by K.N. Lee
Soon enough, she found herself searching the crowd in the marketplace just for him, and smiling when he waved at her.
On this evening, Lilae knew that things were about to change from friendly smiles and notes to something more. His last message both brought her joy, and fear.
“After the work of the day is done, I will come to you, because I cannot wait any longer to hear your voice.”
As promised, Anic walked over from the blacksmith’s shop, and over to Lilae’s cottage with a hopeful smile on his face.
Pirin ignored him. He walked into the cottage and closed the door behind him. Lilae knew that she only had a moment before Pirin left that very door with his hunting gear. Lukas and his men were calling for volunteers to hunt wild beasts in the woods.
“Come on men; we shouldn’t have to ask for volunteers,” Lukas’s voice boomed down the streets as he walked with his sons behind him. “Grab your spears and you can come home to dinner after. We are all responsible for protecting our children and families.”
Alone, Anic stood on the other side of the street and grinned at Lilae. “Evening, my lady,” he shouted with a mock bow.
Fearful that Pirin would come back out at any moment, Lilae scratched her forehead. “Keep your voice down,” Lilae whispered with raised eyebrows. “You’re mad. Go back into your home before my father sees you.”
Lilae held her breath as the door opened, and Pirin stepped out. His things had been waiting for him at the inside of the door against the wall.
Pirin looked back at Lilae, not even glancing at Anic. He stood with his back to Anic and spoke to Lilae as if he weren’t even there. “Don’t stay out late. You must get your rest for tomorrow. It’s an important day Lilae.”
Lilae’s face tingled with embarrassment at being stared at by both her father and the young man. She swallowed and nodded. “Yes. Of course.”
Pirin gave her shoulder a squeeze and walked towards the gathering huntsmen. Many of the men already looked weary as they left their houses. They had had a full day of work already, but Lukas had a way of convincing people to come out, despite their fatigue and fears. He may have been playing on their feelings of guilt but it certainly worked.
Lilae saw Anic still waiting there, propped against the window sill of his cottage, and straightened her clothing. She held her necklace in her fist for strength. She contemplated what she would say to him. She couldn’t let this go on. She enjoyed the attention, but he couldn’t be led to believe that there was a future with her.
She crossed the heavily trafficked paths towards her house as the villagers retreated to their own homes for supper. The smell of roasted hens and spiced breads wafted through the warm evening air. Lilae wanted to be mean to him, scare him off from his conquest, but when she saw the friendly smile on his face, she found herself unable to think of anything.
Lilae released her necklace and put her hands on her hips. “What do you want?”
Anic grinned. He reached out and presented a handful of sarie flowers.
She stared at the red flowers in awe. The red petals were beautiful and full, with smaller yellow flowers inside and held together by a white ribbon. “How did you get those?”
Anic shrugged. “I picked them.”
Lilae accepted the bundle of flowers and he put his hands in his pocket, a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“Saries don’t grow here Anic.”
Anic’s grin widened. “I searched, and I found some,” he paused, lengthening her apprehension. “Near the Utinia Lake.”
Lilae pulled back, stunned. The Utinia Lake was a long walk from the village, far from the protection of the clan. She had found that the villagers were too afraid to venture near it. It was said to be the lake that the beasts tended to drink from. There had been large tracks sighted near it, and it had been ordered that everyone was to stay away. She couldn’t believe that he had done such a dangerous thing for her.
She held the saries down at her sides and stared down at them “That was foolish, Anic.”
He shrugged, with that same smile on his face. “You see, I’d do anything for the prettiest girl in all of Lowen’s Edge.”
“How did you know I liked saries anyway?”
“Jaiza told me. Your sisters have told me quite a bit about you,” he admitted with a grin.
Lilae wondered what exactly they had talked about. She wanted to grab him by his shoulders and shake him and find out what he knew about her. She squeezed the stems of the flowers as she thought about the possibilities.
“You’re not quite the menacing person you try to make yourself out to be.”
