"That is a pretty tight grip you have for a young lady. What are you? A wrestler?" He remarked, dusting off the sand from his clothes and touching his neck.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Danae defended.
"I wasn't. You were the one being sneaky." He replied and folded his arms behind his back.
"I wasn't!" She defended, furrowing her brows.
He smiled and looked at her, casting her a friendly look which she quickly looked away.
"I'm sorry for sneaking up on you. I didn't mean to scare you like that." He apologized.
"I'm sorry for… you know… I thought you were one of my father's men" Danae replied, giving him a nervous smile.
"You'd have killed me, wouldn't you?"
"No! Why would I do that?" She asked in a flustered voice.
"But you said 'you're not going to die…' You had plans to make me pass out." he was obviously enjoying the way he was teasing her.
"It's not like that… I just would've made you pass out a little." She chuckled dryly.
"I was saying the same thing."
"But luckily you aren't. So, you're safe." She held the horse's reins.
"I enjoyed your story…"
"I have to go now. I'm sorry for almost making you pass out." She said quickly and took her leave.
Danae heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he was out of sight. He was definitely not from Pinecrest, he was either a merchant or a traveler. And didn't look like a commoner either. His clothes were very expensive yet strange, like he was trying to blend in but wasn't really doing a good job at that.
The horse galloped on a fast pace as she almost approached the house. She was late, give or take, about three minutes late and it was all his fault.
"I'm home." She announced as she walked in.
"What took you so long?" Her father asked. His tone austere
"I was making deliveries." She answered, trying not to give him a hint of what she had actually been doing.
"You would have been done five minutes ago." He continued, focusing on what he was doing.
"Yes, I was until I bumped into a merchant spilling all of his wares on the floor." Danae lied.
He looked up at her without saying a word. His eyes peeking deep into hers causing her to swallow hard.
"Hmm." He nodded simply and continued with what he was doing. "Go help your mother in the kitchen."
Danae was the first child of Eugene and Harriet and sister to Casper, her younger brother. Eugene had always been the strict, rule bound yet humorous father. He was the town physician and a farmer in his spare time, Harriet, his wife, and daughter of a retired commander in Willowbrook, a neighboring kingdom, was a full housewife but taught Danae self defense lessons.
"I know you were off telling stories at the square," Casper whispered with a mischievous smile.
"Just know you're dead meat if you spill anything to Father." She threatened as she walked past him to the kitchen.
As one would have expected, Danae and Casper were opposites with very much difference. Casper, three years younger than his sister, blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes was the reserved one instead. His mischievous missions usually circled around teasing his sister and tying rats to sticks but he was more of the serious, responsible child.
Danae on the other hand was different. Wild, agile, energetic, and silly. She acted more of how Casper would have behaved originally as a boy.
She stood by the door, watching her mother knead the dough gently. Her hands turning the dough as she continued to knead. It was hard for anyone to believe that her mother was the daughter of a retired army commander.
"Hello Mother," she said as she rested her back against the wall.
"Danae, what took you so long?" Harriet asked, her eyes creasing into a smile.
"Deliveries and bumped into some random man." She explained, walking to stand next to her mother.
"And tell me how you bumped into some random young man." Her mother teased, poking her daughter gently on the side.
Danae sighed and took a dough to knead and then added some fillings into one of the kneaded dough.
"I was telling stories and thought he was one of Father's men so I accidentally almost made him pass out." She confessed, giving her mother a dry smile.
Harriet threw her head back in laughter. "He'd have been added to the list of workers who quit because of you if he was actually one of them." She said and burst into laughter again.
"Come on mother. It wasn't my fault, he sneaked up on me from behind and my reflex actions did it's thing."
"Danae, I shouldn't have ever taught you that move at all."
"You have taught me since I was six. It's too late to unteach me now that I'm two decades past that."
"My bad, my bad." She said and lowered her voice. "Does your father know you were telling stories at the market? He would be so angry if he finds out."
"No, he doesn't," Danae assured as she continued chatting with her mother.
"That's better." Her mother replied with a smile as she set the dough in a pan. "So tell me, what did the random man look like? Was he from around here?"
"I don't think so," Danae replied and rested against the counter. "He was dressed like he was trying not to get noticed."
"Was he wearing a mask?" Her mother said and laughed.
"No. He was dressed in expensive fabrics. Although I could see he was trying to dress like the regular market people but wasn't doing a great job at disguising." She continued. "I'm guessing he's from the capital."
"Hmm, you really took notes." Harriet remarked.
"Yeah, I did when I almost made him unconscious." Danae sighed and laughed. "You should have seen the look on his face."
Harriet tugged Danae gently on the shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "He seems pretty interesting from the way you describe him."
"I don't know who he is. I just noticed him today, '' Danae whispered into her mother's ear. "when I was telling stories. He stood by the door frame with so much rapt attention."
"He might be a fan. Who knows?" Harriet chuckled.
"I guess we'll find out soon." She replied and continued helping her mother.
Luckily there were more deliveries to make the next day. She would be able to finish up her story and make more money as usual.
She was saving up to get her father some new tools for his farm. Not that he couldn't afford to get it, but it was going to be a gift to him.
Or rather make it look like a proof of why she was being famous in the market square. She was cunning and learned it from him.