A Special Mage (Ike x OC)

Chapter 2 - Fate

"Come on, grazin' time!" A voice interrupted my sleep. I was still behind the large haystack at the back of the barn, so once again, I flew under the farm owner's radar. It was the break of dawn, and let me tell you, I was not a morning person. At all. But I had to sneak out of there and into the public, so I forced myself awake and upright.

The cattle paid no mind to me as I tiptoed over to the exit a few minutes later and peered out to make sure the owner wasn't looking. I scanned the field, and thankfully, he was nowhere in sight, so I sprinted behind the barn and slid under the wooden fence, heading toward the rest of the village.

The houses and buildings were relatively far apart compared to the main cities and busier towns, which created a more open, free feeling as I strolled toward the road in the middle. I stuffed my hands in the deep pockets of my special jacket as I walked, and then it hit me. Looking around at all these villagers, I realized that I stuck out like a sore thumb. Nobody else was wearing a jacket like mine. How can I be so stupid? If I was going to avoid any bandits, I would have to blend in, too.

It looked like there was a nice, big market in front of some large stone house. The market had food, small furnishings, trinkets, clothes, tools, everything anyone could want. Well, not everything, but everything practical and necessary. The vendor looked rather welcoming and proper, as well, so I curled my hand around some gold pieces I had in my pockets. I also took note of the weird looks I got sometimes, but I chalked that up to my outfit.

"Hello, what may I do for you today, young lady?" The shop vendor said. He was rather young, around 17, and rather interesting looking, too. His short brown hair was spiky, but definitely not messy, and he was dressed a little differently than the rest of the villagers. He wore a nice maroon vest with some brown belt stretched diagonally across his waist. But it was his eyes that stood out the most. They were an unusual gray, almost white, with a dark ring around the irises. "Miss? Can I help you?" He smiled kindly at me.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I just—"

"No need to explain. What would you like?" The vendor interrupted.

"Um..." I looked around. "I would like some simple clothes, please." I said, looking down nervously. "Something like what the majority of the village women here wear. No dress though."

"Hmm, this is an oddly specific request. I've...never had someone ask for clothes like that before." He said, looking at me suspiciously.

Shoot, they're on to me! "No, it's just that I...need to blend in with the culture is all. Where I come from...we dress differently. I'm getting strange looks, so I was hoping..." What a horrible liar I was.

"No worries. I can hook you up. Now, I've got this lovely brown shirt with a selection of pants in theeese colors." He motioned to the assortment of trousers. "We've also got this highly fashionable scarf that clips in front. Only got a dull orange in stock right now, but this color is a trend among village women these days. There's an optional headdress that you can tie up in the back if you'd like. So, what would you be interested in?" The vendor smiled brightly at me.

"Uh...I'll take that brown shirt, the black pants, the scarf, and...no headdress please. How much will all that cost?" I tried to hold a normal expression, but I probably looked constipated instead.

"Let's see...you owe 3 gold for the shirt, 2 gold for the pants, and 8 gold for the scarf, so you owe 13 gold total. Lucky number." He winked.

I handed him a big gold piece, which was worth 20 gold. "Keep the change." I blushed, taking my newly purchased items.

"Have a good day, miss." He was awfully kind, but I'm positive it was just an act to sell more merchandise.

I hurried to a public outhouse so I could change into my new outfit that would allow me to camouflage perfectly! It was pure genius! But I still couldn't be sure that this was a fool proof plan. After all, I only just got those clothes. But I figured if I was able to stay out of trouble just long enough, then I could settle down somewhere. I considered the village I was in currently, as it seemed like a nice village and all, but I realized I didn't even have a way of paying for a house. I only had a grand total of 200 gold, which was definitely enough to pay for about 150 meals, but not nearly enough for a house. The houses here must have cost somewhere around 50,000 gold, so settling would have to wait.