Lilae reached out to hand him the flowers, and sighed. “Anic, you have to stop this.”
Anic raised an eyebrow, folding his hands behind his back. He refused to look at the flowers, and instead he leaned on his toes and looked past her. “Why?”
It was such a simple question that should have been easily answered, yet she had no idea how to explain anything to him.
“Just because.”
Anic smirked. “That’s not an answer!”
“Well, you’re just going to have to accept it.”
He nudged her forearm, and she scowled at him, folding her arms.
“Loosen up, Lilae,” Anic urged. He gently unfolded her crossed arms. Lilae tensed at his hands on her skin.
“You can let your guard down… just for a second. Okay?”
Lilae turned to walk away from him and go into the cottage when he grabbed her wrist.
“Come on,” he pleaded. “Don’t be so cold to me!” His eyebrows were wrinkled in frustration. His sweet smile faded.
She looked at him with curious eyes. Anic seemed to be genuinely enamored with her and she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t flattered. Still, Lilae was hesitant.
“Tomorrow.”
Anic perked up and his face brightened. He gently took her hand into his. She stared at his hand then looked at his face. She had never held a boy’s hand before.
She felt her heart flutter at his touch. It was gentle and warm.
“No.” He urged her closer.
She pressed her lips together, unsure of how to react when he pulled her into him. Lilae sucked in a breath expecting him to kiss her when he simply leaned into her ear. His warm breath on her ear made her close her eyes and swallow.
“How about I show you some fun for a change?” Anic whispered and before she could protest, he whisked her away down the alley. “It is your birthday tomorrow after all!”
Lilae was shocked that he knew. She felt exhilarated as she followed behind Anic, racing through the crowds. Just like that, her guard was down, and she did something she did not expect. She giggled and drew in a refreshing breath
Maybe it will be ok, she thought to herself. Maybe this is a good thing.
The sun was setting on Lowen’s Edge and the streets were now filled with musicians and people looking for entertainment.
Lilae held onto Anic’s hand afraid that if she let go, that she’d fall. She enjoyed the rugged warmness of his palm against hers. She felt safe somehow.
It was as if her eyes were finally opened to the town, like she was really seeing it for the first time. Now that the work was done, the people of Lowen’s Edge were out to enjoy the city’s nightlife. When they stopped before the double doors of a tavern, Lilae looked to Anic questioningly. She read the engraved markings on the dark birch oak doors.
“The Blind Cow,” Lilae laughed at the name.
She paused when a group of royal soldiers walked in. She’d never felt comfortable around soldiers, even if they were from Partha’s military. The people of Lowen’s Edge seemed to appreciate their presence though. Lilae supposed it was kind of the king to try to protect his people. It was more than she could say about some of the other kingdoms she’d lived in.
“Why are we here?” Lilae looked around cautiously. She tried to ignore the fact that the eyes of some of the villagers were on her. She looked back
at them and felt oddly at ease. The villagers weren’t glaring at her or judging her. If anything, they seemed to look at her with curiosity.
Anic pushed the doors open to the dimly lit room, welcoming her, along with his smile. “For some fun of course,” he declared. “We’re young. We work every day. We should enjoy our free time. Now come on, my lady.” He motioned for her to enter and held the heavy door open for her.
Lilae stepped inside the tavern. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that,” Lilae said under her breath.
So many knew sights and smells affronted her. She’d never been to such a place. The smell of apple cider and rum overwhelmed her nostrils. It wasn’t an offensive smell, but rather festive.
Royal soldiers from the capital sat in big groups chanting and singing with their mugs raised, and their dirty boots stomping to the beat of the songs. The villagers also drank from mugs of ale and wine at the bar.
There was a group of young women sitting by the fire at the corner of the tavern, giggling loudly with mugs of their own. Lilae was captivated by how some of the girls danced to a lute players music. She’d rarely seen dancing. The girls looked happy and free, their movements flowing and full of feeling.
