Out on the Town
"Well! I figured since Flora already took you shopping, I would show you some of the sites instead," Dad began. "Did I ask if you've ever ridden a horse?"
"Sure I have. It's how we get around back home. But ever since--well, you know. I didn't really need to ride. I can go long distances on foot without tiring. But yes, I can ride. What shall we see first?" I replied. Honestly speaking, I wasn't too keen on riding. It was in my experience that horses seemed to have a sixth sense about me and don't want to have anything to do with me. Could you guess why?
"The first stop is not very far from here. Come on, let's get you a horse," he was leading the way to the stables. I gave a sigh. I knew what was about to happen, and as as we entered, I wasn't disappointed. I slowly and deliberately made my way down the row of horses. I didn't have my hopes up in finding a suitable mount that wouldn't be scared half to death at my very presence. As predicted, I got whinnied at out of fear, one actually tried to charge me, but most of them shied away from me. Discouraging to say the least.
As I came near to the end of the row, I saw him. He was very big and very black. He was actually staring at me out of curiosity. As I approached him, he didn't whinny, charge or shy away. His ears were perked up and he glanced around as if to say "What's all the hub-bub?"
I approached with caution, my hands up. He actually craned his neck out to greet me.
"Good choice," Dad said and had a servant take him out to be fitted with a saddle. Moments later Dad and I were riding out of the stable yard.
Nothing was really said as we headed out of the Castle grounds and down a path that was heading down the mountainside. I was busy taking tin the spectacular view and getting a whiff of the fragrant wildflowers. We were about half and hour along when dad stopped at a little stone structure.
"Here we are! First stop," Dad declared.
"Ah. So who or what's here?" I asked, getting ready to dismount.
"Take a look," he instructed to the smooth part of the stone on the front part. I got down and came over for a closer look and read the words:
"KING ERIC BARRIMEN; DIED DEFENDING THE REALM OF AMBER"
I stared harder at the carving of my father's likeness. It was uncanny.
"I'm not sure I get it," I began in thought. "Either you bear a striking resemblance to an ancestor, or you're supposed to be dead--although there are no dates here to indicate either. I'm not sure what to make of this. So if that's supposed to be you, that means you were king at one time and are not anymore. I mean, that is supposed to be you, right? Not sure how to wrap my noodle around this and I'm sure you'll explain. So does that make you Walking Dead?" I was trying to keep things light, and it was enough to make him laugh out loud at my last remark.
"Heh. I guess you could say that, kind of. Come on. I'll explain on the way down," he waved at me to get back on my horse.
"My brothers do not get along as easily as it may appear," he began. "We tend to bicker and jockey for power and position when left to ourselves."
Sounded like typical sibling rivalry to me.
"You see, the king, our father and your grandfather, Oberon, left without making a clear statement as to which of his sons should take the throne. As you can probably imagine, this caused a bit of an argument," he paused, maybe thinking of how to word things next, or else waiting to see if I was getting it.
"I can imagine. Sounds messy. So how did you guys work it out?" I responded, waiting for him to go on.
"Well, there were several, uh, what you might call disputes, some violent, some not. But what decided it was a war, but not among ourselves. It actually brought us together--albeit briefly," he paused again and seemed to pick his next words out carefully. "I was killed near the end of that war--or at least I thought I was." He was shaking his head. After making our way around a narrow curve, he continued.
"What really ended the war was the death of my father. It was at his funeral that Random was chosen as King--but he wasn't chosen by us, his siblings. He was chosen by our family's crest animal, the Unicorn," he shook his head again and fell silent. Probably a good thing. My poor head was having a hard time processing what he had just said.
"Okay," I began slowly, putting it into words so I could keep it straight. "I think you lost me a little. You thought you were dead, and after Grandfather's funeral, a Unicorn chose Random as King." Strangely, I think it was making sense, but I didn't want to add anymore to it for fear of more confusion.
"That's right," he encouraged. "And as far as I can remember, I was brought back, restored or whatever you want to call it about a month ago. I guess that petty much brings us up to date." He took the left fork in the trail.
"About a month ago?" I could feel my eyebrow go up at this. "How long were you gone?--Do I want to know that? How were you brought back? Why were you brought back? I'm glad you're here now of course. You realize you 're in danger of making my head hurt?" I was confused, yet interested and even intrigued all at the same time. At this point in our ride, the city came back into view and the smells wafting up from it were very pungent.
Dad shrugged. "The only answer I have is to the first question--almost six years." He gave a gentle smile. "I didn't intend to make your head hurt. I just thought you should know and hear it from me rather than some of the others."
