Chapter 11 #2
“Only the finest silks for them.” She leaned towards me, voice pitching low in a way that made me feel as if we were conspiring. Or gossiping. I had never gossiped before. “It’s a wonder they don’t make the trading halls run dry with their insatiable appetite for the finest fabrics.”
The subject of her scathing review were the highborn who paraded along the broad avenue before the houses, the males and females both dressed in colourful clothing in rich jewel tones that made them look like flowers, or petals drifting along in the breeze.
Some of the females carried parasols to shield them from the heat of the sun.
All of them looked as if they had dressed for a ball this morning, one even grander than the one I had attended in Ereborne, rather than just a walk around the grounds of the castle.
“Who are they trying to impress?” I glanced at Meiryn.
Who laughed.
“Themselves, or each other, I believe. There’s a terrible sort of conceit bred into them, and they can be vicious.
My handmaiden said that a lady had once purchased discounted silk from a trader outside of the halls in the Market District, and when the other ladies had discovered it, she had been shunned for a whole year. ”
“For saving money?” I frowned at her, finding it hard to believe that. But then again. I looked at the haughty females who walked with their heads held high, dripping with the finest jewels and their hair done up so perfectly, not a strand out of place. “No… I can believe it.”
Meiryn chuckled again.
She seemed like a warm, and kind sort of female.
It didn’t mean I was going to let my guard down around her.
We passed the houses and a frown flickered on my brow when I realised that it was not one row of houses that formed a ring around the castle but two, divided by a broad tree-lined avenue.
Meiryn tugged at me when I slowed, pulling me back to her, and I tilted my head back as we passed beneath a huge stone arch cut into the thick towering wall of the castle. And then let it drop when I heard not the twittering of idle highborn gossiping to one another, but the sounds of a city.
A cart trundling along the pale cobbled road.
A male calling about his wares, tempting customers to his door.
The laughter of children as they chased each other.
The angry shout of a female as those children bumped her.
The silence and coldness of the castle gave way to the warmth of life.
Everywhere I looked, people came and went, most of them dressed in cheaper cotton dresses in pastel or dark hues, or cloth breeches and shirts.
Several of the men wore leather pants, tools hanging from belts at their waists.
Highborn moved among them, trailed by servants in plainer clothing who carried baskets ladened with whatever wares they had purchased from the city.
Meiryn pressed a hand to my front and I stepped back, my rear brushing the wall of the castle as a cart pulled by a sturdy horse passed us, heavy with barrels, and another followed it, this one carrying crates of apples.
I paused to take it all in.
The avenue that led from the castle continued through the city in a straight line, a bustling corridor filled with people.
Signs hung from the half-timber and stone buildings, their windows showing everything from paintings, to ceramics, to beautiful glass objects.
I spotted wooden signs for tailors and seamstresses, and even a distillery.
“The Artisan District.” Meiryn closed ranks with me, raising her voice so I could hear her over the frantic sounds of life that rang out around me.
“One of my favourite places. You can find everything there. It’s always busy though.
People come here from all the villages and towns within a day’s travel. ”
It certainly looked as if they did. The place was packed, with people having to squeeze past each other in several spots where the beautiful old buildings jutted out into the broad avenue.
“What’s that way?” I looked to my left.
Meiryn’s smile was all mischief. “Not a place a lady should be seen… definitely not a lady who is heir to this court.”
“Why not?” I reared back to look at her, eyes wide as I thought about that tavern Riordan had tumbled out of when Vyr had been taking me on a tour of Falkyr. “Is it filled with places males might find a good, easy lay?”
I echoed the words Vyr had said to me that day.
Making Meiryn laugh.
“Among other places. I was jesting, but it seems you know much about the workings of fae cities. Or… maybe mortal cities are like that?”
I started to shake my head and then pulled a face. “You know what? I don’t know. They probably are. I don’t have much experience of them. I mostly stayed at my pack.”
I always stayed at my pack.
I kept that sad little titbit about my life to myself.
“It is the Pleasure and Entertainment District. Not just for pleasure. Many of the finest restaurants are there, as well as taverns for drinking and music halls, and some very good confectioners that have delicious sweets and one of the most famous wine-sellers.” She paused and I thought she was done, but then she added with a sly smile, “And of course the court-approved pleasure houses that cater to the disgusting needs of highborn males… like our brother.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t want to know about his leisure pursuits.”
That earned me another laugh, one that warmed her eyes.
“Which is the exact reason I stopped going there after I saw him strolling down the avenue.” She shuddered and led me in the opposite direction, following the curved wall. “Let us go to the Market District. I love perusing all the stalls.”
That sounded… fun.
I shouldn’t be having fun. It wasn’t the reason I was here.
Kaeleron’s voice filled my mind before I could think the word, taunting me about believing I was being selfish by doing something I wanted.
He was right about me, and that it wasn’t selfish of me to want to see this city.
There was every chance that I might be here for a long time, not that I wanted that, so it made strategic sense for me to learn about the city.
That’s what I was doing.
Learning about the city.
A reconnaissance mission.
“What other districts are there?” I raised my voice so she would hear me as an empty cart rolled by.