Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72: End of shopping
"Brother?....."
"Brother!"
Dana raised her voice but Percy kept walking, moving with purpose in a fixed direction, eyes straight ahead. She hurried around in front of him and looked up at his face.
His eyes appeared blank. Eerily so.
"This isn’t funny, brother." She planted her feet and pushed against him with everything her slight frame could manage, trying to stop him from walking further . She was being pushed back instead , but Percy had slowed down.
A hand came down on her head.
"What are you doing, Dana?"
She looked up confused . Her eyes teary and wet.
Percy frowned. "Let me go. Quickly. I need to umm release something."
Dana stared at him.
Then stepped aside.
Percy broke into a run toward the nearest alley corner. Dana watched him go, the situation assembling itself in her mind one piece at a time.
Her face went red.
She turned sharply away and walked to the alley entrance to wait, arms folded.
"Stupid brother."
---
"Why the fuck these sensations always lead to suspicious alleys and why now of all times,"
Percy thought, exhaling slowly once he was out of sight.
"Now I have to pretend to be a street pisser like Lyro.There goes whatever respect she had left for me."
He sighed.
"Why are there this many Haunted in one area? I counted at least five just now. Possibly more."
---
Percy walked back toward Dana a few seconds later.
She refused to face him. The tips of her ears were visibly pink.
The walk continued in silence. Percy let it stretch for a while before finally speaking.
"Dana. It was an emergency. I promise I don’t make a habit of it."
Silence.
Then a small nod.
Percy exhaled quietly. He decided to change the topic and aksed .
"Since we’re done with the shoes, how about lunch?"
The shoe shopping had wrapped up not long before. Percy had found a pair for himself clean, practical, one silver crown. For Dana he had picked out two pairs, a set of heels and a pair of sandals, which together came to one silver and twelve copper crowns.
Dana had tried to refuse. The prices were too high, she said. He was spending too much.
Percy bought them anyway and handed her the bag before she could argue further.
It had happened right as they stepped out of the shoe store. A sensation hit him like a wave, stronger than anything he had felt before, pulling him in a fixed direction until his legs moved on their own and his mind went somewhere else entirely.
Dana had calmed down since then.
Percy had not fully recovered his dignity.
"A worthy sacrifice," he told himself. "But I still don’t feel great about it."
He sighed and guided her toward a restaurant he was reasonably certain would make her forget the last ten minutes.
Dana looked at the building, then at him.
Percy smiled. "Don’t worry. This is a one time thing. No matter the price it’s worth it today, and I have the money." He paused. "Probably."
Dana looked at him a moment longer, then nodded and walked toward the entrance.
Percy got there first and pulled the door open. "After you, princess."
The doorman snapped to attention, straightened, and returned to his post.
Dana stepped inside. Percy followed and chose the table closest to the window. He pulled out her chair and gestured with a small bow.
"My lady."
Dana accepted it with composure, sat down, and giggled quietly at the gesture despite herself. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The doorman observed all of this from his post by the entrance and thought to himself.
"Hm. At least better than the last customer."
-----
The entire lunch had been Percy attempting to coax Dana into trying something from the upper half of the menu.
She ordered the cheapest dish available without hesitation.
The cheapest dish was seven copper crowns. A small portion. Percy stared at it when it arrived and said nothing. This was the closest he had ever come to spending a full silver crown on a single meal, and the plate in question could have fit in his coat pocket.
Dana ate it without complaint and looked perfectly satisfied.
---
When they were finished Dana took the initiative before Percy could suggest anything.
"Groceries next."
Percy could not have agreed faster. Since he wasn’t sure his pouch could keep up with how much he spent today for a single lunch.
They flagged down a carriage and made their way to the market. Percy had expected to guide her through it. It was her first time here, after all.
Within five minutes Dana had haggled a five copper crown cabbage down to three.
Percy watched.
She moved to the next stall. Then the next. Each one ended the same way . Dana calm, focused, relentless, the shopkeeper looking mildly stunned as she walked away with what she wanted at the price she had decided on before she arrived.
Percy stood back and let her work.
" She reminds me of Beatrix." He glanced behind them at the row of stalls they had already passed, where several shopkeepers were still visibly processing what had just happened to them.
"Actually Dana might be the stronger one."
He turned back to watch her negotiate a bunch of carrots down by two coppers with the composure of someone twice her age.
He had never seen this side of her before.
And was utterly speechless.
"Such a ferocious haggler for a girl so young and cute."
Percy recognised the voice before he turned.
Mrs. Callyst stood behind him with another woman he didn’t recognise, both of them watching Dana work on the nearest vendor with expressions of quiet admiration.
Percy smiled. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Callyst. What brings you here today?"
Mrs. Callyst chuckled. "Why would I be here if not for groceries?"
Percy felt his ears warm slightly. "Right. Of course. I should have known." He turned to call Dana over but Mrs. Callyst caught his arm.
"Don’t disturb her. The girl is in her flow."
She chuckled once more, exchanged a word with her companion, and the two of them disappeared into the crowd before Percy could say anything further.
He turned his attention back to Dana and closed the distance between them, staying within arm’s reach. He had no intention of losing her to the crowd mid-negotiation. And if he was honest, he wanted to watch a little longer and learn what he could.
---
The suns had begun their descent by the time Dana’s pace slowed, the weight of the bags between them growing and her steps settling into something more relaxed. The shopping was winding down.
Percy reached into his pocket and drew out his watch.
He flipped it open.
3:40 PM.
His eyes moved to the inside of the cover out of habit, where he had engraved the two words he read every time without thinking.
His pupils contracted. And a cold chill ran the full length of his spine.
"I- I can’t read it."