I nodded. That's understandable.
"We can talk about something else if you prefer," he said.
"That'll work," I said, totally distracted with the smells. I was trying to differentiate them and figure them out. The obvious smells were of people--lots and lots of people. Sweat with a touch of--fear. Curious. I could also pick up food smells, although very faint. I could smell meat. Raw meat, cooked meat, smoked meat, baking bread and other things that were cooking. Mixed in with the sea salt in the air, it made for an interesting combination to hit my nose.
Dad took a deep breath and dove right in to change the subject. "So! Do you have any boyfriends?"
I couldn't help but give him a good-natured look of "Are you kidding me?!" as I found this question to be highly amusing.
"No. My--uh--strong personality seems to have them scared off," I chuckled. "Any girlfriends I should be aware of?"
Dad chuckled in return. "Not at the moment, no. Kind of hard to have any kind of relationship when you are thought of as dead," he mused.
"Is okay. Sometimes, single is a good thing. It's worked out for me so far," I said, still cataloging the smells from town.
"Yeah, you're right," he replied with a laugh. We continued our ride and eventually reached the city proper. I couldn't get over that so many people could occupy the streets at one time. But I stuck close to dad as he led me around, pointing out various landmarks.
As we made our way through the crowd, my nose came to identify many things. Among the smells I could pick up on were burning metal, burnt horse hooves, and horse leather--the smells that went with a blacksmith. My ears finally picked up on the ringing sounds of metal hitting metal. Before I realized it, dad was leading me straight to the Smithy. We dismounted and entered the shop.
We both stood there for a moment watching the smithy at work. I found that I was really staring--could you blame me? Relatively young looking man, bared chest, rock-hard muscles rippling beneath his skin, the huge bicep bulging as he swung that hammer---
I was brought back to my senses as he suddenly noticed us standing there. He instantly set his hammer down and hit his knees.
"Your Majesty," he greeted, eyes on the floor.
"It's good to see you, sir," Dad replied easily. "Please do get up." The smithy was back on his feet an instant later.
"What brings Your Majesty to this humble smithy?" the large man asked.
"Master Perry, please. Enough with the 'Your Majesty' already. I am no longer the king," he said with a quick smile.
"Of course, My Lord," the smithy replied with a grin.
"That's a step in the right direction, I guess," Dad chuckled and turned to me to make an introduction. "I would like you to meet the best blacksmith in all of Amber, Master Perry Bick. Master Perry, my daughter Tabitha."
"A pleasure, My Lady," he bowed with a pleasant smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, Master Perry," I returned warmly with a smile and a bow of my head. I did not make direct eye contact. I instead was watching him from the corner of my eye and pretended to be taking in the sights of his shop. I did not wish to alarm or scare him with my eyes. Most folks get scared off pretty easily.
The objects hanging around Master Perry's shop were actually interesting to behold. There were fine blades in various stages of their creation. There were a couple of pole arms, various pieces of armor and plenty of farming tools that I easily recognized.
"My daughter needs a fine blade, Perry. Are you up for the task?" Dad asked.
"My Lord, you honor my shop with the mere suggestion," he bowed deeply again. Well, he definitely had the flattery part down-pat.
"Good. Let's get started," Dad smiled and the two began discussing properties that were to be in the blade, and so on. I tried to follow the conversation, but found the topic a bit dry. I don't really care what all goes into making a blade--just so long as it works. I gave myself my own little tour of the shop and decided that I wanted to do a little people-watching. I didn't want to attract any unwanted attention with my eyes, so I shoved my hand in my pocket and wiggled my fingers, concentrated on what I was wanting and a moment later pulled a pair of dark sunglasses out of my pocket.
No sooner had I reached the door to the street and put them on did I hear Dad's voice calling from within:
"Tabitha, come let Master Perry get your measurements."
Okay. No problem. I took the sunglasses off, hung them off the front of my shirt and headed back inside to where they were waiting for me. I didn't worry about looking at Master Perry now.
"What d'ya need?" I asked with a smile, ready to oblige. I couldn't help noticing his reaction. His cheeks colored slightly.
"I need to get My Lady's height, weight, hand and arm measurements," he replied.
"Master Perry is very precise in his work. Every item in the workshop is made specifically for one person," Dad explained.
Perry had pulled out his measuring tape. "Your blade, for example. Anyone who knows how to wield a sword will be able to use it. But in your hands, it will be most effective."
"Interesting," I said very intrigued. "I look forward to seeing the end result." I smiled again, extended my hand and stood still for him to take his measurements, which only took a moment.
