Chasing Embers | 1

11 | E m b e r

—

I was woken up by Hunter rolling over and smacking me in the face with his arm. His face was buried in my neck and his other arm was wrapped around my waist. I flung his arm off of me and sat up. From the opposite side of the room, Ragan was perched on her bed, smirking.

"That was entertaining," she quipped.

I stood and pulled my hair down from its ponytail. "He's an obnoxious sleeper." As I said this, I kicked Hunter's shin and he rolled around, eyes fluttering open.

He smiled. "Good morning, beautiful," Hunter swooned.

Ragan walked over to us and grimaced. "Gods, you're pitiful."

Hunter stuck his tongue out at her and stood, placing his hand on the small of my back. I don't know why, but the small action surprised me.

He looked up at Ragan. "Is there anywhere good to eat in Ardeina?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, but not anything I can afford. Most of the time I just barter. If you've got a good amount of drinia on you, the market is a little more than half a mile away to your left."

I looked toward Hunter. I didn't own a single drinia. "You're buying."

He shrugged. "Okay, let's go. You want anything, Ragan?"

She seemed to consider this much longer than needed. "A bag of apples."

I thought the request was strange but didn't try to overthink it. Hunter nodded and reached for my hand, walking toward the entrance of the building. I followed him out. There was no one outside and everything seemed gloomy. It made me feel sad for Ragan. She lived out here all by herself. I wondered why she didn't go somewhere else.

As we started to near the market, the scenery changed. The houses became brighter and more colorful. Flowers bloomed and vines crawled up the brick. I started to hear voices and taps on the pavement from shoes. The smell of bread and sweet goods filled the air.

Soon, the streets became crowded with people. Small booths with products like fruit, incense, clothing, and pottery were set up on each side of the pavement. Hunter moved his hand to my waist, bringing me closer to him.

"Watch out for pickpockets. They're everywhere," he whispered in my ear.

I nodded even though I hadn't brought anything someone could steal. My backpack was at Ragan's home, but that still wasn't reassuring considering she despised me, but I had a feeling everything would still be there when I came back.

"You see anything you want?" Hunter asked.

I looked around. There was a stand with fresh fruit, another with fried meats on a stick, and one with baked bread that filled the air with its wonderful smell. I pointed at the fruit stand. "Ragan said she wanted apples. There are some other fruits over there I've never seen. Can we go check it out?"

Hunter smiled. "Of course."

Getting through the crowd was a struggle. Hunter had to shove some people out of the way because they were lingering in the middle. I kept myself near Hunter the entire time, resting my hand on his back so he knew I was there. When we reached the stand, I knew it was all worth it. Fruits were stacked in crates, piling up to where there was only room for the man selling it all. I had never seen half of the fruit there.

"Hello, can I interest you in some fine fruit today?" The man selling the fruit smiled at us.

Hunter smiled back. "What do you prefer?"

The man seemed happy to tell us about his fruit. He picked up a pale purple, football shaped fruit. "I love the ladista. It's sweet like a strawberry, but at the same time it adds this tart flavor that I think is absolutely wonderful!"

Hunter looked at me. "Do you want me to buy one?"

I nodded. I wanted to experience his culture. "Yes, please."

He had grabbed a bag of smooth, red apples and handed it to the man. "These apples as well, please."

The man put the fruit in a paper bag and handed it to Hunter. "Ten drinia please."

We paid, thanked the man, and moved towards the bread stand. Hunter got us a loaf of freshly baked bread and a few muffins.

"I think that should cover us," Hunter stated, directing us away from the market.

We started walking back to the warehouse, Hunter holding the bags. It was nice to be alone with him, again. I enjoyed our strange conversations. When we were about halfway there, Hunter stopped walking. He started rummaging through one of the bags of food.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He pulled out the purple fruit. "One ladista for you, my lady."

I laughed and took the fruit from him. When I bit into it, my mouth exploded with a sweet and tangy flavor. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Wow, that's really strong," I muttered.

Hunter chuckled and pulled the fruit away. "I've never been a huge fan of ladista by itself, but it makes a really good pie. I just thought you might want to get a taste of what Auchterton is like."

I shook my head, the taste still heavy in my mouth. "Definitely more interesting than my world."