Chapter 26 — Indulgences and Assumptions

The robe commission out of the way, Ria had fun putting on a fashion show for Leon so he could help her pick out the best outfits.

Ria did end up buying a blue summer dress with thin shoulder straps that Leon chose for her. It matched her hair ribbon (and her eyes) and didn’t look terrible when worn with her fur coat. She also liked the way it displayed her shoulders similar to the way her chest-wrap did, and she was pretty sure that Leon did too.

Showing off for a boy was a new feeling, and Ria liked the way it made her feel empowered. She was ecstatic that an older boy like Leon was happy to receive attention from her. Surely if, for example, his sister had talked him into going clothes shopping, he’d be annoyed by it, but he wasn’t trying to hurry her at all.

Her favorite was a long-sleeved plum dress with a layered long skirt and black lace. It had a low front and was padded to push up her chest enough to show. Leon pretending not to look and sneaking glances was enough for her to decide to wear that one out of the shop.

Ria was thrilled to have found two already-made dresses in her size that suited her so well. Miss Danna said that merchants and visiting nobles often came to buy pretty dresses for their daughters, so she kept most sizes stocked to some extent.

Next was sensible button-up shirts and long skirts. Leon didn’t think much of those, but adding knit sweaters and a cute knit hat seemed to improve his opinion.

The plum dress came with high-quality ruffled undergarments that were like pantaloons and would help her stay warm in the winter, but for her other outfits she needed to buy some nicer undergarments than the worn underwear she had brought with her.

To carry all her purchases home, Ria had to buy two large shoulder satchels. One was a simple brown. The other, a fancy gray with silver and gold embroidery that Ria hoped would match with her ordered robe.

Leon helped her carry the brown satchel, and after they woke Ranger, Ria looked up at the sky to check the time.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Leon. I made you spend your whole morning helping me shop for clothes,” Ria apologized.

“No, no. It’s fine. I had fun,” Leon reassured her.

“Well, if you say so.” Ria shrugged then thought of something. “Hey, how about I buy you lunch as thanks for helping? Know of any good places to go eat?”

Leon started to refuse then grinned. “Well, there is one place, and with you dressed like that, we might get extra service.”

“Heh, sounds promising.”

“Woof?”

“Haha. Ranger wants to know if there’ll be meat,” Ria translated.

“Yup! The best.” Leon winked. “Follow me!”

Ria thought for a second she saw a teen boy watching them from behind a rainwater barrel, but when she looked back again after catching up with Leon, the suspicious boy was gone. With as much attention as she was gathering lately, it wouldn’t be unusual for the other village kids to be interested in finding out more about her.

Leon led her through back alleys of questionable sanitation until near the palisade wall they reached a shack that had an opening with a counter and stools. Behind the counter was a bandana-wearing heavyset woman cleaning mugs, and behind the woman was a burly man working a huge iron grill.

The smoky smells drifting up from the grill were earthy and amazing. Ria had never smelled such strong spices before. A pair of muscled men were already at the counter eating bread with sauce-slathered meat inside.

“Two small ales and two super hot meat breads,” Leon ordered as he sauntered up to the counter and took the seat next to the men.

“Woof!”

“Ah, and a regular for the dog,” Leon added.

Ria scooted onto the stool next to Leon, careful to keep her skirts from getting dirty.

“Oh, what’s this? Young Leon has brought such a cute girl along this time? You sure yer gonna be alright little miss? These are seriously spicy.” The woman fretted good-naturedly, as she placed the bread and ale before them.

“Leon highly recommends it, so I’m sure the meal will be tasty,” Ria replied with an innocent smile, and handed Ranger his, which he carried over to a clean area of dirt to eat.

“Haha, girl. You might be a bit too trusting,” the woman laughed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Leon was already digging into his and alternating between biting his sandwich, puffing air, and gulping his ale. After an ale gulp, he gave her a big grin.

A test of courage, huh? She’d take Leon’s best shot.

Ria took a bite of the stuffed sandwich and got a nice, juicy mouthful of the richly-flavored shredded meat. Ack, spicy! Glug. Puff, puff.

Oh! The ale went really nicely with the spicy flavor. “This is good!”

“Damn-straight, girlie!” One of the men commented, and the other grunted agreement.

The woman winked. “You got some guts to go with that pretty face.”

Leon gave Ria a thumbs-up. He was almost done with his.

Ria laughed and ate another bite, repeating the same process as before.

While she was eating, the men managed to tease out of Leon how he met her, which only caused him to be teased more and then chided when they found out she was paying. She protested that it was thanks for showing her around, but none of them were having that.

“Girlie, you’re the one doing this guy a favor by letting him enjoy the company of a pretty girl way above his station,” the woman told her.

Ria was a bit shocked by what the woman said—that a peasant girl like her was like a noble or a girl from a rich family. Well, she was dressed the part, but the more she thought about it, she did have a lot more money than Leon, and a Sage of the Nine Circles was surely worlds apart from a baker.

“Well, that’s true,” she smirked and admitted to a groan from Leon. “But, Leon’s my first friend in this village, so that’s more important. And Leon may be a baker’s son right now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t aim higher. I was a seamstress’ and a cobbler’s daughter, and now I’m living in another country working hard to attend the Grand Crysellian Academy.”

Leon stared at her, amazed. What he was amazed about she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Hahaha! Quite right! Young `uns should always have dreams,” the woman announced, and the men nodded and made agreeable noises into their mugs.

The woman offered Ria a free meal the next time she brought someone by as thanks for reminding them of their youth. More customers were starting to show up as they left, so Ria was a little worried about getting Leon back in time for his sister not to be upset.

She called Ranger back from annoying a local cat, and a Leon lost in thought led them back through the dirty alleyways.

