AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d die before letting her know that, though.
And so I shuffled along without a rejoinder.
The market square wasn’t located clear on the other side of the village, but it was still a good distance away. I grumbled under my breath, cursing Melaina the whole way for putting me in a disguise that forced me to shamble and go slow.
The trolley I was pushing must’ve had something wrong with the axle because it wobbled and kept trying to go in the opposite dir
ection than I was pushing it. The force of the breeze wasn’t helping anything either. Bowing my head against the wind, because one good, strong gust could wash away my glamour and reveal my true image, I plodded along, hoping the damn bazaar didn’t finish before I even made it to the village square.
All the good spots were taken by the time I arrived, so I was forced to squeeze the pushcart between a vendor selling onions—half of them overripe, by the scent of things—and a fishmonger who also didn’t have the freshest supply. Both were going to snuff out that inviting aroma of warm baked bread.
Grinding my teeth, I set up shop anyway, parking the trolley and glowering quite frequently at my neighbor merchant to the right who kept spraying fish guts whenever he chopped off the head of his catch of the day and then wrapped the body in parchment for customers. Turning to the side and using my body as a shield from the pungent shower, I unpacked my loaves and began to set them out for display.
I had two customers stop and buy a loaf before I was even finished setting up. That was good; the place was packed today, too. I might just sell my entire inventory before noon, despite my unlucky location and late arrival.
Since sound couldn’t be glamoured, it was difficult to deepen my voice whenever I was forced to speak to customers. So I kept my phrases short and clipped, and I didn’t mess around with small talk—not that I was a fan of small talk, anyway, but whatever.
About half my stock was sold when a particularly destitute-looking cluster of children edged in the direction to my stall. I scowled at them, hoping they didn’t come any closer because I already knew I’d end up handing over something to them if they did. Melaina must’ve really made me appear cantankerous, though, it only took me one glance in their direction for them to scatter.
Crap. Now I felt shitty. It was on the tip of my tongue to call them back and shower them with free goods when a commotion in the crowd caught my attention.
Something big was happening. And the small warning hairs rising on the back of my neck told me I wasn’t going to like it. The crowds shifted, attention narrowed in one direction, voices changed.
And just like that, everything inside me went on immediate alert.
I braced myself, preparing for anything.
Chapter 2
Quilla
“Hey,” I called to the onion man selling his bulbs next to me. “What’s going on?”
“Haven’t you heard?” He sent me an annoyed frown for daring to talk to him. “The queen’s visiting today. And I guess she’s decided to come to market.”
“The queen?” I turned curiously, hoping to catch a look for myself.
Melaina and I hadn’t been in the kingdom of Far Shore long—maybe three or four days—but a lot of change had happened here recently it seemed. The whole country was all astir with juicy gossip about it, anyway.
I guess a princess from the neighboring land of Donnelly had overthrown and killed the king and queen here, married the king’s bastard son, and then taken over the rule herself. She was rumored to be young and beautiful and far kinder and more benevolent to the people than the last ruler had ever been. So, the locals weren’t quite sure yet whether to love or hate her. They sure liked to talk about her, though.
The Outer Realms had never had a female govern any of its territories before. That garnered some respect from me right there, but I still wanted to see this girl with my own eyes, because there was no way she could be as spectacularly lovely as everyone made her out to be.
A sudden hush fell over the people, and the crowds automatically parted to let a wave of Far Shore soldiers through the clearing, their weapons held ready at their sides, prepared to protect their leader with violence and their own lives if necessary.
Instantly on edge, I shied a step back before reminding myself it was only High Cliff soldiers who’d ever been sent out to hunt Graykeys down and eliminate them. The army here in Far Shore wouldn’t be so fervent to look for me, and besides, my glamour was holding surprisingly well in this breeze. No one would even know I was a despised Graykey.
Even though it was impossible to see my mark, as I wore long sleeves and had the glamour hiding it, I tucked the inside of my forearm firmly against my rib cage, keeping it held close to my side.
And then, there she was: the new young queen—pale dress fluttering in the wind and long, dark hair flowing behind her. She didn’t ride in a fancy carriage nor was she mounted on a horse, but she walked—fucking walked—among her subjects as if she were one of them, out for a daily stroll like a normal, average person.
Incredible.
She did seem pretty from here—a perfect, slim but still pleasantly curved form and a mass of dark hair. At least the rumor about her visage didn’t seem to be an exaggeration.
But then I sniffed and rolled my eyes when I saw a High Cliff mark blaring from her temple. Stupid tattoo. It was a custom for all High Clifters to get their fancy mark at birth, but all the thing did was help them recognize their true love at first sight. They didn’t grant people wisdom or strength or even logical thinking. Their only purpose was to find a life partner.
Meaningless, if you wanted my opinion.
