It was just another two day journey before we arrived, and my master bought us rooms at the local inn. It was like heaven to be able to sleep on a bed again, after sleeping on the hard ground for two weeks. The next day, Elric gave me a few coins and told me to look around the village while he arranged a meeting with the people who would guide and travel with us the rest of the way. He didn't specify who.

As I walked the cobblestone streets of the town, I couldn't help but marvel at how much larger it was than my own village. When we arrived in the dark of the night, I hadn't been able to see just how much larger and different this place was from what I knew.

The streets were alive with horses and people, and the noise was almost too overwhelming. Houses and shops packed tightly together lined the streets and stretched high above me, where I looked up and saw a woman hanging clothes on a line stretched from window to window.

But it was nothing compared to the market square, which was bustling with people. The street leading up to the square had been lined with vendors, shouting their advertisements as people perused their wares.

I saw all different kinds of things, from knives to silk clothes, and even food. The food smelled divine, though I wasn't yet prepared to spend my masters money on it.

A familiar smell wafted to my nose, and I noticed a vendor nearby selling herbs. Feeling a sense of comfort in familiarity, I wandered over to browse and see if there might be something helpful to take on our journey.

I weaved through the crowds as I made my way toward the stall, when suddenly I collided with something. Or, someone. I was jolted out of my path as I dropped my money pouch and tripped.

Startled. I looked up, and a boy with blonde hair offered his hand to me, concern written all over his face. "I'm so sorry!" he said, helping me regain my balance so I did not fall, and then looked at the coins scattered on the ground, "let me help you with that."

I was flabbergasted for a moment after the encounter, then quickly stooped to help him pick up the lost currency and put it back in my pouch.

"Here you are," he said, handing me the last of the now dusty coins. "I'm very sorry miss, I'll make sure to pay more attention."

"It's fine," I shook my head, "I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going, either." This caused us both to smile awkwardly at each other, but as our eyes met, I felt a strange sense of familiarity. As I tried to figure out this perplexity, he must've noticed my confusion, and offered me a warm smile.

"Are you alright then?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," I said, smiling warmly. I felt oddly captivated by this young man with bright blue eyes, which was where I recovered why he felt familiar—his eyes had the same look as Beth's, with the same mischievous sparkle. This reminder of home left me with a warm feeling.

"Can I help you with anything else?" He offered, looking down at my dusty coin purse. I shook my head.

"I'm just headed to that stall over there, with the herbs in it," I said. "Thank you." I smiled at him again.

"Oh, mind if I come with you? I was actually headed there myself. Sorry about bumping into you again, by the way," he smiled sheepishly.

"Of course!" I nodded, and we began to make our way through the crowd. "Are you an herbalist?"

He shook his head. "No, no, just a hobby of mine," he chuckled, "I work with horses, see, and they'll often get sick or hurt, so I'd taken up learning herbs to help them. I'm not all that good at it though, really." It was then I noticed how he was dressed. He wore simple attire befitting a stable-hand, with worn, dusty trousers and a plain, earthy toned tunic that hung loosely on his frame and very scuffed and worn boots.

"I'm still a novice myself," I admitted. "I had a teacher back in my village, but I only worked with him for a few months. I know basic cures, but that's about it."

As we approached the stall, the vendor welcomed us. "Hello there, are you looking for anything in particular?"

I browsed the herbs, several of which I recognized that grew on the mountain, though what they remedied I did not remember.

"Yes, I just need some of this and... this please." the boy mentioned after a pause. He pointed to a bundle of herbs with long, needle-like leaves and another cluster with broad leaves and bell-shaped flowers. I knew the first as rosemary, but couldn't recall the other.

The vendor seemed to recognize him as a frequent visitor. He set an assistant to work gathering the ingredients.

I thought of some things that might be useful to my master and I on our journey, and asked to have them put into a small bag, then paid for them.

I noticed the blonde boy had gotten quite a lot of herbs, which must've been expensive, despite how he looked. "Are those for the horses?" I asked.

He nodded. "Some of the elderly have been getting some joint pain and sore muscles lately and our stocks have been running low."

"The rosemary!" I said, excitedly recalling the function. "Do you make a poultice?"

He nodded, his eyes sparkling at my interest in herbs. "Yes, we'll make oils as well and put it on their joints. They love the stuff."

As we walked down the street a bit more, I couldn't help but once again feel overwhelmed by the people. It was starting to be a bit much, especially since I wasn't used to it. "Is it always like this?" I asked the boy as we walked, our bags of herbs in hand.

He shook his head, "Usually not, but you've come at a busy time. We have a monthly market with vendors that circulate through the surrounding towns and villages. They'll set up for a few days and draw quite a few people, and lots of travelers. Judging by the way you are dressed, you must be one of them?"

I nodded. "My master and I are just passing through," I said. The initial awkwardness in our conversation had already begun to melt away as I felt comfortable conversing with this person who reminded me of home.

"I figured. You must be headed west, then. There's not much north of here, besides the Parfeller Mountains. They're a wild place," he said.

"Oh really?" I asked, feigning ignorance. I was curious to know what outsiders thought of us. "What makes them so?"

He tipped his head back to look up at the sky in thought, "well, for starters, they're the tallest range of mountains on the continent, and separate us from the Borovian Ocean. There's been tales of monsters and old witches hiding up in those mountains," he informed me, voice trembling for effect.

"Oh," I said, "that sounds scary. Have you been there? Are there any people there?"

