The New Bond

Aster

I knew my eyes were wide, and I was staring at everything and everyone, but there were so many colors, and everyone was still in jackets and thicker tunics to prevent the cold of the ending winter. There were some people like me and Roslin who didn't seem bothered by the cold, but not many.

I was currently looking at what was a stall of different jackets, all in various bright colors ranging from orange to a bright pink I'd never seen.

A pull on my shoulder dragged me away from the stall, and I looked up to see Roslin pulling me by my tunic through the packed street. Looking back, I noticed the displeasure written on the face of the man who had been behind the stall.

Roslin had talked about a festival for the academy year starting. I didn't expect this, with all of the food smells and different things for sale, but I guess I hadn't known what to expect in the first place. That stall had been the third one I'd stopped to look at, and it seemed Roslin would keep me from seeing anymore, sadly.

She was relentless in creating a path. She pushed or moved people as we moved while keeping a hand on me the entire time. After the first dozen steps away from the stall, I stuck close, not complaining. It was crowded to the point of people brushing against me, bouncing off me, or knocking into my tail. It was making my skin crawl with nerves, and I winced every time I felt my tail catch on something. I could finally understand why wolves hated their tail being touched.

Eventually, the crowd started to lessen, and I felt my breathing, which had been fast and shallow, even out. I shook my entire body, letting the stress leave me as I looked up at Roslin. She glanced down at me, and a look of something close to condolence passed in her expression before she looked around.

"We have a few streets to pass before we reach the shop, but hey, it shouldn't be as bad, but it'll still be busy," she cautioned, and I gave a reluctant nod. I preferred the city when I could look at it from above.

We walked at a fast pace, and I didn't bother to talk. Even with all of the people and the looks I got that made my ears prickle uncomfortably, I still enjoyed the scenery. The buildings were similar, but I could spot words and symbols that marked them as a shop, an inn, or some other type of place I didn't know. The item Roslin had given me was amazing. While I could still hear people, it blocked out most of the noise, making everything just bearable.

Eventually, thankfully, we reached the place that Roslin wanted us to go to, a building made of almost purely wood except for a few key pillars, which I guessed were used to keep the entire building up. It wasn't the fanciest building on the street, being outdone by the ones next to it on either side easily.

I looked up, reading the sign that hung by a metal clip aloud as we walked inside.

"Enchantments Items And Relics"

Roslin paused at the entrance, looking at me as she spoke in a serious tone, "Don't touch anything without it being handed to you. Some of these items are, well, dangerous. A few months ago, a thief tried to sneak and take something, found out the hard way."

Giving her a nod to show I understood, she turned around and pulled on the handle.

The door let out a creek as it opened, and I sneezed, starting to cough as we entered.

There had to be more dust than air inside this place.

I looked around the inside of the small building in interest. Shelves lined every wall, cluttered with odds and ends, full of items and books that I wanted to go and look at, but before I could, Roslin spoke.

"Hey! Charles, you shut in! You have customers." Roslin called as she made her way to the back of the store, where a counter was, and I followed.

There was a cluttering of noise as a door behind the counter opened. A man, quite ordinary in looks with his brown hair, brown eyes, and average height compared to those on the streets, stepped out. Wrinkles around his lips and eyes let me know he was older than he looked. He had an apron over an older-looking rumpled tunic that overflowed with pockets holding tools.

The only thing that was different or unique about the picture was the small golden-furred squirrel that was sitting on his shoulder.

"Roslin, is that you?" His voice was gruff and had the sound that mine sometimes did when I didn't speak for weeks at a time.

"Yes, don't tell me you haven't gone out again? The festival is in full swing. There should be some trinkets that you can find out there."

His forehead creased. "The academy festival? Isn't still a month off?"

Roslin let a long breath out. "Charles, it's almost over. You're telling me you've been in here that long?"

The man, who was bigger by a foot than Roslin, took a step back. "No, well, yes, I just was going to leave, but there was a new item I've been working on." He said slowly.

Roslin glared at him. "You know you need to go out more. This type of work isn't healthy in long strides. Maybe find someone who can work with you at least."

The squirrel chittered, and Roslin pointed at them. "Besides you, you two are too alike and keep feeding each other ideas."

Charles raised his hands in surrender. "I'll go out today, I promise, and we'll enjoy the event."

Roslin let her pointing hand fall and then sighed. "Thank you, Charles. You do need to get out more."

I listened silently to the conversation, looking at each of the items. None stood out as special but more like an easy way to do everyday things. I identified some on the counter while they talked.

[Sharp-Bladed Skinning Knife - Uncommon - This knife can be fed mana to sharpen the blade of the knife.]

[Almost Endless Water Skin - Uncommon - This skin can hold 45 gallons of water or a liquid of similar density.]

