The Choosing (11 page)

“Been here before?” Seth asked Sara in a sarcastic tone.

“Yup.”  She replied. “But I’ve never actually bought anything.”

Seth took her meaning, and took the boots from her.  Sara turned her head as Seth read the small tag hanging from one of the boots.  One silver, fifty copper.  A bit steep, but they were what she wanted, and she had obviously visited them several times.  This time Sara accompanied Seth to the counter.  No one sat at the counter, but there was a bell, so Seth picked it up and rang it.  A moment later a short white haired man appeared.  The old man greeted his customers and picked up the boots off the counter.  He read the tag on the boots and looked up again.  Recognition registered on his face.

“Sara!”  The old man said her name almost hysterically.  “Why look at you, you look gorgeous.”

Sara blushed and smiled lowering her face to hide her embarrassment.

“You know.” The old man now speaking to Seth. “This girl has come in this store every day for three months, just to look at these boots.”  The old man smiled first to Seth then to Sara.  “You know young lady, if I could afford it, I would have given them to you.”  The old man’s face lit up even more then, if it were possible.  “You know what I can do though, I will sell you one boot, and you can have the other one for free!”

Sara smiled so brightly at the old man; Seth feared the man might go blind.  Seth gladly reached into his small pouch and drew out yet another silver coin.  He handed it to the old man, telling him to keep the change, feeling it was the least he could do for the man making Sara so happy.  Sara plopped herself down on the floor right there at the counter, peeling off her old ragged shoes she tossed them in a small pail of trash next to the counter, and pulled on her new boots smiling the whole time.  The boots were also made from black leather, polished to shine.  They fit her perfectly from the tips of her toes all the way up her calves.  She laced them up tightly, and smiling at Seth stood and took a couple steps back for him to get a good look at her.  Seth smiled his approval, and she returned to his side, again taking his hand.  Sara was a bit taller now with the new boots.  Noticing her new height, Seth looked at the heel on the boots.  They must have made her three inches taller, but it was a wide heel, and so shouldn’t impair her walking.  They both thanked the shopkeeper graciously and left the shop headed once again, hand in hand, back to the main market.

“You’re done buying me stuff right?  Sara asked almost pleadingly.

“Almost.”  Seth grinned at her.  “I promise just two more things.”

“What else do I need? Sara questioned a bit embarrassed that she really didn’t know.

“Well.” Seth began to answer.  “We need to find you a pack, and I would feel safer if we found you something for protection.”

“But I have you for protection.”  Sara stated in earnest but giggled a little despite herself.

“Yes you do." Seth agreed.  "But we got some news last night that makes me a little nervous and I would feel better if you had something to protect yourself with.”  This he stated matter-of-factly leaving the subject pretty well un-open to discussion.  “Do you know how to use any kind of weapon?”  Seth asked her, almost certain she would say no.”

“Well, James at the inn showed me one time how to shoot a crossbow.”  Sara said this with pride, finally not being completely oblivious.

“That’s good.”  Seth stated thinking quietly that it was not so good.  Cross bows were very easy to wield, but they weren’t cheap.  So far they had done very well.  Seth had only spent two silver for all of her clothes which left him thirteen for the rest of the trip.  Seth knew he could teach her to use a bow, but also knew that if she could already shoot a crossbow, then it was the best choice.  He would just have to make due.

“Do you know where they might sell a crossbow?”  Seth asked Sara, knowing well if there was a shop with them she would be more likely to find it.

“I do know a place that used to have them, it where James got his, though I don’t know if they still sell them.”  Sara answered his question, and then began dragging him once again through the tangle of shops and carts leading him to the shop he wanted to visit.

