The voices of my family vanished when I went further in the corridor. I turned left, went down some stairs then took another straight corridor to its end. I took the straight stairs up in front of me to get to a hallway with numerous windows in both sides, left ones opening on the outside and the others giving a view of the spacious dance hall.
The sunlight was filtrating through the corners of the closed windows and bothering my eyes, so I was constantly looking at the hall.
I got excited about imagining the success party of my father and the people dancing in the place of those swaying shadows from the outside, when I felt my foot slipping on the first staircase.
I skipped a step, my foot hit the edge of the next while my other foot was still up, thus I lost my posture and was falling toward my face.
My hands were on my pockets, so I had no physical way to block the shock with the staircase. I hit it directly in all my weight force, fell again toward my back, but this time I used the impact to jump on my face and landed on my feet after a flip.
"Ah my neck" I started massaging it "I didn't think throughoutly about that" I cracked it down and right, then cracked stretch my back, the pain disappeared.
I turned back and went upstairs to see the damage I have caused. My funny expression was printed there and the surface was deformed.
Maybe you are wondering if my skull is far firm than granite to inflict such deformation, but it's not, I have a normal skeleton, slightly fragile than a normal human to be exact. I can use my witch craft to change the consistence of objects near me, make them solid or fluid, and I made the staircase fluffy earlier, I can't turn it back to normal unless a half hour pass.
"Damn, Carl would kill me if he saw it. Mentioning him, I'm late, I will fix it when we go back before he passes from here and see it."
"Fix what before I see it?" Carl voice said under me.
I went down and peeked to the other stares compartment. He was standing there, in his shopping clothes, and looking up toward me.
I kept going down to him "Oh, nothing really"
"If you can fix it don't worry about it" he responded seriously.
"Oh.....yeah!"
I finally reached him, he grabbed my face with his right hand, his fingers on my cheeks, and turned my head right and left. "You were late, guess you fell on the stairs. But not apparent bruises. What about your neck?" He placed his two first fingers on it in a circular way.
"I'm fine."
"Yes you are, just minor stiffness I suppose". He removed his hands and looked into my eyes "Let's go!" and walked away.
We took another few turns till we got to the kitchen.. This is the biggest kitchen, customized to service the great hall, but we go out from it's backdoor cause the other main doors are big to open them every time. And it's on the town side so it's nearer to come out from here than from the other door and take the turn from the garden and the outside walls of the castle.
We have another kitchen obviously near our dining hall, it would've been unpractical to take all the trajectory to get food from here
"Your hooded jacket is on your right" Carl told me when he was opening the door.
I was listening to the locks cracking, slowly zoning out "Oh yeah".
I took the hooded jacket from the handle on the right beside the door and wore it. Under it was my money sack and a belt. I took the belt, placed the first circle around my hip and suspended the sack on the left angle of it, then took the second circle and tightened the jacket from the waist.
Carl was waiting outside, I put on my hood and followed him.
It was so bright, I was flashed out for a moment. The breeze was nice and the rustle of leaves was pretty comfortable.
I got my sight back. I stood there looking to the blue sky and feeling the wind playing in my clothes . It was refreshing to step outside after being in my room for two whole days.
"Hey! Aren't you coming!" Carl shouted from far away , he was on the first step to go down.
I don't understand this frequent change in the way he addresses me, sometimes as his master, sometimes his pal. I'm much comfortable with his casual attitude though.
"Yes, coming" I moved in my awkward rush walk. Passed under the trees shadows, crushing the fallen leaves in amusing rhythms.
If you peak and gaze behind the white trees branches, under the cliff where our castle was built, you could see the town's silhouette defined by the ochre buildings.
I reached the little steps covered by grass, and went down looking at my boots to not miss my footsteps.
It was just me and the path, my breath whisper and my feet noises, the trees movements I perceive in my black projection, but no insect buzzing nor bird shipping or squirrel squeaking.
The nature silence was weird, as it cannot be considered nature without her liveliness and melodies. But that didn't matter, a mere castle garden is no nature when it was created by humans, it's a cheap knockoff out of the disorder's beauty.
I looked around me, to the trimmed grass, the peeled tree duvet and the interlocking branches in an architectury manner. It's dazzling by human standards but it's maybe weird for animals to be in such sort of cage.
''heh…" What the hell am I thinking! Guess that what happens when you don't sleep much, you snap out of it or you start projecting unrelated events on your existence. Maybe they are just asleep or it's some annual migration. Yeah sleeping in bright daylight. I've seen a lot of them when I did my activities here or went for a pleasant walk accompanying my mother. .
"Aaah, I overthink so mu.uu.uuuch". I slipped on the last two steps. The grass was soft so I rolled and stood up easily.
