The services dragged on for what felt like an eternity; finally, they came to a close. Azucena waited in the back of the Cathedral, holding a servant's cloak. We sneaked out and headed towards the market; I wondered what the Eastern merchants brought to trade.
"Is this really all right?" Azucena asks, with worry in her amber eyes.
"Even if we do as we're told, it changes nothing," I say, sneaking past nobles and blending in with the row of commoners exiting through the side doors. For a following that claims to welcome all, it enjoys a class division.
We finally made it to the market. The bustling street is a welcome change from that dreadful sermon. Azucena heads toward her mother's stall while I wander the market, searching for the stranger from my dreams.
"You dropped your veil," a voice like a crisp December morning says.
I turn to find the very man from this morning standing before me; his eyes remind me of blazing embers. "Are all men from the East this attractive?" I wonder out loud, realizing it is too late, as the stranger flashes a smile reminiscent of a jaguar.
The man's eyes are like crescent smiles. "I don't know about all Eastern men, but I do think myself rather good-looking."
I fight the urge to run away from embracement as I take the veil from his outstretched hand. Delicate, long fingers hold the veil with the utmost care as if it would break if held too tightly.
"How far is the East?" I ask, hoping to distract him from my earlier comment.
"Not far," his smile sends a sense of serenity through me. "I could take you if you would like…" His eyes trail behind me, and behind him stand two other Easterners. It seems I must be on my way. I do hope to see you before heading off once more."
"Pardon my rudeness, but what is your name?" I ask.
"You may call me Lìxīn," he says, taking my hand and planting a kiss on my knuckles. "May I have the honor of knowing yours."
"Renata." I give him the best curtsy I can muster, "I, too, hope to see you again, Lord Lìxīn."
"Just Lìxīn," he says as he lets go of my hand and heads towards the two waiting gentlemen.
I walk towards where I last saw Azucena, the veil still in hand, when the old Viceroy's son, clothes disheveled, appears from behind a corner. I do wonder who the unfortunate soul he had his fling with was.
"Well, if it isn't my soon-to-be mother," Esteban says with a crude smile on his crocked face.
I don't bother hiding my disgust. " Who would ever want to be your mother?" he reaches for me just as Lady Rosamaria de Santiago comes out of the same corner, still slightly tussled. " How does your Ladyship do?" I give a mocking curtsy before sauntering away. If Lord de Santiago were to learn of his wife's affair, he would surely have her head. After all, a man may do as he pleases, but a woman must always be tamed and demure.
"My Lady!" Azucena rushes over a bundle of cloth in her arms, "did you find anything interesting?"
I take the bundle from Azucena as we make our way home, "you could say that."
We walk past an auction where traders are sealing off children from a foreign nation. It's bad enough that our people had their homes taken. Now, it seems they will continue pursuing control of the world. The children don't look old enough to be without a parent. Some cry, while others simply look off into the heavens as if their will had already been broken.
From what my grandmother used to tell me, our people, too, once had to serve the invaders, but since their pillaging led to the birth of mixbloods, they eventually had no choice but to recognize anyone who could pass as one of them. Thus, my grandmother was raised as a noble while her siblings were left to abandon her. She always said she had no choice but to have my mother, but she was grateful no one questioned when my grandfather didn't wake up one day.
"Look, little one," my grandmother had called me over once. "If ever comes a time when you must endure what I have, brew this Datura into a tea and have the one that harms you ingest it. If you cannot have them ingest it, make sure to burn it in the heart and be careful of inhaling it. I will entrust my garden to you; may it serve you well."
I had to fight my mother to keep the Datura tree my grandmother left me. It wasn't that the flowers were ugly; she simply didn't like how they looked. If I cannot escape, I'll have no choice but to use the Datura, even if it claims me in the process. A scream brings me back from my musings. One of the children has broken free and is headed my way.
The traders struggle to keep up with him. He's as fast as a cheetah. How the poor thing was captured is a wonder. He doesn't get far before collapsing at my feet.
"My Lady, be careful!" Azucena reaches for the boy, what she is afraid of the gods only know.
I swat her hand away and toss a gold coin at the trader, "Remove the chains." The man takes the coin greedily yet hesitates to do as told, "If not, then return my gold." No one is aware, not even Azucena, that I can make objects appear as something other than what they are, and thus, the gold coin the trader is so greedily holding is actually a piece of stale bread I picked from the ground.
By the time the illusion wears off, I should be long gone. The trader reluctantly removes the boy's chains and starts to walk away, "all of them!" I command.
"It's only one gold coin," the greedy trader spits, "you'll need more than that to buy them all."
I take out a bag of pebbles I carry with me, pretend to count what's inside, and then toss it at him: "This should suffice, anymore, and you're simply greedy beyond reason." The illusion is already at play. When the trader jingles the bag, the sound of gold coins clinking against each other resonates.
"Whatever you say, Lady," the trader commands his crew to set the children free.
Once far enough, I usher the children towards the mountains. There, they will find a small settlement of people who look like them. It's all I can do.
"Why must you get involved with them?" Azucena chastises, "If your Father and Mother learn of this, they will not be pleased, and where did you get the gold to pay for them?"
"It was all my savings," I lie, for no matter how sweetly Azucena treats me, it's all a facade at the end of the day. The daughter of a fallen house now must work as a lady in waiting for the daughter of the house that overtook her own.