Seize the Day

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The Lower Quarter bustled with hordes of people: delivery men bearing mail on water-powered cycles, market salesmen in their small produce shops, and other varied sorts of people from the middle class. Morning was the worst time for someone to be out, especially someone like me.

I ducked beneath a shop canopy as a large shadow covered the cobblestone pathway. I glanced up to see an Aria skytram speeding along the cords that led passengers to their desired destination. Since Aria generated its power from water channels and air turbines, we utilized and saved the energy as much as possible. The skytrams were always a quick way to get to wherever you were going, but heights and I had never formed a mutual relationship, so I preferred walking. It was safer, with a lesser rate of death.

“Get your papers!”

I flattened myself to a wooden post as another mail carrier nearly ran me over.

Take that “lesser rate of death” statement back.

I tightened my emergency bag and treaded on. Several queer stares were thrown in my direction, and I thought I heard, “Is that Lannie Brackenbury—the columnist?” and “No, that can’t be; Brackenbury isn’t a young woman!”

Resisting the urge to yell a rather unkind comment to the whisperers, I continued down the road that led away from my house and to the market. Those people could think and say whatever they wanted. I was on a mission of life and death.

As I came to the end of the road, it expanded into an area with a large marketplace. The market contained a fearsome amount of human beings crowded around stalls. These market stalls sold everything from pickled giant eyeballs to unicorn horns. The magical section of the market had always mystified me with its strange products. Everyone knew that unicorns no longer existed, so why buy something that was so obviously fake? This market was full of cheats and thieves. And people. Lots and lots of people. Nigh on a hundred stood as a blockade between me and my destination. The main bridge to the castle was just beyond the market, through the city square.

I drew the cowl of my cloak over my head, concealing my identity. I wasn’t going to take the chance of someone recognizing me. Being the top columnist of the city’s most famous tribune came with a hefty price: popularity. My picture was only posted in the very back with the “Who Our Writers Are” section. It was the most outdated and blurriest photo that I could find, but people still managed to point me out in the street.

I made my way through the middle of the market—the safest place in the market (which wasn’t really safe at all). No one would pay attention to an inconspicuous cloaked figure, given the type of dress that the people of Aria normally wore. And besides, I reasoned with myself. There are so many foreigners that come through this kingdom; it isn’t like I’ll be the center of attention.

Carefully avoiding a pile of squashed tomatoes, I circled a shop that sold produce. It was late spring, so the produce stalls were quite full with fruit from the kingdoms to the far west of Aria. Nor was the main supplier of the most exotic and fabulous produce, while Balua provided beautiful textiles. I eyed a prickly fruit that bulged from a basket in one of the stalls, and shivered when I saw the black fuzz covering it. Not everything that came from foreign kingdoms was delectable.

Several people jostled me as I walked through the magical section of the market. I nimbly avoided crashing into a slave nymph and her owner exiting a nearby stall. The nymph’s silver chains clacked against her heels as the owner prodded her forward with the butt of a leather whip. She was probably imported from the kingdom of Nor, where most nymphs and other creatures came from. I was able to study the nymph for a bit as I passed by. Although she had a petite body that resembled a human, it was clear that she wasn’t. With pointed ears, blue skin, and antlers, the nymph had an otherworldly appearance. It had been a long time since I had seen a slave nymph like this one. I was going to continue walking when the nymph stared up at me with lucid blue eyes. The pleading in her gaze caught me off guard for a moment. I stopped dead in my tracks.