“Granny always gives them to me for free.”
Alistar looked from the woman to Anice, consideration on his face as he read the woman’s expression. Why was he always like this? Couldn’t he just accept the gift and leave? The sun would be going down soon, so they hadn’t a moment to lose.
“I apologize for my cousin’s carelessness.” Alistar bowed deeply to the stall owner.
“Hey!”
“What a polite young lad,” the woman laughed.
He turned to Anice. “Now, won’t you pay her?”
She hadn’t brought any money since she had never needed any. “I can’t,” she said, feeling the heat rising on her face.
“Don’t mind it,” the woman said, waving a hand. “Please enjoy them.”
She looked like she wanted to get back to what she had been doing, so they left her to close up shop.
The look on Alistar’s face as he tasted the sweetness of the sugar stick was the same as when he’d gone off to play with a stray dog that one of the house servants had let onto the property. He hadn’t thought anybody was looking, but she had been able to see him from her bedroom window.
Next, she led him down South Street. This area was where many craftsmen set up their businesses, and many others aside. Buildings of all sizes lined either side of the street, and a sign hung from each shop telling of the owner’s trade. There were tanneries, breweries, cobbler shops, pottery stores, apothecaries, even a couple of salons. The majority were kempt properties, most of the simple wooden buildings built upon stone foundations, which was the most common style of architecture within the city. Anice really wanted to show Alistar the guilds on East Street, huge buildings all and wholly made of stone. The many guild banners that covered much of their walls were a grand sight, especially the frontiersmen guild, which towered over the others like the tallest tree in a forest. Unfortunately, they only had enough time to visit one place today, and so she had chosen to bring him along to the aforementioned spot by the river.
They walked on until they reached the end of the street, having gone all the way to the southern fringes of town. The Greyline River ran along the outskirts of Mayhaven, and continued on beneath the not-so-distant outer walls. While the river resided to the east of town, the section that she had in mind lay to the south of the city and so she had decided to take Alistar through the craftsman district for the sake of saving time.
I can’t wait to get there, thought Anice with an excited smile. I bet they’ll be surprised to see me.
Her father only employed about two hundred guards within his territory. Since most were busy overseeing public order, the sentries on the walls were generously spaced apart. Because of this, the out-of-the-way spot by the river that her friends hung around afforded them a good deal of privacy.
Just when they were leaving the last of the buildings behind, they drew near to several families that were socializing by one of the small townhouses that were predominant in the area. They spotted a group of children that seemed exhausted after a long time at play, their parents bidding farewell to one another as the group began to disband. Alistar had been staring at the families with a forlorn expression. Once again, he looked as sad as ever.
“Hurry up now,” she urged him, grabbing his sleeve and tugging him toward the spacious, open gates of the city walls. “We don’t have much time left until the house servants come to find us.”
Leaving the impressive stretch of South Street behind, she led him diagonally across an open plot of grass and over to a small dirt path that resided a ways away from the main road. They followed the tiny trail away from the city proper and over to the humming waters of the Greyline.
It wasn’t long before they were walking along the riverbank, passing over Big Hill—as Wood’s had named it in all his cleverness—and then penetrating into a large copse of trees. They had gone far enough that they were nearing the outer walls that separated Mayhaven from the dangers of the Tall Mountains, walls that encompassed the entirety of Distan. They were along the edge of the frontier, after all, so it was upon those walls that the sentries had been stationed, which meant that Anice and her friends were almost never interrupted.
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As they walked through the trees, a sizeable clearing opened up just ahead, an open space that hugged the river along the edges of the little woodland. This little pocket of privacy was where she spent most of her time with the others.
A small fire pit had been dug in a sitting area near the water, where several crates and crudely carved logs sat around it in a disorderly fashion. A few fishing rods were leaning against a lopsided table, a rusted, burnt out lantern resting atop its surface.
Oh, she frowned, nobody’s here.
Whether early in the morning or late in the evening, usually someone was here. It was nothing special, for the items lying around and even the location wasn’t what gave the spot its importance. Simply put, this was where she could come when she wanted to see her friends. Without them, it was just a little clearing littered with dingy crates and boxes, along with old, miscellaneous junk.
