Thessa set her destination to the marketplace at the edge of the town square. Sarren, as a cat, remained in her room at the Suckling Pig Inn. The encounter she had with the numismatist and his henchmen persuaded her to hold off on finding out where her treasure from Cassany was hidden. The coins she had on her would suffice for quite sometime before she had to squeeze the information out of Sarren. In the meantime, she needed some fruit and other foodstuff for the room. Even looking as fetching as she did now, she wanted to avoid going down into the common room as much as possible. She planned to see if she could appeal to the innkeeper to hire a kitchen maid to bring her meals, but she had not gathered the courage yet.
Since she had arrived in the big city, her experience told her she could not trust anyone. She decided to avoid interactions with people as much as she could. She entered the marketplace clutching her coin purse. She was not about to let some random cutpurse get away with snatching it from her after the price she paid to secure them. The marketplace was a long street on the sunny side of the city where the walls were lower, yet still heavily guarded by the Emlestra city militia. The first section she came to was the produce quarter. Rows and rows of apples, pears, corn ears, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables were displayed on slanting, open carts and shelves. Further down the street were the cloth merchants and dry good sellers. She began at the apple and pear cart, replaying the exchange of currency in her head so she would not be cheated.
She was not far into her shopping before she noticed a man following her from cart to cart. Her first instinct was to panic. After what had happened to her at the inn, she had become more and more paranoid. She moved to the next cart a little faster than before and she nonchalantly glanced around but did not see the man. She breathed in a sigh of relief. She cautiously began rummaging through the fruit and vegetables once again.
“Excuse me?”
Thessa was startled to hear the sound of a man’s voice right behind her. She turned quickly to see the man who was following her stand-in right next to her. She let out s little yelp then covered her mouth.
“I’m so sorry.” He said, “I didn’t mean to startle you. It is just you look so familiar. I had also hoped to get your help on picking out some of this fruit. I don’t know how to tell if it’s too ripe.”
“Sneaking up on a girl probably isn’t the way to go about asking.” Thessa said.
The man lowered his head, “You’re right. I am such an idiot.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean for you to feel bad about yourself. I was just saying…”
“It is difficult to build up the courage to talk to someone as lovely as you.” He grimaced, “Wow, that sounded better in my head.”
Thessa didn’t know what to say, so she just stood there awkwardly.
“I’m sorry.” He reached out with his hand, “Name’s Gaelyn.” Thessa took his hand.
“I’m called Thessa.”
“Thessa, that’s a nice name.” He kissed the top of her hand.
“I’m sure you would say that even if it wasn’t.”
“You know, I probably would.” They both chuckled.
Thessa looked deep into the Gaelyn’s eyes before concluding he was genuinely friendly and didn’t have something else in mind. He had forgotten that she looked different from normal for a few moments, and she briefly wondered if he might be talking to her because she was beautiful. Would he have given her any notice had she still looked like herself?
“I know this is sudden, but would you consider a meal with me this evening?” Gaelyn was distracted by the mewing of a black and white cat that just showed up and began rubbing Thessa’s leg. “Oh, who is this little fellow?”
“She is my cat, Sarren, and she was supposed to be in our room at the inn. How did you get out?”
The maid
“Bad kitty!”
“Taht is amazing. How did she find you out here?”
“She is a very smart animal.”
“I should say so. You can bring her along if you consent to have a meal with me this evening.”
“I would love to.”
Bad idea. You are forgetting yourself. If you develop feelings for this man, you will be putting him in grave danger.
“It’s only dinner.”
Gaelyn flinched, “Okay, only dinner and we will see how it goes from there.”
“Oh no, I was speaking to my cat. I… uh… do that sometimes. I think she came to find me because she’s hungry.”
“Oh.” He looked confused.
Thessa tried to reassure him, “My cat and I have a special bond. It’s like I can read her thoughts sometimes. Don’t put too much into it. I am just crazy about my kitty. I hope that isn’t a problem for you?”
“No, not at all. I like cats.” He bent down to pet her, and Sarren hissed and pawed at him. He jerked his hand away.
“Sarren, no! Bad kitty.” She bent down and picked Sarren up. “You stop that!”
Well, he needs to go away.
“I think you had better go back to our rooms.” She indicated a booth across the street with a fat man eyeing them hungrily. There were dead cats hanging from the ceiling in the shop and along the outer eve. “I think some around these parts must eat cats.” Sarren eyed the man with horror.
Gaelyn looked at the booth, “Oh yes, I had forgotten about them. There is another booth down the way where they sell dogs for dinner as well. Barbaric!”
Thessa let Sarren go and she ran the opposite direction, out of sight.
“Will she be all right by herself?” Gaelyn asked.
“She will. She is stronger than you know. Stronger than the average house cat.”
“And smarter too.”
Thessa chuckled, “Yes, and smarter
