Chapter 232: Shopping
The streets of Heartland City transformed under the bright, hopeful light of dawn. The sinister shadows evaporated and the shady silhouettes revealed regular people going about regular days. The architecture of the city was simple, yet practical, with stone homes, paved roads, and tiled roofs. With a population of nearly twenty thousand, the streets were filled with people, but even in the busiest parts of the day, were never crowded.
"Come on," Tana said with a laugh, tugging at my hand. "Let’s go! We can stop at these places later."
I tumbled through the streets, doing my best to keep up with her energetic pace. I’d been in many markets before, but this was my first time truly visiting one, and the sights, sounds, and scents were simply invigorating. A merchant was selling little glass ornaments, another with freshly baked pastries, and even one selling little, pocket-sized paintings. To further my delight, many of the vendors were Beastkin, allowing me to understand much of the language being spoken.
"I still can’t believe you’ve never been shopping before. What are you, fourteen? Every girl should’ve had a chance to have fun once by then, right?" Tana asked playfully.
I nodded uncertainly. By my reckoning, I was closer to fifteen, the threshold of adulthood, but it was hard to say for certain. All I had was the vague concept of a birthday around wintertime when I was summoned here. It wasn’t like anyone had ever bothered to celebrate my birthday even when I had one, so it didn’t really matter.
Tana was still chatting on, even as she hurried me through the city. Our destination remained a mystery, but she promised it was the perfect place to start my first-ever shopping trip. What I was more interested in was the way people parted for us, like minnows before a shark. As two young women traveling alone in a shady city, we should have been harassed and heckled, if not directly dragged into an alley. But even the roughest scum of the streets nodded politely and stepped aside, satisfying themselves with leers when they thought we weren’t looking.
"Here it is!" Tana cried, finally coming to a halt.
Panting for breath, I brought my eyes up, looking around. Instead of the open, vendor-based markets of the rest of the city, this seemed more akin to a mercantile district, with brick-and-mortar stores. The one before us was painted a deep purple with gaudy gold trim. Tapestries depicting magic and great battles served as curtains for the large glass windows, and a sign with the rune for "Royalty" hung above the grand double doors.
Tana slipped her hand in mine once more, and we pushed through the doors. The inside of the store was just as pretentious as the exterior, filled with all manner of shining trinkets and baubles. I stared about in wonder, my eyes flitting about the velvety displays and shelves.
My breath caught the moment I glanced down an aisle displaying amulets, my tail giving an involuntary twitch. Tana squeezed my hand and gently pulled me away, stopping before the counter.
The merchant was a middle-aged woman with far too much makeup and wearing so many earrings, bracelets, and rings she looked like she might fall over at any moment. She brightened the moment she saw us, extending a greeting before we even arrived.