"I should have this ready in about a week, Your Highness," he stated.
"Good. I know we won't be disappointed," Dad clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "Come along, Tabby. The good man needs to get to work."
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Master Perry! I look forward to our next meeting!" I smiled at him and followed Dad out. Once we were outside again, I put the dark glasses back on.. Dad was giving me some sideways looks and smirking.
"Okay. Next stop on our little tour is the East Market," he announced.
I followed him closely through the city streets. As I continued to catalog the various scents, I could tell that we were heading towards the water. After a few blocks the street suddenly opened up to a very large marketplace--far bigger than ones back home. There were many merchants crowding the square and about the same amount of people doing their shopping. The noise was a big ball of confusion as they barked, haggled and made deals all in the name of the bargain. I was somewhat overwhelmed as Dad pointed out various booths and carts, explaining who had the best products. He pointed out a nut vendor and pointed out a strange fruit I had never heard of or even remember the name of. But the vendor that had caught my attention was the one selling different meats.
He had spiced meats and jerked meats and I had to keep from drooling. He had a whole smorgasbord of different meats--you name it, he had it. My hand brushed my empty pocket.
"May we purchase some?" I turned to Dad, ready to give him the puppy eyes if he said "no".
"Absolutely!" Dad smiled and produced his money pouch. He proceeded to order a sampling of each meat and had it delivered back to the Castle. Then he bought some more for us to snack on.
I don't think I even need to mention that this put me in hog-heaven! I was definitely in a happy place, wandering the market, snacking on an excellent piece of jerky. I was so comfortable with my surroundings that I was not paying much attention to my surroundings.
Dad suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and had his blade at the throat of a young boy. I had also turned out of reflex, ready to spring onto Dad's assailant, but when I saw that he had caught a young boy and held him at bay with his sword, I stopped short, but I did not let my guard down. Dad had his free hand locked around the boy's wrist and I could see that the boy still had a hold of what looked like Dad's money pouch. It looked like the boy had tried to pick Dad's pocket. Either he was stupid, or inexperienced, or possibly both.
"Not wise," I growled at him in a barely audible tone. To my amazement, the boy was showing no fear whatsoever and he reeked of contempt. But seeing as he was caught, he let go of the pouch with a smile. Dad only reacted by turning the boy away from him and shoving him away to where the boy promptly disappeared into the crowd and left no trace that the incident had even occurred.
Okay, a little confused now.
"Cheeky little bastard," I heard Dad mutter as he recovered his pouch and secured it to his belt once more.
"You could have turned him in," I said, still looking in the direction he had disappeared in. "Do you know him, or something?"
"No, but I know the type. If I had turned him in, he would have, at the very least, lost his hand and maybe his head too," Dad replied.
"Oh," I replied, trying to think about it a little, then as the meaning of what he had said sank in---"Oh!" The thought of losing a hand or your head seemed a bit severe.
"That sounds harsh," I muttered as I pulled out another piece of jerky and began to nibble at it. "So where to now?" I didn't really want to dwell on that anymore.
Dad seemed to instantly perk up. "To the docks! There's a great place for lunch down there."
So we headed toward the water again, leaving the market behind. I'm glad he knew his way, because the streets seemed to wind like a maze and the buildings were very close together. One could feel a touch claustrophobic in here since the streets were so narrow. But I didn't have to worry as the street eventually widened up again and the buildings spread themselves out a little more. I could definitely smell the prevalent sea salt I could hear the water slapping around the warehouses. And as we rounded the corner, I got my first glimpse of Amber Harbor. Wow. So many docks as far as I could see! I had never seen anything like it before in my life. It was amazing! Dad had paused with me so I could take it all in.
"You like chili dogs?" he asked, moving along again. I really had to think about that for a moment.
"Chili, yes," I replied. "Dog? What is that?"
"Well, if you don't know it by name, you'll have to see it to understand.. Come on," he took my hand and led me away from the water and up the shoreline to a little shack with the sign reading "Mikey's II". I could smell chili and another meat of some kind. There was a man standing in front of the shack and was holding something, but I couldn't see what it was because he walked away. Instead of a door, there was a window and Dad walked us right up to it.
"Four chili dogs and two root beer floats," Dad announced as we reached the window. The man gave a nod and disappeared for a moment. When he reappeared, he had two ale mugs full of a very frothy concoction and a simple brown paper sack. Dad laid some coins down on the counter and picked up the food. He jerked his head in the direction I should follow and we went around behind the shack where there were some tables and chairs set up. We sat down at one and dad unloaded the bag. He set two small wrapped bundles of waxed paper down in front of me and looked at me expectantly as I began to unwrap one as if it were a kind of present. I only took a brief second to survey the food, took a deep breath and took a bite.
