"Oh, Xerie, that is far enough away and we aren't even that close to Adeer to think that their troubles would come here."
Adeer was the city to the north. It had a harbor sheltered on the east side of a small peninsula extending into the Glacian Ocean. The family had told them little more than they had heard from the other farms about the city, but Xerese remembered that much.
Not wanting to argue or place fear on her new friends needlessly, the young lady only hoped that the woman was right.
The farmer's wife looked out the window at Toman. He had wrapped a blanket around his waist while he waited for his clothes to dry. Some of the farm hands had returned from the fields by now as it neared evening.
"Your man is quite large. He seems very protective of you. Are you two in love? I don't truly sense more than fondness, but I am curious."
Xerese looked at the man and looked at his strong arms. His shoulders and chest were somewhat tan. He had taken off his shirt on warmer days as they walked, so it wasn't the first time that the girl had looked at him.
"He is a family friend," she said without truly lying. "We were victims of a storm that wrecked our ship, but he helped save me in the sea. Luckily we made it to land. Since then we have been working our way towards Malaiy.
"We are friends, but nothing more."
"You sound a little disappointed," the woman laughed at the younger girl.
"Hmm, well, I heard a few too many stories as a child of a knight rescuing a princess and similar tales. They always had romance, but real life isn't the same, I am afraid.
"It's not that I hoped to fall for him, but maybe my pride hoped that he would at least fall in love with me," Xerese finished with a laugh. The women listening all laughed as well at the idea.
The wife shook her head and said, "We don't hear too many of those stories here. Books aren't very common either. Do you come from a city with those books?"
Xerese nodded. "We have a library that anyone can use. The scholars are a little particular, but stories of romance aren't as tightly guarded by them."
Again she laughed at the thought. The girl hadn't lied about Teyas having a library. Her mother had done a lot to promote literacy in her city and region. Her brothers followed their mother's beliefs making the southwest part of Malaiy one of the better educated parts of the realm. Even Yalan wasn't better than her part of Malaiy in that regard.
"Well, he is a bit older than you are. Perhaps he still sees you as a child. Being a friend of the family, often people miss the changes in those close to them.
"I still can't believe that my eldest children are grown and my son already has a few children of his own," the woman said shaking her head at the thought.
Xerese just smiled and gave a shrug as she decided, "Well, it doesn't really matter. It isn't like I feel that way for him either. When I return home, I am certain that my mother will find someone she feels is worthy."
The daughters appeared dissatisfied with Xerese's answer and their mother just laughed. "Well, that doesn't sound like one of your stories either. I hope that you will find the romance you desire even so."
A conversation for women when they were idle, Xerese took their comments for what they were worth. Toman rejoined them for supper after their clothes had dried. Another night spent in a barn led to their leaving early in the morning. She hoped that Adeer would be safe and have a ship capable of bringing them closer to home.
Xerese stood outside of the weapons shop in the shadow of the overhanging room. Looking at the people passing by in the business district of the city, she started comparing it to home. It was larger than Delem had been, but her mother's city Teyas was that much larger again than Adeer. A fair size city, the market place was quite busy as the sun shone brightly making hats with wide brims quite common among those wandering from one vendor to another. She thought their choice of hats looked quite different from those seen on the west coast in Malaiy.
Her distraction with people watching waned and the girl decided to see what was taking Toman so long. He had planned to sell five of the blades if possible, though they both worried over whether the merchant would find the sale of five similar swords at the same time questionable.
Putting a smile on her face, the pretty girl entered the open doorway to see Toman looking a bit frustrated with the man behind his desk. Two more men sat in chairs inside the store appearing to just be enjoying the shade and cool air inside, but Xerese noted the sheathed swords standing in their scabbards beside them. Each man held the handle of their weapon and looked ready to draw should Toman get out of hand. They spied the dark haired girl with her dark blue eyes as she smiled across at them. In spite of their previously sober, gruff looks the men softened giving her both smiles and nods in greeting.
She was able to read the tension in the room and acted like a flighty girl capable of missing it. Her smile grew as she met the shopkeeper's eyes and practically danced over to stand beside Toman. She leaned against him holding his left arm and put a pout on her lips as she asked, "Haven't you sold them yet? I'm bored, Toman."
Barely restraining himself from pulling away in surprise, Toman felt her fingers squeeze twice rapidly as a message to go along with her performance. He couldn't remember ever seeing the girl act like this, but guessed that she was trying to help him.
"I am sorry, Xerie; but we have been discussing the transaction without coming to an agreement."
"Oh pooh, you said that we could go buy a pretty dress once you were done. If we don't hurry, the best places will be closed before I can look," she said milking the type of girl that played with men for pretty things.
Batting her eyes a moment at the shopkeeper, she asked, "Is there something wrong? They look like perfectly good swords to me. I mean I don't know how to use them, but I didn't see any breaks when he showed them to me earlier.
"I know they aren't very fancy, but someone should like them."
