Chapter 48

The child was universally known as a thief. Spacious cloth tents fluttered in the wind, adding spots of color to the clear blue sky high overhead. In the shade of the tents, vegetables and spices, fabric, and everyday goods were crowded in rows on geometrically patterned carpets spread over the ground. The child was running nimbly through the narrow streets of the bazaar, a burlap bag slung over one shoulder. Although already afternoon, the market was still lively. Slipping nimbly through the crowd, the child rounded a corner and ran smack into a man. “Watch where you’re going, kid!” the man shouted. The child nodded slightly but kept running. After a few minutes, a fruit seller’s stall came into view. Melons picked that morning at dawn were floating in barrels of water together with slices of lemon. A young girl was inspecting the fruit. Even from a distance, the child recognized the girl’s even features and gave a slight smile. The muscular shopkeeper was talking to the girl, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, when the child walked right up to him and kicked him in the rear. “Leave Cess alone, old man!” But there was hardly any force in the child’s leg, and it was really only a playful kick. Knowing this, the shopkeeper merely fixed the child with a mischievous wink. “So the little knight has finally come to get you, has he? Still as short as ever, I see.” “Shut up. I’ll be big one day. You better be ready, ’cause I’ll be looking down my nose at you soon!” The shopkeeper roared with laughter, holding his belly and wiping his eyes. The child sulked. “Cici!” the girl cried, throwing her arms out in an embrace. “How I’ve missed you!” “You have? It’s only been a few days.” Two days ago, old Mother Natalie had asked Cici to fetch an ointment for her sore back from a pharmacist she frequented in the center of town. Cici had been there and back many times before, but each time, Cess was overjoyed at their reunion, causing Cici to clam up from embarrassment. Seeing Cici fidget absently with a coin pouch, Cess raised her eyebrows. “Where’d you get that?” Damn it, Cici swore silently. Cess must have noticed it was a different pouch than usual. It was obviously full of copper coins—and in this market near the slum, copper and gold coins were a rare sight. Since Cici hadn’t been working that day, it was only natural for Cess to be suspicious. “Um…” Cici glanced around nervously but couldn’t think of a good excuse. “…I found it.” Predictably, a heavy silence descended. An intimidating smile spread over Cess’s pretty face as she stepped closer. “Where did you get it?” “Nowhere, I mean, when I bumped into that man, I just…” “You just?” “My hand just…filched some things,” Cici whispered, glancing around uneasily. Cess frowned. “Return it this second!” “What?! Why?!” “Stealing is a crime!” “It’s the dupe’s own fault for letting me do it!” “No, it’s your fault for stealing!” Cici winced at the force of her argument, copied straight from Mother Natalie. “As long as I’m alive, I won’t let you behave that way. I want you to be able to hold your head high!” “Don’t treat me like a ch-child!” “But I’m older than you!” “You were abandoned at the orphanage just a month before I was!” “I’ll listen to your complaints once you’re taller than me.” She snorted triumphantly, and Cici slouched. Just as expected, there was no winning a debate against Cess. Cici followed Cess down the street with heavy feet, still thinking there was no reason to return the pouch if the man didn’t notice it was missing, but unfortunately, they soon saw him searching desperately for something in front of a bulk incense shop. “Hey, you, old man!” The middle-aged man looked up at Cici, but he didn’t shout “Thief!” They had only collided for an instant. He might have noticed the perpetrator was a child, but beyond that, he probably didn’t remember much. “I picked this up near here. Is this what you’re looking for?” Cici held out the pouch. The man looked up in surprise. Then he grunted incoherently and nodded. He looked ready to cry. “Thank you. There’s a memento of my wife in this pouch.” “That so?” Cici answered curtly, watching with mixed feelings as the man walked away, turning back every few steps to repeat his thanks. Cici heard someone clapping. Of course it was Cess. “Good job!” “I didn’t exactly do anything praiseworthy, you know,” Cici snapped back, suddenly serious. Cess had been right earlier when she called it a crime. “But even if you make a mistake, you’re able to do the right thing in the end. That’s a wonderful quality, you know. I knew you would do it!” Cess smiled broadly and ruffled Cici’s hair. She was using a lot of force. “Hey, stop it, you’re gonna snap my neck!” “You’re embarrassed, aren’t you? How cute!” “Am not!” When they got back to the orphanage, exhausted, little Lia ran up to them. “Cici, Cess, you’re back!” “Hey, I’m back! Anything happen while I was gone?” Cici asked, ruffling the child’s soft, chestnut hair. The question was Cici’s customary greeting, but this time, Lia tilted her head slightly and said, “Uh-huh! “A strange person came!” “A strange person?” “Uh-huh, really strange. He said he was looking for a girl named Cecilia who’s turning twelve this year.” Cici frowned. It sounded like someone’s parents were feeling guilty about giving up their kid and wanted her back. “That’s a tall order. No one at the orphanage knows exactly when they were born, and I bet half the girls in this town are named Cecilia. The master of the domain’s daughter, too.” According to legend, Cecilia was the name of a nun who had brought good fortune to the once-barren Luze domain. Lots of people named their daughters after her in hopes of being blessed with her grace. “We’ve got lots of Cecilias here, too,” Cess said. She was one of them, and so was easygoing little Lia. Since it was hard to tell all the Cecilias apart, they were given different nicknames. “And what happened to this strange person?” “He’s still here.” Lia pointed over Cici’s shoulder. “He is?” Cici turned around. A surprisingly well-dressed man was standing in the doorway, talking with Cess. Cici’s face tensed.