4. Vaelin
Chapter four
Vaelin
I ’ve seen a lot of ridiculous things in my life, but watching a seven-foot-tall half-orc hand over five whole gold pieces to some scammy shopkeeper might top the list.
Theo didn’t even flinch–just dug into his pockets and handed over a massive chunk of change for two people he’d never met, and would probably never see again.
Somehow, I managed to find the most honest, most adorable mark in the city.
Damn it .
“Okay…so what the hell was that all about?” I ask as we walk side-by-side toward the Market Square.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you mean?” I repeat, incredulous. “I mean–you just handed over your life savings like it was nothing. I know you’re rich and all–”
“I’m not rich.”
“–okay, sorry, you’re not…” I pause. “You’re not rich?”
Theo laughs softly, his voice a low rumble that makes me feel some kind of way. “What is it you don’t get about not being the heir to the Greymarch estate? That’s…kind of the whole problem.”
“So you’re not rich and you’re just helping people for fun?”
He shrugs. “Like I said earlier–I help people. It’s what I do. I can’t stop myself.”
That shuts me up.
Because I don’t know what to do with that. People don’t think like that, talk like that…not in Hearthwynd. Most people I know are too busy looking out for themselves to bother with lofty ideas about making the world a better place.
It should be annoying.
Instead it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside–like a candle in a dark room.
The outside matches the inside, because the Market Square is buzzing with activity. and joy. Theo is swept up in it all, looking around with wide eyes and a massive grin on his face.
“You look like you’ve never seen the Yule Market before,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “That’s because I haven’t. I wasn’t allowed outside of Greymarch Manor.”
I frown. “You…wait a second. Not at all? Ever?”
He shrugs. “I was a secret. Wouldn’t be seemly for the lord’s disfigured son to be seen roaming around in town, right?”
So…this is his first time out . Of course it’s a spectacle.
“Well, you need a souvenir then, right?”
“I don’t have much money left.”
“I’ll spot you,” I tell him. “You’ll just owe me another favor. Now…come here and pick something out.”
We browse the stalls, but Theo doesn’t say anything. It isn’t until we find a stall stocked with delicately carved wooden animals that Theo pauses, reaching out to pick up a tiny fox.
“These are beautiful,” Theo says to the shopkeeper. “Do you make them yourself?”
“Everything’s hand-carved, yes,” she says, beaming. “You’ve got a good eye.”
Theo smiles at her, then his face twists up like he’s chewing on his words. “I don’t know if you would remember…but do you know if you ever sold one of these to Lady Greymarch? Before she died, I mean.”
“I wasn’t around back then, but my father might have,” the shopkeeper says. “He might know, if you want me to ask?
“That’s alright,” Theo says. “Don’t bother, we should–”
“How much?” I ask her.
Theo glances at me. “Vaelin, you really don’t have to…”
“I want to,” I mutter. I shift over, trying to shove him with my shoulder. He doesn’t move an inch, of course, so I just stay pressed up against him. “How much is it?”
“Just a gold piece,” she says.
I reach my hand into my pocket to pull out some money, passing over two gold pieces. “Give me the fox and…hm. The unicorn?”
She smiles. “I’ll box them up for you.”
I refuse to look at Theo as I wait for the vendor to come back, kicking myself internally. Because I started tonight convinced I was about to make a lot of money.
And now I have less than when I started.