A week had already gone by since Maven last saw the mysterious girls tattoo and every day he had wanted to ask about it. More than that he wanted to get out of the house, he could only travel so far to the field until there was nothing but uncivilized nature in the North. He wanted to be by people, even though his hate for them was enormous. Fresh air was abundant here but some how he wished he could smell that smoke and metal that crowded the city in Norta. Catch his lungs on fire if he could.
Nina had just come back from outside, a basket of plums ready to take back to the mysterious village south of the road. Her forehead and nose sweaty, strands of hairs wet that hung behind her ears. The weather had gotten hotter in the morning and colder in the evening when the rain pours for two hours and the night becomes a blanket over the land.
"Well I'm off." Her light blue jean jacket hung off her shoulders and rest against her forearms. Hands gripped the basket.
"Can I come?"
Eyes glimpsed his sudden stance and she grinned showing teeth. "I don't think that's in your best interest of safety."
He walked fast towards her, hands ready to take the basket out of her hand. "A small town in the north doesn't have the best interest for a dead prince. Did you forget? I'm dead."
She held the basket behind her back. Posture stiffening, "Yes, but what if a smart red man has nothing to loose and sees you, a dead prince walking around, not even knowing how to say hi in his language, wouldn't you think he would enjoy some gold from the crowns of Lakelands?"
"A red man here has nothing against you. A whisper."
"Yes but nobody knows I'm a whisper, the town is a red town. If they find out there kill me before I get the chance to defend myself."
"But don't they-"
"They think the silver royals and most silvers are gods, a god that doesn't sit on a silver throne is no god to them."
His hands fell to his side thinking of his next words.
"It's very different here Maven, the Queen doesn't even acknowledge our town no matter how modern it gets. That means if they..." Her words trailed off and she watched as his face fell like a child, sad and lips sinking down. With hesitation slipping through her she spoke, "You keep your head down and mouth shut when talking to other people."
She walked off, both hand gripping the baskets. She turned around and saw him standing there waiting for a command like a dog.
"Come on."
He followed and helped with one of the baskets.
The walk along the pavement that was surrounded by trees and discarded from cars was quiet with the exception of birds and squirrels rustling around. The sun wasn't shining down but it was still bright out, no clouds.
Though thoughts ran through his head, he stayed quiet and let his ear take in the wind through the trees and the hair brushing against Nina's shoulder. He peered towards her look, eyes stayed straight forward, deep in thought, Catching him, she smiled.
"You Ok?"
He stuttered, "Uh, yea, just its really nice out."
"Yea, well it won't last long, winter can be hell if you aren't careful."
Maven grinned.
"More snow than Norta can take. Have you ever gone up North as a child, you know with your father or anyone?"
His father, he remembered, tried to take him and Cal everywhere even when Maven felt that it was just something to keep the two brothers busy, show what a real king is. Maven never thought being a brute was a king, but Cal did, and he was a King now.
Maven remebered going to Queens Lake, the closest he could get to the Lakelands before becoming a target to the wild Lakelanders that would do anything to turn in a kings head or princes body. The lake, that looked bigger than he had known, was a nice vacation home that King Tiberius grandmother owned, a house on the lake, not a palace but a vacation home where an escape would do well for winter get away or an escape from being a King.
Elara even loved the Lake, mostly because it was quiet, and her voices in her own head stayed quiet and a good place to read was a the deck that looked out into the Lake, her heart set on becoming more than a Nortan queen but also a queen of the Lakelands, piedmont and more what seemed unreachable.
Cal and him would go on hunting trip with there father, Maven glancing away when Tiberius showed him the dead deer that Cal had shot. His stomach flipping when his father forced him to skin it, crying, his mother consoled him telling him what a horrible man his brother was for killing an innocent deer. Another twist in his head that made him feel that Cal was nothing but his father, wrapped in a bow for Norta to see and use as there next king.
"We never really went up here, or anywhere, the war, even though a hoax, it wasn't a hoax to the reds that lived up here, and if it makes sense it-"
"I understand, don't want to be seen here."
"Yea, yea."
By the time they reached the town, Maven watched as barley any cars went along the grey brick road. Buildings like the forgotten burrows of Archeaon, brick and railing decorated with textured art. Every door at each building with a small tent, selling fruit, jewelry, art or other useful goods.
"Is the town all like this."
"Mostly, yes. Our streets are too old to withstand cars, so most people walk."
"Hold old are we talking about."
