Lanval seemed thoughtful, but by now we had exited the path that led to the marketplace and there were too many people around for us to continue our conversation.

But that wasn’t actually the only reason our conversation ended.  I had stopped to simply stare.

I’d seen bits of the city during my exploration of the castle, but up close, here in the marketplace, the town was alive.  There were stalls with people offering foods and goods of all types.  People walking through the streets, people dressed in the rougher, more common clothes I was used to, and who looked like they’d spent more time outside than most of the nobles.  Out here, my bronzed skin didn’t stand out as much.  I looked like almost any of the other townsfolk.

There were dogs barking, and children running past us.  A few people noticed Genevieve and the knights, in particular, and whispered or curtseyed to her when we got close, but for the most part, the town was so bustling that we could almost disappear amongst the crowd.

I started to grin as I looked around, spotting so many things to explore.  Some new foods I wouldn’t mind tasting, and plenty of new things to see, but mostly it was more than that.  I just wanted to know how this town ran, and here, in the marketplace, I was pretty sure I’d discovered the heart of the town.  Here was what made the town’s heart beat.

I wandered around, just taking in the people and the town, until Lanval seemed to realize I’d wandered away and hurried to catch up.

“I believe her ladyship has a destination in mind,” he told me.

Reluctantly, I turned back towards Genevieve, Ancelote, and Olwen, thinking to myself that I’d have to come back later as a cat or a dog or something.  I wanted to spend more time here to understand this town, but sometimes I could learn more as an “invisible” animal than as a person.

When we reached the others, Olwen was frowning fiercely, but Genevieve was delighted.  Several children had come up to tell her how pretty she was, apparently, and now she was talking to them and offering them some pennies for them to go buy sweets, which seemed to deeply offend her lady-in-waiting for some reason, but I noticed that several of the townsfolk seemed happy.  Probably the ones whose children were being given coins for sweets, but still, I thought Genevieve likely would be well loved by the townsfolk if they ever got to spend much time with her.

We stood and waited, several people seeming confused by my presence, but most everyone was focused on Genevieve, who seemed loathe continuing through the market to the shop she’d intended.

My eyes went over the crowd, and then one hand snapped out and caught the wrist of a man who was browsing next to us.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” I told him very softly.

He tried to yank his hand back, more than a little startled when my grip tightened enough he winced in pain instead, but then I released him, a warning smile still on my face.

“Don’t even try,” I warned him.

“She won’t even miss the money,” he hissed, glowering at me and still seeming a bit confused about how I, a young girl, was stronger than him.  “Just move a bit to the right.”

I folded my arms across my chest, one brow raised.  I’d warned him.

“Lanval,” I raised my voice just enough for the knight to hear me, but not Genevieve, who was still busy.  “This gentleman would like to be escorted away.  Or arrested.  He’s still deciding which.”

The man recoiled as Lanval immediately focused on him.  The knight didn’t seem entirely sure what I meant, but he did realize I was deliberately drawing attention to the man, and the moment the knight was fully focused on him, the man muttered something and slipped away into the crowd.

Lanval gave me a puzzled look.  “What was that about?”

“He was trying to stick his hand into Olwen’s money pouch,” I explained under my breath.  “I told him not to, he wanted me to move instead.  I figured it was your turn.”

Lanval immediately looked back in the direction the man had gone, scowling now.  “Thief.  I’m glad you intercepted him, it would be a shame if Her Ladyship didn’t enjoy her trip, but in the future, just tell me if you see something, okay?  You don’t need to put yourself in that position.”

I didn’t say a word, just looked at him, one brow raised.

He paused, looking back at me, his brows furrowing in confusion the longer he looked at me.  “Why am I getting the feeling that you could have actually dealt with him on your own, you just figured it would make less of a scene if I did?”

I grinned abruptly.  “I said it was your turn, not that I needed the help.  Remember, Sir Knight, I am not a lady.  I grew up with people like this.  Well,” I amended, “a smaller version of this, but people who aren’t nobles, is my point.  Rough people, people who sometimes are desperate.  I’m not afraid of people like him.  Pickpockets rarely want to actually engage in confrontation – they rely on being unnoticed.  Robbers, on the other hand, rely on strength.  Knowing who you’re facing tells you how to respond.  Pickpockets will flee in front of any sign of formal authority, like a knight or guard or soldier.  Robbers will only do so if they feel they can’t win the fight, and they’re often not bright enough to realize that formally trained knights are more than they’re accustomed to.”

Lanval listened, intrigued, as we finally started moving again as Ancelote reminded Genevieve that we did have a destination we should reach if we wanted to get back to the castle before dark.  “How then would you approach a robber?”

Magic, probably.  Staring back at them.  Some of them would back down at fearlessness, realizing that if I wasn’t afraid of them, weapons and all, it meant I knew something they didn’t.  It meant there was more to me than they might initially anticipate.

“Most robbers are easy enough to handle.”  I accepted an apple from Ancelote, munching as I continued.  “First, they’re not formally trained, so someone like you can probably disarm them in a short time.  But also, they’re too reliant on strength.  You can trick them, or maybe mislead them.  Promise them more and lead them to somewhere where they find themselves in the hands of the authority instead.”

“You outwit them,” he decided.  “Makes sense, I suppose.  But what about the smart ones?  Some of them might not have formal training, but that doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent.”

“The intelligent ones leave me alone,” I explained simply.  “They figure it out before it becomes a problem for them.”

 He was puzzled, and probably would have followed up if we hadn’t just reached the shop.

The shop was too small for all of us, so Genevieve, smiling at the knights, reluctantly asked them to wait outside.  They took up position by the door, Ancelote glancing in the window every now and then to keep an eye on us, while I followed Genevieve and Olwen, who was huffing about the crowds and muttering to herself about people taking advantage of Genevieve, came last.

