"Excuse me, how much are these?"
"145 coins! A very good price for these wonderfully crafted necklaces from the Tropical Islands of the Southern Seas!"
"I will give you 37 coins for those Smoked meats!"
"Are you trying to rob me? Those meats were expertly sliced from the carcass of a winter badger! A fearless beast, I mind you! 65 coins! Take it or leave it!"
"How much for these fetching boots?"
"These cost 335 coins, Madam. But let me tell you why the price is so high."
The traders market filled with people here to purchase goods at reasonable prices. Haggling for a better deal and listening to traders describe their products. Bethel had arrived early, as not to miss Josephine.
"Pardon me, Miss, would you like to sample our latest cosmetics? Don't hide your looks under that hood. These will give you the confidence to walk with your head held high!" A vendor from an overly decorated stall wandered towards Bethel.
He was trying to pick women with their faces covered from among the crowd, even hitting sore spots that made them feel self-conscious of their appearance. It was a tactic for boosting sales, gaining profit from women not wanting to be seen as lesser than they supposedly appeared.
"No, thank you." She dismissed his attempt to gain a coin out of her purse. Bethel wasn't interested in the least. She never had much of a fondness for smearing paint on her face. After all, her natural looks were already captivating enough.
"But!" Desperate, the man grabbed her arm. "We have face powder and various shades of rouge in stock. Surely there will be one that catches your eye?"
He spat words out before Bethel could give him another negative answer. "There's even perfumes made from lily of the valley infused with mana crystals! It would make anyone look your way! No one will ignore you, they will only have love in their eyes for you!"
'Isn't that a dangerous item then?' A perfume that would draw anyone's full attention sounded like the beginning of a horror story where admiration can easily change into obsession. She didn't want to be the poor fool that used it and got torn apart.
Mana stones and Mana crystals were wildly different forms of magic containment. Where mana stones were seen as more stable and manageable thanks to eons of research from previous mages. Mana crystals have in recent years been used for agriculture. Bringing back fertility to barren lands, at the cost of infusing magic into crops.
It would be seen as a good investment at first. Until a farming village fell into madness from constant use of infusing mana crystals into their lands for better quality crops. Since then, mana crystals are only allowed to restore land but not to be overly mixed with any crop, tree or flora.
"I already said 'No', are you hard of hearing sir?"Bethel clipped out, her voice low and even.
She sharply pulled her arm free of the cosmetic vendor's grasp, her eyes, usually quick to calculate, now iced over with annoyance. The man, sensing the sudden shift from polite refusal to genuine threat, instantly backed down, stammering an apology as he retreated to his garish stall.
'Perfume infused with mana crystals,' Bethel thought with distaste, 'Honestly! The Royal Family doesn't keep an eye on what entering their Kingdom anymore.'
The Emberbones Family, the royal lineage of Cinderite, was currently governed by the Prince Consort, who took up the reins after Queen Florence's passing. The Queen had died delivering her third child, leaving the kingdom with three heirs: a set of twins—a boy and a girl—and their youngest sister.
She finally found a spot near the stalls dedicated to durable goods—ropes, canvas, and spices. She chose a spice stall as a viewing point, pretending to inspect a heap of exotic red pepper pods while keeping her eye on The Silk & Wool Group stall.
"So you are here?" A familiar voice spoke behind her back. Snapping her head around, Bethel came face to face under the afternoon sun with RupertGraves.
He hadn't made a sound. His wild, dark curls were tied back loosely, revealing the fullest of his bread, and the intimidating width of his shoulders. His gray eyes, obscured from sight, fixed directly on her.
"Mr.Graves?" She confirmed. A bit unexpected to meet him again among the crowds of people.
"At least you didn't have to pull out your self-defense tool against that pushy vendor." He commented, having seen Bethel threaten him.
"Well, I am quite frightening with words alone." Bethel replied, a faint smile touching her lips.
Rupert didn't return the smile. He simply raised one dark, thick eyebrow. "Yes, truly haunting." Glanced at the Silk & Wool stall. "Waiting?"
She nodded, "I want to have a conversation with her. If the choice she made is still the same. I will just return to my office and wait for another client."
Thinking about Josephine's situation made Bethel upset. Even she did not believe her own words of leaving over the chance of being told no. Bethel couldn't stand aside and live in blissful ignorance being aware.
Rupert occasionally peeked at Bethel changing expression. Finding it to be anything but ready to accept defeat. "Miss Green, I hope you would be able to motivate your client towards a better outcome. Having noticed those bruises myself, even the sight of her reminds me of a scarecrow. That shouldn't be how someone lives." He pointed out. Wanting to encourage Bethel the best way he could.
By informing that her client's latest state wasn't for the faint of heart.
"...How bad did she look?" Asking him questions Bethel was worried about most.
He pondered for a moment, "She looked drained, face slightly paled, constantly looked over her shoulder. After placing her order, she walked in a direction I was heading." Rupert paused, contemplating whether or not to say what he had witnessed.
Sensing the man's hesitation in continuing. Bethel stepped closer to him, resting a hand on his arm. She didn't care about the proximity between them. Hearing about Josephine does.
"What happened next?" Her eyes pleaded to know more.
Rupert spoke slowly, "She muttered repeatedly the words 'No more, No more' as she roughly scratched her hair. Causing her sleeves to fall... showing that her bruises didn't stop at the wrists."
Bethel's hand tightened on Rupert's arm, her knuckles turning white. The vibrant noise of the marketplace—the clinking of coins, the boisterous calls of the meat peddlers, the scent of roasting spices—suddenly felt like a distant roar in her ears.
"Did it seem awful? Painful?" Bethel whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of grief and rising fury.
Rupert nodded solemnly, his gaze shifting to the crowd to ensure no one was eavesdropping on their grim exchange. "Purple and yellow mottling right down to the elbows. She was trying to pull her shawl tighter, but her hands were shaking so violently she could barely manage the pin."
Bethel let go of his arm, her fingers curling into a fist at her side. The image of Josephine—frail, frantic, and marked like a piece of tenderized meat—burned in her mind. It wasn't just the physical pain; it was the "No more." A mantra of a woman standing at the edge of a precipice.
"She's reaching her breaking point," Bethel murmured, more to herself than to Rupert. "If she doesn't leave today, there might not be enough of her left to leave tomorrow."
"There she is," Rupert said abruptly, his posture straightening.
Bethel followed his line of sight. Watching plenty of people asking for different fabrics they wanted to purchase. The stall was starting to be overrun with customers that the few vendors serving needed to fetch their boss for help.
As more customers left the stall with their desired goods. A woman with sunken cheeks, pale complexion, wrapped in a shawl came into view.
'Josephine!' Bethel noticed her and was shocked at how withered Josephine had become after a few weeks.
She watched the woman moving on unsteady feet. Josephine's body slowly swayed side to side as her hands grabbed at the shawl. Pulling it tighter around her, Josephine's form trembled as she breathed in shallow breaths.
Bethel waited for Josephine to take her order. She didn't want to suddenly ambush Josephine when the woman seemed ready to tumble over at any given moment.
"Excuse me? Has my order for fustian came in?" Josephine managed, her voice weak.
The vendor, a burly man preoccupied with a stack of ledger books, barely glanced up. "Fustian? Check with the man over there, lady, I'm busy." He dismissed her without caring that she was a paying customer.
Josephine waited, swaying slightly, and then, as the vendor finally looked at her again, something happened.
Josephine covered her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the vendor. Her eyes—distraught and fearful—She immediately whirled around and ran, scrambling away as if she had seen a monster.
Bethel ran after her in concern with Rupert following behind.