Though uneventful and mostly quiet, the traveling demons arrive in Verona just before dusk. As they enter the city, the two look for an inn. Lucinda is so exhausted from the journey, she doesn’t take time to look and appreciate the architecture.
Finding the inn, Xylek asks the keeper about stables for Umbra. Lucinda takes a seat in the dimly lit sitting room. A roaring fire is in the stone fireplace. The princess closes her eyes, just resting from the long journey.
Something touches Lucinda’s arm, a subtle tap. She jolts, frightened by the touch, it is Xylek. He is waking her to lead her to their room. Groggily, Lucinda makes her way to the room on the second floor. Xylek opens the door and leads her inside.
“They only had one bed available,” he says as the weary demon enters the room. Lucinda is too exhausted to care at the moment. She lays in the bed and falls into a dreamless slumber.
When she wakes, Lucinda finds that Xylek is awake. She wonders if he had slept at all. He admits he slept some, but woke up shortly before the princess. The two make their way to the main lobby of the inn. One thing is on Lucinda’s mind. Breakfast.
As her stomach grumbles, she makes a face. Turning to Xylek she asks, “Where to for food?”
“The inn should have some food,” Xylek responds. They approach the front desk and Xylek asks the innkeeper where the pair can locate something for breakfast.
The innkeeper, a slender, olive skinned man with a salt and pepper beard and thinning hair on his scalp, replies that the kitchen provides few breakfast items. “We have frumenty or bread.”
Lucinda thinks for a moment. She asks what is frumenty.
“It is porridge,” Xylek replies. “You might like that.”
Nodding, Lucinda says she will try the frumenty. The innkeeper leads the hungry demons to the kitchen area. Lucinda and Xylek sit at one of the tables. Then, Xylek pulls something from his pocket. A small glass jar with an amber goo inside. He places the container onto the table.
“What is that?” Lucinda asks, examining the small jar.
Xylek lets out a small chuckle. “It’s honey. I put it in my porridge to sweeten it up some.”
Lucinda nods again. As the innkeeper returns with two steaming bowls of frumenty, Xylek takes a spoonful of the honey and stirs it into his bowl. Lucinda takes a small taste of the chewy dish before her. A nutty flavor hits her taste buds. She drizzles a small bit of honey on her breakfast and tries another bite. It tastes sweeter now. But it is not the same as in the palace.
She tries to enjoy her meal, but she has a sinking feeling in her stomach. She misses meals with her father. They would chat about the day's events, joke about life itself and reminisce about meals with Mai. Only silence emcompasses her and Xylek.
As Lucinda stirs her porridge, Xylek looks up from his bowl. “Is everything alright?” he asks. “Is the frumenty that bad?”
“Oh no,” Lucinda says, sitting up straight. “It's fine, I’m just worried about my father.”
Xylek shovels another heaping spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth. He looks at Lucinda and with a mouth full, says, “I know, but we have to lay low for a while.”
“Is that why we are riding a horse?” she asks, before taking another bite.
Her partner nods. After swallowing, he continues to speak, his voice just above a whisper. “We have to worry about getting caught by humans and demons. Humans don’t like our kind too much. Running at our speed is suspicious. Using your magic chalk is extra suspicious.”
Lucinda slowly nods, consuming his words and her frumenty. After another bite is swallowed, she asks, “Is that why I need to cover my hair?”
“Yes, because young humans don’t have white hair,” he says as he finishes his breakfast.
As Lucinda finishes her breakfast, the pair stand from their chairs. They step outside into the late summer air. Lucinda takes a deep breath in and exhales with contentment. The air is cool in the late morning, Xylek leads Lucinda through the streets of Verona. In the daylight and with a coherent mind, Lucinda gets to admire the architecture. Buildings of red and yellow brick adorn the streets of cobblestone. Square windows peer into each structure. Each building is decorated with beautiful flowers and bushes, giving a lovely appeal to each entry and framing every window.
As the pair stroll, Xylek notices something down an alleyway. He pauses for a moment and takes Lucinda by the hand, leading her down the narrow path. At the end of the alley, a market place very similar to the one they visited in the third circle adorns the cobblestone road. Lucinda and Xylek both seem to enjoy the market.
But Lucinda wonders aloud. “What do we need from here? Aren’t we looking for the bridge?”
“Just a detour. We needed a couple things and figured we could browse for a bit.” Xylek says, still holding Lucinda’s hand. Lucinda looks down. She notices their fingers intertwined. All of the emotions she has felt rush over her.
