"Are you satisfied now?"
Eldric took a moment before he answered, his cheeks bulging from the sugar-coated fruit he was eating. "Who wouldn't? I'm eating good food on this beautiful evening with a lovely lady." He grinned. "Life is good."
Lia looked at him deadpan. Eldric winked.
"If you're done, we can leave now."
Eldric held up a finger and waggled it, before dumping his trash on the bin with flair. "I see a line over there. We can't leave without checking it out first."
He held her wrist and tugged at it. His grip firm yet had enough leeway for her to wrestle out her arm from his grasp. Lia stared at him. He stared back, his eyes reflecting good humor and something else. Like he was suddenly unsure of himself. With a sigh, Lia took a step forward, causing his face to lit up.
"I bet it is tasty if people are lining up for it."
Apparently, that was his opening line to every stall they visited. His curiosity was infectious, his appetite insatiable. In the end, he paid for everything that they had eaten.
"That last one was good! And the way they made the bread into a fan was really brilliant and lovely. I almost couldn't eat it."
The corner of Lia's lip's quirked up. "Say someone who gobbled it up immediately."
Eldric laughed out loud in response.
Lia huffed. "The soup with boiled radish and meat was delicious too. I could eat it for days." The meat was tender and the taste flavorful but not over tasty. Plus the warmth of the soup was perfect for a cool-weather like this. Maybe her mother knew how to make it? Lia could ask her for help to recreate the recipe.
She stopped walking when she saw him smiling at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Eldric shrugged. "Ah, well. So you're the type who likes soups."
"Yeah, so?"
"Nothing." In a quiet voice, he added, "Another great thing to know about you."
She rolled her eyes. She knew better than to believe his words. Especially not after seeing the way he worked his charm into the women in his company.
They walked side by side, quietly enjoying the night breeze. It was like what Eldric said, it felt nice. The comfortable silence filled Lia, and for once, she felt like all of her fears and worries drifted away. They strolled around and window-shopped at the stalls, laughed at the amusing things they found, and mused over the curious things when something caught Lia's eyes.
Eldric followed her line of sight. "Do you like that?"
Lia shook her head. "Let's go."
"They all looked nice. Let's have a look?" He went to the stall without waiting for Lia. "Beautiful but a bit quirky."
"You have a good eye, sir. But what's popular these days are these," the seller gestured at the different assortments of cheap jewels used for tassel pouches and hair ornaments.
Eldric turned to Lia, "What do you think?"
But Lia was fixated on the other design. She took one with a quill design. "These aren't popular?"
The seller grimaced. "No, not so much. Not a lot of people know this. You know, us commoners don't know about writing!" He gave a hearty laugh which Lia and Eldric did not join. "I'm surprised you know about this, miss."
He stared hard at her as if considering if this was a wealthy young lady beyond her well-worn shirt and pants.
Lia gave an embarrassed smile and scratched her temple. "I saw Old Bart using one of those and thought they looked elegant."
The seller joined Lia in a laugh as he continued his sales talk. Meanwhile, Eldric looked sullen.