I’m Amber,” she introduced, “It’s nice to meet you.”

The two made their way off the central road, into the heart of the Market district, where Mint found a bench large enough for the two of them. When they arrived, he offered her a seat as if it was second nature.

“You don’t need to do that, you know,” Amber explained neutrally, “I’m not one of those, ‘Wait on me’ types.”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” he replied, “Isn’t it normal for the man to offer the seat to the woman first?”

Amber shrugged and accepted the seat. Mint promptly sat next to her, about a foot of space separating them.

“So, I’m curious to hear what you have to say,” Amber lead, “It’s not exactly all sunshine and roses when someone slams into you at full speed.”

Mint chuckled at her quip.

“I suppose not,” he conceded, “Well, it’s a bit of a long story.”

“I have time.”

“Very well, then,” he responded.

“I was chasing a man dressed in black, hiding his face.”

“He ran into me, too!” Amber exclaimed, “What a jerk!”

Mint gave her a wry grin, before continuing.

“The man had stolen something important to me. Around twenty minutes ago, I was walking along the Central Road when he bumped into me. I turned to scold him for his carelessness, but he was already running at that point. I immediately gave chase, while taking stock of my possessions. Sure enough, he had pickpocketed it from me. I followed him for a few minutes but, as you can probably tell, I am not especially built for running. I was already beginning to tire, but when he stumbled for a moment, I took the chance to speed up. A couple of seconds later, you stood up, clearly after he had knocked you over, and I wasn’t able to slow down in time or change my course.”

“So, in essence, you were chasing a thief?” Amber summarized.

Mint nodded, his fist balling.

“Wow, I’m sorry then,” Amber apologized, her eyes downcast, “If I managed to get out of the way in time then maybe…”

Mint shook his head firmly before she could finish.

“No, it’s not your fault. He ran into you, too, and I’m not sure anyone could manage to slow him down like you did and get out of the way in time even if they knew I was on my way, let alone in your case.”

Suddenly Mint’s eyes widened in realization.

“I apologize, was that too harsh?’

Amber was surprised at his change in demeanor. She could only guess that his politeness and earnestness had come from a place of shyness or discomfort, but he had been quite firm after she apologized.

“Seems like there’s more to you than meets the eye,” she murmured, a wry grin forming.

Unfortunately for her, Mint heard her comment, and looked away uncomfortably.

“Not really, actually,” he denied, “I’ve always been the average one in my family.”

“Average?” Amber repeated.

“Never mind,” Mint quickly retreated, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Are you sure?” Amber asked, “I mean, I’m a middle child, so I might have some idea what you’re talking about.”

“Middle child?” Mint echoed.

Amber covered her mouth to hide a giggle.

“I guess it doesn’t really count in my case, since I’m a twin, but I am technically a middle child in my family.”

“Could you tell me about them?” Mint requested, “I need a bit of positivity right now after what just happened.”

Amber pursed her lips, considering the boy in question. On one hand, they had just met, and it was a bit soon to be talking about personal issues. On the other hand, she had plenty of happy stories to tell, and something about Mint told her that he wasn’t a threat. After a minute, she decided to go ahead.

“Well, my twin sister and I escaped an orphanage once,” Amber described.

Mint blinked, clearly not expecting her choice of story.

“What is that about?”

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ve been adopted since,” Amber quickly mentioned, waving her hands, “It’s just that we were dealing with a rather cruel caretaker, and so my sister Ruby and I plotted the escape of all the kids in the orphanage.”

“So you all managed to escape, then get adopted later?” Mint questioned, beckoning for the story to continue.

Amber’s face fell.

“Actually, no,” she admitted, “Our group split into two halves part of the way there. Of our half, one of the girls didn’t make it all the way here.”

“Oh,” Mint’s smile fell as he faced the ground.

“Yeah.”

An awkward silence fell between them, before Mint decided to try again.

“You mentioned you were a middle child earlier. Can you tell me about your family? You said you have a twin sister.”

A smile began to return to Amber’s face when hearing that.

“Her name is Ruby. She’s the younger of us two. She’s a little less outgoing than I am, to whatever extent I am anyway, and she’s not quite as optimistic as I am. But otherwise, we’re a lot alike. She’s incredibly kind and sensitive, perhaps more than me, and she can be really stubborn when she knows what’s right.”

Amber leaned over to whisper the next part, a mischievous smile appearing.

“And between you and me? She’s way prettier than I am.”

Amber wanted to laugh at the expression that popped up on Mint’s face when she said that, with his eyes widening and cheeks turning red. Clearly wanting to change the subject, he forced out another question.

“And what about the older one?”

Amber’s smile grew, though her eyes took on a faraway look.

“That was our older brother, Jasper. See, even back when we still had parents, they never really cared about us at all, none of us. Jasper decided when we were young that he was going to take up that role, and he became our idol of sorts. He was the one who taught us how to do everything, he was the one who comforted us when we were sad or scared, and he never showed weakness in front of us. He was incredibly protective, and he was always there whenever we needed him. He was like a superhero.”

“Sounds like it,” Mint agreed, “What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Amber’s smile faded, and she sighed.

“He went missing three years ago,” Amber admitted.

“Oh no.”

Mint took on a thoughtful expression, before revealing his thoughts.

“He kind of sounds like my mother,” Mint revealed, “She was a lot like that. Very kind, caring, but also intensely protective.”

Mint sighed heavily.

“Actually, the thing that was stolen from me?” he confided, “That was something she gave me. A locket.”

Upon hearing this, Amber made a snap decision. She stood up incredibly quickly, her face hardening with resolve.

“Well, then what are we waiting for?” she exclaimed, “Let’s go get it back!”

Mint’s eyes widened.

“You wish to help?” Mint asked incredulously, “You owe me nothing, so why…?”

Amber met his eyes, confident in her decision.

“You’re my friend,” she stated as a fact, “And I want to help my friend reclaim what he has lost.”

Tears began to well up in Mint’s eyes at her declaration.

“You…you…” he stuttered.

Blinking, he immediately took out a handkerchief and rubbed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Amber,” he apologized, “It’s just that I don’t have many people who would do what you just did.”

“You don’t?” Amber inquired, “Not even one?”

“There is one,” Mint laughed, “He’s a lot like you. I think you’d get along very well.”

Amber grinned, then held out her hand. Mint immediately took it, a matching smile on his face.

“Your Highness!”

The pair turned to look at the disruption, before Mint groaned in agony.

“I should have known they’d find me.”

Three men in Kingdom Guard uniforms were approaching them, looking quite unhappy with what they were seeing.

“Your Highness!” the middle soldier addressed, “What in the world have you been doing? We’ve spent the last two hours looking for you!”

Mint put a hand on his forehead in exasperation.

“I’ve been out here in the city, like I said I would be.”

“You were to remain with an escort while you were out and about,” the same man scolded, “Do you know how worried we were when we realized you had vanished?”

“Highness?” Amber squeaked, suddenly very afraid.

Mint turned to look at her, a slightly sheepish smile appearing on his face.

“I’m very sorry, Amber,” he apologized, “I may have forgotten to fully introduce myself after we ran into each other earlier.”

He stood up straight, suddenly radiating a strong aura of confidence.

“I am Mint Clovecrown, Third Prince of Aurem. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”