She stood there for a moment unsure of what to do when Anic took the lead towards the bar. Lilae followed closely behind. The room quieted noticeably as people stared at them. She felt the eyes on her and wanted to turn and run away, but Anic took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
Lilae looked in wonder as he gave her a sidelong gaze, smiling at her. He was attractive, but not like the boys from the north. His brown eyes were large and so innocent that she felt like she could maybe trust him. She could tell that he was trying hard to impress her. It still felt odd to her. No boy ever showed her any attention the way Anic did.
He gave a wink and she looked away. She couldn’t let him see her vulnerability. She had to always appear confident and strong. But what would Pirin, or Delia, say if they found out she was out with a boy after dark, without a chaperone? At least she was in public, she kept reminding herself. Her reputation would be protected.
Lilae shook her head, thinking to herself how much she really didn’t care about reputation. They would only move away in a year, and she would never see these people again.
“Good evening, Reeka! Two pints of your finest ale!” Anic called to the bar maid. He put two bronze quinne onto the bar, and the round, chubby young woman quickly swiped them into her apron pocket. With overly rouged red lips, stark against her white face, Reeka smiled. She slammed onto the bar two large, heavy looking mugs that frothed at the top.
Lilae looked at it curiously, watching the amber liquid spill over the side of the mug. Anic slid a mug over to her and picked up his own.
He turned to face her. “Alright, Miss Serious, I dare you to be so cold to me after you finish this ale,” he grinned.
Lilae took the mug and held it high and nodded. “We’ll see,” she said.
He took a large gulp and chuckled. She followed suit and drank down as much as she could fit into her mouth. She swallowed hard and coughed.
“What is this? Poison?” Lilae eyed the contents of the cup.
Anic laughed loudly and pulled out a chair for her at a nearby table. Lilae sat down and sipped the ale this time. The cool liquid slowly filled her mouth. It didn't taste much better, but at least she didn't gag. She looked to Anic and couldn't help smiling.
Anic returned the smile. “Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“For that smile. I was beginning to think you were simply incapable of smiling.”
Lilae shrugged. “What is there to smile about when war is at our heels?”
Anic shook his head, frowning. “No war talk, please. Tell me something about you.”
Lilae was silent. She stared into her mug.
“Come on, tell me something interesting.”
Lilae drank again. “You first.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.” He looked up and thought. “I want to see what Alfheim is like, when the Realm Wars are over of course.”
Lilae raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Don't you? It's supposed to be the most beautiful place in the entire world. With silver palaces built into the side of mountains. Snow covered castles, and creatures we’ve never even dreamt of.”
“Well the Silver Elves don't like us, so you might want to think of another dream.”
Anic grew serious. “Who says that they don't like us? Have you ever met a Silver Elf?”
Lilae thought a moment. She was speaking solely on rumor and folklore. “I guess you're right. Good luck with that dream of yours.”
“Sarcasm,” Anic grinned. “I like that in a girl.”
Lilae shrugged but smiled behind her frothing cup. She looked around at the people enjoying themselves. They all seemed so normal. So carefree.
“Anic, I’ve been wondering,” Lilae began. “Do you know of anyone in Lowen’s Edge that is born with a special trait?”
Anic nodded. “Sure. Jacodi has Accuracy. Mela, the girl who knits bonnets for her mother’s shop, she can change colors of anything with a touch. Not sure what you’d call that.”
Lilae made a face. “Sounds pretty useless. Changing colors? Really?”
Anic chuckled at the look on her face. “Yeah, I guess it does. There aren’t many people around that can do anything special anymore. Except the old apothecary that used to live in your cottage. She was interesting. She could call on birds, even get them to deliver messages for her, or guard her house. But she was little paranoid and would have an entire flock of birds watching her house when she went out for supplies.”
Lilae felt her shoulders slump. All of those traits seemed unimpressive. “So nothing extraordinary? Not even a shifter?” She sighed.
