Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (10 page)

A bugle sounded, drawing the girls
’ attention toward the city. Soldiers on well-groomed horses were passing through the gates three abreast. They sat tall and proud in their saddles, surveying the crowd, protecting their prince. At the head of the second group of soldiers was a fair-haired man who waved and smiled at the people. Prince Leon wore a bright-red coat, gold fabric adorning the shoulders, gold buttons shining in the sun. He rode a large, white, imperious beast that pranced whilst walking. As he drew closer, Bronwyn could see the jewels on his sword handle glinting in the sun. She couldn’t help but be impressed, as she had never seen anyone that grand before. 

“
Aunt, who is that?”

“
That, my dear, is Prince Leon, third in line to the throne. He’s quite impressive in that outfit, although the sword handle looks somewhat impractical. If you ran out of money on the road, it would come in handy. I’m sure it would buy a decent feed.” They all laughed.

“
He’s single, isn’t he?” Corrille enquired

“
Trust you to think of that. As if he would marry a nobody like one of us. He has to marry a beautiful princess from another place.” Bronwyn’s answer did nothing to displace Corrille’s dreamy expression.

The prince took his time lapping up everyone
’s adoration. He eventually passed not far from their group. He smiled at the two attractive young girls and the lady whose face was turned to the ground as she curtsied. “Did you see that, Bron? He smiled at me.”

“
Yeah, and he smiled at everyone else too.”

Corrille frowned at her friend and hit her on the arm.

“Where are your manners, girls? You should curtsey for a member of the royal family.” Bronwyn and her friend reddened at their mistake.  

By the time the rest of his party passed, the air was filled with dust. Avruellen
turned to the girls. “OK, we’d best get going. It could take a while for that line to pass through. Hold each other’s hands; I don’t want us to get separated.” Avruellen grabbed her niece’s hand and led the way into Bayerlon.

10

The large crowd jostled Bronwyn through the gates.  She gripped her companions’ hands as though her life depended on it.
Unused to the proximity of so many people at once, not to mention the abundance of body odour, her excitement turned to fear, and she felt queasy. She was trying to move with the crowd, but people behind her were in more of a hurry and were pushing, shoving, and treading on the back of her feet. At one point she tripped and was only held up by Avruellen. If she had fallen, the crowd would have trampled her like a forgotten napkin after a feast. Once through the gates, Avruellen pulled them abruptly to the left. They had to push through people to find a small space of relative calm.

They reluctantly released hands once they had gathered their breath. Bronwyn and Corrille looked around, trying to see everything at once. The smells were indeed strong, but there were some nice ones mixed in with the others
Bronwyn had been warned about. If she turned her head to the left, sewerage assaulted her nose, to the right she smelled freshly baked bread and biscuits. People were everywhere; some rushing into the city, some bravely squeezing their way out against the flow. A long queue had built from the delay caused by the prince’s departure, and now everyone was trying to make up for lost time.

It took Avruellen only moments to get her bearings. She hadn’t been to Bayerlon for many years. She had lived here long ago for more time than she cared to remember. She would start by finding a room for the night. They were at the bottom end of town, literally and socially. Any visitor to the city was greeted by basic accommodation, which progressively improved the further up the hill one walked. Generally, proximity to the castle dictated how affluent one was: the closer you were, the better; the further down the hill the less affluent, the more effluent.

A gravity-fed waste system serviced the city. Many houses were equipped with underground pipes, which travelled further than the city’s walls. The poorer houses, on the other hand, let things travel as they would, down the road. Many an unwary person had suffered a bucketful of stinking slop dumped on their shoes by an impoverished inhabitant who didn’t particularly care. Avruellen kept to the middle of the road as they wandered up the gradual incline.

As they walked, hand in hand, Bronwyn and her friend saw more of the great city. There were indeed women in beautiful dresses, although at this end of town they were outnumbered by woman who wore little better than tattered cloth. Grimy children clad in rags ran around on bare feet. 

