"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, does not boast, is not vain. It does not dishonor others, self-seeking or easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes.. Always perseveres, always." Or something like that, it's been a long time since my legs have been carrying me through the rough cobblestone streets of Tale and Ravenspoty, the sun that used to burn by skin during midday has long disappeared by now, finished casting her long shadows and is now content hiding behind the mountain peaks that oversees the entire City.
My legs, have been forcing itself one step at a time for more than eight Roman miles, the pain on the soles of my feet made worse by the ache of my legs bucking and heaving every step I take, the roads are winding with fast moving carriages, the sidewalk almost non existent taken up by bicycles, and the spots I can walk through are sometimes covered in the squelching stench of horse manure left to rot in the midday sun now hardening due to the cool winds brought in by the cold sea.
It is this day that a festival in the city is also happening, scores of people loiter the streets, singing, dancing, shouting, haggling, bantering, drinking and all around being the noisy rabble of citizens that you'd always encounter in Davis, though none of them take notice of me, a lonely cloaked woman shuttling down the streets with a sense of purpose, walking in the large streets towards my destination.
Although I did have the idea to ride to my destination by hailing a stage coach, a large Idol made of bronze and gold pieces is being paraded in the Sara Avenue in Tale, depicting some God or saint for the locals, the name of which always hangs on their lips without question, though I do not pay attention to such things, as they to me. As I speed through the City I'll inevitably bump into people left and right, but none of them take notice of me, as if I'm invisible, my mirth filled pouch bouncing as I walk.
There is one thing I want to find in this city, the Sealed Scroll in the Sea of Scrolls held in Tale's Royal Castle, where the Lord Mayor Princess Amabel d'Maurice of Davis. Thinking of her made me scoff, these Ladies and Lords, they only get their position through bloodline…
As I shuffle forward I can't help but stop as a large carriage holding a bunch of crates holding exotic animals and foodstuffs off to be sent to the port, the glimmering lights in the distance, the area with the most foot traffic. Gruff men with big scraggly beards start yelling out coarsely, the vapor and spit escaping from their lips as they yell at the coachman sitting atop of a huge Bicorn, it's iron hooves almost as tall as me, making the ground shake chaotically as it whinnies loudly, making me subconsciously cover my ears with my warm winter gloves.
I step back a few steps, with a thud I feel my back hit someone's broad chest. I shake my ass a little as I turn around to see who it is. I tightly purse my lips my eyes fluttering as I look at the looming figure towering a foot over me with a regal officer's cap.
"Prince.." Gilbert Distel Davis, Lord of Ships. I quickly look away, and peek at the sign board only to see the name "Panacea Shipping Industries" plastered like sheepskin on the wooden signboard. The Prince has those ugly glasses, short hair, looks like a kid overall. As I prepared to go away he pats me on my shoulder. I look back at him only for him to show me this smile, telling me to be careful, earning him an eyeroll from me as I hop away.
"Wait!" I turn around looking at him incredulously.
"Are you perhaps headed somewhere?" He asks, bringing out a very nice bicycle. The seats look like it's well trimmed and made from the best fur with golden tassels and all the tax payer funds can afford are on his bike.
As I approach him he asks, "How much are you offering?"
"250-"
"300 Gold coins, hop on."
I just grumbled at his greed and sat at the back seat of his bike, my pocket feeling lighter as I hand him the money. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to hold this monkey, but I don't want to fall off either. He starts pedaling fast, really fast, swerving through the maze of carriages and smelly horses like the back of his palm. Every time he grips the break, my aching thighs have to buck on the stirrup, and every time he starts zipping, I have to relax my legs in order to not fall off the damn thing. My legs are aching like a hundred horses are tugging on my hamstrings but I refuse to hold on to this monkey.
"Ooff-"
"The public transportation this time around don't work well because of the amount of people." He says, breathing deeply as my chin hits his shoulder blades. "The carriages are localized to travel in the north and south respectively, not to go cross the boundary on Sara Avenue because of the Idol."
I watch as the Guards start yelling at the coachmen and riders to follow the flow of traffic, for a backwater Kingdom, this City is modern enough. The magic lanterns lit around the stone and lime buildings around me flicker with a yellow light, kissing my cheek with a warm glow as I breath deeply, the vapor contrasting with the cold wind and snow on the ground.
The ride continues and I look around the massive sprawl of lime and stone, the roads in this area looking smoother than the rest of the small roads, the main arteries of the City made by the finest materials for smooth travel, although the City's history of cramped spaces can still be seen with the small sidewalks, a sign of widening all over the place.
Into a tunnel with the flags of this country and the neighboring one and then up a bridge that cuts through a road underneath it. When we finally arrive in front of the iron gates of the marble palace, I swung my leg to get off, but as both feet touched the ground my knees started violently shaking.
The cold snow in the steps of the grand palace immediately pricks my sole, a flash of pain radiating to my thigh as I grab onto the Prince in an effort to balance myself. I look at him coldly, as he just smiles at me with that irritating grin, but this is no matter.
"Are you just fond of picking up commoners nowadays, your princeling?" I scoff, dusting off the snow from my lap as I finally found my footing.
"Ah no, not exactly. You're not a commoner are you. Say, if I look away, will I forget what you look like?"
Before waiting for him to finish his monologue I turn around and run away. After a few laps of my heavy footsteps on the snowy ground, making a path in the snow with little drops of blood I finally arrive in a quaint little lodging I'm staying in Tale.
After showing the keep my papers they let me in.
I've miscalculated today, the trip to the city should have taken just a few hours, I should have been home two hours ago, but the festival has made it impossible for me to fetch a ride a home. I was stranded in the central markets for an hour, then in the smaller Morris square for another hour before I started walking.
It's not like I couldn't refuse the Prince too, I was too tired at that point. But, after a few hours away from me, he might forget my smell, and the plan tomorrow would be successful. That's what I tell myself always, there's no such thing as failure…
I unpack my things and lay them on the table, including the costume I'm going to wear tomorrow. I unwrapped the bindings on my foot and slide off my bloody boot, my feet is bruised, and a stone has found it's home on one corner of my sole.
I hobble to one of the candles, reaching into my purse for some metal tongs, burning the tips on the fire, the crimson light reflecting on my greyish blue eyes. My ears start turning red due to the heat but I press on anyway. I stretch my leg and lay it on the tea table with an audible bang.
With a hiss, I pull the stone out of my foot. "Fuck." I cuss under my breath as fresh blood start pouring out of the open wound. I get some clean bandages and patch up my foot, before hobbling into the bed.
I say down on the bed heavily, with it letting out a creaking as the wooden frame supports me. The sound making it obvious that this wooden bed rarely supports anyone's weight.
My eyelids are really heavy now… I need to catch up some sleep.