"Two silvers? You're better than this, Jenkins. That cat, " she pointed at the round, orange cat inside the cage she's brought in, "must be at least 5 silvers. The royals have one like that." the girl leaned in closer to the wooden counter. The big guy in charge was unmoved.
"come on, do you know how hard it is to pspsppssppsps that cat?" she said. Tiptoeing to lean in closer to Jenkins, she pouted.
"No can do, Agnes. If boss finds out I traded in a cat for five silvers, he'd put me in that cage of his" eyeing the tiny wooden box of the cat.
Agnes pouted sideways, that's when you'd know she was thinking. Crossed her arm, and looked at the cat. It's true though, she was out at 5'oclock chasing after that orange cat. Saw it outside her bedroom door, and decided it's a nice trade for money. You see, she was flat broke by Thursday last week. She'd been out collecting berries and mushrooms to trade in the village. Sure, there were suffice vegetables and fruits in her garden to keep her from going hungry, but the thought of her having zero silvers in the corners of her house provides no security for her.
The cat purred and it pulled her heartstrings for a minute. Then she averted to the two coins lying on the table. And on the cat again. Then the coins.
"Fine. I'll get the cat." she sighed. "you're gonna regret this, Mister." Grabbing the cat from the box, she looked at the bald man with the common brown robe everybody wore, and swung the cat gently to him, as if teasing. The man was unmoved.
Defeated, Agnes went out the store. I really thought I can do it this time. She pulled her dress upward, avoiding the mud covering the path on her way home. She regrets having her house way up in the forest, but most of the time she doesn't mind. Agnes liked being alone. She's been doing it since she was 15.
"now how am I going to take care of you?" her grip on the cat was tight as it may fall on the mud. "I can barely take care of myself, let alone a cat."
The trek on her way home was her favorite part when going down the village. It was peaceful. Trees were covering the sky with their lovely green leaves and the vines creeping up their trunk. The sun rays barely, but very visibly, peeking through the woods giving a slanted yellow streak contrasting the green and brown face of the forest. Butterflies glowing in the sun, playing with each other. Agnes took a deep breath. She starts humming to herself while stroking the cat.
Her feet skipped on the rocks, then picking whatever stone she finds pretty. She had a collection, and she'd put it in her garden along with her bed of roses and daisies and lavanders. She spent most her life tending to her garden, and she was pretty proud of it.
Her house might be a mess, but it was a mess that recognized it as home. Her dishes lying on the sink, the clothes she wasn't finished sewing, her bed in disarray, the books open in their chapters. It was a mess that she had loved.
What a mystery, the girl was. How she had unfold into a beautiful young lady with a pure heart and an innocent soul has captivated the townspeople.
The sound of her footsteps were becoming harder to hear, as the water roaring from a small and quaint waterfalls, not taller than her, was nearby. She would take baths from there when it's extremely hot and humid. The waterfalls led to a calming lake, and she'd imagine herself a mermaid like in the books she has read.
"we're almost there," Agnes let the cat go, and let it lead her to her home. The grass was beginning to appear from the rocks, and it tails the trail of the house. Agnes has put rocks to make a clear path to her home, although obvious to where it leads, she dug holes and placed large flat rocks to serve as steps. It was a missing element in her yard, and she's saw Mr. Freud doing it in his since she's visited town to trade books.
Ah, and there it was. Her humble cottage. Truly a sight to behold. It was meant for her and she loved it. But something was wrong. Her heart sank.
The chimney. Why is it smoking? Has she left something brewing? Is her house on fire?? Oh no, her house is on fire! But wait, the door's open. She's left it closed, she thought. Even checked it twice this morning.... But left the key by the sunflower gardenbed!
Without second thoughts, she grabs the nearest stick swinging broken from a tree and stanced herself for a fight.
