Amy ran past the trees. She didn't even look back. She'd thought she could manage it before — told herself that Cassian wasn't a bad person — but the interaction with those merchants, and then everything before, made her reconsider.
He didn't agree to it, sure, but there was a moment.
Even if brief, a moment he actually thought about it.
He was actually thinking about selling her.
She had coin, enough to at least find a place to sleep. For now, she had to get away from Cassian. That was the most important thing. She ran towards the gates, fast as she could.
Amy walked through the gates and everything was different. Cassian was right. The only colour she could think of was white. All the buildings, and even some of the people, wore white. And it was quiet, eerily so. Aside from the occasional chatter, or the call of sellers advertising wares, there was barely any sound. Not even from animals. There was a spasm in her belly. She hadn't eaten any good food in days. She had to make sure she was safe, and to do that, she had to eat.
There was a man, an old one. He had a shop. She walked up to him and sat on a stool in front of him.
"What can I do for you, miss?" the man smiled.
Amy looked at him.
"Anything, really."
"We have bread, meat, stew. Your pick."
"Stew. And some bread."
The man smiled again. "You must be starving."
He scooped a ladle of stew into a bowl and handed it to Amy. Then he cut a chunk of bread from the loaf behind him.
Amy dipped the bread in the stew and ate the first bite. She was disappointed — maybe she'd just thought Northern food would have a unique taste. It was just stew, though. She'd try other things eventually.
"Three Korvi."
Korvi? What were those. She looked up at the man and nodded. She couldn't ask about the coin, not after she'd eaten. Why hadn't she asked him before she ate.
"Is something the matter?"
"No," she replied, smiling, as she put her hand in her bag and pulled out her pouch of coins. She asked for the fee again.
"Did you not hear me before? I said three Korvi." There was suspicion in his eyes and voice.
Amy took out some copper coins. "I don't really know how much a Korvi is worth, you see — I'm not from here, but I hope this much will be enough." She handed him the coins.
The man took them and counted, then looked back at her.
"Isn't this a joke? This isn't even worth half the pay."
"Are you sure you're not mistaken, sir? That is quite a large amount of copper."
The man's face was blank, unreadable, and then he started smiling, and it widened until eventually his lower teeth were visible.
"I assure you, miss, I did not make a mistake."
"Oh, I see." She reached into her pouch and counted out some more copper. Something grabbed her wrist.
"I said three Korvi." He was still smiling, his eyes half-moon slits now.
"And I told you, I don't have any Korvi." She tried to free her wrist, but his grip was tight.
"Is that so?" The man placed his other hand to his chin. "You came here, told me you wanted some food, and you don't have the coin to pay me? That sounds like theft."
"What?"
She tried to get her hand free again, but he only tightened his grip. She saw the veins bulge on the back of his hand.
"Let me go or I'll scream."
The man stopped smiling. He raised his head and looked at her, and then he let her go.
"Thief."
"What?"
"Thief," he yelled.
Time stopped in the market — for all the sellers and the buyers and the people walking by. They turned their heads slowly. She felt their gazes pierce her.
"No, I didn't steal anything." They all started walking towards her, inching closer and closer. "I paid. I'm not from around here."
They weren't listening. She tried to run, but the man grabbed her hands again.
"She's trying to run."
She scratched his hand, as hard as she could. He screamed but didn't let go. She did it again — this time there was blood. His grip loosened. She pulled her hands free and ran. People all around were chasing her. What was happening. She'd only just gotten here.
What horrible luck.