Cartwheels started rolling on the rough stone pavement as dawn broke. Jane opened her round brown eyes and the sun’s rays started to seep between the boards of the wooden window shutters and their white silk curtains glowed and faintly illuminated the room revealing the cream painted walls and light brown floorboards. Opposite of the bed, across the room were two smooth oak cabinets with a table and mirror in the middle. Beside her was her husband under the red blanket, he had medium length golden hair, prominent cheek bones, and a square jaw. She kissed him softly on the forehead, slipped out of bed slowly, brushed off her flowing black hair from her face, and tip-toed on the floor, across the green carpet at the center of the room, and sneaked out the door.

Jane washed her face and hands in the kitchen, still wearing her white night gown, from a wooden bucket she had filled with water last night. She had put some coals in the stone furnace, started a fire, and filled a pot with water to boil. On the table right next to the furnace, she begun slicing the bread prepared on the night before and took two cups on the wooden shelf above the table.

As she placed their breakfast on the table, Jane heard footsteps coming towards her, she turned around- “Good morning,” her husband greeted her, still only in his white pajamas with his messy hair and he wrapped his arms around her small waist.

“Good morning, darling,” Jane greeted back with a shinning smile looking at his emerald eyes.

“Your beauty never fades,”

“Really? Do you feel guilty about something?” Jane said as she moved her face away.

“Of course not,” he chuckled, “Am I not allowed to compliment my wife?”

“You dreamed of another woman again, didn’t you?” her eyes squinted.

“What? No. You’re the most beautiful woman in this town, that’s why I married you, darling,” he smiled.

“And you’re the most handsome and most charming man in this town. Which is why I have to keep an eye on you, Lucas!” she said jokingly.

Lucas removed his arms around her and sat at the table, “Let’s eat, darling.”

After breakfast, Jane stayed in the kitchen to clean up while Lucas went to his shop. The walls were entirely covered by shelves and cabinets filled with fine clothing, color and dyes of various shades and hues were seen everywhere in the room. On top of the shelves were the finest silk from the relatively cheaper white ones to the most expensive ones dyed in purple. On the bottom were stacks of linen and flax, some dyed and some aren’t. He opened the curtains and unlocked the door.

Lucas sat behind his desk, as usual, and from below, pulled a thick black leathered cover book with a mark between the pages and opened it. Jane went inside the shop and placed a cup on his desk, “here’s your tea, darling,” she said.

“Thank you.”

“What are you reading?’

“It’s titled, The Heathen State, it’s about the Republic of Diveria, written by someone who visited there.”

“Oh my- They allow people to go there?”

“Of course, ships had been going their ever since it was established, it says in this book that the people there are just like us.”

“Not everything written in books are real, Lucas, you should be careful with the things you read,” Jane shook her head.

“I know, darling, but there are a lot of interesting accounts here, want me to read some for you?”

“No thank you, darling, you know I’m not interested in books, I’d rather just serve you here at home,” she said with a soft smile and left. Lucas picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and put it down half full, he did not drank from it again.

An hour later, someone knocked on the shop’s dark oak door. Lucas put down his book, stood up, and walked towards the door and opened it. The young man outside wore a bright yellow cap with a white feather on the left side, a vest in the same color over a blue tunic, he had a small and thin frame and was about fifteen years old. He bowed and handed a letter to Lucas, it had a lordly wax seal which the tailor recognized. Lucas bowed back and thanked the messenger before the latter left.

Jane returned to the shop to take her husband’s cup. Lucas was taking the clothing from the top shelfs and stuffing them in a chest in a hurry.

“What’s all the shuffle about?” Jane asked.

“Here,” Lucas turned to her, sweating and with a smile, and handed her the letter.

“This is good news! We better prepare immediately.”

“I’m so anxious to be honest, darling. I was still a boy when I accompanied my father to go to that castle. Do you think they will be impressed with my work as much as my father’s?”

“No doubt about it,” Jane replied with an assuring smile.

The couple started sorting and going around the shop. Tools and expensive garments were put in their respective containers. Lucas closed the curtains and hanged a “closed” note on the door.