Sure enough in no time Sara was dragging him up to one of the biggest shops in the market.  It was a large two story building built from the same stone as everything else.  The only difference here was the door.  All the other doors Seth had seen in Stone Haven were wood, this door was Iron.  Expecting the door to be extremely heavy Seth braced his feet and yanked with all his might against the door so as to not look weak in front of Sara.  The door swung open effortlessly with such force it nearly flung Seth into the wall of the building.  Recovering from his shock, Seth looked at the door in wonder trying to imagine how they had built it to swing so freely with all the weight.  Seth walked through the door and abruptly stopped.  He had no choice there was a wall to wall counter not three feet inside the door, behind it stood a large burly man with a familiar face.  Sara glided through the door as well, and stood quietly beside Seth. 

“Hello young friend.”  The large man greeted Seth.  “It’s good to see you again.”

Seth smiled at the familiar face.  A face that had been utterly destroyed the night before, and subsequently restored by Ashton.

“Hello.”  Seth replied.  “It's good to see you are doing better.”  Seth added

The large man nodded in understanding, and smiled again.

“To what do I owe this visit?”  The large man asked.

“Well actually I’m looking for a crossbow for Sara here, so nothing to big or heavy, and preferably nothing too pricey.”  Seth simply stated the truth to the big man, and in response the man smiled at him ear to ear.

“I think I can handle that.” He said still smiling.  “Let me see what I have.”  With that, the large man left the counter, and walked to the back of the room behind a large set of shelves filled with daggers and arrows, and other small trinkets.  A moment later he returned from behind the shelves carrying with him three crossbows.  As he approached the counter he grabbed the tag on each of the weapons and giving them a swift tug, tore them free.  He let the tags fall to the ground not giving them a second look.  He placed the three crossbows on the counter for Seth to choose.  Seth looked them over, they all looked very well crafted, and each of them had a decorative stock, and engraved bows.  All of them looked expensive, too expensive.

“They all look great to me.”  Seth stated honestly.  “Which one is the cheapest?”  He asked then, assuming not a single one of them would be within his budget.

“Well let’s see here.”  The big man appeared to think for a moment then smiled.  “They are all the same price.” He stated coolly.

“Ok.” Seth then continued his line of questioning, to the most important question.  “How much are they then?”

“That depends.”  The man behind the counter stated, more than a bit amused by this conversation.

“Depends on what?”  Seth couldn’t help but ask, though he now felt the big man was just playing a game with him.

“Well it would depend on how much my face is worth to me, or my life for that matter.”  The man stated this with an ever growing smile as he seen the realization registering on Seth’s face.

“You mean that…..” Seth couldn’t finish the question.

“That’s right son, whichever one you want, it yours, consider it my thanks for last night.”  The big man said proudly.

Seth attempted a reply but found himself unable.  The large shop owner found this very amusing and just watched Seth fumble time and again with his words.  Unable to create a sentence, Seth gestured for Sara to pick a crossbow, and stepped back allowing her a closer look.

It was as if it was the first time the large man had noticed Sara.  He squinted his eyes at her trying to remember where he had seen her.  Sara picked the middle crossbow, and the large man handed it to her, still trying to place her face.  Sara accepted the weapon, and using the strap provided slung it over her shoulder, allowing it to rest on her back.  Seth, finally regaining his composure, thanked the man whole heartedly, then remembering he would need something else asked the man about a quiver and some bolts for the crossbow.  Again the man left the counter, this time walking to the large shelves that separated his shop, he pulled from it a black quiver, and stuffed it full of iron headed bolts.  Returning to the counter, he placed the quiver in front of Sara.  The man still searched her face, as Seth pulled out his coin purse.  The large man gasped as realization knocked him back on his heels.  He did know the girl; she belonged somehow to John, the man who had just last night tried to kill him.  The Large, middle aged man, stood looking across the counter at Sara perplexed.

“What do I owe you for the quiver and arrows?” Seth was asking the man, who now stood frozen.

Shaking his head it took a moment for Seth’s words to register.  He looked at Seth, then back at the girl.  Something was going on here and he was gonna figure it out.

“That depends.”  The large man replied for the second time, his eyes still on Sara.

“On?” Seth questioned, now familiar with the game.

