Chapter 2. The Fair

Although their first meeting took place in rather awkward circumstances, the next morning Thomas found his 'brother' in a merchant's shop. Although they had sworn not to reveal the secret, no one forbade him from seeking a meeting with the mysterious saviour. At first the young man (girl) was angry and confused, but then, as he came to terms with the cute fidgeter, he began to invite him often to the ceremony of making tea. As Alexandra had been unofficially appointed as Thomas's carer, these meetings naturally took place under her supervision.

After she had introduced herself according to all the canons, the companions discovered the name of the saviour - Li Ming. Beneath the appearance of a well-groomed boy who never missed a day's work to help his father, Li Ming could pass for a very nice young man who could probably turn the heads of any village girl in his homeland.

Although Li Ming's father was a merchant and had a busy business, he definitely took everything about his child with a great deal of warmth.

Since Li Ming's mother had died very young, and since he had no other relatives to leave his child with, to save her from the fate of being taken in by someone in the harem in his absence, the father devised a way to ensure that the girl could travel with a caravan of men. (This is not to say that there were no women in the caravan on the 'tea route', but their fate was not enviable.) The method was not cunning, but with age it became harder to hide the truth, and with longing the father realised that the joy of his heart would soon have to marry.

When foreign guests suddenly began to appear at the back of their shop, he was a little surprised and tense, but the child's good nature and the girl's politeness with him gradually calmed him down. They were always very polite to him, even by local standards. He had no idea that they knew her secret, so he sometimes wondered if the girl had taken a liking to his daughter in the form of a young man.

Meanwhile, over bowls of fragrant tea, the company often shared the traditions and stories of their peoples. LiMing taught them the basics of her language, Alexandra helped her to practise their.

And in between, of course, they told each other wonderful stories and tales of their peoples from times so long ago that it was hard to tell the difference between fairy tales and times gone by. Sometimes they stayed up late in their cultural exchange, and Li Ming's father had to remind the late guests to go home.

The fair flew by and the caravan left, leaving the children with fond memories.

***

A year had passed and the friends were eager to meet again, but they all realised that the opening of the fair would be very troublesome and decided to postpone the long-awaited meeting until the opening day.

From afar, tents and light stalls could be seen being erected, as well as a stage for the performances of travelling artists. The local government had assigned a group of workers to help out, and like an anthill in a vast clearing, the action unfolded rapidly.

Colourful flags, ribbons and paper lanterns were hung along the streets and illuminated the buildings.

Alexandra was in high spirits all the time, and no household chores could distract her from the anticipation of the festivities.

Her duties usually consisted of assisting the governess and running errands for her foster mother. Alexandra was also taught penmanship and arithmetic on an equal footing with the other children, and occasionally took part in music and dance lessons.

But as the visiting teachers had special orders for blood children only, her progress was the sole concern of the governess, who assessed her progress with all the rigour of a teacher. Alexandra was a diligent pupil, but she did not grasp the stars in the sky, and periodically, for a lesson that she had not mastered, she would be given blows on the hands with an index stick and told to rewrite extracts from classical works twenty, thirty, even fifty times.

Of course, in the child's eyes, the governess looked like the fury incarnate. She was still young, but the wind of age in the form of the first grey hairs and a slight network of wrinkles under her eyes had already touched her appearance.

Of all the activities that filled her daily life, Alexandra loved to read. After taking a book, she would hide in a secluded spot where no one could disturb her and immerse herself in the author's thoughts.

When the opening day of the fair came, the whole family was there, with the exception of the father, who was always busy. People came from all the neighbouring and not towns to have a good time. There was plenty of entertainment, from the commercial exchange to the delicious food and performances, from the colourful kite festival to the spectacular evening fireworks. And everyone tried to get there in time.

After separating from their relatives and finding Li Ming's tent, the boy and girl froze on the threshold, reluctant to enter.

Just then, a grey-haired man came out of the tent and said something in his own language to the man behind him.

The two people outside stretched out and greeted loud with a bow, clasping their hands in a gesture of respect as Li Ming had taught them.

The man smiled for a second in surprise and returned the greeting. The young man who came out after the merchant stared at the two foreigners with wide open eyes, he wasn't used to foreigners greeting like that.

"Uncle, we're here to see Li Ming!" -Thomas said, a little embarrassed. "Can we see her?"

The smile on his father's face faded a little, and with a soft sigh he said, pausing for a moment to find the right words:

"I am afraid to grieve the young gentleman, but my son has not been able to come with me this year. Some urgent business came up at home and he had to stay behind. He sends his best wishes to young Mr Thomas and Mrs Alexandra."

