We spend the remaining hours of daylight visiting the shops and getting all kinds of odd things. Marian and I don't talk to each other and I don't bother to start anyway. That girl needs to get her manners in order otherwise she'll get herself in trouble with someone. And that someone wouldn't necessarily be as nice as me. Throughout the outing, I felt watched and uneasy. There was always this cloaked stranger in an ash coloured cloak that we ran into too much to be a coincidence. Marian didn't seem to notice but I did. I began to fret in my mind. What if he was here for me and Mia. What if they had found us. Still I kept my head about, keeping a sharp look about for the stranger. Marian surprises me just before we depart for the inn. Eyes downcast, she mumbles. "I have to pick an order. You can go ahead." Surprised, I don't comment as she picks her way through the crowd and vanishes into the throng. Taking a deep breath, I turn and promptly slam my head against a pole. My mind screams ouch, my face smiles mildly and I wobble on.
Stupid me.
Rubbing my head, I don't notice where I am until someone bumps me from behind. Annoyed, I turn.
"Sorry….sorry." They apologise.
But it's not them I'm looking at but rather the stranger whose heading my way, his head bowed. I pirouette on the spot and dash into the nearest alley, my breathing heavy. Why am I hiding? But nothing makes me move out for the next ten minutes. Finally peeking out and seeing no sign of him, I cautiously step out.
"Hello? Are you alright, Miss?"
I whirl around. The stranger stands behind me, his face shadowed under the beak of his hood. How the hell did he get behind me without being seen?
"Uh…" I stammer.
Unable to ignore my warning instincts any longer, I turn and flee back to the inn without giving a reply.
Panting, I lean against the hard worn inn door swinging my wary gaze about to avoid being seen in this crazed state by anyone: don't want them to question the authenticity of mine and Mia's relationship, they wouldn't trust me within a foot of her. I run a hand over my loose locks, smoothing the flyaway strands. My hair may look smooth and polished naturally but the ugly truth is that it's a bomb of dark curls. I spend an hour every day of my life on taming them into a presentable and false look. Still feeling a little weirded out by my run in with the strange stranger, I feel jumpy as I make my way to my rented room. I'm about to twist the door knob when….
"Aaya?"
I scream and jump around, my hand pushed out in front of me like a shield. My heart bangs like a drum on doomsday. Mia stands alone in a shadowy corner. "Mia," I squeak, blood rushing to my face when I see her alone. "Why are you standing there like that? I nearly died out of fright!"
She clasps her hands together at her back and grins. "That's what I wanted." I frown. "You mean you wanted to scare me?" Mia nods. "Chloe and James said it would be fun. You looked so funny." She giggles.
"Chloe and James?" I ask. "Did you make new friends."
She nods again, her eyes bright. "They're my new best friends that Grams took me to." She explains. "I'm never gonna leave them. And they're so much fun. They said that peekaboo was the only fun game you could play in here." I sigh. Looks like it's time to go mommy mode and forget about Mr. Stranger.
"Come on, let's go inside," I say, leading her in the room by her hand. "Are you going to scold me?" She asks, sitting on the bed. I bristle with indignation. "Why would I do that? "Are you angry that I scared you?" "No, of course not! Maybe…. a little." I admit. "But I have to tell you something."
Mia waits patiently on the bed, her little feet dangling while I get myself cleaned of the dirt and grime from running around Zalcia all morning. After splashing some cool water on my face and feeling a little refreshed, I take my spot beside her. I tuck a sheet around us and she leans her head against my shoulder. Perfect. Now we're ready for some storytelling and listening time. "What kind of story will you tell me, Aaya?" Mia asks, curious. "I'm not telling you a story silly girl. I'm warning you to be cautious ." I reply. Then I confide in her all about that happened at the market. I told her that I suspected our trail was picked up back by our pursuers. I didn't want her to be clueless. I didn't want her to live in shelter, to become weak. I wanted her to know everything so that she would stay on guard. Apart from that, I also told her about Marian. She started laughing outright when I told her about Marian's attempt at aloofness.
After our little chat, we wandered through the inn together. It was more like a big house partitioned into small chambers. Still I got to meet some more guests staying there and the workers at the inn too. There we're a number of children at the inn and Mia stuck to them the entire time. It made me happy to see her mingling. She'd already entrapped Grams and the other workers and guests alike by her strange and sparkling charm. They would faun over her, hug her, kiss her forehead and wish her well. They'd even given me their blessings for the sake I'll take good care of her. By the time we get back to bed, Mia's lids are drooping and so are mine. I position her on the bed tucking a blanket under her chin before getting in after her. It takes less than thirty seconds for Mia to escapes into oblivion but despite being tired from a gruelling days work, sleep comes a little slower to me. For some reason, I just can't seem to get over the fact that we may have to move again. It's only been a fay but this place already feels so familiar even though it's unfamiliar and different. It doesn't make sense but at the same time it also does. I slip away into a dreamless sleep still carrying these thoughts inside my head, swirling in mind and at the edge of consciousness I think I sensed a presence around me that was not Mia.