“You are still holding my hand,” she says, her eyes lingering on the pair's hands.
Xylek smirks. “Do you want me to stop?”
Lucinda pulls her hand away as blood rushes to her face. Stammering, she finally utters, “That question is absurd.”
This makes Xylek chuckle. With a wave of his hand, he tells the princess to follow him through the street of the marketplace.
As the partners roam the market, they arrive at a stall that contains small leather bound books. This peaks Lucinda’s interest, causing her to pause and admire the work of each journal. Picking up a black leather book, she flips through the parchment pages. Thick and porous, each page is nicely bound inside the leather.
The stall attendant acknowledges her admiration of his work. “I can custom emboss whatever you would like onto each journal.” His tone was cheerful but calm. He was very welcoming. “Only an extra twenty shillings.”
Lucinda asks how much the journal itself costs. The shopkeeper says to the girl, “About twenty six shillings.” The princess looks to her traveling companion. She asks for his opinion. Xylek shrugs. He picks up another black leather journal and inspects it carefully.
“I’ll take this one, how long will it take to emboss?” Xylek says, handing the stall attendant the journal.
“Come back by sundown, I can have both done then.”
“I would like ‘ha molti nomi’ embossed.” Xylek says, with a smile on his face.
The human looks to Lucinda. “And for you?”
Lucinda thinks for a moment. She ponders a few ideas. Then, she remembers what her father would always say to her. “Can you emboss ‘Semper’?”
The man smiles, “Absolutely.”
Xylek hands the shopkeep some coins. He counts it and assures the pair that he will have it finished by sundown. With this, the pair continue their journey. They wander to various stalls and browse many wares.
In one stall, they find odds and ends. From jewelry to ornate boxes. Apparel and books. And clay pots and many more items decorate the shop. The woman in the stall smiles at the patrons. Her red, curly hair tied messily beneath a dark green bonnet to match her eyes and gown. A light brown apron adorns her front. Around her neck is a silver chain with a black orb crystal wrapped nicely in silver wire. It's a beautiful pendant.
Lucinda asks if she made the necklace. The stall attendant shakes her head. In a thick Irish accent she admits it was a necklace sold to her by a woman she met when she first moved to Verona. She does not remember much of the woman, just how distraught and desperate she was to sell the pendant jewelry.
Xylek asks the woman if he can see the necklace. The woman removes the piece from her delicate neck and hands it to the demon. He examines it, his eyes growing wider the longer he looks at it. Excitement crosses his face and he smiles with a devilish grin.
Lucinda asks him about the sudden change. He whispers in her ear, “It’s the amulet.”
He looks at the woman in the shop. “How much for the necklace?”
Stunned, she replies that it is not for sale.
Xylek grabs the bag of coins Lucifer had gifted the pair and sets it on the table. He asks her once more, “How much for the necklace?”
Still in shock, the red headed woman stares at the bag. Xylek begins to pull gold pieces from the bag and placing them on the table, his eyes never leaving her’s. “I could tell you that this necklace is my mother’s that was never to be sold. I could tell you a tale of how this was my necklace. But you would never believe my words. Name your price.” Xylek has placed ten gold pieces before her. He continues to stack the coins.
The shopkeeper's eyes grow wide. Her pale skin begins to lose what little color it had as he places more pieces on the table before her. There are now three stacks of ten on the table. He begins to stack a fourth pile and the keeper finally admits defeat.
“It's yours!” she shouts. She snags up the coins and counts them. Thirty five gold coins in her hand. She stares in shock. Xylek nods his head and takes Lucinda by the hand. With the hand holding the amulet, he picks up the bag of coins and leaves the stall.
A giddy expression dances onto Xylek’s face. He walks with a bounce in his step and they stroll through the market. At the end of the street, they find the bridge they were meant to search for.
Ponte Scaligero.
However, guards march to and fro the bridge entry ways. This takes the joy from Xylek. He guides Lucinda away from the bridge. They turn around and go towards the inn.
Back at the inn, they collect their belongings and Xylek leads Lucinda to the stables. He packs up the saddlebags on Umbra before hoisting Lucinda onto the horse. He throws his leg over the horse’s back and they begin to continue on their journey.
“Where to next?” Lucinda asks, looking back at Xylek who is seated behind her.
He shrugs, “Not sure, but we need to keep moving.”
Lucinda sighs. She wishes they could stay in Verona a while longer. But she knows Xylek is right. They have to keep moving.
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