Under the Willow Root

Chapter 32

I blush. I didn't realize I was shouting.

"Here," the stranger says, dropping a handful of gold coins onto the counter. He turns to me. "May I?"

I nod, unable to speak, and let him fasten the necklace around my neck. My hand flies to my throat and I wrap my fingers around the pendant protectively. A tear trembles at the corner of my eye, threatening to escape. My new hero smiles encouragingly and ushers us out of the shop.

"Kirit," he calls from the door.

A small, reddish form slips from beneath a stool and bounds up to us, planting its paws on my knee.

"It's you!" I cry. I bend to rub the fox's ears like I've always wanted to do and it licks my hands eagerly. My eyes snap to the young man. I was too upset about my necklace to realize that I know him--or at least, I've seen him. Several times.

"You've met?" the man asks, raising an eyebrow. Then he purses his lips worriedly. "We haven't met, have we? That would be embarrassing."

"I--not really," I stammer, glancing at Sadra. She shrugs helplessly. I gesture vaguely at the fox. "It's just--"

"Oh, good. You'd be surprised how many people have 'not really' met Kirit," the man says with a relieved smile. He picks up the fox and cradles it in his arms. "I'm Luca. And this little monster is Kirit. He's...not shy."

"I see that," I say with a small smile. "Thank you for what you did. I can't tell you what it means to me. If there's anything I can do to thank you..."

"You could tell me your name," he suggests.

"Oh. I'm Sasha," I say shyly. "This is Sadra."

"Sasha and Sadra?" he asks with a grin--as many people do now that my name isn't a secret. It's getting old. "I like it."

"We're cousins," Sadra says ruefully. She seems to have recovered her composure. "Our parents obviously didn't think it through very carefully."

"I think it's charming," he assures her. "Are you new to the city?"

"Sasha just arrived this week," Sadra rushes to tell him. I shoot her a quelling look.

"I'm sorry you got such a poor welcome," Luca tells me. "Some of these merchants are little better than bandits."

"Oh, that's just business," Sadra disagrees with a toss of her hair. "Let this be your first lesson in bargaining, Sasha. You have to make them think you'll walk away. If they know how much you want something, they'll take everything you have."

"I wasn't thinking," I say. I rub the moonstone with my thumb. "It was such a shock."

"Well, we got out of it with our purses intact," Sadra says, squeezing my hand. She smiles at Luca. "Thanks to you. We're in your debt."

"It was no trouble," Luca says with a careless gesture. It looks like it's meant to be elegant, but the effect is spoiled by Kirit sticking his nose in Luca's face. "Can I walk with you a while? You could tell me more about how you lost your necklace. If you want to, I mean."

I hesitate. Seeing my discomfort, Sadra jumps in.

"I'm sorry, we should really be getting back," she says regretfully. "Thank you so much for your help."

"At least tell me where I can find you," Luca pleads. He gives me a dazzling smile. "For Kirit's sake. He likes you."

I blush furiously. I'm all lightheaded and I can't think straight.

"W-well," I stutter. "The Temple doesn't allow--"

"Aha!" Luca cries. "You're Temple initiates. What year?"

"Sasha's not an initiate," Sadra corrects him, and grins wickedly at me. "Not yet, anyway. Which means you can call on her whenever you like."

"Sadra!" I hiss, elbowing her in the ribs.

"I'll do that," Luca promises, placing his free hand over his heart. "Goodbye for now. Sasha...I'm very glad to have heard you yelling at that woman."

Completely tongue-tied, I just nod and return the gesture. Sadra does the same and we hurry away, giggling like schoolgirls.

"I told you!" Sadra crows once we're out of sight. "Hah! He couldn't take his eyes of you."

"I thought I was going to throw up," I gasp.

"Honestly, Sasha," Sadra says. "As if you've never spoken to a man before."

"Well, I haven't," I tell her. "Not like that."

"What!" Sadra cries. "Even before? How old are you, anyway? I can't believe I've never asked."

"I'm..." I have to think about it. "Seventeen, I think."

"You think?"

"It was almost fall where I came from," I explain. "When it happened. I'd just turned sixteen. When I woke up in--in that place, it was spring. So I'm not sure."

"Huh," Sadra says. "Well, seventeen or almost eighteen, then. In any case, you're definitely old enough to receive the attentions of that very fine looking young man."

"Is it safe?" I ask anxiously. "What if he finds out...you know?"

"Are you going to tell him?" Sadra asks. "Because that's the only way he'd find out."

"No, of course not, but what if he asks things I can't answer?" I argue. "He's bound to ask about where I come from and why I came to the city...all sorts of things. I can't just lie through every conversation."

"You worry too much," Sadra says. "Just stick to our story and if you can't answer, just don't. Say it's too painful to talk about."

"It just seems like such a stupid risk," I sigh.

"Or a nice addition to your disguise," Sadra suggests.

"That would be cruel," I say with a frown. "There's no point in seeing him again if I'm just going to use him."

"Well, then it's an opportunity to make a new friend," Sadra insists. "You can't cut yourself off from everything and everyone. It's not healthy and it's not very smart, either. You may need help at some point, and I can't be your only option."

I groan. "Why are you always right?"

"Because I've walked this earth for two years more than you have, during which time I have accumulated vast stores of knowledge and wisdom," she says seriously.

"This is stupid, anyway," I say, shaking my head to clear it. "I'll probably never see him again. He was just flirting."

"Oh, you'll see him again," Sadra says confidently. "You were too busy being bashful to see the way he was looking at you."

"Be honest, you just think he's good-looking," I accuse her.

"And charming and kind and generous," Sadra adds. "And, moon above, did you see his--"

"Sadra."

Sadra teases me all the way back to the Temple. I pretend to be annoyed, but really I kind of like it. For the first time in what seems like a century, I feel like a teenager. I feel like myself--or at least a version of myself. I wonder who I would have become if none of this had ever happened. Then I shrug. I'll never know what would have been, and I feel good right now.

We join the Temple's students for dinner in the dining hall and sit with some of Sadra's friends from when she lived here. Sadra wastes no time in filling them in on the juicy details of our adventure at the jewelry shop, except the details are much juicier than I remember them. The other girls congratulate me and pelt me with questions, which I dodge. It's awkward and overwhelming and embarrassing, and I love it.

We stay up late with the other girls, and together we convince Sadra to stay the night. She and I squeeze into my bed and whisper and giggle and drink bottle after bottle of sweet wine until we fall asleep. I wake up briefly in the middle of the night to find Sadra snoring gently into my hair, making it flutter over my ear. I sigh happily and I curl my fingers around my necklace.

It was a good day.