They didn’t get far before three teens stepped out to block the exit forward and a quick glance back showed two more blocking the rear. Ranger took up a guard position and growled warningly. Well… maybe she could make some more friends…

The buffest and toughest of the teens stepped forward menacingly with a victorious sneer on his face. “My dad was shocked that he saw a witch brought into town last night, and here she is, charming people and stealing their stuff.”

“That’s a lie, Gebs! Ria hasn’t stolen from anyone!” Leon defended her, but he was clearly nervous and intimidated by these thugs. Ria had to admit that she was feeling rather intimidated as well. These boys were way bigger than her, and certainly looked tougher than Leon.

“Shut up, doughboy! It’s clear she’s got you charmed as well!” Gebs countered. “You think we didn’t see her go charm old man Bessel out of his money?”

Ria rolled her eyes. Well, of course, that’s how it would be seen.

“That’s just crazy!” Leon objected.

“Yeah? Well, you tell me where she got the money for her shopping spree then?” Gebs mocked.

Leon looked frustrated, and Gebs gloatingly chuckled.

“Thanks for not telling them, Leon,” a grateful Ria said quietly.

“Now we’ll be taking back all your ill-gotten loot. Hand it over quietly and maybe we won’t call the guards,” Gebs announced.

No way that was happening. So much for making friends…

Ria placed her left hand on her dagger, causing Gebs grin to slip and everyone to tense up.

“Leon, what does the law say about killing bandits?” Ria asked icily.

Leon was really nervous. “Injuring or killing bandits isn’t illegal, but you can’t, Ria! Gebs is a guardsmen’s son!”

Gebs was glancing nervously at her dagger, but he suddenly filled with confidence at Leon’s words. “That’s right! If you injure us, even your charm magic won’t be able to get you out of trouble this time!”

Ria sighed and let her hand slip from the dagger. Murdering stupid kids was a bad idea anyway. She thought about using earth magic to make her stronger and harden her fists, but even though teaching these thugs a lesson might feel good, it was too risky, and more importantly, her new dress might get ruined. Instead, she reached for her wands.

Ranger lunged forward a step, growling and barking threateningly, as Gebs and crew decided that Ria letting go her dagger was a signal to approach.

“Gebs, are you sure that dog isn’t a monster?” one of the boys carrying a bundle of knotted rope complained.

“Shut up, and use the cargo net just like planned,” Gebs ordered.

Glancing back while Ranger had their attention, Ria confirmed that the two teens at the rear were also moving closer.

“Ranger, guard our rear, I’ll take care of these three,” Ria ordered, trying to sound more confident than she was, and with a “Woof!” Ranger ran past to threaten the two approaching from behind.

“Big words from a little girl too afraid to use her dagger!” Gebs laughed. “Leon, why don’t you grab her for us? You’re just being tricked. No need for you to get roughed up as well.”

Leon balled his fists and came to a decision. “You’re scum, Gebs!”

Gebs looked genuinely hurt by Leon’s insult, which caused Ria to laugh and say, “Gebs, you’re an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Hah? What you laughing about, witch? You’re totally surrounded! Now give up before me and the boys have to pound some sense into you and doughboy,” Gebs demanded from only a few arm-lengths away.

Ria gathered her courage and stepped forward to face Gebs. “You said it yourself. I’m a witch. What makes you think that I can’t use my magic on you?”

Gebs shocked face and his buddies turning to flee as she raised her wand was too delicious to keep from smiling ear-to-ear. The glittering wind rushed over them, and they slumped down into the filth.

“You witch! What did you do?!” came a cry from one of the scaredy-cats being held off by Ranger.

Ria drew her dagger and stepped over Gebs.

“Ria! W-what are doing?!” Leon called out in panicked horror.

“Extracting a price,” Ria said, yanking on Gebs’ shirt and slicing a piece off with her dagger.

The fistful of fabric should be enough for Ranger to track down Gebs’ house after he returned home. Ria had a feeling Gebs’ dad wouldn’t be happy to find out what his son was up to.

“Ranger, come.” Ria ordered and turned to the terrified teens with her glowing dagger and trophy in hand. “Don’t you think you should run?”

And they did, screaming as they went.

Ria put her dagger away just in time as a cane-wielding old granny yelled into the alleyway, “What’s all this commotion about?!”

Getting bogged down in a crime-scene was the last thing Ria wanted, so it was time to try out her newfound charm.

Ria ran toward the granny with tears in her eyes, "Grandma, it was so scary! These boys tried to rob me! But, Leon, he saved me!"

"That's horrible! You must be terrified, girl," the old granny said and comforted her. "Boys these days! What's the village coming to? Is that… Gebs? Jerome and Bester, too. Their fathers are going to be furious. And what were you doing, Leon? Bringing a sheltered girl into the back alleys?"

Leon ducked his head and mumbled an apology, stepping over the fallen as he joined her by the old woman.

Faking being upset wasn't hard. When the tension left, Ria really was trembling from how scary it had been being surrounded and threatened by a group of older boys. The shy seamstress' daughter from before would have just balled up in terror and run to her mom and dad after they took all her stuff. She was different now but certainly not immune to fear.

"Grandma, I'm feeling a little faint. Can I leave this to you while Leon takes me home?" Ria pleaded with upturned eyes while clasping her hands fretfully.

The woman rubbed Ria on the back. "Sure thing. You run along now. Leon, don't screw up this time? Ya hear?"

"Ah, yes, ma'am," Leon answered, and to his credit he sheltered her with his arm as he led her away.

Behind her, Ria heard the granny call out to a young boy who was peeking around a corner and tell him to fetch the healer and a guardsman.

"Woof?"

"Yup, you did well, too, Ranger," Ria told him.

"Woof!"