Chapter 9.2 - Flashback

I still didn't understand how people coul be so naive! It was clear that the lady had not simply lost her wallet ... those two men with whom she had clashed and who had apologized were certainly the culprits of what had happened. People from the city were just like that. Those who came from areas like mine, where everyone did everything to survive, where poverty was really rooted, knew how to recognize the occasions and the people who could have committed a crime.

In Clevwood that was how you kept your things: you had to be smart and careful, otherwise they would have stolen your clothes too if they wanted to.

I walked the main street of Riviera until I was tired of the crowds and decided to continue on to a more secluded area, hoping to find some peace from all the chaos. I wasn't used to such crowded and lively places, it was all so strange to me.

"Oh, it's really magic..."

I widened my eyes as I turned frightened towards the couple of people I had heard talking and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that they were looking at the colored objects and bottles of a stall. I still wasn't used to the fact that in Atenarte there wasn't a hunting warrant for every witch in existence… it wasn't like in Fokranstad.

I looked at the hooded woman who was selling to the two curious men and without realizing it I too approached the stall: I didn't see the seller's face, but I had the impression that she was smiling.

"Believe me, it'll solve your problems right away...I'll even give you a discount if you buy two."

"Thank you... Steve why don't you buy too?" the man who spoke seemed completely fascinated by the mysterious woman: he stared at her, following her every movement and gesture with her eyes, hanging on her lips, to the point of agreeing to her every request.

"You can come by my tavern later if you want, it's in the suburbs, you will find it immediately if you say my name."

"Your name?"

"Fiamma, that's my name" replied the woman, finally revealing her face: she lowered the hood and I was surprised by her charm. Her brown eyes were very bright and her long dark hair was adorned with a precious clasp, with a red gem set in the center of what must have been a lily.

"A lovely name for a lovely girl!" the enchanted man rejoiced and her friend patted him on the back trying to make him come to his senses: "You have an wife, idiot..."

The two men left shortly after and I realized that I had stood staring too long at Fiamma, but by now it was too late to go away unnoticed, in fact the seller called me: "Do you see anything interesting?"

"Yes, I was wondering where you got that wonderful clasp." I approached her, placing myself in front of her stall and I was certain that a sort of magical essence came from that accessory. Fiamma observed me curious, then she touched her hair, going back up to her clip: "This ..? I found it on the street" she smiled. I didn't understand why she lied so blatantly, but something told me I'd better be careful around the stranger. Was it possible that someone else knew magic and practiced it besides me on the Riviera? Zeyana had insisted that there were no practitioners of magical arts in Atenarte's territories.

"So you are the famous witch everyone is talking about."

I froze and looked up at her, pretending not to be surprised by her statement: "What makes you think that?"

"Isn't that pretty obvious? I know about it."

I opened my lips to speak, not knowing what to say to her, and finally gave in to her victorious smile. From that moment on, I would never be able to surpass her in anything.

Fiamma had immediately revealed herself to be an enigmatic, particular person, but I never expected to discover a new world with her.

"Follow me, I'll show you something."

After setting up her stall, she invited me to her tavern, assuring me that she didn't want to hurt me. Of course, I was cautious the whole time, especially when I discovered that the "Mead House" was more dusty than an abandoned attic. There was no way she could run a business without cleaning the inn and without customers, since no one was there but us. Of course, I could consider that it had been closed for some time, but... all that dust, even cobwebs in the corners of the club and that cold darkness...

"Are you surprised?"

"Your lies Fiamma. Are you used to telling them?"

Fiamma laughed at me and signaled me to follow her downstairs, leading me to a room lit by many candles and much warmer than upstairs. There she arranged the things she had brought with her and sat me down at a table, offering me some mead.

"See? I'm not lying. I actually sell mead and make it myself."

"Keep joking. I'm not buying it."

I pushed away the cup she'd given me, grinning wickedly and eyeing her suspiciously. Did she really think I would accept anything from a stranger like her? If she was like me in any respect, sooner or later she would deceive me, just as she had to deceive her clients… she had any.

"Okay, take a seat."

She drank my glass too, taking the bottle and putting it in her place, then she grabbed the chair across from me on the other side of the table and dragged it to sit right next to me. I watched her curiously, not understanding how it was possible that there was someone stranger than me. Was she a witch? Even in that room I sensed something unnatural.

"Alex from Fokranstad... from Clevwood."

I widened my eyes, holding my breath: it was possible that there were rumors about where I came from, but among the nobles... how was it possible that a person from the suburbs also knew the village I came from? However, I could not exclude that even the staff of the imperial palace had spread information about me. On the other hand, it was not a common thing that a person from a enemy kingdom became such an important figure for the Empire.

Her eyes lit up, became more playful: "You survived a great and grotesque hunt, but not your family..."

Without realizing it I had grabbed the collar of her dress and brought our faces closer: "How do you know all of this?" my voice became very menacing and if I wanted, I would have killed her instantly. A little later my hands found themselves holding the air and amazement made me jump up, throwing the chair to the ground and pushing the table aside, causing one of the cups I had dropped to break.

Fiamma reappeared behind me, whispering in my ear and touching my skin with her lips: "I know everything ... I feel it ... as you hear their whispers, the favors that Nature grants..."

"Stay away from me!"

I looked for the exit, but decided to stay: I wanted some answers before I left.

"Where do you come from?" I asked her, finding her sitting on the previous chair.

"An interesting question... it would also be right to answer you, since I know more about you than you about me. I come from this continent, I come from the woods, I come from the streets... I'm everywhere and nowhere Alex, there's no other way to explain it to you. I follow the call of nature, I travel a lot."

"That's all? Shall I always expect an incomplete answer from you? Riddles?"

"Apparently you want to keep talking to me..."