We were already behind on time, we needed to resupply our inventories—not that they were critically low, but it was better to be prepared.
The hike was mostly quiet for once and it didn’t take long before we saw pastures, with livestock and the smell that came with them.
“Damn Lionel, could’ve warned us,” Nate joked, trying to fan the smell away from his nostrils.
Lionel sighed, not even the slightest impressed.
“Look!” Ashley threw herself forward, almost colliding with the three of them. “The village!”
We all followed her gaze and sure enough we saw houses emerging on the hill in front of us.
“I’ll race you!” She dashed off before anyone was able to react. The rest of us soon followed, like eager children exploring a new place.
The houses seemed dull, built of cobblestone with roofs on the verge of giving in with all the moss growing on topof them. There were a few people in their gardens, who stiffened as they saw us. Some stared, like frozen in place, reminding me of deer, while others slowly made their way inside and locked their doors.
Smart—because it wasn’t like we were hiding our weapons or anything. My mind wandered off, trying to study the people and their state. Were mages common around here considering how close to the border this village was situated? Did they have another opinion of them around here? The curiosity was gnawing at me, I hadn’t traveled to see other villages before, since the lack of food made travel a luxury most could not afford. We wouldn’t survive in the wild for long, we were already starving.
Mey gasped. “Look, they have a market!” Excitement filled her voice and we were all taken aback by it. They weren’t short on supplies here, then?
Maybe the Ashen Corps provided them with things, considering that our soldiers often checked the perimeter around here, and needed shelter and food along the way.
I quickly unfolded the map, searching for the mark of the village.
“It’s…” I hummed, eagerly.
“It’s Newhelm,” Malakai said flatly.
He had probably been here a few times, this was nothing new or exciting for him. Well, I wasn’t going to let that kill my mood. I reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Lionel’s jacket. “Let’s go! I want to see it!”
He stumbled in surprise, but didn’t resist my pull.
There were wooden stalls, with small bits of cloth suspended above to shelter the tables from rain and wind. At least two dozen villagers wandered around the place in addition to us, the small road was crowded.
“Look, look!” Ashley squealed as she saw a stand with what looked like black powder.
“He has some nice daggers there too,” Eve agreed as they walked off together.
“Nate, look! A painter!” Mey gasped, pointing towards a stand with hand-drawn pictures of people and landscapes.
“You like painting?” I asked, glancing back at her.
“If our lives were different, I’d love to learn how to,” she sighed, her eyes glittering as she dragged Nate along with her.
I let my hand drop from Lionel’s sleeve, beelining for the first stand on the right to get a closer look, but as I moved away from him, he grabbed my hand. My head turned, cheeks burning as I looked at him, confused.
“Let’s not lose each other in the crowd,” he smiled, scratching his cheek as he averted his eyes.
Was he blushing? No words formed, my legs frozen in place as I watched him, my heartbeat racing. Slowly, his eyes found their way back to me. “You don’t like it?”
“No! I mean, yes… I mean,” I stuttered, embarrassed.
His eyes softened and his smile spread, his grip tightened, as he took the lead, tugging me along behind him.
My gaze locked at our entwined fingers. This wasn’t like Lionel, not at all.
It made me confused, nervous.
And happy.