He shrugged. "I haven't, but my father has. Many times, actually," I mulled over in my mind all I'd heard about outsiders visiting my village, but I'd been bedridden for a long time. I knew they were rare, even traders, as we were a self-sustaining group of people. "There are people up in those mountains. It's the only self-governed territory in the nation, but I don't know much about them. Every year they come down to the village to trade, and people spread all kinds of rumors. Men as tall as bears that can snap your spine like a twig, that sort of thing. Definitely not people to be trifled with."

I nearly burst out laughing, imagining one of the men from my village being compared to a bloodthirsty bear. While it was true we were vigorous and know to be both tall and strong, I would compare them more to teddy-bears than anything. Perhaps it was best to keep people's image of us that way, though.

"Very interesting," I said. "And what if I told you I came from there?"

The blonde boy stopped and turned, looking me up and down, then shrugged. "I'd say you weren't very good at telling jokes," he said with a chuckle.

I could only smile back, with mirth in my eyes. If only he knew.

A savory, mouth-watering smell wafted to my nose, and I stopped dead in my tracks, turning to identify the source. Just across the street from us was a vendor, selling tender-looking pieces of fried on a stick covered in an oozing sauce.

"What's that?" I pointed out.

"Don't tell me you've never had Quaslik before?" The boy was taken aback, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Are you sure you're not one of those hermits from the mountains?"

I shrugged. I never said I wasn't. He was the one who said that.

"Oh, come on,, you have to try one!" The boy said, dragging me over to the stall. "There's the best market food you'll ever try, believe me!"

Before I could protest, we were in front of the stall and he was asking the vendor for two of those savory, juicy looking meat sticks.

"Wait..." I said, looking guiltily at the coin pouch in my hands. My master did say to spend it on myself, but...

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay for it. Consider it my retribution for knocking you over earlier."

I wanted to turn him down politely, but he'd already paid the main and grabbed the sticks, handing me one.

"Thank you," I said. This boy... he's so nice, I thought.

"Of course," he said, expectantly waiting for me to take a bite. I let the meat cool for a second before I took a small bite, savoring the meat in my mouth. Having grown up on venison and chevon, it was unlike anything I'd ever tasted before. The tender meat melted in my mouth as the flavors exploded, and I savored it before swallowing. "Well? What do you think?"

"Ish sho good," I said through a mouthful, then swallowed it. My eyes lit up. "Thank you!"

He only smiled, "like I said, consider it my retribution for earlier. Hey, we should get something sweet to go with this. How about some Churri's? I see a stand over there!"

I looked at him, confused. What on earth were those?

"I'll forgive you for never having had Quaslik before, but, don't tell me you've never had Churri's?"

I shook my head. "What's that?"

"Oh boy, you've got a lot to learn about Market cuisine, then," he gestured over his shoulder, "come on, let's go!"

We tried some of those fried sugary desserts, and it nearly made my head explode. After that, we went around to a few other stalls in the food section, with my mind and palate being blown each time I tried a new snack. By the time we were done, I'd spent some of the coins from the purse and I was so full I didn't think I could walk anymore.

"Hey, let's go over here," Blue-eyes tapped my hand while I was thinking distractedly, and led me over to a patch of grass by the edge of the market. There was a tree growing there, tucked away in the corner, and he sat down and leaned against it. I did the same.

"Ugh, I'm so full, I think I'm going to explode," I said.

"Me too," he laughed, patting his stomach. "I can't believe you've never tried some of those foods before! You must have really grown up in the sticks."

"You could say that," I said. I reaching out my hands, stretching. As I did so, my bracelet showed.

"Wow, that's nice bracelet," he said, marveling at it. "I've never seen a gem glow so bright orange, like it's enchanted!"

I drew my arms back quickly, hiding my bracelet under my sleeve. "Oh, must've been the sun reflecting from it," I said nervously, trying to change the subject. I mentally kicked myself, having forgot about it. Master Elric had warned me about not letting people see the object. It wasn't like I thought the boy would steal it, but I also didn't want anyone to catch on to my abilities. "Hey, you work with horses right? How many of them?"

This seemed to redirect his attention away from my bracelet. He sat back and started mentally counting, tapping rhs fingers on his hands. "Well, it must be about a hundred by now?" He said. I was flabbergasted.

"H-hundred?" I choked.

He nodded. "About there. But we're sending twenty of our best breeding stock to the capital, so I guess eighty." That was no small number either. He seemed to catch on to my disbelief. "The barony raises horses. It's one of the things we are most famous for. Have been doing it for hundreds of years," he said.

"That's crazy," I was still in disbelief. "Do you have a favorite?"

He spoke without a second thought, "I do. His names Comet, and he's one of our stallions. Braverst horse I'd ever seen," his eyes shone as he talked about the horse, "Once a young mountain lion was stalking our colts in the pasture when he was a yearling, and he killed it. Hes vicious, but he's the gentlest creature on earth when it comes to people. He—"

The boy was cut off from his rant when he seemed to have spotted something across the path. He jumped up quickly. "What is it?" I asked, sitting up. I was intrigued. I wanted to hear more about this horse he was talking about.

The boy who'd been so confident earlier seemed very nervous. "Listen, I've got to go. It was nice talking to you," he said with a wave.

"Wait—" I called out, but he was Already gone. I stood up, brushing the dust off myself, left perplexed and wondering about the boy as our conversation came to an abrupt halt. "Thanks for the company!"

I waved at him as he disappeared, and I felt strangely sad, hoping we might meet again. As I began to walk back to the inn, feeling startled at the abrupt end to our conversation, I realized I hadn't even caught his name.