Wow. I didn't know that combination of meat and chili could taste so good! It was a kind of sausage placed onto a strange kind of bun topped with chili, onions and cheese. It was delicious!
"That's actually pretty yummy," I managed as I took the next bite and proceeded to polish it off and dug into the second one.
"I thought you would like it," he said as he also finished his second. "Now try the root beer float." He took a sip of his, leaving a foamy moustache under his nose. I took my mug and let some of the creamy concoction slide down my throat. Let's see... sarsaparilla and a cold vanilla cream. I took another sip and got some of the foam on my nose. I couldn't help giggling as I took it off and continued to drink
"That was delicious," I announced as I finished. "So what happens next?"
Dad smiled and looked like he was about to say something when he suddenly frowned. "Excuse me for a minute. Someone is trying to contact me." He got up and walked to the back of the shack, leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest.
I gave a little shrug of "whatever" and got up to walk around a bit, looking to check the place out a little bit, but planned to keep Dad in eyesight.
However, from what I could see, his conversation was not going very well as he stood up to his full height, eyes blazing and jaw clenched tight and suddenly reeked of anger. It looked like it was taking a lot to try and maintain some semblance of control. Before I had a chance to react, he couldn't hold it in anymore and lashed out at the nearest thing with his fist--that happened to be the shack. Wood splintered and a sizeable hole was left behind. It startled the man inside because something clattered noisily to the floor and then he was timidly looking out the new ventilation in the backside of his shack. There were a few people passing by, but they didn't stop. In fact, they quickened their pace to get away from there in a hurry.
I couldn't help but startle a little myself as he punched the wall. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I had to consciously keep my feet planted as my "Fight or Flight" response wanted me to run. Dad looked like he was trying his best to get a hold of himself. As he relaxed, so did I a little. I found the courage to approach him a couple of steps.
"Do I want to know? Are you going to be okay?" I queried.
It seemed to take a terribly long moment, but he finally came down enough to talk again. "I'm fine, but I'm afraid we'll have to cut the day short," he said with a sigh. He pulled out his deck of cards and began shuffling through them and when he found the one he wanted, he handed it to me.
"Here. This will get you back to the Castle quickly if you need to. Otherwise, you can take your time in getting back and anything you need you just show them this and it will be taken care of," he handed me a slip of paper next. I looked down at them.
"Understand?" he asked. I nodded.
"Will you be back later?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed--okay, a lot disappointed, but I wasn't about to let him know that.
"Yes, I will. I..." he sighed again, hesitating for just a second or two. "I'm sorry you had to see that. But don't worry, all will be fine." He managed to put a smile on by this point.
"You just keep yourself out of trouble, ok?" he gave a playful cuff to the shoulder. Without waiting for a response he flipped another card and before I knew it, he was gone and I was suddenly alone in the city.
Now, normally, I'm not one who would frequent the city alone. Back home, I got all the weird looks enough to where I usually avoided town altogether. But as I realized since no one knew who the heck I was and no seemed to look twice at the fact that people seemed to pop in and out around here from thin air, I was just another regular person.
Okay. So Dad left me to go shopping on my own. So should I rum amok with Daddy's credit? Tempting. However, shopping did not really seem to hold its appeal since I was by myself. So I headed back to the marketplace and drifted around for a bit, merely window shopping, seeing if there was anything I just had to have, but nothing was really jumping out to scream "Buy Me!!" I figured I'd head back in the general direction where we had left the horses.
The crowd had fallen off a little, and I was nearly able to see to the other side of the marketplace through a little gap here or a quick gap there. It had suddenly occurred to me that I may want a few things to brighten up my rooms at the Castle, since I was given free license to do whatever I wanted with them. I remembered where I had seen a few stalls where there were furniture merchants and headed that way.
I was about to pass a booth that had all sorts of rugs when a braided rag-rug caught my eye. It had me thinking of Granny Dan and the way she made a rug out of the bag of rags she kept. It was homey-looking and colorful and that was the first had-to have item. It gave my confidence a boost that the merchant did not give me any trouble or weird looks--especially when I showed him the note Dad had left me which basically said. that the bearer of that note was of the royal bloodline and that any and all charges or debts incurred would be handled through the royal treasury. It was a cool feeling that I could simply say to have it sent forward to the Castle.
