Stumbling, Snow did his best to keep up with him, once more thankful that his blue dress was much shorter than the yellow one he’d been forced to wear the night before. If he’d still been wearing that he’d most certainly had landed face-first on the cobblestones by now.

The buzzing sounds of people talking and haggling filled his ears.

“Fresh fish! Fresh fish! Come and have a look! The best fish in town! Buy one and get two!” the woman at his side was shouting, startling him at first, but then his eyes landed on her stand and he couldn’t help gape.

Piles of silvery fish, some the length of his arm, had been placed on display, and two other women were taking their time inspecting the merchandise. Above all he had never seen so many fish. He had seen fried fish on the plates of stores he was not allowed to enter, but they had all been much smaller in size, and never in so much quantity.

The next stall was selling all kinds of fruits, the bright colors alone enough to make him stare until he’s neck had almost turned all the way around.

The man next to the fruits’ vendor was selling half a dozen live chickens kept inside small wooden cages. He’d also seen those before, being raised on other people’s yards. But he’d never seen one from up close, the bright white fathers glistening under the sun.

Even more amazing were the small different birds sold next door. Their singing filled his ears as they jumped from perch to perch inside their big cage. They came in all colors, from bright-red to sky-blue. There was even one purple.

The woman from the next stall was selling the largest assortment of scarfs he’d ever laid eyes on. Made of different types of fabric, some with designs others with shiny decorations sewed on them, they looked like an amazing mountain of bright colors.

He was so busy looking right and left, unable to see everything he wanted to see, that he didn’t even notice they had stopped, jumping with a startle when a stick skewering three small red glistening spheres was placed right in front of his face.

Blinking he grabbed the wooden stick and looked up with an inquisitive frown.

“Eat.”

He looked back at the round things and smelled them.

Eat? Were those even edible? They looked more like toys, so perfectly smooth and shiny they were.

Opening his mouth, Snow gave one of the things a suspicious lick, and immediately shivered, his mouth watering. It was sweet! Sweet like nothing he had ever tasted.

With renewed confidence, he took an actual bite, his teeth easily sinking into the soft sphere that had looked so hard. Eaten as a whole it wasn’t so sweet anymore, and it tasted wonderfully, he decided, quickly taking another bite.

Looking at the stand in front of him, Snow watched curiously how the plump woman made that delicacy. A kind of dough was fried on a very hot pan. Then she’d screw three of those fluffy balls into a stick and paint them a red liquid that stuck to them like glue.

Noticing the careful eyes watching her, the woman smiled at him.

“You like it?”

Snow nodded vigorously and the woman laughed, offering him another stick.

“Here you go, young lady. A cute little lady such as you deserves a little gift.” She winked at him and he blushed, but didn’t refuse her gift.

They strolled around the busy market until his feet hurt. But, even so, Snow still wished he could walk some more, see some more, learn some more. He couldn’t help feeling disappointed when they finally made their way to a large, white building, supported by thick round columns with strange symbols engraved on them. White, stone stairs led up to a pair of huge front doors and, with an impatient expression on his face, ZenTar stood there, apparently expecting them.

“Where have you been? I’ve been waiting forever!” he complained the moment he laid eyes on them, but ZaiWin mostly ignored him, leading Snow up the stairs.

“Something came up.”

“Something came up?” ZenTar repeated angrily, keeping up with him, and ZaiWin simply nodded.

“Yup.”

The two large doors were guarded by four men, two on each side, all of them wearing long, white robes and a simple silvery rope tied around their waists. Each held a sword in their hands, the pearly, white sheath glistening under the sun. And they all had short, unadorned hair, much like Snow’s was now, with the difference that they all were dark-haired.

Halting in front of the doors, ZenTar and ZaiWin bowed respectfully, which Snow quickly tried to mimic, and, without a word, one of the men left his post and pushed open one of the doors to grant them entrance. Being such a huge, massive door, Snow had thought that it would need all four of them to open it, but it easily turned on its hinges without so much as a sound at the mere push of one hand.

Stepping inside, they were left alone in a large, white room. A large, empty room, Snow noticed looking around. Although it was a windowless room and there were no flames burning anywhere, it was still extremely bright, the surrounding walls themselves emitting a soft, white light. The big door on their backs was closed again, and so the other only way left out of that place was the white, much smaller door in front of them.

A dark shadow loomed right in front of him and Snow raised his head to look up at the blue eyes he knew were staring at him.

“You remember what I told you, right?” he asked, pulling down his heavy hood and Snow nodded, frowning and wondering what he was trying to do by uncovering his head.

ZaiWin produced a long, dark-blue scarf Snow was sure he had gotten from one of the stalls in the marked, and put it over his head, carefully wrapping it around his neck in a strange, but apparently specific fashion.

“No matter what she asks, don’t say a word. And keep your eyes down. And don’t forget you’re supposed to be a woman.”

Snow nodded again.

By the time he was done, the soft scarf was tightly wrapped around his head, covering not only his neck but also a good part of his face, the flowing fabric sliding freely over his chest. Pulling his hood back up, ZaiWin straightened his cloak and took a deep breath, apparently satisfied with what he’d accomplished.

They waited for a while, simply standing there since there were no places to sit, until the white door finally opened. A tall, thin, middle-aged man came out, dressed in the same fashion as the four outside, except for the sword.

“Greetings, my Lords, my Lady,” he bowed respectfully, and ZenTar and ZaiWin returned his greeting, Snow once more trying to catch up with them.

“Greetings, reverent one,” ZenTar replied.

“If I may so inquire, what business brings you to our humble Temple?” the man asked in what sounded like a many times repeated phrase, and ZenTar gave him one of his polite smiles.

“We have requested an audience with the esteemed High Jundai,” he announced and the man’s eyes widened in recognition, his back stiffing, as he quickly stepped to one side to show them the way.

“But of course. We have been expecting you. If you’d be so kind as to follow me,” he offered and, as soon as ZenTar nodded his agreement, the man turned and walked out the door from where he’d come from.

They didn’t waste time following him, and Snow couldn’t help stare in amazement at the beautiful corridor they were crossing.

All made of shiny glass, the ceiling round like a dome, it allowed him to see the luxurious inner garden outside. The tall trees offered their branches to an incredible variety of birds, and bright, beautiful flowers bloomed everywhere. There was even a crystal-like stream of fresh water, happily jumping from stone to stone. But the most amazing thing in that garden were the huge crystals that seemed to have simply erupted from the ground, the way they reflected the sunlight making them glow in shades of green, purple, blue and yellow, like the most precious of stones. Some were so big that they looked more like lean, elegant towers of light, and Snow had to tilt his head back to look up at them.

It was with regret that he left the bright corridor and stepped into another, equally white room. He wished he could have stayed outside, forehead glued to the glass, looking at the beautiful garden. He couldn’t help feel that there was a lot he hadn’t been able to see during the fleeting moments that had taken them to cross it.

“Please wait here. I will inform her of your arrival,” the man declared before leaving through another white door.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Seeee ... ZaiWin isn’t all that bad >_>;