Chapter 43: End of season market ( 7 )

"You sure this is the right place?"

"Yes. I’ve already told you that."

"Without that cat here, you better be damn sure this is where you want to be." Felix tore open the thick flaps and entered, with Hakimi, as well as the two girls trailing in after him.

The tent turned out to be much larger inside than what it appeared to be from the outside, benches crowded closely to each other and, at the far end of the space, there was an elevated platform illuminated by hanging lanterns, with the ropes above filled with various tricks done by acrobats.

A grin came across Diana’s face. "The circus! This is really it!" She grabbed Dune by the wrist and dragged her through the front of the crowd.

A glimpse of black fur darted across Felix’s line of vision. "There! The cat!" He pointed and rushed ahead, yelling "Hakimi, block its passage to the left!"

Without a word Hakimi veered to the left, as Felix pushed ahead in the crowd, temporarily losing track of the feline amidst the crowd.

Up ahead Diana was already lost in the world of circus. "Look, look, how high up they are. Do you think they’re frightened?"

"I have no idea," Dune said.

"And that man, the one who uses the fire, do you think it’s a real fire he plays with or maybe something else?"

"It looks like real fire."

"And that smell? It’s kind of like caramel and hay. I love it."

"Everything smells the same to me." Dune seemed to be thinking for a bit.

Diana did not seem bothered in the least; she just kept laughing while pointing at something else again.

Felix made his way through the crowd, cursing to himself when someone blocked his passage; he saw black fur weaving low through benches, looking for the cat’s whereabouts.

"Where’s it gone... where’s it gone..." He kept asking the question over and over, trying to catch its trail.

But suddenly all the lanterns in the tent went out in an instant and the crowd fell into silence.

One spotlight suddenly turned on, bathing the center stage in light.

A man dressed in black stood there; a piece of black cloth in his hand and a hat shielded his face. He remained perfectly still as he allowed silence to fall and everyone in the tent to focus all of their attention on him.

Felix stopped in the middle of moving and looked up as the man gestured towards him with his other, empty hand.

"Ladies. Gentlemen." His voice rang clear throughout the entire tent effortlessly.

"We welcome you, and thank you for your presence tonight." A gradual smile spread across his face.

"As this season comes to an end, we have set aside something to bid it farewell appropriately."

He snapped the cloth. "Now sit back; our night is just beginning."

He held the cloth aloft in his right hand a moment longer, letting the tension build, then draped it slowly over his left, and drew it away in one smooth motion. A black cat sat curled in his open palm, red thread still knotted around one leg, the familiar coin pouch dangling loose from its mouth.

"Let’s see what my friend has brought for tonight’s guests." He lifted the pouch free from the cat’s jaws, holding it up so the whole tent could see.

"Hey, wait!" Felix’s voice cracked through the crowd, useless against the noise. "That’s mine! That’s my gold!" He shoved forward between two rows of benches, elbowing past shoulders, but the sea of bodies packed in tight held him back several rows short of the stage.

The trickster weighed the pouch once in his palm, a slow smile spreading across his face, and threw it high into the air above the crowd. A single snap of his fingers, and the pouch burst apart mid-flight, gold and silver scattering out in a glittering arc across the lantern light, coins raining down over the front rows in every direction.

The tent erupted. A wave of screams and laughter broke out at once, people lunging over benches, diving beneath each other’s legs, hands snatching at anything shining that came within reach. A woman two rows down shrieked with delight and held a fistful of silver over her head like a trophy. A child darted between adults twice his size, scooping coins off the sawdust floor faster than anyone could stop him.

Diana bounced up onto her toes in the middle of it all, clapping both hands together. "Look at that! Isn’t that amazing? Dune, look, look!"

"I am looking," Dune said flatly, watching the chaos unfold with mild interest.

Felix stood frozen at the edge of the crowd, watching his entire day’s earnings vanish coin by coin into a hundred grabbing hands, glittering, scattering, gone.

"No." The word barely made it out of him. "That’s my gold."

Night settled over the town, the market thinning fast, stalls shuttering one after another, people drifting home in twos and threes. Felix walked down the middle of the street, head hung low, arms swinging loose at his sides, looking like something that had already given up on being alive. A few paces behind, Diana was still buzzing with energy, gesturing wildly as she talked.

"My heart actually stopped when he took off his own head and kept talking through it." She shook Dune by the arm. "How did he do that, dungeon girl?"

Dune considered the question seriously. "I have no answer. He should be dead without a head."

"Right?" Diana practically vibrated with the memory. "He should’ve been dead. But he just talked and put it back on like it was armor." She shook her head. "And, and did you see the part where—"

Hakimi listened a moment longer, then fell into step beside Felix. "You don’t need to look so miserable about it."

"It was mine." Felix’s voice came out hollow. "All of it. My blood, my sweat, earned fair and square."

"That doesn’t matter now. Keep trying, and you’ll earn it back." Hakimi rested a hand briefly on his shoulder. "Opportunities always come around again."

"You’ll give me one?" Felix spun to face him. "You’re going to hand over your own gold? That’s so generous of you. I take back everything mean I’ve ever said."

"I don’t have any gold on me right now."

"So you’re broke too." Felix shoved his hand off his shoulder. "Keep your advice for someone who wants it."

"I’m not broke. I just don’t carry coin around with me."

"Sure, sure." Felix glanced back at the girls. "Dune, time to head home. Any longer around this guy and we’re both starving to death out here."

"Yes." Dune turned to Diana. "Thank you for your help today, Diana. I am going now."

"Wait, already?" Diana sighed, watching her fall in step beside Felix.

"We should be heading back as well." Hakimi said.

"Wait, wait, I’ve got an idea." Diana broke into a sprint toward Felix.

"Lady Diana, no more ideas."

She skidded to a stop in front of him. "How about dinner? All of us, together?"

"I’m in." Felix’s eyes lit up instantly.

"I have nothing to bring." Dune said, patting her own empty pockets.

Hakimi caught up to them fast. "No. Absolutely not. We’re heading straight back to the palace right now."

"B-but—" Diana fumbled.

"No excuses." Hakimi reached for her hand, and Felix caught his wrist before it landed.

"Hold on there, Sir Knight." Hakimi’s eyes cut sharp toward him, and Felix raised both hands fast, backing off a step. "Just saying, opportunities like this don’t come around every day. And shouldn’t a knight listen to his lady’s requests?" He nodded toward Diana, already rubbing at her eyes theatrically. "Look, she’s crying."

"You, keep your mouth shut." Hakimi turned toward her anyway, and found her dabbing dramatically at dry eyes. He pressed two fingers against his temple. "Fine. Fine. But we’re back before midnight."

"Okay!" Diana’s whole face brightened at once.

"Then it’s settled." Felix clapped his hands together. "Let’s go grab some food, and I’ll show you what real cooking actually tastes like."

Hakimi watched Diana grab Dune’s hand and pull her off toward the nearest row of stalls, laughter trailing behind her, her whole face catching the moonlight.