Chapter narrated by: Anastacia ■■■■■
Date: Friday!!! (The best day of the week)
Today was a great day. A really great day. It was a day for the market, which is where all the best smells and shiny things live. And the best part? Mom wasn't coming! That sounds mean, but it's not—it just means that when I point at a candy stick or a wooden dragon, Mommy won't look at Mom for permission. She just buys them.
I was currently in a very serious battle with my second boot. Boots are mean. They don't want to go on, and the laces are like wiggly worms that won't stay tied.
Knock. Knock.
It must be Mommy! She always knocks on the door, even when it's her house. She says it is because rooms belong to whoever sleeps in them.
"Are you ready, little one?"
Mommy was really, really tall, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. When I want to look at her, I need to look up so much that my neck hurts, but when she picks me up, I get above everyone. Mommy also has white hair like me and red eyes like me, but she has pointy ears that I don't have.
"Almost," I said. The laces on these boots were a tough opponent.
Mommy just laughed and crouched, tying them for me. Mommy had really big hands and was very, very strong, but even so, she was very gentle with me and Mom.
"There," she said, giving the toe of my boot a little tap. "A perfect fit for my Princess."
"Thank you!" I said, stomping my feet to make sure they were tight. Mom always says a loose boot is a dangerous boot, and Mom knows everything. "Is Mom still home? Or did she go to the boring guild?"
"She left early," Mommy said, but then she made a very mysterious face. "But she left me two messages for you. A good one and a bad one. Which do you want first?"
I stood up straight and put my hands on my hips. "The good one. Always the good one."
Mommy's smile got so big I could see her teeth. "Mom says she loves us more than all the stars in the sky."
"Yay!" I did a little spin. That was a very good message. "Okay, now give me the bad news. I'm ready."
Mommy's face went all droopy and sad, like she was about to cry. "Mom says… no sweets before dinner. Not even one."
I frowned. That was a very bad message. "But Mommy… we haven't even bought them yet! How can we not eat something we don't have? That's not even possible!"
Mommy laughed. "You know how your Mom is. She's very thorough."
I tilted my head, looking up, up, up at her. "What does 'thur-row' mean?"
"Oh, that will be your Word of the Day," Mommy said, standing up. "It means someone who is very detailed. Or… met-ic-u-lous. You know, like how Mom is with her lists."
I nodded. That did sound like Mom. She kept a list for everything—shopping, what I was allowed to do when she and Mommy weren't there, what streets I could go to alone at my age. She never had a list of what Mommy should wear depending on the occasion. She said it was because, without it, Mommy would wear whatever clothes felt the most comfortable every time.
"And if we can't buy candy, what will we do at the market?" Now the trip seemed much less fun than before.
Mommy made a very serious face, putting a hand on her chin in that same pose she uses when she is thinking very hard.
"We still need to buy the groceries, but we can make it fun, Princess," Mommy said. I wondered what kind of idea she was having. "How about a game of hide-and-seek in the market?"
"Not hide-and-seek!!!" I answered, shaking my head.
"Why not, Princess? I thought you liked that game?" Mommy asked.
"It is fun when I play with Mom, but with you, it is impossible! Even when you are so big, I can't ever find you until you want me to. And you always find me very, very fast."
Mommy just laughed and leaned down until our noses almost touched.
"Don't worry, heart of mine. This isn't the normal kind of hide-and-seek. This is going to be a Special version."
I tilted my head. "A special hide-and-seek?"
Mommy nodded and held up three fingers. "Three special rules, Princess. Listen close:
"Rule number one: The Grumpy Men are 'It.' There are going to be some very sour-faced, scary-looking guys in the market today—we'll call them the Grumpy Men. They are the seekers, and they're going to try to catch you before you can find me. You have to be super sneaky and escape from them like a little shadow."
I pouted so hard my bottom lip felt heavy. "But Mommy, that sounds even harder than just finding you normally! Now I have to hide and seek at the same time?"