Anice turned to Alistar with a sigh, but before she could say that it was time to head home, he ran over to the table and grabbed one of the fishing rods with interest in his eyes. After inspecting it, he stared out at the water with a pensive look. “This isn’t used to catch fish, is it?”
“Ah, yes, it is. Zech made that one himself, that’s why it’s such poor quality.”
“I see.” He put it back and strode over to the fire pit where he took a seat on a small crate. Looking around, he said, “This is a nice spot.” He smirked as some thought crossed his mind. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me you hate it?”
“What?” She didn’t understand.
He shook his head, staring over at the molten sun as it began to dip behind the distant mountains. Anice didn’t want to stay now that she saw that her friends weren’t here, but Alistar showed no signs of wanting to leave. Since she was the one that had brought him here, she sat on a nearby crate and regarded him quietly.
He looked so crestfallen, his lips drooping and his eyes downcast. She had no doubt that he was thinking about his mother. What should she say to him? Even she was aware that the situation called for delicacy. Her mother had passed away during childbirth, so she hadn’t known her well enough to be terribly affected by her loss, though it would be a lie to say that she didn’t feel her absence. It was obvious that things were different with Alistar, however. Clearly, his mother had meant the world to him. Before he’d found out about her death, she had been nearly all that he’d spoken of. Anice had found it annoying. It was always, ‘Mama said this,’ and ‘Mama told me that,’ and the most common ‘When Mama gets here, we…’ Now he always stared off at something she couldn’t see.
They sat there for a long while, and soon the daylight began to fade. Bathing in the cool air beneath a magenta sky, it was Alistar that broke the silence. “Anice… Thank you for always keeping me company. I know that you’re not too fond of me, and I know that I’ve been terribly selfish these past few days, so I apologize for that.”
“That’s…”
That’s not true! Compared to her other cousins Alistar was a grand person. She didn’t particularly hate him. Sure, she teased him and said mean things to him, but that’s how she was with everyone.
“You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me.”
“But I want to!”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really,” she exclaimed, blushing a bit as she tried to find a way to express her thoughts. “I’m tired of playing by myself.” She fidgeted with her thumbs, looking away. “Stop staring at me! I told you, it’s rude to stare.”
He looked back up at the sunless sky, his expression relaxing some. “Sorry.”
He looked so sad, with his golden, silver-studded eyes squinted in thought. His usually straight posture was deflated and hunched.
“I’m sorry, too. About your mama.” He didn’t say anything. Fearing that she had spoken out of bounds, she panicked. “You know, my mama died too. I only know what she looks like from the portraits my father keeps in his chambers. I never got to meet her. Since I can remember, it’s just been me and my father. And he’s usually busy. I’ve always had to play by myself, with some servant watching me every time. So, you know, I really don’t mind playing with you. I don’t mind it at all.”
From the rush of heat that flooded her cheeks, she wouldn’t be surprised if her face were as red as her hair. She had never spoken of her mother to anyone, let alone voiced her recent feelings of loneliness. How did he get her to say something so embarrassing? He listened to her words quietly, pinching his chin in thought.
Unable to bear her embarrassment, she snapped at him. “Say something!”
Straightening up, he turned to face her and put on a tired smile. “I don’t mind playing with you, either. Even though you’re a cheat.”
“Hey!”
His stress seemed to seep away. “Let’s get along from now on.”
Avoiding his gaze, she looked around at the jumbled little camp. Trying to keep her voice level, she said, “Let’s come back tomorrow. I want you to meet my friends.”
Standing, Alistar brushed his pants clean with his hands and turned to leave. “If you don’t mind bringing me, I’d like to come. I’ve only ever had one friend, so I’d like to make more, if I can.”
“Two friends,” she said flatly. “Aren’t we friends?”
He ran a hand through his shortened hair. “Are we?”
She hopped off of her crate and strode past him with a flourish of her silver sundress, speaking over her shoulder to hide her reddening cheeks. “Call me Anne from now on. That’s what my friends call me.” She didn’t wait for his reaction, instead heading into the trees and making for the dirt path on the other side.
She hadn’t blushed this much in a long time.
Alistar chased after her and flashed a smile that lit up his features in a way that left her flustered for reasons she couldn’t understand.
“You can call me Alie.”