Town

Time passes quickly once one falls into a ryhtym. In fact, nearly a month had passed since Brom had began to train Eres on five out of the seven days of the week. Weekends were kept free for Eres to do as he wished, and he spent them reseraching and practicing more magic, expending his Mana reserves to the tiniest amount before drawing more in and doing it again. In this way he felt his Mana Core growing, or perhaps getting purer? The books he read were not clear on if it was the quantity or the quality of the Mana in the Core that increased, but only that the amount of Mana that could be drawn at once was increased as was the total amount available. This meant that Eres had started to attempt spells beyond the beginner level, though with little success. He had managed to increase the size of the purple wall of light from his Shield spell by putting more Mana into the casting and changing his mental image accordingly, but any spell stronger than the most simple beginner spells seemed out of reach.

This inability chaffed, as Eres wanted to improve quickly, yet he knew it was likely a natural stumbling block in progression. In a few more weeks Master Brom had said he would make some time for lessons on Mana, Magic and Incantations, so Eres decided to shelve learning more and master what he had already learned. That being said, it brought him to the current situation.

Eres was slumped in the large chair in the study, his head hanging backwards over the edge looking at a very surprised maid. His clothes were somewhat sloppy today, and the tea cup next to him sat unemptied.

"I am sorry Master Eres, what did you say?" Freya asked, eyes wide.

"I said that I am too bloody bored for this," Eres grumbled, head still hanging backwards and face slowly going red, "My last few weeks have been nothing but study and learning."

"Well Master, you have been working very had since your blessing, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself," Freya looked troubled as she continued, "I apologise, Young Master. I should have advised you to take more time for yourself."

Eres stared at her, open mouthed. He let out a deep sigh and then said, "You are right, of course. How could you possibly not tell a ten year old boy to do less work, that he himself has chosen to do, when you as a nearly thirteen year old girl know so much better!" Eres glared at her for a moment, then righted his head and wandered over towards her, "Freya, there is no way you could have done anything. I was just moaning and complaining, no reason to take it so seriously. My overcrowded schedule is no ones fault but my own, but you make a good point. It isn't even lunchtime yet, why don't we head into town?"

"Into town? Do you have something you need to buy? You can always send me or one of the servants?"

"No, no, I don't need to buy anything in particular. An outing! Stress relief, you know?"

"Oh, I see. Yes that does sound nice," Freya smiled a little and dropped her eyes, "shall I call some of the guards to accompany you?"

"What? No! God no, I don't need judgy pricks following be around all day, just me and you will do," Eres laughed at Freya's face from his rude outburst before continuing, "I will go put on some day clothes, go change out of your uniform! Meet me by the front gate in say half an hour?"

"This seems like a bad idea, Master Eres, maybe we should-"

"Well, I will see you then!" Eres shouted over Freya's mumbling as he ran off to his room to try and find something in his wardrobe that didn't scream of being a child of Nobility.

  * * * 

Nearly half an hour later, Eres stood just inside the front gate of the compound. He had taken his long silver hair and tied it into a thick braid that lay down the center of his back and covered the crown of his head with a dark blue cap. His doublet was a dark grey and his trousers a dark muddy brown. He wasn't sure when he had gotten these clothes, but he was glad to find them. With a little beating and rubbing in some dust out in the courtyard, it looked the part of the people he remembered seeing walking around in the town on the few times he had been there.

He had left any of the accessoresies he usually wore back in his room, except for the family ring he kept on a thin chain around his neck. He wanted to be able to play around in town, but he also wanted to be able to get help from the people of the town if he got lost. Adrien's memories of the dangers of children leaving the house on their own swirled through his mind, but Eres reasoned that he probably wasn't as much at risk. With the Hytheiem ring and his prior experience as Adrien he was sure he could manage an afternoon in town on his own.

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself and excited to explore the town, a slight tug on his sleeve caught his attention. As he turned around, he saw a girl with long brown hair hanging past her shoulders, bright green eyes and a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks. She wore a long dress the cut off at mid calf, and well worn leather boots. A thin brown jacket hung over her left arm, and the other was what had tugged on his sleeve.

"Master Eres, are you sure we should be doing this? Don't we need permission?" Freya said, shuffling uncomfortably out of her uniform.

"Freya! Gods, I hardly recognised you out of your maids dress, you look great!" Eres laughed and smiled as he greeted his maid and friend. "And as for permission, technically as long as I go out with one member of staff it should be fine, so you just need to stick close. Come on, let's go explore!"

As he grabbed her hand and marched through the front gates, Eres managed to entirely miss the slight blush on Freya's cheeks. The guards standing to either side of the gates saw them exit and gave a small nod, but no other recognition as the pair of children walked out onto the cobbled road.

