Tournament of Hearts

Chapter 6

2 weeks earlier,
“Why would you..” the cleric looked around, then motioned Aine to follow him to the large cart behind his stand. Aine felt a bit suspicious of the cleric, whom she thought might have malicious intentions with bringing her towards his cart. The cleric pulled the two curtains apart to reveal the inside of a cart lined with racks and racks of potion ingredients. Each potion ingredient looked to be individually labelled, but how they were organised Aine couldn't figure out. 
The cleric took out a clip board and a long staff with a half moon on the end of it. Aine stood outside the cart and watched the cleric browse his walls of potion ingredients. After 15 minutes of him looking from the clipboard to the wall then to the clipboard. Then she watched him grab a bunch of ingredients, then set the clipboard in a drawer under a table which sat in the middle of the cart. The cleric shuffled around in a different table drawer for a cauldron, a ladle, a dropper, and a glass bottle with a cork for a lid. The cleric sat upon a stool beside the table, he took some minty smelling orange leaves out of their bottle, then glanced up at Aine then shot a confused look at her. 
“What are you doing just watching me? Please go to the front of my cart and wake up Straggle so he can watch my store.” The cleric told Aine in a rushed tone. She nodded and walked towards the front of the cart. 
There sat a large sleeping man, he had the reins to the donkey which pulled the cart tightly held in his grip and his appearance was rather rough, his appearance is the exact opposite of that of the cleric. Straggle had a long beard which stretched down to the ground outside the cart, on the other hand the cleric was a very short, very skinny and hairless guy. The cleric is a very boeny man with zero muscle with elbows and knees that you can see pointing out a bit. Meanwhile, Straggle has a very buff build with all muscle, he also has bright curly hair that went only to his shoulders and a long crooked nose that looked almost broken. 
Aine poked Straggles shoulder but he didn't wake up, so she decided to tell him to wake up. He didn't, ths made Aine frustrated, then in the corner of her eye she saw a bucket of water. A smile grew on her face. She grabbed the bucket and splashed the water all over Stragle's face. 
After she had done so, Straggles face turned bright red and his eyes fluttered open. He had pretty grey eyes but just because they’re pretty doesn't make them any less scary. Panic hit Aine like a rock to the face and Aine slowly backed up as Straggle arose from his slumber. Straggle spoke loudly,
“Who dares awaken me from my slumber?!” He sounds super angry. Aine, showing no sign of fear, tells Straggle in an affirmative voice, “I did Straggle, because I was told to.” Straggle whips his head around and looks Aine up and down then speaks. 
He replies, “And who are you, hot stuff?” His entire mood changed from an angry beast to a weird pervert. 
Aine rolled her eyes then replied, “That doesn't matter right now. I was told to wake you so you can watch your shop while I wait for a potion to be made.” He looked confused then after a while he finally got what he had to do. He stood up on the ground, and was taller than the cart itself. Aine stood there shocked at how tall he was. 
“Hey, I hope this doesn't come across as rude but are you of the giant race by any chance?” Aine asked him. 
Straggle looked Aine dead in the eyes and started laughing right then and there. When his laughing fit was done he replied to her with, “No, but I can see why you would think that. Although I am extremely tall, my height has nothing to do with my race or class.” Aine looked confused at him, then she asked 
“If you don't mind my asking sir Straggle,” 
He nodded, so Aine continued, “What race are you?” 
He sat down, then turned his back towards Aine then replied, “I’m of the fairy race.” Then he spread his large wings. They’re pink, purple and orange. They have marvelous swirls decorating them, in the sunlight they look like stained glass. The shimmer from the fairy dust is also a marvelous sight. Aine has never seen fairy wings of this size or fairy wings in person before. 
Of course she’s read about them, but never has she seen them in person and so close and covered in fairy dust. 
“Can I touch them?” She asked in amazement. 
“Sure, go ahead, but be gentle. They’re very fragile and sensitive. Okay, miss..?” Aine realized that she had never introduced herself to Straggle yet. Before touching his wings, she replied, “Miss Aine.” His wings started to glow brighter, which meant he was feeling a happy emotion. 
Aines fingertips got closer and closer to Straggles wings, until they were touching them. His wings not only look amazing but feel so light, like a cloud but not. 
Her face got closer to the wings, then she hesitated and asked Straggle, “Straggle, can I smell your wings?” He blushed then flusteredly answered 
“y-yes miss Aine.” She continues moving her head closer to his wings, she sniffs them. 
They smell like buttercup milk. 
She moves her hands off his wings and tells Straggle that she's to be checking on her potion now. 
“Aine, we'll see each other again.” Straggle replies. 
“If fate allows.” Aine finishes the saying. They both smile at each other.
Back with the cleric, he adds the finishing ingredient to the potion; pure fairy dust. He sprinkles some onto the brew and scoops some into the glass bottle, filling it to the top. He quickly pops the cork on the bottle. Then he adds some impure fairy dust to the cauldron, causing the mixture to burn up and turn to smoke. He puts some of the pure fairy dust into another vial with the label, ‘to help with aftercare.’ and then he puts both viles into a leather pouch with his potion store's name logo on it. 
Aine walked back to behind the cart to see if her potion was done. The cleric handed Aine her potion in its bag. The bottle was long and slim at the top of it, but the cork itself was in the shape of an eight sided star. The liquid shone quite beautifully, in the light you can see crystal-like fragments reflecting the rays of suns into a million pieces. The hue is an iridescent ember on the skinny end of the bottle, then it fades into a pine colour with bubbles when it gets to the bigger end of the bottle. The potion itself is so mesmerizing, but to think that it is really illegal to have it in possession. 
“Be careful that no one knows how or why you have this potion in your possession.” The cleric begged Aine, she nodded and grabbed her bag. Her and her winslet headed back home. She waved goodbye to the cleric and Straggle, then she headed off. 
Dread filled her every step. Each one felt heavier and heavier, like she was walking down a flight of stairs except she always stayed on the same level. She was to the brim with anxiety about what Antonio might say, about what me might do, once she tells him about the potion she's picked up on his behalf. 
All Aine wants is to see and to talk to Antonio when he's not angry all the time.