12 Chapter 12

"You're being quieter than usual," Maverick comments.

I shrug.

"Not that I'm complaining," he continues, "it's just unusual."

"I'm not in a very talkative mood." I slump down slightly onto the horse, eyelids heavy.

"That's the best news I've heard all week."

I don't respond and, out of the corner of my eye, I can see Maverick frown.

We haven't even been riding for long, but I already want to stop.

"The town is just over the hill," Maverick tells me.

I perk up at that. "How much money do we have?"

Maverick grimaces. "Not much, hardly any in fact."

"This plan's going to wonderfully then."

He rolls his eyes. "I have some change, but the rest is more difficult."

"How come?"

Maverick reaches down into his saddle bag and tugs out the wedding dress.

I mock-retch. "You're such a creep, why did you keep that awful thing?"

"The jewels are real, fancy, expensive real."

"Right, so you're thinking of selling them?"

"That's the idea," he says

I nod and we begin to descend the hill, but Maverick swings to the side. "We need to be careful, if anyone recognises us we're done for. If you see any soldiers stay calm, keep your head down, be inconspicuous."

He withdraws another piece of fabric from the bag, a purple as dark as night.

"You still have that."

He scoffs. "It wasn't for sentimental purposes, Princess. Keep the hood up, keep your hair hidden."

I blush and snatch the cloak from him, tying it around my neck and pulling the hood over my head.

"Now I look like you, although I don't know if I'll be able to pull off the natural stupidity."

"I'll think you'll manage," Maverick replies.

I bite my lip, a smirk spreading across my face.

"What?"

"You just agreed that you're naturally stupid."

Maverick closes his eyes and inhales deeply.

"What are you doing?"

His eyes remain shut. "Trying to honour our no killing each other agreement."

"That's kind of you."

"I'm just that generous."

We descend into the village, into civilisation. Maverick and I get off our horses at the beginning of the town and tying them up with the other traveller's stead's before weaving through the crowds. No one passes us a second glance. I can hear various languages buzzing in my ear, it is so near the docks there is a whole collection of ethnicities buying and selling goods, we don't stand out at all.

As Maverick leads us away from the centre, I can see his hands inside the bag, picking at the gems one by one.

"We have to split up," Maverick explains, tipping a handful of jewels into my bag. "You head east, I'll head west, we can meet back here afterwards."

He has vanished before I have time to blink. I stride off in the opposite direction, ducking through the crowds. I'm out of my depth here. Body's buffet me from either side and I don't know where I'm going. I can't bargain, I can't bribe, they'll see through me immediately. I almost laugh at how naïve Maverick has been. He was so desperate to evade me, he has sent me into a mysterious town filled with thugs and pickpockets, my bag loaded with priceless jewels.

I dare to glance up and shop signs flash past me, mostly in Alkardan with other languages like Masandan or Valerian underneath. I am scanning them as I pass, looking for a pawnshop or something similar when someone bumps into me and I stumble off the Main Street and into a dark alley. I glance around in surprise and spy a shop with <i>chepouk</i> written on the window. I smile and head on in. The candles on the shelves flicker as the door swings shut and a wiry old Alkardan with half-moon glasses balanced on the end of his nose sits behind the counter.

"Shra?" He says, staring suspiciously at me over the lenses.

"Good morning," I reply in Alkardan. "I'm wondering if you would be interested in some jewels."

He raises and eyebrow, gesturing a lazy hand around the shop. "It is my business."

I smile. "Right. Anyway, would these be the sort of things you could buy?"

I reach into the satchel and pull out a small handful of gems, laying them on the worktop, watching as the shopkeepers eyes widen.

"Well…" he says, holding a magnifying glass over the crystals. "These are quite extraordinary. Where did you get them?"

I panic briefly, but fix the smile on my face before it falls. "A gift," I tell him. "They were my mother's."

He squints at me suspiciously. "Not many are willing to part with family heirlooms so easily."

I smirk. "I didn't like my mother."

The flicker of a smile flashes across his face. "Neither did I. Let's see, I'll give you 300 kardi for ten of them- they'll make a lovely necklace. I might as well get another 210 for seven pieces to make a matching bracelet. That would make it 510 for seventeen, pretty good, right?"

I scoff. "510? You and I both know they are worth more than that. How about 370 for ten, and 259 for seven?"

I have absolutely no knowledge on valuable gems, but I've witnessed enough foreign disagreements take place over dinner to know how to bargain.

"You're having a laugh," the man fires back. "325 and 228, that is as much as I'll give you."

I purse my lips. "350 and 250, and I'll give you two for a discounted price, that should give you enough for some earrings as well, a full jewellery set."

He inhales deeply. "Deal."

I reach across and shake his hand before scooping the leftover diamonds into my bag. He hobbles to the back of the shop and fetches my money, sliding copper coins and money slips into a purse bag.

"Here you go."

I finger through the cash, counting it carefully before thanking the man and emerging into the alleyway.

That went better than expected.

I slip back into the crowd and look for another shop, but I'm not so lucky there.

