Chapter Ten #2
“Fantastic. I asked the coachman to drop us off at the main door. Finding a place to park the carriage is always a nightmare, so I’ve instructed him to come back for us in about six hours.”
“Six hours? Just for shopping?”
“Honestly, I’ll be shocked if we’ve covered half the plaza in that time,” Fitz replied. “I’d planned for us to stick together to do some bonding, but perhaps we should split up into two groups.”
“We can still bond in smaller groups,” Maximus said.
Has he had a hard time opening up because there’s too many of us? It took a lot more coaxing for Maximus to speak up during quest planning, and he’d easily been overshadowed by the louder voices in our group.
Fitz considered the idea, then tentatively asked, “How do we split the ranks?”
Translation: who gets stuck with Angelica?
“Boys together, girls together?” I suggested, sending a silent apology to Delilah who couldn’t defend herself against underhanded attacks while she slept.
Fitz hesitated. “Couldn’t that be perceived as … sexist?”
“Alright, Maximus and I will go together, and you can join Angelica and Delilah. Then it won’t be sexist.”
“Or,” he countered, “Maximus and I can go together, and you can join Angelica and Delilah.”
“Delilah and I are as bonded as we’re going to get.”
“Then you can go with Angelica, and Delilah can come with Maximus and I.”
I smiled at him.
He blanched at the sight of it. The man had good instincts.
“Why are we arguing? Why don’t you and I go with Angelica, and Delilah and Maximus can split off together.”
“I can go with Angelica and Delilah,” Maximus offered.
Unless the man had unseen depths—in fairness, I barely knew him—I doubted he could handle Angelica’s sharp tongue and Delilah’s sharper claws. Their strong personalities would overwhelm his calm presence. If he couldn’t defuse their fight, he would end up as collateral damage.
I had to protect Maximus before his good intentions led to disaster. “Seriously, Fitz. The girls have the worst relationship right now. If they don’t purge the poison, it’ll fester during the quest, weakening all of us. Do you really want to go up against something like the Star Swallower—"
“Star-Devouring Horror.”
“—only for them to start fighting each other rather than the monster?”
Fitz pursed his lips. “When you put it that way …”
The carriage slowed to a stop. Delilah yawned and stretched. “Are we there?”
When she was sleepy, she looked like a cute, soft kitten. This was the best time to break the news to her. “Yes, we’re here, and we’ve decided to split off into two groups. Fitz, Maximus, and I will take one side of the center, you and Angelica will take the other.”
“Alright,” she agreed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. After a second, the words penetrated her groggy haze. “Wait a minute!”
The carriage door opened, and I hopped out. “Have fun!”
“Funds and list,” Fitz said, shoving a torn piece of paper and a coin pouch into her hands. “We’ll check in with you at the food stalls in three hours.”
Maximus followed us without a word.
“Trey, you asshole!” Delilah’s furious shout echoed after us as we plunged into the crowded halls of Windermere Plaza.
The shopping center was three floors of colors, sounds, and pressure-sales.
Stores lined the walls and booths crowded the walkways, selling everything from clothes to magical supplies to knickknacks and collectibles.
The center of the first floor was an open area to socialize, containing dozens of food stalls and a large statement fountain with a stone mermaid splashing through rainbow water.
The second and third floors had random squares cut out of them so people could peek between the levels.
We’d barely stepped inside before a salesperson sprayed me in the face with perfume and another accidentally hit Fitz in the head with the curling tongs they wanted to demonstrate.
Maximus somehow remained undisturbed. Maybe because no one could reach his head.
We finally pushed through the sea of sellers and shoppers to find a clear area in one corner. “Alright,” Fitz said, “Now we need to review the list and devise a plan for the most efficient way to tackle everything.” He pulled it out of his pocket and held it up for Maximus and me to read.
I skimmed it, mouthing the words to myself. Packs, tents, water canteens. All basic supplies. “Is that it? I thought we were going to look for, you know, more important things.”
Fitz frowned and turned the list to face himself, then he groaned. “Dammit, I gave the interesting half to the girls.”
“What was on their list?” I asked.
“Various research books, potions, and of course, the weapons.”
“Wonderful. So, they get to do the interesting shopping while we’re running the basic errands.” Once Delilah realized that, maybe she’d forgive me for dumping Angelica on her.
“Looks that way,” Fitz said. “Though we are all responsible for our own clothing, since that will need to be individually fitted.”
A small consolation prize for the world’s most boring shopping trip. Hopefully the girls would have fun at least.