The cobbler whose shop it was wiped his hands, glancing between us quickly before flitting to the windows where he could see the knights outside.  “My Lady,” he bowed deeply to Genevieve.  “To what do I owe the – honor?”  He seemed almost confused about whether the last word was the right one in context.  Likely he wasn’t used to dealing with royal customers, then, and his first fear was that something was wrong.

“We need shoes,” Genevieve motioned me forward, “but not regular shoes.  Um, think like – stockings?  Made of leather?”

His brows furrowed as he looked at my feet, then at me, then at my feet again.  “No soles?”  He finally managed to ask.

“I don’t like shoes,” I informed him.  “She’s trying to find an option that doesn’t feel like shoes.”

“Ah.”  He thought about this.  “You do not like the soles?”  He questioned me.  “Or is it the laces of the boots?  Too confining?”

I shrugged.  “Some of both, I guess.”  That and I didn’t really need them.  Humans used them to protect their feet and keep them warm – and clean – but apart from the cleanliness, I didn’t need them, and I could use magic to keep my feet clean, too, although that was a bit harder to do this without being noticed while living with a bunch of humans.

The cobbler considered this again, then brought out a few shoes, setting them before me.  “I can make these softer,” he told me, “not so restrictive in the boot.  I can make them without the sole, but they’ll wear out faster.”

“That’s not a problem,” Genevieve assured him.  “She’s the king’s ward, he’ll cover the costs of however many shoes she needs.”

Olwen grumbled something about special treatment, which we all heard.  Genevieve frowned, but the cobbler moved on, more interested in his craft and figuring out how to solve the problem presented to him, which I appreciated. 

“I also have these,” he set something that looked almost like leather slippers on the counter, next to the boots.

Genevieve looked at them with interest.  “I’ve never seen shoes like these before.”

He nodded swiftly.  “They’re new.  Well, to here.  They’re from overseas, brought in by a trader friend.  I’ve made a couple similar ones, but so far the townsfolk haven’t been too interested.”  He paused, looking at us almost pleadingly.

Now that, I could understand.  He had tried something new, and so far it wasn’t really working out.  He clearly wanted someone to appreciate his efforts, and was hoping we might.

I sighed internally as I picked up the slippers.  I still wasn’t a fan of shoes, but as shoes went these were fairly mild.  If I had to wear shoes to make people treat me like I wasn’t a feral creature, I could manage with these.

Genevieve was delighted that I was willing to give them a shot, but also asked the cobbler to try a couple of the softer boots he’d suggested.  Pleased with his commission, he measured my feet for the boots, but one of the slipper pairs he’d made were the right size already, so I was able to put them on and tie the one set of laces around my ankles.

On the walk back, I kept looking down at my feet and frowning, unhappy with the unfamiliar – and unpleasant – sensation of even these slippers.

“I think I understand,” Lanval said, his tone quiet.  We had ended up trailing a bit behind the others, so there was no risk of them overhearing.  “I realized something.  The woods near Celliwig, they’re old, and like I said, even knights can’t find people in there, especially ellyllon.  But it’s more than that.  It’s like the forest itself would fight them.”

I glanced briefly up at him.  “Oh?”  I wiggled a foot.  This was so weird.

“But where you lived, it was even older woods.  Much, much older.”

He fully had my attention now, shoes forgotten for the moment.

“That’s true,” I agreed carefully.

He was quiet for a few more steps.  “You’re not afraid of robbers or pickpockets, but you don’t like shoes.”  He paused.  “My girl, she doesn’t like them either.  She says it separates her too much from nature.”

There was that.  Of course, there wasn’t as much nature inside a castle, so that wasn’t a particular concern on that front, but yeah, out in the woods, I’d never wear shoes, even to make Genevieve happy.

I didn’t answer him because he seemed to still be thinking.

“You recognized the work of an ellyllon and understood what it meant.  And as you said, you’re not a fan of Uther.”  He paused, then took a deep breath as he got to the main point of his observations.  “You lived in those woods, alone even, without a problem.  But…a human couldn’t have done that, could they?”  He deliberately didn’t look at me.  “A human couldn’t have survived a few days, let alone years, in that forest.  And a human wouldn’t – wouldn’t be quite like you.”

He was smarter than I’d first realized.  To be honest, part of me was surprised most people didn’t assume I was Arcane given that I’d lived in those woods.

It shouldn’t take much to put two and two together and realize I wasn’t human.  And Lanval had.

“A human wouldn’t,” I agreed.

We both fell silent, but as we reached the gate, he glanced at me quickly.

“For what it’s worth, I am an ally.  I would never betray your confidence.  I hope you know you can trust me.”

“I do.”  After all, he’d admitted he was in love with an ellyll and had become a knight, in part, to protect them, even if it meant defying his king.  He was someone who knew better than most the dangers an Arcane faced in this country, but he was also a human who clearly had chosen his side – and it was with the Arcane.

I looked up at him, my gaze steady, before returning my own assurances.  “You know, if your lady does decide to marry you and move here, she won’t be the only Arcane in Camelot.”

He blinked, thinking this over.  “Perhaps you’ll have a better chance to find out how Arthur truly feels about Arcane than I would.  You’re his ward, I’m his knight.  You would be around him socially.”

I grimaced, but I didn’t object.

He was right.  If anyone was going to find out how Arthur felt about Arcane, and maybe change his opinion even, it would be me.  It would be the Arcane he’d unknowingly “invited” (aka dragged) into the castle to live near him and become friends with his queen.

Uther would be so mad to know that Arthur had brought an “enemy” into his house.  Hopefully Arthur didn’t feel the same.