Winterfall

~Maria Point of View~

It was now 7 in the morning and I was already feeling relieved. Our plan was moving forward nicely as King Alaric and Queen Eleanor were siding with us in the matter of dealing with Marcel.

What time are we meeting for magic training tonight? I asked Theoden as I shut the door to my room, locking it behind me.

Let’s try for 8pm tonight.

Got it.

If magic training was at 8, I had a full twelve hours to do whatever I wanted. Within limits of course. Theo was hesitant with me traveling through the kingdom alone, considering the spike in murders. However, I can not withstand being stuck in my room all day.

If you must travel, I will allow it. But my guards will be close by.

I didn’t like the idea of babysitters but I understood where he was coming from.

Understood. I just can not stand being in my room for another full day.

I get it. Just be careful Maria.

I will. I grabbed my bag of holding and slipped it on my belt and headed out the door.

I could sense his guards watching me as soon as I stepped outside. It didn’t bother me, but what did bother me was the fact that he was using some of his sources on me when they should be patrolling the inner rings. I have Underlings in place, he told me. The Underlings, of course, were not as skilled as the Elite group but had the talent to become one of the Elite. I knew of a guard named Brienne who was once an Underling, but worked her ass off to get into the Elite group. The inner rings are well watched, don’t worry.

I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I wanted to be out of the castle as much as possible today. After about an hour of walking through the outer rings I finally made it to the first middle ring of the city. It was home to a mix of nobles and middle class people. The families here were well blended, with nobility marrying into the middle class. In comparison, the outer rings mainly consisted of noble families, with very few middle and lower class families present in the outer rings.

I had visited this ring a few times, but not as much as I would have liked. The buildings featured architecture that blended styles from both upper and lower classes, making the place a truly unique experience.

Not to mention the fashion styles present in this ring. There were fine silks, yes, but there were also more mundane clothing options, all of which were much more affordable in this ring. That meant a variety of food choices as well. Currently my senses were picking up the delicious smell of a man’s freshly baked goods..

“Princess!” He waved attempting to get my attention.

“Sir,” I said as I approached. “What all have you got here?” I asked him even though I knew I did not need any more sweets but they smelled so delicious I simply couldn’t help myself.

“First, call me Freddy. Secondly, my grandma's recipes.” He handed me a small tin that held what looked like a chocolate pie. “Here taste.” He gave me a fork.

It was tempting. Damn it… I thought through the bond. I ended up taking a bite of the chocolate pie and it caused my taste buds to explode. This pie was absolutely delicious.

“Do you have any more of these?” I asked, finishing the small tin filled with chocolate pie rather quickly.

He looked underneath his cart. “I have three of these today.”

“Can I have these sent to the castle? I’ll pay.”

“Of course!” He spoke excitedly as he began to package up the pies whistling for a friend of his. “Take these to the castle.”

“The castle?” The boy asked.

“Yes. Princess Maria would like them dropped off.”

“Hello.” I looked down at the boy he had called, causing him to jump back.

“Princess…” he whispered as his eyes widened in shock.

“If it's too much trouble I can have one of my guards take them to the castle.”

My guards are not trained to deliver desserts to the castle.

Please? I begged.

Fine… He sighed.

Immediately, one of the guards stepped out of the shadows. “Princess, Captain said something about a delivery?” asked the guard, a man named Harold, as he looked between the three of us.

“Yes. These three pies need to be taken to the castle. Put them in the fridge please,” I ordered as the guard sighed heavily and whispered something about not being an errand boy under his breath. But he followed orders and took the deserts to the castle. I paid Freddy twenty gold, even though he was only asking for ten. I even tipped the little boy five despite him being too shell-shocked to even speak.

“Thank you.” I left them to their work. The owner simply thanked me and went back to attracting more people to his cart.

I wandered about this section of the ring for a few hours, looking at anything else that caught my interest. Eventually, I found another cute little shop selling trinkets.

“How much is this locket?” I asked the older-looking woman who owned the shop.

“For you, free." She had a twisted grin on her face as she spoke.

I gave her a bit of a side eye. “Let me buy it.”

“No. It’s free.” She urged me to take the piece.

“But…” I tried to protest.

“It’s free for the princess.” She snapped. “It looks good with your outfit today.”

I looked down at my shirt and pants I had decided to slip on before heading out. The black onyx gem did go well with my dark blue top and black pants. “If you insist. Can you tell me if it's magical or not first?” I asked her, suspicious at how persistent she was being.

“Magical? No.” I watched her move her hands over the necklace as if she was casting a spell. “But it was meant for you.”

What do you make of this? I asked him, unsure whether I could trust this woman or not. Something about her did not sit right with me.

Do not take it. He urged me. There is something hidden with that necklace. I could tell he was using his own abilities to try and examine it. Leave, he ordered.

“I’ll come back later.” I walked back to the door.

“Are you sure…” She spoke with a devilish accent to her voice.

“Yes.” I said and left as quickly as I could, only to run into Théoden.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.” I glanced back at the store and saw three of his guards enter to question the lady. “What was the necklace?”

“Something from the Hells. Why don’t you just head back to the castle. It’s getting close to dinner time as is.”

“True,” I said. “Walk with me?”

“I need to clean this up here,” he said. “I’ll meet you there in about half an hour.” He walked back to the now-chaotic shop.