Mr. Ryujin was sprawled in a chair in the corner, his face covered with a thick romance novel he had snagged off the shelf. Ayumi's eyes slowly opened as she adjusted to the sunlight filtering in through the linen curtains. The girl reached beside her bed and put on her glasses. After a few moments of silence she stretched and stood up.
She approached the glossy, moisture-coated window overlooking the rest of the kingdom and peered through it. Outside, horses leading carriages, pedestrians walking down narrow cobblestone sidewalks, and the distant rumble of the market could be heard. She turned back around to glance at the man who had fallen asleep in his chair, a tiny sliver of drool protruding from his lower lip.
The dark-haired girl sighed softly as she changed back into the clothes she had received last night. Ayumi glanced at the overhead clock, noticing the time was only eight in the morning.
After leaving her apartment room, she slowly made her way down the hallway. Even if the surroundings she found herself in were vastly unfamiliar, she guessed that the Parterre de Fleurs served breakfast in the morning. When she stepped into the lobby, the sun filtered in through the large oriel window, and the flowers around her continually emitted a fresh, earthy smell.
The smell of pastries quickly filled her nose, mingling with the flowers. At that moment, she heard a noise coming from her left. In the corner of the lobby near a bar counter, a boy shorter than the likes of her, clad in dirty attire, stretched his body as he attempted to run a rag over the counter.
He froze momentarily, his body tensing as he looked back at Ayumi. His dirty brown eyes widened when he saw the girl. He stuffed his rag into a pocket of his torn trousers and ran a hand through his tousled brown hair.
"W-we serve breakfast." He said softly, gesturing towards the kitchen in a separate room. The girl's gaze didn't follow his hands, instead, it remained on the disheveled frame of the boy.
"You don't look too good." She said, her voice soft. Her black eyes then drifted towards the counter which the boy had feebly attempted to wipe down. "You need some help?"
"No! I've got it under cover!" He dashed over to the counter, reaching his arms up as he tried to wipe down the polished surface. His face was a mask of strain, and he was on his toes. The more Ayumi watched, the more she felt her heart strain.
"Here." Ayumi smiled as she scanned the room, spotting the table where the cocoa was displayed last night. Around the table were numerous stools. At that moment, she got an idea. She quickly grabbed one of the stools and dragged it over to the servant, pressing it against the counter.
"Here." Ayumi smiled as she offered the brown-haired boy the stool. His eyes darted to the stool, and Ayumi saw his face visibly pale. He took a quick step back, his body quivering uncontrollably as if the stool had transformed into a horrific entity.
"Don't...give me that!" He blurted out. He backed into a corner, turning towards the wall and giving a shaky sigh.
Ayumi remained silent. She cocked her head as her brows furrowed. "Is something wrong?"
"Don't give me gifts...my boss doesn't like that." He crouched down, almost curling into a ball as his voice trembled.
"What?" Ayumi was overwhelmed with confusion.
The servant boy looked back at Ayumi, his lips parting. "My boss doesn't like servants...getting gifts."
"It's...help, not a gift." Ayumi's lips curled into a smile, silently attempting to wash over the boy's nerves. "Showing an act of kindness isn't a gift, it's a regular thing."
"Then why does my boss think that gifts...are bad?"
Ayumi's gaze softened, and she stepped towards the servant. "I may not know about your boss. But I don't think someone else's opinions shape your own."
"Stop!" The servant covered his ears, his teeth gritting as teeth threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes. "Any teaching other than the boss's is prohibited!"
She didn't know what to say. She didn't know why the boy was acting so strangely.
"Stop talking to someone like me! Stop talking to a rat!" The veins on the boy's forehead began to bulge, and his face began to heat up. Ayumi's gaze remained on the boy, her heart conflicted.
She wanted to assure him, but at the same time, she felt like further intervention would prompt a negative reaction from the boy. The longer she gazed at the boy's pitiful reactions, the longer she felt like she needed to intervene.
"This boss of yours..."
"Quiet!" He cried out, dashing over to the counter. He extended his left foot in a blur, kicking the stool to the wooden floor. "Don't speak to me, don't look at me, don't pay attention to me!"
His expression contorted, his teeth gritting again as an almost animalistic gaze engulfed his face. "Leave me alone. Boss said not to talk with monsters!"
"Monsters?" Ayumi was stunned when she heard this.
"Shut up!" The male servant took a few more steps back, receding towards a closet in the corner of the lobby. At that moment he let out a yelp, and he bolted into the closet, shutting off the lights. The girl didn't move, her heart and mind pounded with uncertainty.
...
"He seemed tense and almost...scared of me." Ayumi said, nibbling into a biscuit.
The others at the table, including me, were all put off by what she had been saying about the peculiar male servant.
"He kept referencing his boss...saying how he doesn't want people talking to his servants. The boy kept calling himself awful things." Ayumi looked down at her plate, and she felt her stomach churn. The fleeting images of the boy's tired and terrified gaze resonated in her mind.
"The boss...as in the person running this place?" Aaron asked, tapping his left foot on the floor quietly.