“Aren’t they cold? Where are their shoes?”

“
They’ve never had any. Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re used to it.”

“
That sounds awfully mean, Auntie. Doesn’t it bother you that they’re so poor?”

“
You were always the sensitive one. Yes, it does bother me, but I’ve seen much worse. The king can’t look after everyone. There are just too many people. There used to be a time when each poor family was given a loaf of bread, eggs, and oats every week, but it’s been such a long time since I was here last, I have no idea if that still happens. I promise you, if we are ever in a position to help these people, we will. You must understand though, that whilst some of them are truly unfortunate, some just don’t care and wouldn’t do a day’s honest work whether you paid them or not.”

“
Well, I guess if they don’t want to work they shouldn’t get anything. But why should their children suffer?”

“
I don’t know. Can we stop talking about this? I have enough trouble worrying about the three of us, let alone the rest of the city.”

“
Come on, Bron, just enjoy the experience. Look, there aren’t any more poor people up here.” Corrille pointed at neatly dressed men and women. 

The houses around them had changed from those of a shantytown to more respectable dwellings. Bronwyn wanted to say that just because they couldn’t see any poor people, didn
’t mean they didn’t exist. She managed to keep her mouth shut and tried to appreciate the growing beauty of the city as they left the poorer districts behind.

About halfway to the castle Avruellen turned right, into a narrow, cobbled street. She stopped in front of a three-level, grey-blue stone terrace
house. They walked up four stairs to the tiled veranda. The sign out the front announced “Evelyn’s Comfortable Inn.” They entered directly into the serving room. 

Avruellen seated the girls at a table near the fire and approached a highly polished slab of timber that doubled as the bar. The girl behind the counter wa
s dipping tankards into a newly-opened cask of wine. “Be with you in a minute.” She rushed away with the drinks but promptly returned. “What can I do for you?”

“
Does Evelyn still own this place?”

“
Yes, but she’s out at the moment. I’m in charge when she’s not here. My name’s Bethwyn.”

“
Hello Bethwyn, I’m Avruellen. I would like a room for the night for me and my two girls.” Avruellen nodded toward their table. 

“
Shouldn’t be a problem. I think we’ve got three left. Do you want one with or without a view?”

“
Does one cost more than the other?”

“
No.”

“
I’ll take the view then.” Avruellen paid a deposit to reserve one room. 

Bethwyn led them to the top floor. Their room had an expansive view over the city and out to fields beyond, where small white and grey dots grazed. They could see a shadow of the Semmern ranges in the distance. The room was large. The white-painted timber floors, pale blue walls, and four neatly made single beds, lent the room a homey feel. A washbasin stood in one corner and a small table draped with a blue cloth in the other. Although the room was clean and well presented, Avruellen pulled back the sheets to check for bedb
ugs. She nodded and replaced the covers. “We’ll leave our things here. Our hands will be full enough when we come back from the markets.”

The markets were near the bottom of town. The location was for the convenience of farmers and traders due to their position near the main gates. The richer citizens of Bayerlon could attend smaller markets toward the middle of the city, where the produce was more expensive. The tight-fisted, rich households sent a servant to the larger markets to get the day
’s groceries. Because of the steep return journey up the hill, fully laden with goods, this duty usually fell to the most junior staff.

On the way down, Avruellen walked slowly so the girls could have a look around.
“If, by any chance, we’re separated at the markets, go straight back to the inn. It’s easy to find; just follow this main road. It runs straight through the city. When you get to Middle Street, turn right and you’ll eventually see ‘Evelyn’s’.”  Bronwyn noticed the main street was planted on either side with large hedges. The city was emerging from winter. The sleepy trees had been trimmed and were ready to awaken and sprout new shoots. Bronwyn imagined the boulevard would look spectacular in summer. The houses were mostly terrace style at this end of the city and there was limited space for gardens. Now and then, a couple of terraces were missing from the row, and in their place sat tranquil breathing spaces—well-tended parks and gardens—which Bronwyn found almost irresistible.

