บท 12: Capital (3)
"... How am I being.. an 'ass'?" He didn't know what he did to displease her. Avery could see the gears in his mind work as he tried to figure it out. She pointed to the brush. " What do you think of the things here?" He thought carefully before giving his honest opinion." Cheap, roadside trinkets. The brush is the only thing remotely useful besides the tableware, but the tableware isn't up to par in craftsmanship. The brush appears to use boar bristles and -"
Avery shook her head. Desmond than looked at it again, but neither picked it up. " Miss, may I pick it up?" Avery politely asked, neither overly nice nor too pandering. Desmond felt a little weird hearing her say it like that. "So she has a nice side..?" Desmond thought. The vendor nodded, unwilling to speak. Distant drums and singing could be heard, along with the voices of nearby people within the alley filling the silence between the three.
The brush's body was a made from a deep redwood, or it was stained. Avery couldn't tell. An outline of a rose, painted blue, rested behind somewhat off-center yet cleanly done. The varnish was obviously worn, but it was well cared for. The bristles were also worn, but clean with the tips dyed blue. The handle was shaped nicely for the hand with painted initials on the handle 'V.H'." What would you say this brush had?" Avery asked, a gentle smile stickied to her face.
"Amateur workmanship, but appears thought did go into it," Desmond said straight face. He could feel something coming. Avery turned to the old lady "What's the deal with the brush?" The vendor looked hesitant to answer before sighing." I made it... It was supposed to go to my granddaughter, but I had a falling out with my son." The old lady didn't seem to hurt, like it was just another day. Whether it was true or not, it had a story.
"How many brushes have you made?" Avery asked. " Three. One for my son when he was born. Another for his wife and then this one. " The vendor responded. Avery turned to Desmond "What do you think now?" Desmond pondered for a moment." Having a story does make it more attractive, but we can't verify it's true. My statement remains the same." Avery pursed her lips with displeasure, eyebrows furrowed. "The story is icing on the cake. The brush has character. Buying artisan craft items are nice and all, but so is buying things like this. Each has their own charm. "
Avery poked Desmond's nose lightly with the brush's bristles. "If you're trying to impress someone, sometimes expensive isn't better. Remember, its the thought that counts to your friends most of the time." Desmond thought for a moment before he looked like he had realized something. "So you're one of those people?" Now it was Avery's turn to be confused. "One of what?" Desmond clarified himself "Sentimental people." Avery shrugged "I'm a person. I have things I get sentimental over, while others I could toss like trash."
Desmond seemed to accept it, albeit reluctantly. Seeing that the two had finished, the old lady interjected." My lords, I understand you two are talking, but if you're not going to buy..." She seemed troubled whether to finish the statement, but Avery jumped in knowing what she wanted." I'm sorry, how much for the brush? I do like the overall appearance."
"One large sliver..." She hesitantly replied. Desmond seemed offended at the price "this isn't worth that amount. That's already halfway to the cheapest brush in the noble's district!" The old lady didn't press the price only saying" I'll keep my brush then"."Enough of this!" Avery fumed, losing her patience." Here." Handing the brush back, Avery turned without another word before continuing down the side road. Desmond felt bad about his outburst.
Silently, they continued on their way. There were few things that caught Avery's eyes, most intriguing pieces of jewelry and other brushes. Neither weapons nor armor even came into her eyes. Desmond thought she was into those things but then remember something. Everything she had was higher quality than everything here. He had to rethink his outlook with this girl. It finally came to him.
She was probably richer than the empire. Why would expensive things matter?
Having come to some understanding of why she was angry, or at least what he assumed was the reason, he followed behind her. Less inclined to make such comments. Praising himself on his ability to adapt and improvise. The passage of time had become foreign to them as they brushed from stall to stall. However, Avery never mentioned she wanted something again, unwilling to deal with Desmond's previous outburst. Which sadly left Desmond's newfound epiphany to collect dust behind her.
...
It wasn't long before the sun arched over the city, brilliant rays of sun that basked the city in warmth turned to cool dusk air. People began leaving their homes, work, or where ever they came from as the roads and side-ways livened up with bodies and voices. Singing muses coraled on corners, dancers floated along the streets, and the rare thief being caught by the City Watch. Amongst all of it, Avery watched it all with glistening eyes, bouncing between the crowds of people and stalls.