Okay. I could get used to this, part of me was saying. On the other hand, don't go overboard and remember who you are, the other part was saying.
Of course that all went out the window when I happened upon a furniture stall and a beautifully carved rocking chair had caught my eye. After having a conversation at length with the merchant, I found out that I could get one custom made for myself and let him take my measurements and had it ordered.
Feeling a bit pleased with myself, I went on to make a few more minor purchases of some country/rustic knick knacks for my walls to make it feel a little more like the home I was used to. I then decided to show a little self control and curb the spending for the moment and continued on my way back to the horses with the intent of going back to the Castle and maybe exploring the Castle grounds a little bit.
But then, I saw it and I couldn't believe my eyes. The cutest little boutique and very upscale to boot. I saw a very nicely-dressed lady emerge from the shop with a little dog that was dressed to match her. Needless to say, I was interested, so I went in.
My eyes were about to bug out. The puppy in me was in paradise. You may have well just let me loose in the candy store. There were all sorts of expensive little items for every size of dog or cat--collars, sweaters, bows, shoes, grooming tools, leashes, toys and an assortment of gourmet doggie treats.
I'm just glad that the merchant didn't even bat an eyelash as I went browsing around. I found this silver-plated super-too-much-exquisite grooming set--combs, brushes, trimming tools and the like. Had to have it because--my tail could use it. I then made my way to where diamond-studded collars were prominently displayed in a case.
I did have a little debate with myself, trying to rationalize such a purchase. I had never owned something so pretty or so exquisitely expensive in all my life. Before I realized what I was really doing, I had a couple of those collars out of the case and I was looking them over, feeling the weight of them in my hands. I had the idea that they would make for a beautiful choker for special occasions. So I went ahead and purchased a thin diamond collar and a big one that was about an inch wide. On top of that, I threw in a black leathered-spiked collar and a little squeaky toys for laughs and had it sent ahead to the Castle.
Upon leaving the shop, I think the weight of what I had just done had hit me out of left field. I was suddenly feeling guilty. What did I just do? Darn it all, I didn't really need the collars or the grooming set. I had been taught to make do with what I've got. Darn it all. I shouldn't have taken advantage like that. Oh, well. Maybe I could send a few things back to ease my conscience. I'd have to see. Would Dad be upset that I had spent so much? Well, he didn't necessarily set a limit, but then he did kind of leave in a hurry.
Well, that would have to do it for spending. I wondered what Maria would think once she unwrapped the packages and ran across the collars?--and the squeaky toy?
I had finally made it back to where we had left the horses--or at this point, it was just horse. My horse was there, but the one Dad was riding was not there.
Well! This can't be a good thing, was my first thought. I looked around and didn't see the horse and no one seemed to notice that I was missing him. So trying not to look obvious, I sniffed around to pick up his scent. Leading my horse by the reins, I began to follow it. So far, he seemed to be going in the direction of the Castle. I began to wonder if the horse had wandered back to the Castle since Dad was no longer there to ride him back? Stranger things have happened. I decided to follow the scent anyway.
I had it for the most part and it was heading in the general direction of the castle, but completely lost it when I came to a kind of "jam" in the road. There was an overturned cart, the contents all over the street. Some folks were trying to help clean it, others were just trying to get by any way they could. I got by eventually. But since I lost the scent of the missing horse, I was hoping that there was some weird thing where it would find its own way back since Dad had left so suddenly--stranger things have happened over the last couple of days. Besides that, tracking a horse was not how I wanted to spend the afternoon, so I continued on my way, meandering through the outskirts of town, past the little houses and was finally on a long stretch of road leading into the foothills.
I took note of a carriage coming toward me. I wondered if it was the same coach that Flora had brought me in the day before? Well, I kept meandering on my way and decided to wave for the heck of it--you know--Smile! It makes 'em nervous.
I recognized Gerald in the driver's seat and with a little wave gave a "Hey, Gerald!" Not accustomed to being hailed as such, it took a second for him to recover but I got a "Young Miss," out of him as he tipped his hat and kept going. I just wandered along the road, taking in the sights and scents and familiarizing myself with the place.
I had eventually reached the stables and handed the horse off to the stable master. I would have asked about the other horse, but the smell of roasting meat wafted past my nose and was coming from the kitchen. It was right then that I realized I hadn't eaten since the chili dogs I had with dad, and that was a while ago. I remembered the jerky I had with me, but I knew that it wouldn't be enough. I just hoped I was in time for dinner and began to follow my nose to find that roasting meat.