"Shit! Fuck! Shiiit! Fuuuck!"
Cursing under her breath, that was all Val could do as she gazed around in awe at this strange place called a market, where she had ended up after slipping away from the ship. The overwhelming sights, the myriad of food and spices filling the air with scents, the rainbow of colours displayed in the clothes, and the endless chatter in languages she had never heard before - it was a bewildering experience.
Never had she seen so many people gathered together in one spot, not even in the bustling port of Bear Island, which paled in comparison to this sprawling market. In every direction she turned, she saw countless faces, houses built upon houses, and what astounded her the most was the absence of violence or thievery. It was a challenge to comprehend a place where folks didn't constantly seek to harm you or steal from you or even 'steal' you, something she had grown used to in the harsh North.
And the attire of these people was utterly absurd to her. The men and women wore flimsy, colourful garments so thin that even a jagged rock would tear right through them, not to mention if they happened to run across a wolf, and even more stupid were the ones wearing those big shiny armour which would be completely useless if they happen to come across a bear. 'How would they even run in that?'
"Maybe there are no wolves or bears in the South," Val mused, "or else they'd have been feasted upon already," she thought, observing a plump individual in garish yellow clothes peddling spices with great enthusiasm
And while she had heard about the money thing from Jon and seen many of the people around her using those copper and silver coins to exchange for things like food, she just couldn't wrap her head around why anyone would ever give away good food to anyone else for those small metals that wouldn't even stop a dagger.
In the true North, there was no need for these metals, you ate what you hunted and if you wanted a knife or sword or spear, then you either make them yourself and, if you can't, then you can exchange that for stuff you have like meat, animal skin, fruits etc and if you can't even do that then you just loot them from someone weak who has them.
And she was exactly having that itch to loot at the moment seeing people selling so many different kinds of things, some had so many unique colours and shapes of fruits while others were sitting on piles and piles of fish, she had never seen so much fish in her life, she was sure that they could feed a few clans with them. It was pure torture for her to see all these fat sheep around walking without a care in the world.
And it would be so easy for her to steal from these stupid Southerners as barely one out of ten of them were carrying any kind of weapon on them as if they didn't even think that anyone would try to rob them and they may need to protect their stuff. She could just take whatever she fancied and these fat asses probably wouldn't even be able to run after her.
But then she remembered what Jon had said about stealing not being allowed here and if someone still steals then the king sends an army after them and then cuts their hands off if they are caught. So she stopped her hands from wandering as much as she could as she had no desire to confront an entire army for a few stolen fruits.
"Step right up! We got Fresh Bacon and Fish!"
Just as she was grappling with lost opportunities, a man's boisterous call for food caught her attention, making her wonder if he was bragging about it. He was standing outside a somewhat big open house but it was a weird one as it didn't seem to have any place to sleep instead it was filled with a dozen chairs with every one of them having a few people.
"My Lady! Beautiful Lady! Yes, You!" the man suddenly said enthusiastically to her when he caught her staring inside, "Do you want to partake in our food? I promise! you won't be disappointed,"
"Are you talking to me?" She asked and when he nodded happily she continued with wide eyes, "Are you saying I can eat anything I want?"
"Of course, Mam," the man said enthusiastically, "We got Fish, Bacon, Porridge, Bread, freshly baked pie and a lot more, you will definitely be satisfied. Come! Come inside," he said half pushing her in and making her sit at a table.
And just like that, the beautiful Wildling went into a tavern for the time in her life... Not that she knew what a tavern was...
...
Approximately an hour later, Val groaned in discomfort as she stuffed the final piece of pie into her mouth. Ever since she entered this strange establishment, she had been indulging in an endless stream of unfamiliar dishes, each one a new sensation: spicy, sweet, meat, vegetables, and more.
And the funny thing was she didn't have to name a single one as the man who had bought her would come to her table every few minutes and say the names of a few dishes and ask her if she wanted them and all she would have to do was nod and he would swiftly bring them to her. That was how she found herself sitting before a table that was groaning under the weight of the plates that she had emptied.
"Anything else, Fair Maiden," the man came again and even though he was sweating from having gone back and forth constantly over the last hour to serve her, he still had a smile on his face.
Val looked down at her newly acquired round belly and reluctantly shook her head. "Nay, I'm full," she replied. She didn't know if she would ever get a chance like this in the future and she wanted to nod her head so much at the moment but she knew her body very well and knew that if she took another bite then she would definitely be sick and puke everything that she had eaten.
Which was a novelty in and of itself, as she never imagined that she would ever get sick due to overeating.
Val rose from the table with a contented belch, offering the man a charming smile and a wave of gratitude for the bountiful feast he had provided. With a light skip in her step, she began heading towards the exit, feeling pleasantly satiated.
"Mam! Madam, you forgot to pay, Haha," the man called out, hurrying to catch up with her, forcing a laugh that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Val tilted her head in confusion, "Pay? For what?"
"The money," he replied, his smile faltering.
Her brow furrowed, "Money? Wasn't it free?"
"Of course, it wasn't free," he hissed, finally losing his smile, he had lost a few stones of weight while running back and forth, serving her like a slave and watching as she ate enough to feed three big knights and now she was saying that she wasn't going to pay.
"Oi! You're the one who forced me to come in and started putting dishes one after the other without saying anything about the money, I thought I didn't have to pay,"
Laughter erupted from the nearby tables, particularly from a group of men sitting on her right. Among them were five men, two of whom were identical twins, enjoying their meal while standing the other three were standing behind them, and of them, two were wearing armour and a sword at their waist while the last was a timid-looking, rotund boy with a moon-shaped face, around 12 years old. Unlike the others, he regarded Val with a sense of pity and refrained from laughing.
"H-How could you not think that you would have to pay?" the man asked her dumbfoundedly.
"It's your fault for not saying anything at the start, and I got no money anyway so it's your bad luck," she shrugged and turned around to leave.
Before she could go, the man blocked her path with a fierce expression, "You can't leave here after so much, little lady, you're going to pay for it one way or another..." he leered at her body with a gaze that she she was all too familiar with.
The fierce smile that appeared on her face scared the shit out of the man for a moment, making him step back and just as she was contemplating stabbing him and running away, a voice came from behind her, "I'll pay for the lady,"
Turning around, she saw one of the twins speaking while the other encouraged him with encouraging pats on the back, urging him forward. Hobber, as she heard him being called, approached her haughtily, tossing a gold dragon at the man blocking her path. He wore one of those brightly coloured, flimsy garments that she had seen on a few people before.
Hobber bowed before her and said arrogantly, "May I have the fair lady's name?"
"Val," she replied, finding the whole encounter rather peculiar. She assumed it was one of the courting rituals of the Southerners, but she had no interest in entertaining a weak man like him. With a snort, she turned to leave.
Hobber's face fell as he saw her walk away before he turned around to look at his brother who immediately facepalmed and exclaimed, "Go after her, you idiot,"
He nodded and immediately went after the most beautiful girl he had seen, other than Margery of course. He caught up to Val not far away, near an alley, and inquired, "Which noble house do you belong to, My lady?" he assumed she was noble seeing how pretty she was as he thought that only nobles would have such beautiful blonde hair and white skin. He wanted to know where she was from so that he could properly court her.
"What? What do you mean a house?"
"What?" Hobber asked confused, "You're not a noble?"
"No," she said absentmindedly before walking away.
Hobber's demeanour changed immediately. He pulled at her elbow with a leering smile, "Hold on, girl. You can't just leave without repaying me," his earlier thoughts of courting had faded now that he saw her as a mere commoner, he was sure that his family name would be enough to get the girl into his bed one way or another.
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