Lys stepped out of Sara's shop and into the afternoon light.
The crowd outside was already breaking apart, people drifting away in small groups, whispering behind their hands. A few glanced back at him, eyes wide with that same mix of surprise and something sharper now. He didn't stop to read their faces. He just kept walking.
Then he saw her.
Vessa, leaned against the wooden post right beside the shop door, arms crossed, one boot propped behind her. The black cloak she wore now hung loose over her shoulders. She wasn't looking at the crowd. She was looking straight at him as he came out.
Lys slowed. "Uh, Miss Vessa?! What are you doing here?"
Vessa didn't answer right away. She just watched him for a second, like she was still deciding something. Then she pushed off the post and jerked her chin toward the shop.
"I saw what you did in there."
Lys rubbed the back of his neck, not getting what she meant by that. "Yeah?"
"Good job," she said. Her voice was flat, but there was a note in it he hadn't heard before, almost like approval from her point. "Most kids your age would've drawn steel the second that big bastard grabbed that woman. But you didn't. You kept it from turning into a brawl. For whatever reason you did it, it was a smart move."
Lys gave a small shrug. "Oh, that. That wasn't very hard. That guy was obviously paid or something to stir up trouble here, I guessed. It's Sara's first day opening the shop, and as soon as it opens, a disturbance happens like this? That wasn't that hard to figure out, you know."
Vessa's eyebrow lifted a fraction. She studied him again, slowly this time. "Still. Not easy to stare down a man like that without losing your cool. How'd you do it, boy? Care to share it with me?"
Lys met her eyes. He didn't blink, staring at her face, knowing she is just testing him here. "Don't know what you mean."
She stared right back at him, not saying anything.
The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Neither of them looked away, as if whoever looks away will be found guilty or something. The afternoon sun caught the edge of her right arm, highlighting the faint scar that ran along it. Lys could feel the weight of her gaze pressing on him, like she was trying to peel back whatever layer he was hiding.
Finally, Vessa exhaled through her nose. "Fine. Keep your secrets." She turned toward the road where the merchant had disappeared. "Come back to the guild tomorrow morning. We'll pick up where we left off."
She started walking.
Lys stayed where he was. He didn't follow.
But after three steps, she stopped. Without turning around, she said, "And don't go after that merchant."
Lys tilted his head. "Huh, why?"
"Because this happened right in front of my guild." Her voice was low, but every word landed hard. "Whoever set this up doesn't think much of this guild. They figured they could just walk in, cause a scene, and walk out like it was nothing. In broad daylight. Right under our sign."
She glanced back over her shoulder. Her eyes were sharp.
"And I can't let that slide. Things like this don't stay small. They grow. And if I let it grow, next time it won't be some loudmouth with a fake complaint. It'll be worse."
Vessa faced forward again.
"Stay out of it, kid. I'll handle this one."
She started walking once more, cloak swaying behind her. Her steps were steady, unhurried, like she already knew exactly where the merchant had gone and what she was going to do when she found him.
Lys watched her go until she turned the corner and disappeared between two buildings.
He let out a long breath and looked down at his muddy boots. The black sword at his hip felt a little heavier than it had this morning, not because of the weight. Because of the way people had looked at him inside the shop, which made him even more tired than he was.
He shook his head once, the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Alright then, now that this trouble is over," he muttered under his breath. "Guess I'll go check on Mom and the girls!"
He turned the opposite way and started walking home, the afternoon sun warm on his back and the village slowly returning to its usual rhythm behind him.
Author Note: Uhh....Guys, I need some more ratings and some power stones from you guys. Please help me out here, so that the algorithm boosts my story more.
Happy readings.