Bronwyn
’s nose was becoming accustomed to the city odours, however, as they neared the markets, she could smell rotting food among other things. “Is it safe to buy food here? It smells awful.”

“
The goods for sale will be fresh; don’t worry. There’s no market on a Sunday, which is the day the old food is cleared away. The farmers take most of it back home to feed the pigs and gardens.”

“
I’m glad I’m not a pig then, Auntie.”

Avruellen laughed. The girls followed Avruellen around the markets as she bought things they would need for the days ahead. Bronwyn would have asked where they were going, but she didn’t know much of the world, and was sure Avruellen would tell them soon anyway. The girls quickly found their arms laden with purchases. When they couldn’t carry any more, Avruellen led the girls back to the Inn.
“We’ll buy the food tomorrow, on our way out of town. There’s no use carrying it up and back again.” The girls were enthusiastic in their agreement.

By the time they had packed the things away in larger bags, everyone was hungry. Afternoon shado
ws slanted across Middle Street as they ate lunch. Afterward, they made a trip up the hill to a seamstress and cobbler. Bronwyn and Corrille had fun trying things on. One of the shirts Bronwyn tried had voluminous sleeves and gaudy patterns that made her look like a court jester. They had never seen a shop with so many different styles of clothes. They each bought travel clothes that consisted of pants, shirts, new boots, and waterproof coats. Bronwyn was surprised at how good her Aunt looked in the outfit; she had never seen her in pants before. Bronwyn had only ever had one pair of trousers, which she wore when participating in sword lessons, but they were worn out, so she had left them at home.

The city streets were more shadow than light by the time they finished. When they reached the Inn, Avruellen requested baths for the two girls.
“Why aren’t you having one, Miss Avruellen?” Corrille liked to question everything; it was her small way of rebelling.

“
I have to go and buy some horses. I’ll have my bath when I return. I expect you two to stay here and wait for me. Do not, under any circumstances, leave this inn. Am I understood?” She arched an eyebrow.

“
What if it catches fire?”

“
Well, Corrille, I obviously expect you to use your common sense. If you leave here and it is not a life and death situation, there will be one when I find you.” Avruellen stared hard at the girl. Corrille didn’t answer. “Bronwyn, I’m leaving you in charge while I’m gone. Don’t disappoint me.”

Avruellen returned well after dark. She smiled to discover she had been obeyed. The girls had bathed, eaten, and were preparing for bed. They were yawning and Bronwyn’s eyes were half closed. Avruellen answered a few of their questions about the horses, then went to take a bath. They would all wear their new pants tomorrow—their dresses being extremely dirty and requiring so many repairs that Avruellen instructed the innkeeper to burn them.

After dinner, Avruellen went upstairs to check on the girls. They were asleep. She returned downstairs and asked Bethwyn to make sure her charges stayed put. Avruellen left to meet with Hermas. The street lamps had been lit and the night was clear. Avruellen was attired against the cold in her new, soft coat, but she found the smell of treated leather, reminding her of the original, living animal that had died for her warmth, offensive.  She knew the animal would have been killed for the meat, not the leather, however that was small comfort. In any case, it kept her warm. She instinctively knew the streets and alleyways of this large city, so found her way easily in the dimly lit environment.

It was too dangerous for them to meet at the castle, so Avruellen made her way to a large house in the rich quarter. She went to the rear servants
’ entrance. The owner was a deeply religious man who practiced as a medical physician. He was well known for his dislike of realmists. They hoped it would be the last place anyone would think of to place spies. Agmunsten had tutored the good doctor in the secrets of the Realms.  Some of his miraculous medical cures could only be attributed to magic, however, the doctor was the only one to know that. The Circle needed eyes and ears throughout the world, and it was wise to have people whom everyone would least suspect.