[Growing Crop Hoe - Any seed planted after the ground has been tilled by this hoe will grow faster based on the amount of mana put into the hoe while tilling.]

The items were all simple. I would have liked to have them all, but I didn't need any. They were all things I could do on my own.

Roslin pointed to me. "This is Aster. She's new to the kingdom and large crowds. We came to see if you had an item that could help with her hearing. She has well.." she waved her hands around my ears. "These. Not that they're not nice." She added after catching my look.

I gave the man a smile as he looked over and down at me. The sound from outside was only faint, being inside the building and with the item Roslin lent me, but I could still hear it. "It's not too bad right now, but it hurts outside without anything to help."

Charles thoughtfully hummed as he bent down over the counter, taking a look at me. His eyes danced as he did so, as if just now meeting me, and he held out a hand.

"Well, Miss Aster, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Charles Ankroy, and this is my beautiful companion, Theo. I am sure there will be something we can find here for you." he held out his hand sideways, and I looked at it for a moment before I turned to Roslin. She chuckled. "You're meant to shake it, sorry, Charles. Like I said, she's new to all of this."

Blinking, I realized what gesture he was making from a book, but I’d never seen it before. I reached out and, after a moment, shook his much bigger hand.

He let out a rumbling laugh, waving off Roslin’s remark, "Don't worry, no harm in it."

"Now, about that item. You say your hearing is too good, eh? That's a first, but maybe hmm…I think you are in luck." He turned around, rummaging on the shelves, then moved beneath the counter, looking around. A moment later, there was a cracking noise as something broke, and I winced. Charles appeared with his beard covered in sparkling dust, smiling as he held an item up, a small golden ring with a clasp.

“This should work, but it’ll put a cost on your wisdom.” he held it out, and I took it, identifying it.

[Insulated Ear Ring - When attached to an ear, reduces the noise of all objects around the wearer that they are not currently focused on. Note: This item requires a minimum of 50 Wisdom and costs an upkeep of 20 Wisdom to keep active.]

“It was made for a minor noble who complained about the noise outside when trying to sleep at night and never came to pick it up, so I figured I'd melt it down and sell it, but seems to fit your problem."

“Can I try it on?” I asked, and he nodded.

I clipped it onto my left ear, the clasp tight but not painful. I shook my head, seeing if it would fly off, but it stayed put. The effect of the enchantment was weird, almost like I was packing my ears with stuffing and then covering them. The effect fell away when I focused on hearing everything and dulled down when it was only focused on hearing everything in the room. Looking up at Charles, I grinned at him excitedly.

“It works!”

He let out a chuckle. “I would hope so. Took a few days to make properly.”

“How much is this going to cost, though, Charles?” Roslin said, crossing her arms and raising a brow. “I know you’re not exactly cheap.”

Charles looked slightly offended. “Roslin, you know my items only cost slightly more than they cost to make.”

His words earned a snort from the woman.

He let out a long, dramatic breath.

“It’ll cost ninety silvers, and that’s at a discount because I like the young miss.”

I nodded. I had that, so it would be fine, and I desperately needed something like this. I pulled the bag of silver I’d been given, seeing Roslin’s eyebrow twitch, but she only sighed. Counting out the silver, I laid it on the counter and slid over the counted pile.

Charles paused in picking up the coins, leaving five on the counter and sliding them back across. “Miss, no offense, but you should let Roslin do the bartering today; you need to learn how to haggle.”

I turned my head, looking between the two confused, but Roslin just waved a hand. “I’ll explain it when we're done.”

I shrugged and took the five pieces and put them in the bag, then the bag into my storage.

We left the shop after Charles promised Roslin again that he’d get out today.

I enjoyed the walk much more after that, able to look around and enjoy the sights and smells with less of a worry. We even stopped on our way to the next shop, picking up some food from a vendor.

It was a long stick with meat skewered and coated in a sauce that tasted spicy and sweet at the same time. We even stopped again to watch a group of people, guards by what I’d seen earlier, in full metal armor, march their way down the street, their boots hitting the ground in unison, creating a pleasing rhythm.

The next shop we stopped was a three-story building with windows painted on every level and a much nicer exterior. White-colored stone slabs were placed in the entrance, making the doorway an arch. Pillars on the outside had been carved with the shop's name, The Perl Finery. Walking inside, I could tell that the place was busy. The second story was open in the middle with railings to prevent falling. I could see people up there shopping as well.

“Ohh! Roslin, it's so good to see you again. I hope you didn’t ruin another one of our outfits.” I turned my head at the voice, seeing a middle-aged woman with glasses walking up. Her black hair was styled up in a bun, and she wore a detailed robe full of elaborately sewn circles that were stitched with different colored threads.

