32: Until The End

“You can’t be serious! This is highway robbery,” Maiya exclaimed. “Ten coppers for these vegetables? You understand what’ll happen if my father finds out about this, yes? Eight is the highest I will go. Not one copper more!”

The flustered grocer bowed repeatedly, apologizing, but standing his ground. “Young ser, I assure you that these are the freshest produce you’ll find in the city. If I sold these any lower, I wouldn’t turn a profit. Please, I have to put food on the table for my children. Please understand!”

“Then I suppose I shall have to do business elsewhere,” Maiya said, stowing her coin sack and turning her back to the man.

Vir quickly followed. “Maiya… I feel a little bad. We can afford those vegetables, can’t we? It isn’t right to take advantage of people like that.”

“It’s all an act, Vir. Just watch.”

“Young ser, I have reconsidered!” The grocer said as they began walking away. “Please, I accept your offer.”

Maiya spun on her heel, smiling at the grocer. “We have a deal.”

Vir watched in horror as Maiya haggled with vendor after vendor, buying far more than what he thought possible with the amount of money they had on hand.

They took a quick break to head to the city’s post office. It was a tall wooden structure that was alive with people continuously entering and exiting. In fact, this was the busiest place they’d seen in the city so far.

“So? Why are we here?” Vir asked once they’d arrived. He didn’t mind exploring, but Maiya was insistent they come here.

Maiya bit her lip. “Riyan won’t let us go back to Brij, but I can at least let my parents know I’m safe, right? It’s been eating me this whole time. They must be worried sick.”

She splurged on some actual paper to scribble a quick note. They agreed to keep the details light, in case Hiranya intercepted the letter. She only mentioned that she and Vir were alive and safe, and to not look for them.

She sealed the envelope with some wax and paid the clerk five coppers for delivery. It seemed the cost of delivery varied depending on whether the delivery was domestic or international, with more estranged countries costing more to deliver to. Some, like Matali and the Pagan Order, were outright undeliverable. Brij was only a short hop away for a courier, so the fee was low.

After their visit to the post office, they returned to the merchant district to buy more supplies.

“So? What’d’ya think?” Maiya said, smirking at Vir after bargaining another grocer down by 40%.”

“I think this is very wrong of you, Maiya,” Vir said honestly. “What are you going to do with all this money? Spend it on some knick knack?”

She threw him a scowl, but he wasn’t done. “These people make their living off of their sales. I’m sure they’re marking up their wares, expecting to be haggled down, but I feel you’re going too far. I know what it’s like, being poor.”

His friend sighed. “It’s not like that, Vir. They’re marking up their wares because we’re Sawai. They know we have the coin. They’re all sharks, Vir. If you don’t play hardball with them, they’ll rip you to shreds.”

“How would you know, Maiya? Not like you’ve been outside the village.”

“Riyan’s drilled all of this stuff into me. We’ve even had mock exchanges where he pretends to be a greedy shopkeeper and I have to haggle him down. Compared to Riyan, these guys are pushovers.”

Vir thought over her words and realized she had a point. After all, what did he know about city dwellers? The shopkeepers in Brij all expected to be haggled down, but they were always friendly to fellow villagers. Some of them even treated Vir politely, giving him discounts… Though many just ignored him as if he didn’t exist.

The hours dragged on, and their rucksacks grew heavier and heavier from the weight of the supplies they bought, forcing the two to return to the inn to transfer their loads onto Bumpy. Most of it was grains, rice, flour, and other nonperishables. They’d bought comparatively few fruits and fresh vegetables, since those would go bad in a matter of weeks.

“Alright, that should be good for now. We can grab the rest of the groceries when we buy the cleaning supplies, like baking soda and stuff. Let’s do that tomorrow,” Maiya said, holding up the bag of coins. “Look at how much we still have left!”

“Uh, huh,” Vir said. “And what are you going to do with all that money you swindled from your bargaining?”

