Demon's Height

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Liorn helped Melinia off the royal carriage. Together they had once again visited the townspeople. The streets and shops were clean as if word of the Royalty making their way through town frightened them into making the town sparkling clean.

Before they had dozed off into sleep, Liorn had proposed to her if she wanted to visit the town. She hadn't been in the town for seasons and word of the quiet kingdom and no word of their Queen made the people wonder if Liorn had finally gone mad and murdered his Queen.

Had he gone mad? Yes. Did he slay his Queen? No.

The smiles on the townspeople’s faces did not hide their relief and/or fear. Liorn held Melinia's hand as they passed on towards the blacksmith. At the blacksmith Liorn had checked the quality of the soldier’s swords and equipment. With a grunt of satisfaction, he excused them and moved onto the next booth. Little children followed their moves and some wanted to touch the Queen. The guards had stopped their dirty fingers before they could get at least ten feet from the royal couple.

Feeling a little bad Melinia smiled and waved at the peasant children. Some smiled with toothless faces.

Liorn walked grudgingly close to Melinia grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers, intertwining them. "Does m'lady want to purchase any item from these shops?" Liorn whispered. Melinia had paused then touched her belly. "The babe, as the healer supposed, will be birthed in the next season." Liorn couldn't help but smile. "I'm aware"

Without a word they stopped at a trader’s fabric booth. All the fabrics from around the world and they were almost priceless. As Liorn bartered with the shop keeper, Melinia drifted off, looking at the other merchandise from the plaza. Liorn saw that she had left letting one of the guards follow close by. Shops filled the plaza with jewelry, produce, animals of all kinds including Jackasses.

Melinia took a look at the different trinkets and necklaces that were obviously handmade with hay thread and shells from the sea painted with different hues of colors. They looked beautiful and magnificent. The middle-aged shopkeeper smiled at Melinia. She smiled back.

She heard some commotion but thought nothing of it when she heard a muffled cry. Turning her head, she watched a child holding a now purple arm stare longingly at the baker's shop. The fresh bread made his mouth drool. Melinia looked away but slowly looked back. The small child, a boy, at possible the age of seven or eight touched his, Melinia knew, empty stomach. She wanted to weep. The look of a child in need had always got to her but her father did not allow her to talk to street rats. They were of bad news.

The child's clothes were torn and stitched back together with makeshift rags. His small thin body held cuts, bruises, and dirt from probably sleeping with the animals. The shop keeper tried to shoo him away with the broom, but the boy really did not want to leave.

With a thought in mind, Melinia paced back towards Liorn and begged him for a couple of pecs or two. With a lifted brow he gave her a small satchel. She peeked inside and saw silver, bronze, and gold pecs. Perfect.

Instinctively when someone gave her what she wanted she gave them a small kiss. Melinia gave Liorn a small kiss on the cheek and bowed her head excusing herself while a wide eyed Liorn watched her in confusion.

Melinia barely caught the boy in time as he walked away with a very sad expression and a purple arm to his stomach. She confronted the bakery man and asked for the biggest and fresh loaf he had. Wide-eyed and almost right then and there he grabbed her his biggest loaf. Melinia gave a look after the boy walking away.

The baker passed her the loaf after wrapping fabric over the bread. She reached for a bronze pec to repay him and hurry to catch the boy. The baker smiled and shifted her hand away. "My Queen" He answered. She thanked him and took off trying to catch up to the child while not damaging her babe.

The boy walked, passing many people almost smoothly and he did not touch them and they never noticed that he was walking pass them. He was almost like a shadow, stealthy and unseen. Until he bumped into a foreign noble woman. She sneered at the poor boy, her chauffeur so close to beating the "insolent peasant".

Melinia glared at the woman then whispered a "Sorry". The woman cursed at Melinia, cursed at this "god-forsaken town", and left with a "hmph". Melinia looked over at the boy who had his head down and was ready to jet-off. "Wait-" She pleaded with the child. He stopped and looked over his tattered shoulder. She nudged the bread towards him with silence. He looked at her with suspicion until his belly grumbled. Then the boy snatched the bread out of her arms. "Where are your parents?" She asked. He didn't say a word.

"Me-me mum is sick in bed" He whispered. Melinia frowned, "What about your papa?" He looked back down. She knew what that gesture meant. Then he looked up at her again. "You are very pretty lady, why tummy so big? " Melinia touched her belly. "I carry a child, like you, in here" He smiled at her as if she said an incoherent thing. She smiled back at him seeing that he had small indentations on his cheek.

"You funny lady." He chuckled. Melinia rubbed her belly seeing how he was just a child with perhaps no schooling. He reached out his hand to touch but then pulled back. "Want to feel?" She asked. He shook his head. "Me mum say don't talk to no one who clean and pretty" Melinia frowned. "Your mum must be a smart lady" He chuckled again. "Yes, Yes, she was pretty like you, but my papa cheat her"

Liorn found Melinia gone. He almost frantically searched for her but his guard watched her the whole way. He started toward his guard who stood watching something. Ready to scold him for losing Melinia he glanced at who the guard was watching. Melinia stood talking to a peasant. "My lord" He saluted as Liorn stood next to him watching Melinia close. "What is she doing?" He asked. The guard briefly informed Liorn of what he had seen. Liorn frowned. "She's a sweet girl" The guard commented thoughtlessly. "Yes, that she is."

***

Melinia looked at the boy. His name was Disorri. It was an unusual name for a child but maybe it meant something more to his parents. She looked around and found both Liorn and his guard take up position watching her. "I have to excuse myself now." He frowned then chuckled, "Lady when you child is born Me promise te always take care of him" He then turned to walk away. Not before Melinia slipped him a gold pec that would buy him bread for a whole season. "You should visit us, me mum would love you" He smiled again then ran off to his home. Melinia watched the innocent go, feeling like she would never see him again. When the baby was born, she might have to take him up on his offer, Disorri will be a perfect guard for her babe.

Walking back to Liorn she stopped in her tracks feeling a slight kick in her womb. Liorn walked over to her with a concerned look. “Are you ill?" He asked but Melina shook her head and continued on with Liorn. Maybe the babe was coming soon.