She stood at the ground and looked down, tilting her shoe revealing writing on the grey brick.
"Fondée en 1608 par Samuel de Champlain à Québec. Founded in 1608, Samuel Champlain Quebec City."
"How did this city survive the Calamities?"
She shrugged, "no one really cares about this city, I'm sure it was left alone, probably thought it was some part of the forest." She smiled and carried on further down the road.
"Where are we going exactly?" Maven, following close behind her heels.
"Well, first we'll drop of the plums and afterward we can visit, if you want to, a friends of mine at this library, she very lovely, kind of aloof though."
"Can she understand English?"
"Yes, quite well, better than me."
"Yours doesn't sound bad at all."
"Well my accents quite heavy and sometimes the words come out like gibberish, especially when I'm talking fast."
He did notice the heavy accent when she brought it up but forgot about it or didn't seem to mind because she'd had been the only human contact in weeks.
"If you heard any of the folk up north you wouldn't understand a thing." She laughed a little before continuing. "God they'll ridiculous up there, we really should go sometimes."
She turned around and saw him, almost smiling at the invitation.
"Do you come up her a lot, rather than you know, selling fruit."
He couldn't see it but her mood changed and as well as her tone. "Sometimes, Friday nights, there's this pub, it can be fun." She cleared her throat.
"Can I come along for that as well. Friday's tomarrow."
"Maybe."
The farmers market stretched across a street and split into two, divided up between goods and food. Four little stages to the right was a white wood stage that had brown plum baskets for 1.50 a pound.
"That's a lot for some plums."
"It just enough to keep a man living in this town." Maven turned to the voice which had a white lazy beard and wrinkly smile lines.
"Darlin, how you've been?" He came over and kissed Nina on the cheek.
"Fine, you?"
"Fine and this lad?"
"Oh um this is um, Oliver, he's from the North. Oliver this is Mr. Nadir."
"That's quit a good tongue you got from coming from the North."
"He's from some family, smarter as you can presume." She said, putting a hand on his chest as if they shared a familiar bond.
"Well, it nice to meet ya, I hope you've been helping this birdy in the fields."
"He can barely lift a basket." Nina remarked, which was only true on the first day when he picked too many for his basket.
Nadir picked up a plum and examined it in his hand, watching as the late morning sun shined on the smooth skin. "Beautiful. She's my best supplier out of all of them." Pointing at the stiff girl.
"That right?" Maven said as looking at Nina whos eyes stayed focus on the cash and coin Nadir was counting.
"230 for the weeks work."
"Thank you."
"Oh and Andre has been trying to contact you since last Friday."
She bite her lip, "Is that right? Well tell him I'll be looking for him."
"Adieu."
"Adieu."
Maven followed along and just waved in farewell.
"Who's Andre?"
"He's a friend, um he's uh not important. Kind of just a person that comes up in my life."
He could tell she was lying, not about what he was but what he was to her, something worse he thought by the way her voice chocked while talking about him.
"Oh, by the way you're talking, it sounds like he's not just some friend."
"If he's a friend or not is not really any of your concern."
Maven bite his lip, his striking tongue was too much for the topic.
"Where are we going by the way?"
"A Lake."
"A lake?"
"Yes a lake, small pool of water but not the ocean, a lake."
"I know what a lake is but why?"
"Because, since I've let you stay in my house the times I've spend time with you I notice you're quite boring."
"Boring? All you do is pick plums and-"
"And do stuff that I haven't had the time to share with you and now I am."
_____________
The lake was a nice one, that sat next to the town and the rest payed Baden to the forest and small mountainous hills. Together they stood at the dock where the sun was slowly coming to a shut making the sky a purple red.
Nina began taking off her shoes and setting them aside next to empty baskets, next she takes off her clothes leaving her with a simple under garments leaving her skin exposed.
Maven blushes slightly knowing this wasn't something he should see out of politeness. Nina caught him and grinned. In seconds she ran toward the soft and cold water and jumped in. Leaving the silent air with a loud splash. She comes up from the water, pulling her hair back from her eyes.
"Are you coming in?" Cheerful and mockingly.
As if he was teenage boy with a girl late a night he quickly took off his shoes and shirt and jumped in.
The water was cold and he wouldn't have so eagerly jumped in if he knew how cold it was. But after a dip in and his whole body submerged for what seemed like hours, his body being a boy of flame managed to stay warm within a matter or seconds and sprung up for a cold burst of air into his lungs.
"You cold?"
"No." He said with a gasp of air.