Guards walked along the pathways, torches in hand as they light lamps and street braziers. The sky had recently turned a haze of blues and oranges with the occasional two-toned cloud lazily floating into view from between the buildings. The darkening sky meant the city would also fall into darkness, yet with the city became a light in dancing orange light.
Avery seemed to never tire, floating from one stall to another. Going to a performer one moment, then going to a side attraction in the next. Desmond struggled to keep up. His stamina had been long depleted, but he didn't stop her. He, in fact, encouraged her to keep going. Her long white hair seemed to glitter like real snow in the torchlight. Her golden eyes glowed like distant stars and her upturned smile seemed to infect most of the people around her. How could it not? Such young beauty whom happily enjoying their daily bustle with such vigor. Most beauties were often taken to the Noble District to leech off rich men.
Yet there was such an exotic beauty happily dancing like a child to a singers song, eating from their food stalls, and not sneering at their cheap trinkets. She was odd, yes, but their lives were full of hardship and troubles. Having something new happy wouldn't hurt.
When the last strokes of orange were snuffed out of the sky by the glittering night sky did Avery rest by a 'creek' in a close to in the merchant district. They had spent quite a long time floating from market to market before they landed in the actual shopping district. The difference from the other places was they sold commodities and other things commoners needed or may want. The shopping district was aimed at tourist and visitors as well as commoners who'd come on up from the lower districts for little excursions.
It also housed the most reputable brothels accessible to commoners and merchants without letters of introductions or connections. As a side note.
Avery, dressed in a flowing white cotton dress that went to her mid-calf with long sleeves. Something she let Desmond purchase her at clothing shop the previous hour ago. It was pretty comfortable, even by her standards. She tied her hair into a side ponytail and nibbled happily at a skewer of sliced bell peppers, onions, and lamb. It wasn't seasoned well, but it was roasted well and she had good company to eat with.
They stand on a stone block bench by the 'creek', an artificial flow of water that flowed down from the royal castle's gardens. Built on the mouth of a freshwater river, the Imperial Castle enjoyed luxurious baths and gardens, but some of the previous emperors had built several 'creeks' and 'rivers' flowing out into tourist spots and noble parkways, elevating the area's appeal.
Where Avery and Desmond sat, it was a small off-run from the main merchant district's flow, leading off to the tavern and inn main street. There were planters on the edge with small trees and flowers here and there. Enough so that flow would water them, but not so little that it'd seem desolate like other stone cities. It was strange layout to Avery, but nonetheless beautiful in its own right.
Plenty of people walked around them, but not the earlier too and forth crowd. No, they were dressed nicer and smelled nicer. Couples, tourists, and foreigners walked around, thus completing the Capital feel.
Even after they had finished eating, Avery sat with leisure on the bench. She noticed how much she had worn Desmond out with her mad sight-seeing spree earlier. So she let him have his break next to her. His mage robes had been exchanged for a warm light-blue cotton tunic and black pants along with dark-brown leather boots. The night air was slowly chilling, yet they felt as warm as day from their meal.
"Did you have fun...?" Desmond timidly called out. Never having such an experience with the opposite sex, he was unsure how Avery felt. "Yes. " She cooed sweetly with a smile. He wasn't expecting such a forward answer. Rather, he didn't know what he was expecting. Darker memories seemed to boil up in his mind before he pushed them back. The girl by his side was a brash girl. One that apparently didn't hesitate to speak her mind, but understood that sometimes needed tact.
At least, that's what he'd come to understand.
Suddenly, her face had cramped up awkwardly. Desmond not missing it asked "Are you okay..? Do I -" She waved her hand. " I just remembered I forgot Fenrir back at the forest...". It hit Desmond too that the large wolf was missing as well. Then they both broke out in a chuckle. Desmond was going to say they could go back to get him right now, but Avery's word almost destroyed his common sense.
"Whelp. He'll be fine. He's a Higher-Wolf. Well past the five hundreds by now, I believe." She stood up then brushed off her dress." Damn it, I stained the dress already." Desmond sat stiff faced as he looked at her like he would a demon. "What...?" Avery looked at Desmond."You said the upper five hundreds..." Avery shrugged." Unno, it's probably gone into the six hundreds by now. I stop bothering the check after the three hundreds.
It took a few moments, but he decided he'd stop thinking and followed Avery out of the shopping district.
...
