Page 43 of The Mad King and the False Queen

He was about her age, with brown skin and a gentle smile. His wavy brown hair sat in a tousled mess on his head, coming down beyond his ears.

“What a mischievous dog,” Ravi laughed, giving Odie an embrace, while Odie jumped up and licked Ravi’s face with his tongue. “Brave of you to bring him out here.”

“What are you talking about?” Magda smiled. “Odie comes everywhere. He’s good.” Then she cursed herself under her breath. Good? Why was it so hard to find the words she needed? Her Flaustran was definitely rusty.

Ravi glanced upward to notice that the crowd was already dissipating.

Magda also realized that he was losing his audience. The busy buyers and sellers were turning their limited attention back to the marketplace. “Let me make it up to you,” Magda offered, searching for a bracelet or pin on her clothing that could serve as payment. She didn’t have time to dig through her knapsack for the secret compartment. So she tore off one of her golden buttons on her sleeve, and was about to drop it into the violin case, when Ravi caught her hand around the wrist.

“I don’t need your charity,” he said.

Ravi’s eyes flicked to the right and left, although his head hadn’t turned, as if he was afraid of revealing where he was looking. “Stand and walk with me.” He replaced his violin and bow in its case, and locked it shut.

Magda did as she was told, and the two began walking together through the busy streets. Odie circled behind them, wagging his tail furiously. Up ahead was a fork in the road. Magda knew one way led to the royal district and eventually the royal palace. She had no idea where the other fork led.

“I’ve been watching you as you made your way down the street,” Ravi said. “You know you have members of the guild following you, right?”

“No, I don’t,” Magda protested. She turned to look over her shoulder, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“You have to know who to look for and where to look,” he answered her.

“I arrived here only an hour ago.”

“The guild doesn’t follow you for nothing,” Ravi said. “Do you want to lose them or not?”

Magda turned back around. This time she was aware of two men that had seemingly shifted positions. They both wore small hats, decorated in bright turquoise, and she suspected they both had peacock pins pinned to their chests. They moved slower than the rest of the crowd, as if they weren’t rushing to find the best deals, but waiting strategically to pounce. Did Ishani send men to follow her? All that she knew was that she had to make her way to the royal palace as soon as possible, and she couldn’t get caught up in guild politics.

“Follow my lead,” Ravi said.

Ravi pulled Magda across the road and ducked into a store, with Odie right behind them. There were no doors to the clothing-shop, just an open entryway leading into the rows of stands. It was full of day-time shoppers paying for fabrics and jewelry.

“In here,” Ravi whispered, yanking Magda behind a thick curtain.

Magda stumbled behind Ravi into the dressing room. It was a small space, barely big enough for the two of them and her dog. Her body was pressed against his, and she had to turn her head away from his face uncomfortably.

Ravi pulled the curtain back slightly, peering outside. Soon, the two men with the turquoise and yellow uniforms continued down the road, passing by the shop. Magda breathed a brief sigh of relief. Sweat was pouring down her face, for she wasn’t used to this heat—or being trapped in a tiny dressing room with a young man.

Magda didn’t trust the violinist. Why was he helping her? She needed to lose him in this marketplace and make a run for the street ahead.

Magda gave Odie a quick scratch behind the ears, making sure he stayed with her.

“We lost them,” Ravi said, breaking her thoughts. He stopped holding his breath, expanding his chest and pressing her into the wall.

“I don’t even know for sure that they were following me,” Magda retorted, pushing herself away from him and stepping out from behind the curtain.

“About time you two wrapped up in there,” an annoyed patron raised her eyebrows. Then she tapped the wrist of her partner, “Look, a dog!”

Magda shook her head and walked briskly to a separate exit on an opposite road. To her annoyance, Ravi followed her. Now, she just had to get rid of him.

“Sir, we need some help here!” Magda yelled, pointing back into the store.

Ravi turned to see where Magda was pointing, and she quickly placed one of the store’s hats upon his head, before sprinting in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” Ravi began to run after her, but the shopkeepers shouted at him.

“Sir are you going to buy that?” they asked, swarming him furiously.

Ravi screeched to a halt, turning back to the shop, and rushing back inside to find the correct stand to replace the hat. Then he was caught up in a fierce discussion with the shopkeeper, explaining how he didn’t intend to steal the hat.

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