Page 25 of The Stolen Princess
“I’ll go with him,” Drake said. He didn’t want to wait around for an hour with these men.
Winslow nodded reluctantly. “Keep your heads low. We don’t want to draw any attention. Once the princess goes missing, they’ll be looking for outsiders or anything suspicious to build off of.”
Lay low. That was exactly what Drake planned to do.
Myka
Myka tied up Bronze at the fence next to the other horses on the outskirts ofTolsten Square. “I’ll be back before you know it,” she whispered in the horse’s ear. “I need to get more medicine for my dad.”
She turned toward the busy public square. It was the opening morning of the week-long fall market. Vendors from all over Tolsten traveled to the city square to sell their goods. Animals were tied up, waiting to be purchased or traded. Large baskets filled with goods lined the dirt aisles. Men worked at tying canopies over their booths, shading themselves and their products from the warm fall sun. People haggled over prices while others sat lonely at their booths, waiting for someone to be interested in their products.
Myka needed to find Rommel and Joett. She would have to walk row by row until she found where their booth was set up. Halfway through row two, she spotted Joett’s cropped red hair. Rommel’s back was to Myka. He pinned up a cream-colored sheet to the front of their booth, trying to hide the extra bottles of medicines and spices that were stored under the table. He stood back examining his work when Myka ran up behind him, covering his eyes with her hands.
“Guess who!” she said, making the older man jump.
“Sweet Myka? Is that you?” He tried to reach around his back, hitting her on the waist.
She released her hands.
Rommel turned around, smiling so wide Myka could see his molars. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s a good thing it was you. We wouldn’t want Joett to get jealous.”
Myka laughed. Rommel was seventy, and although he was in decent shape, Myka doubted that he had many single women coming after him. But then again, maybe older women were into his bald head and snowy beard.
Joett stood next to the table, rolling her eyes at her husband. “He still thinks he’s got it.”
Rommel straightened his glasses on his nose and walked to his wife. His arm wrapped around her shoulder. “You know better than anyone that Idostill got it.”
Joett swiped at her husband’s hand, rolling her eyes again, making Myka laugh.
“Are you here to help us sell?” Joett asked as she lined up bottles of medicine and spices across the table.
Myka’s lips turned into a frown. “Actually, my father isn’t doing well. He has a terrible fever, and we’re out of your medicine. I was hoping to grab some and then I need to head back.”
Joett’s eyes saddened. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry your father isn’t doing well.”
“Thanks.” Myka swallowed back her sadness. She didn’t want to start crying in the middle of the market.
She looked over the bottles on the table, rotating a few vials so she could read the labels. “I don’t think I have any of your father’s medicine here.”
Her heart dropped. She didn’t have a lot of time.
Joett looked at her. “I think I have some in the basket in the back of the wagon. If you’ll watch the booth, we’ll go take a look.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Myka hoped that the medicine was there, otherwise she’d have to travel back to their house to get it.
“You stand there and look pretty,” Rommel said, moving out from the back of the table. “The customers will come just to buy something from you.”
“Sure they will,” Myka said, giving a half-hearted smile.
He waved his hand at her, pulling on Joett’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go look in the wagon.”
She smiled. “I’ll take care of everything here.” Just as long as nobody asked her any actual questions. Myka likely couldn’t tell a tonic from a foot cream if she tried.
Drake
Drake and Gradyweaved their way through the thick crowd at the market. People moved up and down the aisles, carrying bags full of goods or tugging on ropes attached to livestock while shouts filtered through the air.
Drake searched the face of every woman that passed him, looking for the princess. He’d never seen the princess and didn’t know what she looked like, but he searched anyway, assuming that she would look like the female version of King Adler.