“No, Lady Ebberson, I’m actually here for someone else today. Actually, I’m happy it was you I ran into.”

Ebberson’s gaze shifted to me, her face keeping the same smile she had given Roslin. “I would assume it would be for this young madam then?”

I nodded. At the same time, Roslin answered, “Yes, ma’am, please meet Lady Aster. She is the child of a respected but distant military leader.”

I frowned. They were both speaking as if I wasn't right in front of them. Why couldn't she just ask me? I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it, remembering Charles words. I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t know a lot about trading. I listened as they continued to speak.

Ebberson bowed slightly, seeming to get something that passed over my head. “It’s always nice to have a new customer. What type of occasion will she be attending?”

“She’ll be attending a small but formal event. I was hoping for something simple, easy to walk in, and not too big.” Roslin turned to look at me, and I looked back, my eyes flat.

“Well, what colors do you think would be best?” She asked me.

Now I get to choose? I almost snorted but helped it in and gave the question a bit of thought. I really wanted green, but I also wanted something related to Umbra. Green and purple? I didn’t feel like those colors matched well. Green and blue could work, right? They wouldn't blend in well together, but I wasn't trying to blend in, and they both looked nice when next to each other.

“Green and blue?” I asked her.

Ebberson made a thoughtful humming noise, “I would think blue and gold or to highlight the eyes and hair more, but if the lady wishes those colors, we can make them work.”

I looked to Roslin, who gave a slight nod, then sighed, “Blue and gold then, but can there be purple too?” If I couldn't have forest colors, I at least wanted both colors of Umbra’s scales.

Roslin smiled as if she understood what my idea was and turned to Ebberson. “Can that work?”

Ebberson only looked in thought for a moment. “I believe I can do that. Let us go to the back and get some styling options chosen for the dress.”

The hour was not as fun as I thought it would be. First off, I had to refuse the initial dress choice. It was bulky and hard to move in, but Roslin agreed with me the second wasn’t as bad, but it draped all over the ground, and tripping was a serious risk. It was in this process I realized how impractical a dress was. Who would wear something that could get caught in everything, make it hard to jump around, or even more at a reasonable pace? It was the sixth option that we all finally agreed on, but I was reluctant. It ended right after the knees and had short sleeves, which I was happy with. The color was almost entirely blue with only specs of glitter gold and purple, which I ended up liking quite a bit, and the way it fluffed out at the bottom was okay, if a little hard to get used to.

A hole for my tail would have to be added, but that was done with just the snap of Ebberson’s fingers.

To my surprise, after I asked about the skill she must have used, It turned out her entire second class was based on tailoring. The thing I wasn't happy about was how tight the straps in the middle of the dress had been pulled for the corset, something I had just learned about. It was annoying and really restrictive. I could see the benefit if it was only a little tight, but it felt like I was being suffocated.

Roslin paid for the dress, which was put into my storage gem. There was no way I was going to wear it when I didn't have to. I was a little angry at having to wear it at all, but my mood changed after we left.

The next shop was one full of books. Hundreds were in there. We picked up books that were required by the academy, but I went on a small spree, getting half a dozen other books, only stopping when reminded that I should save some coin. I was tempted to use a mana-infused coin but didn’t after asking and confirming that I could come back later for more. I did end up picking up one more that I thought Umbra would like.

After that, Roslin led me to a place where we sat and ate. I enjoyed the small muffins that were provided even if they weren't as filling; they melted in my mouth, each one a different berry flavor. Roslin explained what she called common knowledge, what a noble, commoner, and king were, and how they ranked. When I asked where I ranked, she really didn't have an answer.

Kulni was considered a guardian of the kingdom and was well respected but not technically part of it. The best answer I got was being regarded as distant royalty or a high noble.

"That being said, you should know that in the academy, how you are doesn't matter. The only thing the academy judges is skill and ability." Roslin told me, as she drank, what I had asked and learned was coffee. I tried it but found it bitter and unappealing to Roslin's amusement, choosing to drink tea instead.

"Then why do nobles get to avoid taking the test?" I said, remembering the snippet of conservation last night.

"Because there are still nobles, as much as the academy tries to be neutral and welcoming to all nobles, they still end up being considered more important with their race classes tending to be a higher rarity." Roslin shrugged. "It just tends to lean that way."

I bit into another muffin, nodding. It didn't matter too much to me, but I couldn't help the increasing curiosity as to tonight. Did nobles just assume they were better than everyone?

If nobles were treated that special, how was a king treated?

“There’s one place left we have to go to. Then we can go back to the spire.”

“Where is that?” I asked, tilting my head. I’d thought we went everywhere.

Roslin grinned. “We have to get you makeup.”