"Woah, easy there Lycster! Thank you for welcoming me back," she said with a smile as she ruffled his hair.
"Does this mean you are safe? Did they let you go?" he asked as he looked up at her with puppy eyes.
Vy could not help but smile, the boy was too cute when he looked like that.
"Yes, I explained everything to them. They let me go for now."
Immediately, a smile formed on Lycster's face and he quickly led her back to the stall. That night, both of them and Carole sat down to have supper together. With the stall's business doing well and everything having been settled, Vy felt that it was a good time to celebrate a little.
She began to think about the ingredients to purchase for their dinner the next day. Vy recalled the meat sticks she had on her very first day in Timbretune, just the thought of the meat skewers made her mouth water.
-Maybe let's do a mini barbeque! That would be fun.-
While Vy happily thought of the food to prepare for the dinner, she did not notice someone in the distance who was looking at her intently. The blonde hair man was none other than Nestor Pollock, the antique shop keeper.
He had heard about everything that had happened to Vyrena and was intrigued by her. He took a sip from his mead mug and continued to observe her. But this did not go unnoticed as his fellow merchants noticed it.
"Look at lovesick Nestor, he must have fallen for the mysterious girl," one of them joked loudly.
Nestor did not even hear what was being said, for he was too engrossed.
One of his friends decided to prank him and shouted across in Vy's direction," Hey! Miss Vyrena! Yoohoo!"
The others burst out laughing while Nestor blushed, his face was beet red. Vyrena heard the call and looked in their direction but did not know what to do until she noticed Nestor amongst them.
She walked over to them and all of Nestor's friends were laughing away. Vy knew what they were trying to pull from their drunkard giggles and laughter, so she decided to play along.
"Can I help any of you with anything," she asked with a lovely smile.
Nestor immediately stood up and walked over to her, "Sorry, my friends are just drunk. Can I buy you a drink?"
"Oooooo" Nestor's friends echoed, thinking he was trying to make a move on Vyrena.
"I...I didn't mean it that way! I just… just…" he was lost for words and he could feel the heat rising to his face.
Vyrena found it amusing, "It's alright. I don't feel like drinking right now, but you could take a walk with me. As an apology of course."
"Yeah! Go for it, Nestor, you silly boy!"
"Go walk with her, mate!"
His friends continued to make fun of him, laughing away as they continued to drink their mead.
"Sure, why not," he finally replied, and his friends all clapped and cheered him on.
Vyrena circled her hand around his and walked him away into a quieter street. Nestor did not know what to say, everything happened so quickly. But as soon as they were alone, Vyrena let go of his arm but continued to walk alongside him.
For some time, both of them kept silent for they did not know what to say.
Finally mustering the courage, Nestor spoke up, "Thank you. Thank you for saving me back there."
Vyrena grinned, "You're welcome."
Not wanting the conversation to go silent again, Vy spoke, "So, you own the antique stall?"
"Hmm? Oh yes, yeah."
"Do you travel from town to town? Or are you permanently stationed here in Timbretune?"
"I travel from place to place. The bigger cities have bigger markets which mean more opportunities for me to find a bargain on an antique."
Nestor recalled that Vyrena had bought a book from him, so he decided to ask her about it.
"The book you bought, it was about transformation magic, right?"
Vy was stunned by his question for a moment, but kept her composure and replied, "Yes. Have you read it before?"
Nestor nodded, "Yup, I have. It is really interesting."
"Wait, you've read it? Have you tried it out then?"
Nestor chuckled and shook his head, "No. Never had the chance to try it."
"Would you like to try it?" Vy asked out of curiosity.
Nestor stopped in his footsteps, "Wait, you've tried it?"
She nodded.
"That's amazing! How did it feel? Was it cool? What type of animal did you transform into?"
"Woah woah calm down! That's too many questions Why don't you try it for yourself," Vy asked.
"But where? How…" before Nestor could finish his sentence, Vy replied.
"Tomorrow morning, before dawn. Meet me at the entrance of the town, I'll help you."