A walk

As Mary lay in bed that night, looking out of her window, she thought about the day. She had learnt so much, so much was still confusing to her. But se was happy to be learning new things, it was exiting.

Then her thoughts shifted to Tarianas son, Tenac, and Mary frowned. She didn’t know what to think about that situation. On the one hand, she was excited to learn more, to go out exploring. But on the other hand, she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it with Tenac.

He was a very handsome man, his black hair was a contrast to his summer sky blue eyes. He moved as a trained fighter, like the best of the soldiers back in Dermes, and he had confidence. He wasn’t unkind, at least not as she could tell, and he didn’t seem insincere.

But he was a man, a young man, and in Mary’s experience, nothing good came of letting men into her life. Except for Kopa, but he was special.

She sighed and turned around, she couldn’t turn down the offer from Tariana, so she would accept the lessons and just make sure she kept her distance to Tenac.

The following day she helped Bettina to prepare some herbal remedy in the morning. Bettina had slowly started teaching Mary about herbs and had asked her if she would be interested in coming with her when she went out to her clients.

Mary was more than willing to join her. Even though Mary was nervous about meeting new people, she wanted to learn more about what Bettina did. They decided that Mary would join her the next day for a consultation.

As Bettina and Mary had finished their lunch and were in the midst of washing up after, there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it, you go and get your cloak” Bettina told Mary. Mary did as she was told and when she walked into the living room Bettina had invited Tenac inside and they stood exchanging pleasantries.

“Hello Mary” he greeted her as he saw her entering the room.

“Hello Tenac”

“We appreciate your help Tenac. Please make sure that you take good care of her and bring her home for supper” Bettina said smiling at him.

“It’s my pleasure Bettina and you have my word that she will be back home safely before Kopa return” Tenac promised. Bettina chuckled.

“Have fun dear, this is for you” Bettina said holding out a money pouch. “If you find something you like, you buy it”

“Thank you” Mary said, giving Bettina a hug before nodding at Tenac to let him know she was ready to leave.

Tenac opened the door and let Mary go through it first. He indicated what way they should go and started walking next to her down the street. They walked in silence for a while. Mary didn’t know how to start a conversation, so she watched her soundings and realised she had been here before.

“This is the way to the artisan part of the city, am I right?” she asked Tenac.

“You are, the market isn’t far from the artisan quarters” he responded, sounding surprised.

“Bettina took me to the tailors last week” Mary explained. Tenac nodded and seemed to be thinking.

“You said you wanted to practise your Salamis. How much do you know?” he asked.

“Bettina and I try to speak Salamis when we are at home. But my vocabulary is still lacking, and I sometimes have trouble with conjugations” she answered him.

“Would you like us to speak Salamis as well? If you don’t know a word, just say it in Common and I will tell you what it is in Salamis. If I say something you don’t understand, just ask me” he suggested.

“I would appreciate it, and please if I say something the wrong way, please correct me. I won’t be offended, I need to learn the correct way before the wrong way becomes a habit” she asked.

“I will” he told her, switching seamlessly to Salamis.

“Thank you”

“The marketplace where we are going is one of the most fun parts of the city” Tenac said. “There are traders from all over the world, as well as the local ones. You can get anything from basic food to weapons and jewellery” he continued. Mary got excited hearing about it.

“There are a lot of people moving around, not all of them friendly. I need you to stay close to me and if you fell like it gets too much, we can come back another day” Tenac said and looked at her to se that she understood him.

“Okay, I promise” she said.

“To avoid injuries and deaths, the only ones that can carry weapons inside the marketplace are the city guards and riders.”

“What is ‘city guards’?” Mary asked about the unfamiliar words. Teac repeated the word in Common and Mary nodded.

“Anyone else has to hand in their weapons at the checkpoints that the city guard has at the entrances. You get a wooden tab and when you are leaving, you go to the same entrance, give them your tab and get your weapons back.” Tenac continued as is she hadn’t interrupted.

“That is a good system” Mary said.

“Yes, it doesn’t stop fights. But at least most men aren’t as deadly with only their fists” Tenac agreed. They continued walking in silence for a while.

“How old is the city?” Mary asked.

“A little over four hundred years” Tenac said. “It has never been taken by the enemy, although it was besieged two times during the great wars” he continued, sounding proud.

They arrived at the entrance to the marketplace and Tenac was about to walk straight through as he was a rider and was allowed to carry is weapons. But Mary tugged on his sleeve and went over to the small both where a guard was sitting.

She reached into the folds of her skirt and took out the sheath with the rabbit’s foot attached to it that contained the small knife she always had with her. She handed it to the guard and got a small piece of wood back. As she turned around to Tenac he stood there looking at her with a eyebrow raised.

“Kopa gave it to me when we first meet, he told me to always have it on me. I never go anywhere without it” she explained without him having to ask. He gave her a small chuckle and held out his arm for her to grab. She took a hold of his arm and he led her into the marketplace.