"That is where Rule Number Two comes in," Mommy said, tapping the tip of my nose. "Mom told me there's a special someone in the market today—a Warmth Lady. If you find her and tell her you've lost me, she'll join your team. She'll help you find me and keep you safe from those Grumpy guys."
I tilted my head, thinking really hard. "But how will I know which one is the Warmth Lady? Does she wear a sign?"
"You'll know her the second you see her, heart of mine. I've always told you that you are very special," Mommy whispered, her red eyes sparkling with a secret. "You'll feel her, like a little piece of the sun fell right into the middle of the street. But listen close—this part is very important for the game."
I leaned in.
"You're going to need to use your super-duper acting skills, my love. The Warmth Lady is a very enthusiastic play partner, but she's playing a very serious role. She won't join your team until you convince her that you're just a poor, lost girl who can't find her mother in the big, scary market. Do you think you can give me your best 'I'm lost' face for the game?"
"Okay… I can do that," I said, nodding so hard my hair flopped. "I'm a professional! And what is the Third Rule, Mommy?"
Mommy leaned in close, her voice dropping to a very serious secret whisper.
"Rule Number Three," Mommy whispered, leaning in like it was the most important secret of all. "If things get too tricky, you can always take the Warmth Lady somewhere quieter. A little alley, maybe—somewhere the crowd can't follow."
She tapped the tip of my nose, smiling softly.
"And don't worry about the shadows, heart of mine. That's where I can always find you the fastest."
I nodded very seriously, even though my tummy felt a little funny thinking about dark alleys and shadows.
But then I remembered the most important part of any game.
"Yay, and then we get candy!"
Mommy was trying not to smile. "You know what your Mom said, Princess, and you also know how scary she gets when she is angry."
"I know. But Mom said no sweets before dinner," I said. "She didn't say anything about sweets instead of dinner."
Mommy looked at me for a long time.
"You know, we might need to send you to Draveth when you get older. You are very clever when you try to get what you want, aren't you?" Mommy was smiling. "Alright, you win. To the market we go—and then some candies."
I took her hand, and we left home to go to the market, not before Mommy picked up her shiny friend. Mommy always takes her shiny friend everywhere.
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Mommy walked with me through the crowd, her hand feeling big and safe around mine, until I felt it—a tingle in my tummy.
There she was.
Standing by a stall was the Warmth Lady. She looked like she was glowing.
Mommy leaned down and whispered, "The game starts now, Princess. Count to ten, and don't peek!"
I squeezed my eyes shut so tight I saw purple stars. "One… two… three… five… nine… ten!" When I popped my eyes open, Mommy had done her magic trick. She was gone! There was no white hair or red eyes anywhere, just lots of grown-up legs walking past.
I took a deep breath, put on my best "I am a sad, lost puppy" face, and toddled over to the Lady.
The Warmth Lady was exactly like Mommy said! When I told her I was lost, she looked at me with giant golden eyes and said I was under her "protection." She called me "Mini Lira." I think that's a funny code name.
I don't know if it was part of Mommy's rules, but we got distracted almost immediately by a cake. It was a mountain of pink frosting and strawberries that looked like it was calling our names. I think the Warmth Lady wanted it just as much as I did, because she pointed at it and nodded very seriously.
We spent a long, long time trying to get the cake. The Warmth Lady was super funny. She kept trying to get the baker to give us treats for free. She would point her finger at a strawberry tart and look very, very serious, but the baker just kept waving a wooden spoon and yelling about the price and "no freebies."
"The mortals in this district have very thick skulls," the Warmth Lady muttered.
We tried to find "floor coins" under the tables, and I even tried my best "Princess Smile," but it didn't go very well.
We were going to look for other ways of getting the cake, but then I remembered Rule Number One.
Three men with sour expressions were pushing through the crowd.
They weren't looking at the fruit or the shiny trinkets.
They were looking at us.
The Warmth Lady stopped mid-step, her hand tightening around mine until it almost hurt. She didn't look like she was thinking about the cake anymore.
The Grumpy Men had finally found us.