I saw a few people from court, who stood out in their fine clothing. For the most part, the townspeople dressed more casually in simple pants, skirts, and shirts. Everyone gave the carriage a wide berth, bowing to Lukas when he stepped down. He tipped his head in acknowledgement and helped me down. I could have done it on my own, but it felt like proper decorum for him to assist me. Conlan and the others dismounted and came to stand with us, and Kaia wound through their legs to take her position at Lukas’s other side.
“What do you want to see?” Lukas asked me.
“Everything.”
Laughing, he placed a hand on my back and guided me toward the nearest stalls. People moved out of our way, making a clear path for us. I got the impression the crown prince wasn’t often seen at the market, and this was a treat for them.
The first stall we stopped at sold jewelry, and I was dazzled by the large assortment of sparkling baubles and crystals. There were rings, bracelets, necklaces, hair accessories, and head pieces. I picked up a bracelet made of glowing eyranth and admired the intricate detail in the metal band. When Lukas spoke in Fae, I realized he was translating my praise to the elf vendor, who looked both flustered and honored to have the prince at her booth.
I asked her a few questions about some of the stones and her work until she was more at ease. By the time we moved on to the next stall, she was flushed with pride over some of Lukas’s compliments.
The next vendor sold pastries, and it didn’t take much coaxing for me to try one. The flaky, sugary pastry melted on my tongue, and I told him, with Lukas’s help, that it was the best I had ever tasted. The beaming vendor offered me more, but I told him I had to save room for all the other tasty treats.
Lukas and I wandered from stall to stall. I tried the foods he suggested and talked to the sellers with his help. It was the happiest I’d been since coming to Faerie, and I felt more at home here where it was less formal and had so many different people. Court was beautiful and luxurious, but it lacked the vibrancy and warmth of this place.
Lukas’s men stayed close enough to react to any threat to their prince while not crowding us. It wasn’t like in my world where they walked beside him as equals. They might be his best friends, but here they looked more the part of a royal guard.
Occasionally, faeries from court approached us, and Lukas stopped to speak a few words to them. Some of the females tried to linger, but he never stayed long with them, to their dismay. I also didn’t miss the fact that he always used English when I was beside him.
During one of his conversations, I wandered a few feet away to watch a musician setting up an oblong stringed instrument. He plucked a few strings, and delight filled me. It sounded like a classical guitar. My fingers itched to give it a try. Maybe I could find one like it since I’d had to leave my guitars at home.
The musician saw me watching and waved me over. He said something in Fae, and I shook my head, motioning that I couldn’t understand him. A frown marred his brow, and then he smiled and held out the instrument to me.
I took it with eager hands and sat on the stone bench behind him. The instrument was awkward to hold at first, and the strings were made of a fiber I’d never seen. The first few chords I produced made me wince, and it took a minute for my hands to get used to the feel of the strings. As if my fingers had a mind of their own, they started to play “Annie’s Song.” It didn’t sound quite the same as when I played it on my guitar, but I lost myself in the familiar melody. The market disappeared, and I was back in my bedroom at home playing for Finch and Aisla.
The song ended, and clapping brought me back to the present. I looked up to find a small crowd applauding me. Smiling, I stood and handed the instrument to the musician.
“Thank you,” I said, and his answering smile said he understood the meaning if not the words.
I turned back to where I’d left Lukas and found him watching me with a thoughtful expression. I raised my eyebrows in question, and he merely smiled. He was hard to read sometimes, but today he looked relaxed and content.
A little elf girl with a rika ran up to me. I crouched to pet the creature, and I was surprised to feel a tug at my hair. I peeked at the girl who was running her little fingers through my hair, a look of wonder on her face.
“Misse,” she said in Fae.
An adult female elf hurried over and gently removed the girl’s hand from my hair. The female’s face was anxious like a mother worried her child had done something wrong.
“It’s okay,” I said, but my words only seemed to cause her more distress. I looked around for help and was relieved when Faris appeared by my side.
He said something to the child’s mother, who replied timidly, barely meeting his eyes. When her gaze met mine again, she wore a small smile and appeared less upset. I smiled back, and she bowed before she led her daughter away through the crowd.
“I didn’t mean to upset her,” I said to Faris in a whisper.
He shook his head. “You didn’t. She thought her child would be punished for touching the prince’s companion.”
I stared at him aghast. “But that wouldn’t happen, right?”
“No one would dare hurt a child, but there are some people at court who see townspeople as beneath them. They would have given the mother a harsh word.”
I pressed my lips together, my good mood dampened by the reminder that no matter what world you lived in, there would always be those people.
“The little girl said something when she touched my hair. What does misse mean?” I asked him.
Faris smiled. “It means pretty.”
He escorted me back to Lukas, who leaned in to say, “You have never played for me.”
The teasing note in his voice sent my stomach into a tumble. “Ask nicely, and I might.”
Lukas laughed softly, and my breath caught. Was I flirting with him? And was he flirting back?
We continued our walk, and I spotted a bookseller’s stall. “Oh, Lukas, we have to stop there.”
A gasp nearby alerted me to my faux pas, and my face grew warm. I lowered my voice. “I keep forgetting you’re the crown prince.”
“You might be the only person in Unseelie who does,” he whispered.
I couldn’t tell if he was disappointed in me or not. “I’m sorry.”
“I like it.” His mouth curved. “That’s between us.”
I smiled back. “My lips are sealed.”
We walked over to the stall that had shelves of books and more in wooden crates. Every book had a fabric-bound cover with a simple embossed title, and most of them were works of fiction, according to Lukas. They were all in Fae, so I couldn’t read them…yet. I flipped through some of them, intrigued by the flowing script that was the Fae language. It was hard to believe I would soon be able to speak and write in Fae. And eventually, I’d be able to pick up any human language.
I lifted a green book and discovered that every other page was a detailed drawing of a Faerie plant. When I showed it to Lukas, he said the text on the opposite page described the plant and its medicinal or culinary uses. My parents would love the book, even if they couldn’t read it. Knowing Mom, she’d have someone translate it as soon as I gave it to her.
I looked at the bookseller, and then it occurred to me that I had no money to buy the book. I’d seen people exchanging the wafer-thin pieces of metal that was used for currency here, but I didn’t have any of my own.