Tello had changed out of the first set of clothes he'd worn before, now settling into a pair of dark trousers and a brown shirt. He'd wished he'd kept the watch and glasses even more now.
He walked along the street with Gila at his side, who was dressed in a purple one-piece dress and thin, white-laced glasses.
She held her bag tightly as they went, while Tello kept his hands buried in his pockets, fingers scrunching at the inner fabric, just as if not more shy than she was.
"Hi..."
"Hi..."
"Your dress looks good," Tello said.
"Yours does too." She caught herself. "But what am I saying? It's not a dress, it's a—"
"I understand." Tello laughed, realizing she was just as nervous.
"We should—" she began.
"We should go—" Tello blurted at the same time, then quickly added, "You go first."
"Oh, okay." She cleared her throat. "We should head to the furniture store, it's on the other side of town. By Baxia's Way."
Tello grimaced slightly. 'Baxia's Way' was a famous clinic, and much like the Love Supreme controlled the brothels, Baxia controlled the medical scene in Harksvell, and after a string of robberies on and around the area, the royal guard had stationed more patrols there.
Still, they hadn't been looking for him near their brothel, and like Stephen had said: as long as he didn't draw any attention, he should be fine.
But before that...
"Do you want to get something to eat?" Tello asked, not daring to meet her eyes. Maybe he had her condition.
Gila clasped her hands together. "I'd love to." Then she glanced at her purse. "I brought some money too, so I should—"
"It's on me." Tello cut in, stepping toward a restaurant just ahead.
Worthstad, the town they were in, was one of six in Harksvell, with even more across the borders of Ipula. Each operated under a monarchical structure, all under the Kingdom of Eldoria's hand, whether directly or through a Count.
"What will you two be having?" a server asked, stepping up to their table.
Tello kept his head buried in the menu. He hadn't even looked before coming in, but it was clear this was one of those high quality places, where the silverware didn't come pre-rusted and the cups weren't being recycled from table to table every few minutes.
"I'll have the roast beef, with a Bruhmm salad, please," Gila said, then glanced at Tello. "I'm sorry, I should've checked with you first—"
"No, it's fine," Tello said. "Order whatever you want."
Then he looked down at the menu:
|7. Roast Beef (A5) — 200g
|12. Bruhmm Salad (topped with mountain lime) — 120g
Tello gulped. The steak alone cost about a quarter of what the staff here made in an entire week. He glanced at his pocket, he'd left the money bag with Stephen and only brought five hundred gold.
Now he wished he'd taken more.
"Seems like something's wrong," Gila said, looking at at Tello. "Take off the roast beef, please—" she told the server.
"I'll have the salad as well, and give the lady what she wants," Tello said, trying to sound smooth and in his head, it sounded flawless.
The server scribbled their orders on a clipboard and left.
"So... how long have you been in the city?" Gila asked, forcing her gaze to stay on him.
Tello stared back at her, then didn't answer. Not because he was avoiding the question, but because he was distracted. She was... striking. The kind of beauty that made you want to stop whatever you were doing and just run away with her.
"Would you elope with me?" he blurted.
"What?" she asked.
"I've been here for a while," Tello quickly recovered. "Long enough to know my way around the city, at least. What about you?"
"I came when I was four," Gila said. "I'm originally from Ipula. But at some point the cost of living there became horrid, so we had to move."
"Well, Basque isn't making things any easier for their people," Tello said. "Sometimes I wonder what even caused this stupid dispute in the first place."
"I heard it was a failed treaty."
"A treaty? Why would they need one?"
"Ipula has more raw materials than Harksvell, mostly from the Meltshire dungeon mines. Because of that, minerals are a huge export. But Eldoria wanted to access the mines with no tax on their entries."
"That seems understandable." Tello said.
"It would've been, if they'd offered something just as good in return."
"What did they offer?"
"To share their citizens."
Tello blinked. "That's... odd."
"You see, Harksvell has about two million citizens, compared to Ipula's three hundred thousand."
"That's low!" Tello said, and the entire restaurant turned to look at him. "I'm sorry..."
"And that's why Basque is worse off right now, even though they have more resources. Since the treaty failed, Eldoria banned its citizens from moving to Ipula, it's actually illegal to right now."
"Yeah, I heard about that." Tello said. "They can still come here though."
"Exactly. It's a one sided ban to keep Ipula low on market consumers, and drowning in unsold resources until they cave and let us in."
"That's interesting. I didn't know that."
"And that's not all. There's also—!" Gila stopped herself, putting a hand over her mouth. When she started talking about something she was interested in, she could go on a long rant if uninterrupted. "Sorry. I'm probably talking your ears off."
"Not in the slightest," Tello said. "And now I'm intrigued, so you have to tell me everything. Don't even think about skipping a single detail."
"Alright..." she smiled. "You're probably wondering, why doesn't Ipula just sell their resources to other countries? I mean, there are plenty of places that would kill for foreign minerals."