Carl was opening the small gate. I took the pavement road and run slowly to not make him wait again.
"Are you not feeling well? I can always get you what you are searching for, while you can take a rest" he was grabbing the open gate not opening it.
"No, I'm not tired at all. Moreover, it's not just about the book, I want to see how the city is doing"
"Alright" he opened the way for me "Just watch your steps"
"Yeah, don't worry about me" I went outside to the square separating the Castel from the city entrance "You lead the way"
He closed the gate and went in front of me "Stay near me to not get lost"
We went on steady steps, taking way between the popular allies after deviating from the main road, somewhat of a shortcut to get to our destination.
There was no small talk, no single conversation, I was just following his back when sometimes I contemplate my surroundings. I couldn't find any topic that could draw his attention, yet to be just fluent and not imposing.
The things we talk about daily are just some answers for my needs or checking of my well being, sometimes some little jokes that flew in a specific context. I'm not really good at interactions since I only read books and do activities alone, practically a shut in, but I could only feel guilty of how awkward the atmosphere feels.
"Is it like you remember it?" he broke the silence.
I checked the streets we're in. Children playing ball and enjoying in happy excited faces, women gossiping in front of the homes doors in pairs, and some other people stealing glances to our direction.
Seeing people living their small peaceful life was pleasant.
I continued walking examining my surrounding and the shape of the buildings. It was looking old and deteriorating, that is evident considering the city's conditions.
A rolling ball hit my foot, It was those boys. They were so hesitant to approach me, maybe cause of my hood giving me a mysterious dangerous look. I removed it, and grabbed the ball lifting it with two hands toward my chest
"Yeah, the city's not in her best condition" I answered Carl quietly.
"Hey! Catch!" I threw the ball friendly to the closest one of them. He caught it and they looked to each other. "Keep the fun." I told them when genuinely smiling. There expressions brightened and they smiled back [Thank you big brother!] and they got back to it. I stood for a moment admiring them tenderly.
I turned back to Carl "But the people still the same, and that what matters"
He smiled slightly "of course people are what makes a city, they are who differentiate between entities. The same way ingredients differentiating every meal despite the pot I put them on. Talking about groceries, quicken up your steps for me to go back and have time to make dinner"
Always preoccupied by his duty, but that what makes him a master of his work.
We started moving again in a quicker pace after I put on my hood to hide my face.
We finally got to the vast open space, the city center were the hebdomadaire market was held.
From where we were, I could see it all; the colorful paravents and the disorder movements. All genders of people were gathered here around the giant fountain. We went down some steps to join the crowd.
It was lively, the merchants yelling out their merchandise and prices, the people going around negotiating or talking about the problems they face at a daily basis.
I felt some excitement or maybe anxiety looking at how people can pass their lives despite the tough conditions.
I won't deny that the products were not high quality but they are good to make a far proper meal if in skillful hands, and I saw those hands picking the finest ingredients among others with such delicacy in front of me.
He was another person, interacting vividly with others. I was just following him around while he was adding other bags to his carrying.
"Ok, that would do it" he checked the bags he was carrying all over his body, he didn't let me give him a hand in his grocery shopping.
He rotated his ring, it shone faintly then the groceries disappeared. It's a space storage ring. He adjusted his clothes "Alright time to go get your book". He turned around when I spotted a little boy's silhouette sitting on the side, folded to his knees.
"Wait a minute" I paced toward the boy, lowered my face and asked him after I had removed my hood "Are you okay?".
His face came out from his shell, it was dirty, he looked at me silently with his big innocent eyes. It was apparent that he was hungry, I took out my money sack and so two golden pieces "Here. Take that to buy some food and go to the public bath, you could easily grab a disease in your current condition".
He was daydreaming looking at the two pieces on my hand in some glances to the other hand grabbing the sack money. He reached slowly to them, then his expressions changed to a malice smile before snatching my sack. I tried to grab his hand but it slipped. He run away blinding in the crowd.
"That wasn't supposed to happen" said Carl behind me
"Yeah I got deceived, my bad I should've been more careful from a little thief" "But I want blame him, he needs that money more than me"
I looked to Carl's face darkening. "What's wrong, it's just a little money, why the gloomy face?"
His expressions returned to normal "But it was the money for your book, I don't have any on me, I spent it all on vegetables." "Hah" he sighted "Stealing from you is unforgivable, I need to get it back or you will be just another spoiled brat playing money".
Hearing him call me a spoiled brat somehow irritated me. I blocked his way "No, I will go myself".
"No, this is my duty" he insisted.
"I said I will go" I yelled in an angry tone without meaning it. He turned his face to the other way "I will wait for you to return by the fountain" he said approving when he was going there.
" I won't be late" I run trough the crowd disappearing from his sight.