That seems really odd. "Why would Ria make you pay for something you didn't sell? You would think that they would make exceptions for accidents."
She shakes her head and sighs. "That's not how it works here. We don't pay by the item we sell; we pay by spell. The charge is for having the privilege of using our water, not selling in the market."
"Well that doesn't make sense." Charlie's forehead creases, and he taps a finger to his lips. "Chris spelled the ogre’s gadget the other day, and she didn't have to pay anything."
"Most of us can't communicate with the water like she did." She looks around and then lowers her voice. "Only Ria is able to do that. So we have to ask for her blessing, and then she commands the water to do our bidding."
So that's how they're able to make sure they get a cut of each of the vendors’ profits. They're able to control how many spells are done and charge according to what Ria allows. "I hadn't realized that before."
"Yeah, this is how things are done here." She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. "The truth of the matter is I barely make enough money to get by."
Why would their leaders do that to them? Now that she’s made the comment, I take a good look at her. Her dress is patched, and her shoes are a little worn. "Does everyone struggle this way or just a few?"
"Haven't you noticed that only Ria and Tide are well-dressed here?" Dax is looking at the table next to Melody and tilts his head.
I look more closely at the merchants around us. Wow, those people have shoes that are falling apart and holes in their dresses. "How did I miss that?"
Charlie crosses his arms and taps his foot. "Hey, do you want to go walk around for a minute?"
He wants to go check it out just like I do. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
Charlie and I head off, and meander through the market once more. I'm not looking at the products they sell but the people themselves. It's disturbing now that I'm looking closely. People's clothes are worn out, and many have bags under their eyes. Even the children aren’t playing around like they do back on earth. They are staying by their parents, helping them work. There are no laughter and no toys anywhere around. At first, the kids appeared to be well-behaved, but they look just as stressed as the parents.
It does take looking closely to notice how poor they are. These citizens take good care of their clothes, and unless you're really looking, you can't see that they've been patched up. Also, their shoes are hidden by the table, so you don't see them falling apart.
"How did we miss this?" I hate that I believed the mirage they were presenting instead of seeing what was right in front of my eyes.
"It's because they're good at hiding it, and they don't complain." Charlie strolls back toward Melody's table.
"Did you notice anything different?" Dax grabs a few pieces of equipment out of the cart and places them on the table.
That's one good thing about him; he's very observant. Whenever we go anywhere, he's always looking around, taking in the sights. He hasn't stopped since we've arrived here. That's one of the main reasons I'm not surprised he figured it out.
"Oh, thank God." Melody rushes over to me and grabs my arm. "That ogre is back. Tide just alerted me. He's going down there to head him off, but having you here makes me feel better."
I'm sure it does. The ogre likes me since I helped him out. "Did that fan already break again?" Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. It's not like I knew what I was doing.
A loud commotion comes from that direction. Charlie turns and shakes his head. "It looks like we're about to find out, and he brought someone with him."
"This could be bad." Dax sets down the items and heads over to me. "If he threatens her, we're going to take him down fast and hard."
"Damn straight we are." Charlie moves in front of me and stands next to Dax. "No one is going to hurt her with me on watch."
Oh dear God. First they were at each other's throat and now they're bonding over protecting me. What the hell? And like I need protecting.
As the ogre and his wife get closer, Tide is frowning and mashes his lips into a straight line. When he notices me, he shakes his head and glares.
Great, I must have screwed something up royally. If he knew me well, he wouldn't be surprised.
"Why did he let them pass and come here?" Melody's voice shakes, and she rubs her hands together.
When the ogre's eyes land on me, he smiles. "There she is." He points to me and laughs. "She's the one I was telling you about."
Now that they are closer, I can tell that the person with him is a little shorter and has long, green hair that blends in with their skin. Her face lights up.
I glance at Charlie. I don't know what's going on, but this isn't what I was expecting.
The woman with him runs over to me and wraps me in a large hug. "Thank you so much."
What in the world is going on? Her arms crush me, and I struggle to breathe. "Uh... you're welcome." It comes out more like a question than statement.
"Oh, honey, ease up." The ogre comes over and tugs her away from me. "You don't know your own strength now."
Dax relaxes and takes a few steps away. He chuckles and sits on the edge of the table.
Now that I'm not in danger, he's going to watch the whole show and see what happens. I wish I could be on the sidelines like that.
"Can you please keep it down