"That's true. Why don't they?"
"It's because—"
"Sorry for the wait." The server returned, setting down their plates.
Gila paused.
"Go on," Tello said. "My salad isn't going anywhere."
"They gave a bunch of free minerals to cities in Rennes and Orgsoth and those places came back with trade deals, now while I don't know the specifics, I do know they were accepted, and Ipula had confirmed partnerships with both countries."
"Until what happened?" Tello asked.
"Until the king of Eldoria visited them, made some friends, and convinced them to cut ties." She exhaled. "And that's how it's been ever since."
"Would you look at that," Tello muttered. "You learn something new every day."
"I'm boring, aren't I?"
"Why would you be boring?"
"My hobbies are reading books and going through ledgers and bookkeeping. That's actually why I took the project manager position for your brothel. I wanted to seem... less boring."
"I like reading books too," Tello said. "and staring at architectural plans until I lose my mind over them for a week. We're both boring, to be honest."
He stabbed his fork into the salad and on the edge of it, a precarious wedge of lettuce and cheese.
"Also, I don't think boring is bad," Tello added. "It means you're safe."
"You sound like my mom," she said, lifting her hand in imitated warning. "'Stay home and don't get into trouble. Problems only reach those who leave the nest. This is why no man wants to marry you, even though you keep saying it's your choice not to marry!'"
"She really said that?"
"...Some of it."
And that set the tone for the rest of their afternoon. A bundle of small, intricate discussions, cut with Tello's questions and Gila's long, winding answers. They talked from sunrise to sunset, and more than a few guests eyed them with quiet envy.
"My mom used to do that too," Tello said. "Come home from an event with food she 'rescued' from the tables."
Gila laughed, finishing the rest of her meal. "Your mom sounds like a great person. I'd love to meet her one day."
"I'd love that too. She can be a bit cranky sometimes, but if you can live with it, it's actually really fun."
"Is that so." Gila said, then glanced outside. The sun was gone, grey undertones now gracing the sky. "Crap, the table!"
"Oh, that!" Tello jumped up, slipping his hands into his pockets as they left the restaurant.
Baxia's Way, also the name of the street was just as imposing as its namesake. With several guards stationed across the premises, each staring off into the distance.
Thankfully, the carpenter's shop wasn't too near to the clinic. Standing just off the corner, far enough for Tello not to feel nervous.
"This is the last of the furniture, right?" Tello asked, though his eyes kept darting to the guards stationed above the shop.
"There's still a few chairs for the lounge, but those should arrive tomorrow."
"Sounds good. The brothel's ready for the world."
"About that," she said. "Wouldn't it be better if I could get some royals to attend? It would increase sales."
"That would be great," Tello said, and at this point, after she got the permits in a few hours, there was no reason to doubt her reach.
"Leave it to me," she said, saluting. "Opening day will be flawless."
"You've really come around these past few months," Tello said. "I always thought you were one step away from backing out, especially with the whole Verre thing."
"Why fear Verre when I have the world's greatest architect with me?"
Tello laughed. "Right?"
They reached the carpenter's shop, its wide wooden doors propped open to the smell of sawdust and varnish. Being the gentleman he was, Tello held the door for Gila, who slipped inside with a small smile.
As he stepped in after her, something collided with his chest, something small but solid and he went sprawling back, landing hard on the planks with a grunt.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" a small, squeaky voice said.
Tello opened his eyes to see a little girl in front of him. Hair as white as his, an eyepatch over one eye.
He scrambled up. "No, I should be sorry. I wasn't looking..."
On the ground in front of him, lay scattered parts and while he couldn't tell what they were, the craftsmanship was pristine. He picked one up, turning it over. If he didn't know any better, he'd have said it looked like a shotgun chamber.
"Did you make this?" he asked.
She nodded. "Jill helped, but it was my idea."
"You're an imaginative one, then," Gila said, handing back another piece. "Maybe if we meet again, we can help with your project."
"Thank you!" the girl said, then darted out the door.
"What a beautiful child," Gila murmured. "I wonder where her parents are..."
And just as the doors fell shut behind her.
Tello's knees hit the ground. His hand clutched his chest, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. His heartbeat pounded so hard, so loud, Gila could hear it from where she stood.
"Tello! Are you okay?" She said, already next to him.
He forced a breath, forcing his panic down. "Yeah... I'm fine."
But his eyes stayed on the door, scanning the street beyond, but the girl was already gone.
"Are you sure?" She asked again.
"Yeah..."
But he wasn't... somewhere deep, so deep it felt buried in his bones, came a fear he couldn't explain. Not to Gila. Not even to himself.
It was the kind of fear that made his chest tighten and his legs itch to run the other way. His hand trembled as he tried to push himself up.
"You're shaking..." Gila said, worry in her voice.
"I'm fine..." He forced a smile that felt too tight on his face. "I must be lacking sleep, yeah... that's probably it.
.
.
.
"I have to be lacking a lot of it."