"Okay, first things first, no "Master Eres" while we are out here. We are just two friends having some fun, so none of that stuffy formality okay?"

"Hmmm..." Freya hemmed and hawed for a moment before, "Okay fine... Eres. Just Eres."

"See, much better! Alright, I figure we go get something to eat, and then explore the rest of the town, sound good to you?"

"Umm, sure. Do you... Do you know where you are going, Eres?"

"Nope, not a clue!" Eres laughed, before quickly stopping a passing man. The man was tall and thin, and his hands were crusted from dirt working in the feels, but his eyes were bright and his face seemed set in a permanent smile.

"'Scuse me, Mister. Where's the nearest bakery?" Eres asked, trying as best he could to keep his words simple. He had read that advanced literacy wasn't common among most people outside of the noble class, and while they could sign their name and read most simple words in the language, using longer words and avoiding slang was a clear sign of ones upbringing.

"Oh, ha'nt seen you two around here 'fore." drawled the man, smile stretching wider across his face. "If you go down that street an' turn left you will find Regis's place. Good bread, and pies to be true."

"Thanks Mister! Have a great day!" Eres shouted over his shoulder as he was already pulling Freya down the road at a fast trot, grinning as he looked all around him. He had memories of all these other amazing cities from Adrien's life, but the memories still felt disconnected, like it wasn't really him who saw them. Maybe that was why every thatched roof, scowling housewife and browbeaten husband looked so fresh and interesting to him. As the midday sun was beating down, many people were sat on benches or on their porches, smoking pipes and finishing off the remains of lunch before they headed back to work, and everything looked so alive, so visceral. Not like the Hytheiem estate.

The household was quiet most of the day, and only when an event happened was it ever bustling. The servants moved around talking quietly under their breath, the guards stayed silently at their posts until their shift change, and it never changed. This town was so full of everything that Eres hadn't realised he was missing, from the overwhelming noise of the general bustle of the main street to the glimpses of families through half-shuttered windows.

Just as he began to be lost in this reverie he felt an impact against his stomach, and looked down to see a young girl sprawled on the floor. Maybe 4 years old she had wandered into him and landed straight on the ground. Now, this little blond things was staring up at him with big watery eyes.

"Oh no, no no, you don't need to cry! Are you okay? I'm okay! Did you hurt yourself?" Eres blurted out as he reached down to help the toddler to her feet. She nodded her head and chewed her lip.

"Ifa brave," said the girl with a trembling voice, "Ifa won't cry. You okay, Mister?"

"Me? Of course I am okay. Shall we get you back to your parents so they can make sure you are okay too?"

The little girl nodded, and pointed down the street as she grasped Eres' hand and began to lead him towards a somewhat familiar sign, reading "Regis Baked Goods". Eres looked at the confused Freya, shrugged and began to follow the tugging of the toddler in front of him.

"So, Ifa was it? Your dad works in the bakery?"

"Uh-huh! He makes all sorts of yummy bread!"

"Well, lets go see him then, huh?"

With a few nods, Ifa continued to pull Eres down the street until she pushed through the wooden door into the bakery. Almost instantly Eres thanked whatever isntinct had told him to go to a bakery before anything else, because this place smelled like heaven. Fresh loaves of bread lined the walls behind the counter, and a metal plate covered in fabric had a sign on the front labelling it as "Pies, Sweets and Treats". The shutters on the windows were open wide but inside was still dimly lit, but even so the kind smile of the man behind the counter was plain to see.

"Daddy! This mister brough me back when I fell!" Ifa piped up, running around the counter and hugging onto the large mans leg, "I went out to try and find Myla, but I fell on the ground, so I came back!"

"Oh Ifa, you scared your mother half to death. She chased you out the door, she will be back any moment now, I don't know how she missed you!" the man said, picking Ifa up and settling on his hip with a troubled smile. "Thank you so much for bringing her back, can I get you anything? A drink or some food?"

"Actually we were on our way here anyway to pick up some lunch, if possible?" Eres said, walking up to the counter and taking the cap from his head to wipe the sweat off his brow. It was only once he had finished cleaning his face that he realised the man hadn't spoke for a moment, and looking up he could see the shopkeepers eyes bulging out of his head.

The man was tall, bald and broad across the shoulders, with thick hair poking out from the top of his shirt. It was a distincitve look, and Eres realised too late that he had seen the man before when he had been catering for his Mother's tea parties, and exchanged a few words with him.

Bollocks, Eres thought, however am I going to explain my way out of this one?