Letting his guard down for just a second, the older man forgot his business face and smiled with joy at seeing such a pretty girl in his store. There were likely few swordswomen in one of these towns. Tseult had a more male dominated army, though a few women joined special squads those were typically held in reserve to the south near the capitol city.
"Oh, they are fine quality, young lady. I mean, they aren't particularly special, but they are good enough. It is just the sale of so many at once that concerns me?"
Looking perplexed by his statement, Xerese replied, "There are only five. Is that a lot?"
"Well, no, unless it is just for one person. I mean, we see people selling unique weapons or a single one when they need the money, but five of the same style is rather unusual."
Tilting her head, the girl said what was likely as hair brained a thing that she could think of in such a situation, "Well, they aren't stolen and Toman didn't even have to kill anyone to get them."
She felt the big man tense beside her. The girl had managed to say the words so innocently, that only Toman seemed to fear her words.
Laughing at her innocence, the shopkeeper replied, "Well, you can say that, but..."
Again she pouted and said, "The town militia just had some men retire and left the sale to Toman. If we can get enough for them, they hope to fix their wagon and maybe even do some repairs to their barracks. They had enough swords, but even around here the nights can be cool. Though maybe the bugs that can fly in during the night are more annoying," the girl added screwing up her face in disgust. After so many days sleeping outside, she felt the bugs were certainly worse than a night in the cooler air.
"Well..." the man started again blinking at her in surprise.
"Oh, please just buy them. If we have to go find another dealer to take whatever you don't want, I am sure that we won't have time to shop at all. I mean look at this dress!" Xerese said pulling at the neckline lowered from unbuttoning the top few buttons. Her cleavage was revealed just enough to draw the man's eyes before he could stop himself. "We had to buy this one
from Delem. That town had nothing of any style at all, but a girl can't just run around naked, can she?" she finished with a giggle.
The man smiled again, though his cheeks had reddened at the slightest showing of skin that was lighter than the tan on her face and upper chest. "It might be more convenient," he joked in answer and Xerese giggled again trying to look embarrassed by the idea.
After a lingering look at the girl as he smiled almost stupidly in her opinion, the shopkeeper looked back up at Toman managing a frown once more. "Fine, I'll buy all five for two gold each."
"Aw," she pouted again drawing his attention once more. His face looked confused. "Only ten gold? What kind of dress will that buy? Couldn't you pay three? I am sure that you could resell them for twice as much.
"You wouldn't me to leave him because all he can buy me is rags, would you?" she said playing coy and getting the older man to blush once more.
Shaking his head after a moment, the man looked back up at Toman but couldn't strengthen his frown after her flirtation. "Alright, fine, three gold each but only because I like the girl and would hate to see her leave a man just because he wasn't a good salesman. Well, unless she would leave you for me, then I might want to pay less," he added laughing as the man looked at Xerese who grinned and played with a strand of hair with the finger of her left hand.
"Don't be that way," she replied giving him a smile that Xerese hoped was playful enough to maintain the charade.
Based on his stupid smile, the girl supposed that her feminine wiles had been well played.
Fifteen gold coins were placed on the counter and exchanged with the swords. They had kept three. Two remained belted to Toman on opposite hips. Xerese had the last and it hung loosely making the scabbard nearly touch the floor, but the look didn't imply that she knew what to do with it either. Appearing helpless wasn't hard, but it was also helpful in flirting with men. If she looked too dangerous, most men would be afraid of her to the point of finding such a woman cold.
Reaching over the counter, the girl scratched the older man's beard with a grin. "If I do get bored with him, maybe I'll have to remember you. Thank you again."
Holding onto Toman's arm with both hands, Xerese let him escort her out of the building. They walked along the street for awhile before either changed postures or made a comment.
"Well, that was quite the performance," Toman stated sounding amused. "Unless that is the real you and the rest of the time you have been hiding your true self."
She continued to hold his arm with her right hand while her left carried her bag. Trying not to frown at his joke, Xerese replied, "Well, you were getting closer to being thrown into the local jail for selling stolen weapons at the rate you were going. If playing dumb, but cute can get a man to do what we needed, then it was the price I was willing to pay.
"Just be glad that I helped you. I heard most of your bargaining from outside and had to step in before you lost the sale."
He bowed his head and managed to nearly look sincere, the girl thought glancing at him with her eyes.
"Well, I admit that your way was certainly effective. He wasn't going to buy more than two and wouldn't budge to three gold each the entire time," the big man agreed.
"That's because you walked in there trying to be intimidating, but you aren't a businessman. Only a skilled businessman can work another, unless you bring in a pretty girl to soften him up."
"Well, suddenly you seem very certain that you must be a pretty girl," he grunted jokingly.
"Don't be mean," Xerese said with a slight frown, though she knew he was teasing. "I may not be the most beautiful woman in the world, but I am likely the prettiest woman they've seen inside that shop ever. His wife must not come by very often or maybe she's just not that pretty."
"How do you know he was married?"
She shrugged. "He didn't where a ring, but a girl can tell. Most likely the poor man is hen pecked at home and enjoyed a little flirting from a younger girl. I just played to his ego and let them believe that I am just a stupid girl after your money."