“Sorry that we’re too ordinary for you, Lilae,” Anic said while shaking his head. “Come one, tell me. You can do something different, can’t you?”
Lilae tensed at the question. “No,” she answered quickly.
A group of girls walked past, and one of them bumped into Lilae. Lilae was pushed so hard that she knocked over her mug. Ice-cold ale spilled all over her clothes. The girls giggled to each other as they watched the embarrassment on Lilae's face.
Lilae flung ale off of her hands, and pulled at the soaked front of her shirt. It clung to her and she felt sticky and cold. Her cheeks flushed as she watched Anic’s eyes rest on her shirt which revealed an outline of her bosom.
“Oops,” Yonna, one of the girls that worked with Lilae in the fields, blurted. She smiled but her dark eyes narrowed in malice. Lilae knew that look quite well.
Lhana cast it on her every day.
“Why are you here with that hag?” Kelsi asked Anic as if Lilae weren’t standing right there. Kelsi put her hands on her hips as she regarded him with disapproval.
“Shut up, Kelsi.” Anic stood to put his arm around Lilae’s shoulders. “I know you did that on purpose. You need to apologize to Lilae.”
Kelsi looked Lilae up and down. “You can't be serious. Please tell me you're with this freakish outsider out of pity.”
Lilae watched the shock on Anic's face at hearing Kelsi speak like that. He clenched his jaw. “Get out of here you stupid girl,” he replied and Kelsi's grin vanished. “Go home before you become a drunk like your father, or I’ll have my father stop giving you charity.”
Lilae looked at the girls in surprise. She couldn’t believe that Anic stood up for her. The look on Kelsi's face pleased her. Apparently, Anic had cut her deeply with his words.
“Let's go,” Kelsi ordered the other girls, seeing that everyone was staring at her. Kelsi’s cold glare met Lilae. “You better watch out you filthy fire freak,” her voice lowered and was more dangerous than Lilae had thought possible.
They shuffled from the tavern, throwing icy glares at Lilae as they left.
Lilae sighed deeply as she looked down at her soaked shirt and pants. “I don’t know
what I did to them,” Lilae said, still embarrassed that one could almost see straight through her shirt.
She looked up to see Reeka holding a dry rag for her. Lilae gave a half-smile as she accepted the towel. “Thank you.” She began soaking up the ale on her clothing.
“Yes, thanks Reeka.”
“No problem, sweethearts. Those girls are a pain in my side,” Reeka replied as she wiped the bar clean. “Always so haughty like they are princesses or something. Princesses of the bloody stables if you ask me.”
Lilae and Anic shared a look and snickered.
Reeka smiled. “And what do you do lass?”
“I gather water for the fields. It isn’t the best job in town, but at least it isn’t the worst.”
Reeka made a face by twisting her mouth. “Really?” She shook her head. “If you’re keen, I could use an extra hand here. A pretty face like yours will surely bring in more customers.” She winked at Anic. “Probably keep them here drinking ale a lot longer too.”
Lilae’s face lit up. “Yes!” she blurted. She withdrew and lowered her voice. “I mean… if you really need some help… I could do that for you.”
Reeka beamed and slapped her hand across the table top. “It’s settled then! You start in the morning. Who do you report to?”
“Mrs. Denny.”
She turned around and filled up two mugs at the cask. “I’ll handle Mrs. Denny. Now, here's another ale. On the house!” She winked as she slid Lilae another mug.
“Thank you, Reeka. I promise I’ll be a good worker.”
Reeka laughed. “I don’t need you to work, child. I just need you to put on a bar maiden’s clothes and look pretty.” Her laugh carried as she went to the back of the room towards the bar kitchen.
Anic stood from his seat. “Remarkable. We come in here for a drink and you get a job. Come on, drink up.”
Lilae stood with him. “All of it?” She looked at the mug reluctantly. If nothing else, it was cold, and she was thirsty from a long day of work in the fields.
He grinned and raised his mug. “Of course. Don't waste a drop of that free ale.”