The expression on Thomas's face changed like a kaleidoscope: shock, fear, denial, sadness. It was hard for the child to take it in. Without saying a word, he turned and fled into the crowd, crying.

-" beg you to forgive my brother, Li Ming secretly mentioned to me that this could happen, and my brother .... He was looking forward to this meeting." - Alexandra said sadly, she shared her brother's feelings, she liked Li Ming very much in the short time they spent together.

"Miss Alexandra, Li Ming has something to tell you personally, please wait." -and disappeared into his shop.

Left alone with the girl, the young man bowed slightly and went about his business. A few minutes later, the merchant emerged from the shop and handed Alexandra an object wrapped in delicate silk and tied with a thin ribbon.

She thanked him profusely and said goodbye, and with a measured step she went to find a private place to open the gift.

Spotting the sparse shade between two large wagons and the horses grazing nearby, she turned it over and sat down on an empty crate. Carefully, she unwrapped the bundle and glanced at its contents.

The wrapper was a beautifully embroidered silk belt, inside it was a small jade pendant on a thin strap with a mythical creature engraved on it, a small wooden flute and a piece of written paper, the gist of which Alexandra could only make out.

Roughly, the letter said that Li Ming could not resist her father's will and would soon be married. She also thanked them for keeping her secret and being warm friends during her stay in another country. With the enclosed items, she wanted to express her feelings and hope for understanding.

Deep in thought, after putting on the jade pendant, she unconsciously stood up and, with an expressionless face, began to walk along the rows and tents, carefully placing the gifts in her inner pockets.

The crowds of shoppers and gawkers meant that people had to move between the stalls like a narrow stream around impregnable rocks.

Some of the "rocks" that moved away from the stalls flowed moderately into this stream, giving space to those separated from the stream.

In the central square of the fair, where a colourful puppet show was performed, a flock of pigeons was released into the sky.

The crowd erupted in applause, and Alexandra, watching their flight, involuntarily shivered as her eyes fell on several particularly colourful kites that had already been launched into the air from a nearby hill.

Amongst the array of flying creatures, which included all sorts of colourful geometric shapes, butterflies and fish, her gaze suddenly fell on two particularly bright and large ones - a bird with a long tail and a dragon with large wings. The two figures swayed in the wind, illuminated by the pre-set sun. At the same moment, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, as if her body was being torn apart by some wild beast. Clutching her heart, she collapsed in half.

No one in the crowd noticed, except for one man standing a little off to the side. A metallic look flashed across his eyes.

At that moment, it felt as if fireworks were exploding in her head. In the background, someone called out to her insistently:

"Sister! Sister, answer the call! Sister... Sister... "- She could no longer bear the agony and cried out, which was immediately noticed by the crowd and many people began to look round anxiously and whisper.

At that moment, someone grabbed her elbow and quickly pulled her out of the crowd. Her eyes went white and black and she felt nauseous. It took her a moment to realise that someone was forcibly dragging her away from the fair. The voice was still ringing in her ears.

When she noticed the girl regaining consciousness, the companion said with a grin on his lips:

"I've got you, little bird, you can't fly away from me again."

The grip was firm. Alexandra's heart filled with fear.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" She looked at her companion and jerked away. 

"Oh my God, Darell, what's wrong? What's happened to your voice?" 

His whole appearance seemed to have changed, his skin dead pale, his hair dishevelled, his still neat clothes looking tattered, but most surprising of all were his eyes. His blue eyes had turned into a soulless abyss, as if the pupil had become one with the iris, and an impenetrable cold abyss stared back at her. It couldn't be her brother, could it?

The sight of it made her break out in a cold sweat. Her brother's body, on the other hand, was laughing.

"How long have I been looking for you and you ended up almost under my nose, who knew they would think of throwing you here, in a world where the flow of true energy is so slow as to be almost imperceptible. Ah well, it doesn't matter, we must hurry before the local Guardian returns. To be honest, I really don't want to do all this and it would be easier to destroy you without wasting energy, but chief needs another figure on the board, so please don't take offense," - and he pushed the uncomprehending looking girl forcefully into the chest.

Alexandra had no time to breathe, no time to scream, but it seemed to her that at the moment of the blow her soul separated from her body and began to fall endlessly into an abyss. An abyss as deep as those black, cold, lifeless eyes that reeked of the unprincipled essence of existence.