"You were pretty convincing and you certainly softened him up well. If you were a little greedier, I bet he would have paid four."
She shook her head. "Didn't you look at any of his prices when you entered? I don't think he sells very high end swords because there isn't that much of a market for it yet. He will probably charge eight, not six; but if I called him on that he would know that I'm not stupid. Besides he will want to make a profit. If we cut it in half, the man won't be able to back off to six or seven when someone comes in ready to bargain."
"How do you know how a sword business is run? I've never seen you near a store where you weren't buying a dress. By the way, I hope that you weren't getting your hopes up to buy one. I don't think even fifteen gold will buy us passage home."
Sighing at the guardsman, Xerese replied, "I will probably have to do the bargaining there also. If you try, we will spend all of the gold and still be left sleeping on the deck.
"By the way, just because I lived in my mother's castle, doesn't mean that I wasn't taught things like business. The duchess rules her region and conducts business all the time, so she made sure to have tutors that educated me in all areas, not just history or whatever you might believe ladies learn."
He laughed again. "I wouldn't even have made the leap to history, unless it was the history of dresses."
"Ugh!" she complained and elbowed her escort in annoyance. "Some ladies might not have a thought in their head, except for what they will wear; but I am not one of those."
"But you must know some of them to have given that kind of performance," Toman agreed with a nod and a smile.
"A few," she agreed. "Now let's find a ship to at least save us some walking."
Chapter 24- A Girl's Smile
Xerese smiled what she hoped was a fetching smile as she stood beside Toman on the fourth ship that they hoped to book passage on tethered to the dock. All had Tseulty captains but so far all of the men in charge had told them no. Either they weren't headed west anytime soon or they claimed that they didn't take passengers.
The first three had been large enough that the woman was pretty sure that room wasn't the problem.
While they had walked from the market area towards the docks, the two had noticed an unusual amount of armed men. Some wore the red of the Brotherhood of the Blood, but there was another segment that wore all black except for a red sash used for a belt. Though they looked, Xerese never saw the blue uniforms of the Tseulty soldiers one might expect to see in an outlying territory.
The king's capitol was far to the south located on a lesser body of water called the Cauldron Sea most likely for its ability to create unusual wave patterns. Tristan, King Tylus' city, was at least as far from Adeer as her mother's city. It was further east, but much further south as well. A sea voyage would take weeks and by horse the girl hadn't a clue how much longer it would take.
Usually towns like Adeer would be ruled by a local governor, but she thought of the last governor of Delem and wondered if there was one still here. If the people of Adeer had turned against their king and his men serving in the city, it had happened seemingly peacefully. No one spoke of a changing of the guard, but Xerese and Toman weren't ready to directly ask anyone about the strange men who seemed to have taken their place.
Was this the reason those soldiers had laughed when she called them Tseulty soldiers? Had they run away and turned to crime, or were they even true soldiers of Tseult?
While those thoughts crossed her mind from time to time, the girl knew that she needed to use her charm on the man in front of her.
"We are looking for a ship to take us west... to Malaiy if possible," Toman said speaking for the pair of them as men often did in these kinds of places.
The captain was old and gray, but likely still quite fit. Xerese thought him a bit overweight and guessed that he did little on the deck of his ship to maintain the Taramist as it was called. He had graduate
d to captain and had men to do the hard work now.
"Well, I rarely get as far as Malaiy these days," he replied. "Shipping has gotten a bit more dangerous lately since those pirate ships have shown up. Well, at least I think they are pirates. The flags described by those who've seen them don't match any that I know anyway."
"Ships have seen them, but not been attacked?" Toman asked the same question Xerese had considered as well.
"A few Tseulty merchant ships have seen them in the distance, but they were ignored luckily."
Xerese touched the guard's arm stealthily. He had moved off topic and she didn't want Toman to say something that might turn this captain against them by accident. There was only one other ship left at dock today, if they failed here. It was the smallest of the ships and least likely to have space for passengers, if the earlier excuses could be believed by the captains of larger vessels.
"Are the pirates stopping ships from going to Malaiy?" Toman asked ignoring the girl.
The question caused the captain to stop and think. "You know I haven't seen any ships from Malaiy recently and I can't think of anyone to come from beyond Daria."
"If you are going as far as Daria, could you take us there?" Xerese asked drawing the captain's attention back to the matter at hand. She smiled again and caused the older man to brighten slightly at the gesture.
"I don't have any business that far away right now. We are only going as far as Marta with two stops along the way," the man admitted. He hadn't said no to the idea of taking on passengers, however, so she remained hopeful.
"How close to Daria is that?" Xerese asked knowing little of the northern cities of Tseult. The lady wondered if she had ignored one of the history lessons of her tutors involving the cities of their neighboring ally. Maps were often introduced, but she couldn't say that it was her favorite subject. Xerese kind of wished she had paid more attention now.
"About halfway," the captain replied.
"And how much would it cost us if you took us to Marta then? We could possibly find another ship there."
The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus Page 34