A grey wood throne with gold dragon heads for armrests stood over two women. One kneeling and one standing. White-jade marked their eyes with inlaid white-jade fangs in their open mouths. Polished gold scales populated the both carvings' bodies as they coiled up the backrest and towards the heaven. Behind the throne was three large velvet banners on each side, each embroidered with coiled dragons eating their tails. Polished stone bricks laid behind those with one Heavenly Knight under each banner with sheathed swords.
On the throne sat a large pale old man. His hair long grey and abandoning. Anger cooked in his eyes as he gnashed his teeth behind a long grey beard that reached his mid-abdomen. Thick crimson robes with golden embroidered dragons slithered down his chest did little to hide his protruding gut. He was the Emperor, Maria's 'husband'.
The sun long bedded itself as the inky night sky filled with glistening stars took its place. Yet, Empress Maria and Consort Lorelei along with other council members were present in the audience chamber. Large braziers burned with intense crackling that seemed to echo across the room, breaking the tense silence. Empress Maria was the only one that stood, facing the Emperor. Even with his contempt of her, he still had to give her that much in front of others.
He doted on his Consort excessively, yet she was made to bow in front of the council and him in the chamber. That was half his anger. The other half was his o' so beloved consort seemed to have 'forgotten' details in her earlier, colorful report. He had half a mind to kill his Empress and raise Lorelei to power, yet when the Empress strode in confidently, despite her missing arm. He had an ominous gut feeling that Lorelei may have left something out earlier.
It was not like she hadn't before, but she knew well enough that he needed important information, unaltered, when it came to making such executive decisions. He was the Emperor, but he wasn't blind to the power struggles within the castle. He toed a fine line with those powers. Though they often left him to his own devices, removing Empress Maria who was backed with a neighboring country wasn't a smart idea. That is, without a huge scandal on her part. Losing the Ghost Flower was a good reason, yet lorelei failed to explain it was due to a dragon attack.
Even worst, there was a Primordial with the Empress!
This made him both nervous and excited. If he could tie this female Primordial to the empire, they'd become an unparallel power. The one problem was that neither her nor his shitty son was here.
"The Primordial, where is she?" His voice was deep and raspy, well suited to the title of an emperor. "She's with the Third Prince." Empress responded confidently. Her unwavering eyes only agitated him more. "We take that he has gotten them lost in the Capital?" His voice was domineering, pushing his accusation. In a normal session, the council members would have murmured their agreements with such.
However, this was not such a meeting. Neither were they a normal council.
Lorelei saw to that. The council had long been a cabinet of ten noble men, yet three were executed become Consort Lorelei accused them of trying to rape her. Each of them was her trying to sleep with them because they were young and handsome.
Two were pushed off the Emperor's Heaven's Cloud when they tried to reason with her over her expensive demands.
One was dragged and thrown into a pit of hungry feral dogs when he raised his voice to her.
The last two 'mysteriously' disappeared when they were overhead slandering her.
The current council consisted of five young and old men. The youngest being fifteen. A stable boy who proved he was quite the thinker despite no formal education nor an ability to read. Three were old professors from Desmond's academy in the noble district. Oddly enough, they lacked an ability to see to the people's needs. They just used the stable boy for that. The last one was the only noble on the council. His only job was to balance the books, find the coin, and inform the council of the status of the country.
Oddly enough, this patchworked council was rather good in its ways. A stable hand with a commoner's thinking yet creative in thought; Three professors who had connections to schools and could find people - being the only thing they were useful for -; Lastly, a well-bred nobleman who was versed in finances and law while seeing the power struggles.
But alas, it was a struggling group. Even with ten members, they barely managed to hold the country together with an Emperor who rather sleep and drink with women for half the day then help make decisions. In fact, Consort Lorelei was more involved in creating laws than the Emperor, but only those that benefited her family. They long ago gave up their dreams of grandeur of bettering the country with those two at the helm. It seemed if the Empress wasn't there, the country would have fallen by now.
Then, the large grey wood chamber doors opened with loud clacks of the door handles. as two stone-faced Heavenly Knights pushed each door open before announcing."Third Prince and his guest, Avery Bailey have arrived.'' Flanking them, a youthful man with pale skin with a young girl with a flawless complexion and flowing hair white as snow walked in.
Desmond had changed into his school robes. Loose, thin, deep-sea blue robes clung to his body underneath a black hooded mantle and thick polished leather boots. Avery wore the white cotton dress that he bought her earlier, except with the stains gone. Her hair cascaded off her right shoulder and down the front of her chest. Her golden-feline eyes scanned the room with fleeting interest.
The moment they walked in, all the men sucked in their breaths.
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