The day Morana had been waiting for the last three months had finally arrived; Market day. An event held once every three months where merchants from different kingdoms will sell their goods among each other and form alliances, but for Morana, it was a day where she could finally buy groceries without discrimination.
As fast as she could, Morana put on her usual flowly black dress and leather boots to protect her feet from the mud. The finishing touch to her look was the black veil she never left the house with and a black purse she embroidered and made herself.
"If only I wasn't hated this much, I would have been a fashion icon in this kingdom." Morana smiled as she twirled in front of the mirror.
She wasn't wrong though, her unique way of dressing rivaled even the best of the best in the kingdom. She made her own clothes and purses, and has a phenomenal eye for styling herself. Most people were aware of that but the stuborn ones refused to admit she was better than them.
Everything she wore and owned were black, her favorite color and the most expressive one.
The early bird catch's the worm. Morana had that in mind as she dashed out of the house with her straw basket before the noon bell rang. If she took any longer, the market would be an empty place by the time she got there and she'd have to wait another three months before restocking again.
The weather was just as it had been the last two weeks; cold and gloomy. At least this time Morana's house wasn't the only one with a dark cloud hanging over it but of course, the people still found ways to blame her for the bad weather.
If it rained too much, it was Morana's fault, if it was too sunny, it was Morana's fault, if the weather wasn't appropriate for the crops to grow, it was Morana's faut. The villagers blamed Morana for all their problems as if she had the ability to control a literal force of nature.
They feared her too much to the point where they placed her on a pedestal where they were below her and yet none of them was aware of that.
It was easier for people to place the blame on someone else for their mistakes rather than themselves. And who's the best person to blame in all scenarios? You guessed it, Morana.
As she descended the hill, Morana could see a mass of people beginning to form at the market as new stalls were being opened up left and right, but she already had a destination in place, the east side of the market.
Yet again, villagers began avoiding Morana the second they laid their eyes on her but she wasn't bothered by them, it was the foreign merchants she was after.
Many times, villagers had tried to warn other merchants not to sell anything to Morana but none of them heeded their warnings, especially since Morana never shied away from spending money on them.
They weren't willing to lose an opportunity to make that much money in a day just because of silly superstitions and that was a mentality Morana wanted the people around her to have but alas, they were too blinded by rage.
At some point in life, people throw away their beliefs for the sake of money.
"Pleasure seeing you today, Morana dear." Derio smiled as he kissed Morana's hands through her black silk gloves.
"The pleasure is all mine, Derio." Morana smiled back.
Derio was one of the foreign merchants Morana would occasionally buy things from. He was an old man who sold to her not because he was lulled in by the amount she was spending but because he simply wanted to help her out so in return, Morana would do the same by paying him more than she was supposed to, she could tell he needed the money.
"What materials do you have for me today?" Morana asked as her eyes scanned through the shop, looking for something among the colorful rows of silk cloth.
"I managed to get something I'm sure you'll love." Derio mischievously grinned as he made his way to the back of his shop where he stored all the best material solely for Morana. "I made sure to keep these for you." He came out holding four rolled-up silk cloths of different textures and patterns in his hands.
"I see you're still sneaky." Morana chuckled as she examined the materials in his hands.
"I have to save the best for my best customer after all." Derio smiled.
"Good, because I'll be taking them all." Morana stared in thought at the other material at the front of the shop before pointing at a few, "Give me this red one, the lilac one, green, orange, and uh, the pink one."
"Looks like you'll be very busy until the next market day," Derio spoke as he grabbed the materials Morana had chosen.
"I have various new designs I want to try out." Morana beamed as she thought of the creation she was ready to bring to life.
"There's always a new design cooking up in that head of yours," Derio chuckled.
"It's the only thing that keeps me busy." The bustling joy in Morana's tone was nowhere to be found as a wave of loneliness hit her.
There were other group activities she wanted to take part in since there was so much she missed out on after being robbed of her childhood but the only one she had was herself in the confines of her lonely home.
"You poor child." Derio looked at her pityfully, he had offered to take her to his kingdom with him after seeing how miserable she was but Morana always declined, she told him she didn't want to back down and run away.
That wasn't the real reason why she refused to leave, in truth, it felt like there was a voice calling out to Morana as if something in that kingdom, that town was waiting for her, and although she didn't know what, she refused to leave before finding out.
"Don't let me bore you with my life," Morana brushed the subject away before Derio had the opportunity to ask her to leave with him again, "How much is everything?" She asked.
"Two hundred and ninety Yars," Derio replied after counting the rolls she bought from him. "I see you made a new purse." He pointed at the purse hanging from Morana's waist.
"Yes. I finished it last week." Morana smiled as she brought out the coins from her purse. "Isn't it pretty?"
"Is there anything you make that isn't pretty?" Derio countered as he praised her talent.
"You and your sweet mouth... I hope this is enough?" Morana stretched out her hands to give him Five hundred Yars.
"Oh dear, it's more than enough. Thank you so much." Derio wildly smiled as he thanked Morana for her generosity.
"Don't mention it." Morana returned the smile, "I'll go check out the other stalls now, make sure to stay safe until I see you for the next market day, okay?"
"I will, dear. And you make sure to do the same. Remember, if you ever want to leave this kingdom, you always have a home with me."
"I'll keep that in mind, Derio."