"I think so...a place like this would be crawling with servants." Ayumi replied, looking at the closet where the boy hadn't come out of.
"He's still in there; he's been hiding all morning." Ayumi's heart ached, she felt a deep pang of sympathy for the boy.
"Maybe he's asleep. Closets are usually crawling with spiders. I'd rather shed my skin than step foot in there." Carter said, stuffing his face with porridge with diced fruit.
Catherine, who had remained silent for most of breakfast, spoke up. "The walk here was awfully cold. If that boy has a place he's going back to I hope he's resting enough."
Ayumi nodded, pushing away her plate. Shinso remained silent, biting into some fried eggs. My gaze remained fixated on the closet Ayumi had gestured towards, the mottled wooden door was locked shut from behind.
"If I was in the dark that long I'd go insane." I mumbled, biting into some pancakes.
"Anyways." Carter stood up, pointing at me, Shinso and Ayumi. "We're going to the market today. You guys should get dressed."
"Alright..." Ayumi didn't look back at the man, her gaze fixed on the closet door. Inside, she could hear quiet whimpers.
...
On both sides of the cobblestone streets, vendors selling fruits, vegetables, breakfast foods, and other accommodations hollered at oncoming pedestrians.
"Fried squid tentacle, best in the kingdom!"
"Fresh muffins, straight from the tin!"
"Exotic fruits from the Indun Empire, you'll be dying for a bite!"
A group of children ran down the street, playing with a ball constructed of hay and straw.
Carter looked towards them and smiled. "It's funny, back when I was their age, those were made of wood."
"Really now." Shinso huffed with disinterest, carrying the woven basket he was instructed to put groceries into. I spotted numerous stands with tents over them, offering fruits and foods I had never seen before. Some looked like purple bananas with spines protruding from their surfaces. Others resembled watermelons adorned with eyes, mouths and noses.
"Flesh-fruit, courtesy of the Reaper Church." Carter smiled, picking up one of the dark red fruits and putting it inside the basket. Shinso's arms struggled under the weight of the fruit.
"This feels like fifty pounds!" He groaned with gritted teeth.
"That's because it is." Carter looked back at Shinso, smiling with humor in his eyes.
"Damn this world."
Along the way I encountered more and more bizarre items in the market. Carter continued to fill the basket with fruits and other foods. His eyes fixed on the paper list the entire time, as if he knew the market like the back of his hands. Ayumi looked around the market with wide eyes, but behind her surprised expression, I didn't have much trouble with deciphering what was truly under there.
"I think I saw a fried spider." Ayumi looked towards Carter, raising an eyebrow as her lips curled up.
"Y-yeah...Demon Spiders, they live in the forest." I saw the man's face go visibly pale, his eyes shrinking back as he shivered.
Music sounded through the thick crowds of people, and we caught sight of the cause of the commotion. Numerous women wearing colorful clothing moved with majesty across a circular stone area, a water fountain in the middle of it. One of the women wore an eccentric pink dress, her face adorned with colorful and playful pastels as she waved around a thick stick.
My eyes widened when I saw that the end of the stick was covered in vibrant pink fire. Whenever she waved it, an illusory after-image that seemed to resemble a dragon soured from the embers. Other women wearing similar dresses of different colors and styles waved around the flaming sticks with majesty and grace, while others performed surprising acts of agility and acrobatics.
"Dragon Dancers, they're here for a few days hopin' to snag a few bucks. But don't be deceived by their grace, for the price they offer for a show outside of here is enough to make you shrivel up." Carter watched the dancers for a few moments, his gaze enraptured.
"Let's move on." Shinso tugged on the back of Carter's shirt, pulling the man away from the crowd.
We made it far enough for most of the clamor of the performance to have dissipated. We returned to the main section of the market, where I began to see strange advertisements and offers displayed on wooden signs.
Have your future read by a real prophet!
Ever wonder how you'll die? Come inside!
Carter's expression furrowed as he read the signs, scoffing. "These phonies know nothing of real mystical abilities." His lips curled into a small, knowing smile.
"And you do?" Shinso asked, cocking an eyebrow expectantly.
At that moment, Carter's body seemed to tense a little. A trail of goosebumps arose across his skin as he turned towards the three of us.
"I do, actually...later today I'll need you in Catherine's office."
"Why?" I asked, feeling a surge of curiosity.
"We'll discuss those topics later, for now—we must finish our grocery trip. Only a few more items."
Carter began to move forward, causing me and the others to follow the man.
"Hey, boy." I heard a raspy voice call from my left. My body froze in place, my gaze remaining straight ahead, but slowly feeling like I should turn my head to decipher the source of the call.
"Yeah you. Don't just stand there like a lunatic." The raspy voice called again.
I turned my head, gazing into a dark alleyway. At the end of the darkness I saw a black tent with red accents, and an ominous crimson light pouring out from inside it. My feet seemed to move one in front of the other as I slowly approached the tent.
After peeling back the cover I peered inside. Sitting at a small table was a figure clad in a dark robe, their face unable to be seen. They looked up at me, their gaze hidden within the confines of their outfit.
"Take a seat, young man." I could see the figure smile; or at least, something told me they did.