“It depends on her.”  The man stated jerking his head towards Sara.

“Ok.”  Seth started.  “What about her?”

The man now looked at Sara, sure of whom she was.  “You’re that girl that lives with John right?”

Sara nodded unaware of the previous nights happenings.  The man continued.

“But now you’re leaving with this guy huh?

Sara nodded again unsure where the line of questions was going.

“John was ok with that?”

This time Sara shook her head, she had tried to put the events of only a little more than an hour ago out of her head, but she felt the man wanted an explanation, so she gave it.

“No.  He told me I couldn’t leave, and he hit me.  He chased me into the street threatening to kill me.  Then Seth and Garret threatened to chop him to bits if he didn’t leave me alone.”  The last part she said looking at Seth pure adoration in her eyes and a wicked grin on her lips.”

The man thought over her words a moment, eyeing Seth’s sword.  Then just as before the man grinned ear to ear and continued with his questions.

“That really pissed John off didn’t it?”

Once again Sara nodded in response.  Her nod set the large man to laughing hysterically, and amidst his howls of glee, he handed the quiver with arrows to Sara and told her to take it, as a gift.  Still laughing, the man then looked at Seth again and said something about making his day, and asked if Seth wanted another crossbow.  To which Seth readily declined, feeling he had already taken advantage of the man.  Both Seth and Sara bid the man farewell.  In response the man just waved them out the door, laughing too hard to breathe, and as such, unable to speak.

They stepped back into the street, Sara remembering what else it was they needed, took Seth’s hand and they walked down the street together. 

“What was that all about?” Sara asked as they walked.

Seth related the story beginning with their arrival to the inn, up to the point where they decided to eat on the porch of the inn, instead of inside.  As he finished his short narration, Sara pulled him up to a merchant’s stall that sat outside covered by a canopy.  The merchant sold a wide variety of leather goods, from gloves, to bags, from vests to packs.  They quickly decided upon a black leather pack, a bit small, but it was cheap, and it fit Sara well.  They walked then to the place they had left Garret and Ashton nearly two hours before, and waited for them to return.  While they waited, Seth helped Sara adjust her pack, mount her quiver on her belt at her hip, and re strung the crossbow’s strap so that she could wear it over her shoulder, under her arm like a woman’s bag.

Before long Garret and Ashton emerged from the rows of shops, carrying with them two parchment wrapped bundles.  Spotting Seth and Sara the two sped up to meet them.  They stood together once again in a small circle, and each Garret and Ashton passed the bundles, one each, to Seth and Sara, telling them it was their food for the next three days.  Both Seth and Sara untied the small leather straps holding their bundles together and carefully packed the food into their packs.  Sara then used the small  strap she had untied from her bundle, gathered her beautiful black hair behind her head and tied it there, leaving her delicate neck exposed.  Seth stared in awe.  Garret then leaned over to his twin and whispered in his ear.

“Guess you’re broke huh?” he asked jerking his head towards Sara.

Seth shook his head and silently mouthed the word “only” and held up two fingers where only his brother could see.  Garret’s eyes widened in amazement, but he nodded his approval to his twin.

The four of them decided then it was time to leave Stone Haven, and so they each shouldered their packs, and began walking south Garret and Ashton in the lead, Seth and Sara following behind.

They walked through the day, stopping occasionally to let Sara rest.  She was unused to the unpaved roads beyond the town’s borders.  Neither was she accustomed to carrying three days worth of food or a weapon.  The boys had all offered to carry her equipment but she refused, stating they had already done too much for her.  She tried her hardest to keep pace with the longer legged boys, but the boys slowed their pace, seeing her struggling to keep up.  All of them knew it wasn’t her fault and none of them minded.  In fact they had fabricated several reasons to stop along the way so she could rest without guilt.  It wouldn’t be long until she was used to the exertion, and could keep pace with the rest of them.  However, they hadn’t anticipated this, and now realized that three days worth of food would not be enough by at least a day if not two at their current pace.