The shopkeeper there is younger, a middle aged woman with dark sulanise skin. She gazes at me as though she can see into my soul and I walk forward apprehensively.

"Good morning," I say quietly.

"Are you selling or buying?"

She speaks shortly, in a no nonsense tone and I swallow hard.

"Selling." There are only another ten or so gems left but I take them out anyway and lay them out on the counter.

She leans forward and then glances back up at me. "Do you take me as a fool?"

"No!" I cry

"Now how did a feeble girl like yourself come into the possession of jewels like these? And don't give me any of that family heirloom crap, it's obvious you don't have a speck of worth on you. Just look at your clothes, filthy looking.

No, either they're fakes or you stole them, and I know some peoples around these parts are willing to pass off trinkets like these, but I run a very respectable business. I have a good reputation with the public and with the guard, and I can't have a mischief maker like you messing that up for me."

"They aren't fake." I can't quite bring myself to say they aren't stolen because I'm not sure that's technically true.

"I don't care about your words," she tells me. "Go. Get out of my shop before you tarnish my good name."

I throw the gems into my bag and race from the store. I don't stop running until I reach the side street Maverick and I parted in. I slip in between two tall crates and cover myself with the cloak, hiding away from the world.

It's late afternoon and the sun is beginning to set by the time Maverick arrives back, his boots rapping on the cobblestone wake me up from the light sleep I had slid into. He prods me with the toe of his boot and I unfurl from the tight ball I was in, turning my head skywards to glare at him.

"I'd have thought a dirty cobblestone street would be too ghastly for her highness to even think about stepping on, let alone taking a nap there."

I purse my lips. "Her highness had to hide from an angry shopkeeper."

Maverick's eyebrows slant upwards in surprise. "Are you telling me that someone chased you out of their shop?"

"She thought they were fake, or stolen. Technically she's right, but still. It made for a very unpleasant encounter.

"I knew it was a bad idea to let you try and sell them. I was hoping you would at least have an idea of how much they were, to know where to place your bets, but you didn't even get that far."

I scoff and toss the purse to him. "He gave me 600 for nineteen. Does that satisfy you?"

Maverick gawks at me and reaches into the bag sifting through the money.

"That should do."

"How much did you make?"

Maverick shrugs off his bag and pulls out a purse of his own. "Almost 900 for all thirty of them."

"Good job. I get the feeling you might have gone to less than legitimate establishments though."

"It doesn't matter either way. We've got enough to feed the horses and ourselves for the next five days, that's what matters."

I have to agree.

"Go and find a shop to buy some hunting gear, blankets, essentials, we don't need much. I'll get the food for us and the horses." I reach for the purse but he snatches it out of my grasp, leaning down and talking slowly. "Can I trust you not to screw this up?"

I grab the purse from him, smiling sourly. "I think I'll manage."

We head back into the town. The crowds have thinned now and sounds of laughter echo out of bars and meal houses.

The shutters are beginning to come down on store windows and I speed up.

The shop where I buy the hunting gear is disturbing to say the least. The heads of <i>antlynxes</i> and stags hang on the walls. No <i>bourba</i> wolves though, they are considered sacred animals in Alkarda. I purchase an extra knife, a small bow and arrow, woollen blankets, a hairbrush, some rope, matches, needle and thread. At the back of the shop there is a small section of clothes and I buy a fresh shirt and trousers then, after a moments hesitation, I buy another shirt for Maverick.

The sun has sunk behind the buildings by the time I leave and across the road I spy Maverick in a grocery shop, face blank, the hood still pulled over his head. I stand for a moment, watching, and then a group of part goes pushes past me, heading into a meal house. An idea springs into my head and I count the rest of my money before following them inside. It is warm in there and I approach the counter, ordering two meals to take away. Maverick is already there by the time I get back to the horses and he rides off ahead of me, through the town and out the other side, back into the woods.

"Took you long enough," he comments when we stop for the night. "How long should it take you to buy a few simple necessities?"

I roll my eyes. "You could be a bit more grateful."

"And why would I do that?"

I reach into the bag and produce the two boxes, still warm. "I thought you might want a hot meal."

His eyes flicker away from me. "Right. Thanks, I guess."

I can see that is the best I'm going to get and sigh witheringly as I hand it over. The moment I taste the mix of fish and spices though, I forget all about my frustration. It feels so good to have warm food again and I eat it slowly for once, savouring every bite.

"I got you something else," I tell him, setting the now empty box down.

"Really?"

I pull out the shirt and toss it to him. "I thought you might need a fresh one at some point."

He looks at the shirt and then at me. "Did you poison the food?"

"What? No! Can't I just do something nice for once?"

"Not for me."

I throw my hands up. "Why do I even bother? It is so pointless to try and be kind to one another because you are an inconsiderate, ridiculous traitor. You and I both know that it is far more likely for you to poison me than for me to poison your ungrateful arse. Knowing you, all I'd have to do is make you say something pleasant and you would choke on your own self righteousness. I wish you would, then at least I wouldn't have to constantly hope you'd disappear!"

Maverick's gaze locks mine and, without speaking, he stands up and walks away.

And I don't stop him.