(Prologue) Chapter 6 - 4 days in a swift
Eat,sleep and wander.
Talia's three-day stay in the Western Mansion had come swiftly in a blink. It was the most boring staycation she ever had in her life.
There were no loud noises around the neighborhood, and the mansion was far from its neighbors anyway. It felt isolated. If not from the in and out travel of Damen from the Mansion to the Temple, she could have died in the silence. Her three days were spent on Damen alone and in wandering in the garden. And she would go to the temple to pray for that she might survive.
Their late night talk had ended midway when Damen had asked her about moving into the Southerns. Things were left hanging when Damen dismissed her at her shocked response and had asked her to keep it a secret between them. (He must have been really bored with his lifestyle) –Talia had thought of it this way.
The two had packed their things for their 24 hours-long journey to the Eastern Empire. They had to attend the wedding after all.
"Talia, my lady! Please hurry up and come back with us~" (Please fill the mansion with beautiful babies!)Sister Mia had waved goodbye to the two.
There was only silence and fresh air and sites that accompanied them. They rode different carriages along with their baggage for the trip. After a long four hours, they had to stop by in a shop for gifts and tend to their needs.
-
They had stopped and halted at an old mystique shop in the middle of the South-West boundary. It was a magic shop, one of the few shops that existed illegally in this century.
Both had been captured by its entrance signage "Souvenir Express" -written in big vintage bold letters. Who would buy souvenirs from this kind of shop?
The two nobles found themselves in as they explored each item on hand. There was nothing much really, just a box filled with luxury items and some key chains embroidered with unique patterns. But they both knew they weren't after the rustic goods. Making their way, the two majestically approached the salesman.
"Where are your magic stones?"
"Where are your magic stones?"
They both uttered in chorus, as they were after the same ancient item. Magic stones were rarely carved out nowadays since magic had become forbidden. But magic stones were known for their negative ions that benefited the body greatly.
"Ah…this might take a while, I'll be back" The salesman went off to find some magic stones from his collection.
"Hey! I was here first..." Talia insisted
"Don't give it to her, I'll give 20 golden bars for that" Damen shrugs Talia.
"You! I'll give 30-"
The two had started arguing and had their eyes glued on each other, unwavering and unbending. They haven't noticed that the salesman had left the two bickering at each other. Secretly and slowly until he had left for the door. The salesman was a mage clown, known only for his tricks and illusion form of entertainment.
As he left for the door, he easily made himself look like Damen with a snap of his fingers. As he approached the coachman, he was immediately acknowledged and was welcomed into the carriage. He also easily ordered for them to head first, adding that his companion wouldn't bother if they went first. Though this confused the coachman at first, but he wasn't in any power to ask his lord.
Mage clowns used to work in a circus for the Western Empire as a source of entertainment, and they had limited magic tricks and only had a short period of time for it to last. In just a few minutes, the salesman transformed back as he rode in silence within the carriage. He had been wanting to escape the boundary for it was only a deserted town with no means of transportation.
"Hey, where did he go?" Damen was the first to break off.
Talia, who was not foreign with these incidents snapped out of her thoughts and ran after the carriage that had set off.
"That son of a dickens! May he rot in hell...clowns, I should have expected this." Talia threw a fist in the air. Luckily, her carriage hadn't left. She looks back at her companion as she realized that there was no peace in this journey for her.