She grabbed his left hand and put the money box in his palm, closing his fingers around it. “Keep it safe. We’ll need the money for when we run away from Riyan, won’t we?” She said with a wink.

Vir immediately regretted everything he’d said about his friend’s questionable business practices.

“You’re amazing, Maiya.” He was prepared to argue at length to convince Maiya to save this money for the future, but he’d misread her intentions; she’d wanted the same all along.

“You can say that again!” Maiya said, beaming with smug satisfaction.

“Speaking of… Have you decided?” Vir said, broaching the topic. “Are we gonna make a run for it? We have some money left over, and a whole load of supplies.”

Maiya looked away, fidgeting with her arms crossed. Then she looked Vir in the eyes, her face set with a grim expression.

“I’m not going, Vir. Not yet. This is my golden opportunity to learn magic, and even with ten silvers, we can’t afford to hire a mejai to teach me. I can’t leave yet.”

Vir let out a breath. “To be honest, I’m glad you feel that way. I’m the same. Feels like I still have a lot more to learn. Actually, if you’d left… I wouldn’t have joined you.”

Maiya bonked his head. “Silly, you think I’d ever leave you alone with that man? I’d never have gone my own way without you.”

Vir smiled. He should’ve guessed she’d say that.

“Still,” he said, “I think we oughta reevaluate our situation regularly. When we leave, it should be on our terms, not his.”

His friend nodded. “Totally agree.”

Vir felt as though a great weight lifted off of his shoulders.

“Let’s go do some exploring! I want to check out those docks!” He said, squeezing Maiya’s arm and pulling her along.

“Heck yeah!”

They hadn’t even taken ten paces toward the harbor before fate tore their plan to shreds.

Guards rushed out onto the street from all directions. Traffic ground to a halt, trapping Vir and Maiya in an encirclement along with a dozen others.

“What is the meaning of this?” Maiya shouted, but her cries went unanswered.

Vir instinctively reached for his hood… But came away empty. He wasn’t wearing a hood—bad habit.

So he ducked behind Maiya instead, but she pushed him away.

“Remember what Riyan taught us? Suspicious people act suspiciously,” she whispered. “Trust our disguise. Act casual.”

Vir nodded, doing his best to come across as a bored rich kid. At least he didn’t need to be discreet about looking at the guards—everyone was gawking at them already.

“They’re looking for someone,” Maiya said.

“I noticed. They’re headed straight for us!”

There was little either of them could do. With the cordon, there wasn’t anywhere to run, nor could they hide. The guards searching everyone.

“We’ve done nothing wrong,” Maiya said to Vir. “I’ll handle this.”

A guard dressed in gray gambeson armor strode up to them. “Papers, please.”

Maiya pulled her rich kid card, the same as she’d done when they’d arrived at the gates. “I’m a son of the Suvir family. You dare ask for my papers?”

“Papers. Now,” the guard said, holding an outstretched hand. Maiya clearly wasn’t expecting this reaction. She paused, taken aback.

“I—they’re at my inn.”

“Uh, huh. Nice try, boy.”

Another guard approached. “That’s them, alright. Two teens. Sons of a noble,” he said, addressing Maiya. “Your actions bring shame to your entire family. I hope you understand the gravity of your situation.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Maiya fired back. “We’ve committed no crimes! We arrived just yesterday!”

“And this morning, no less than four shops were robbed by a pair of black-haired aristocrat teens.”

Vir hadn’t approved of Maiya’s aggressive bargaining, but she’d done nothing illegal. This had to be something else. Right?

“We didn’t do it!” Maiya said. “Someone’s framing us!”

“It’s the word of two boys against four reputable shopkeepers. Who do ya think we’re gonna trust, boy?”

“Two sons of the Suvir family,” Maiya retorted.

“Aye, and if you are who you claim to be and you’re found innocent, we shall make appropriate reparations. In the meantime, you’re coming with us.”

A quick glance of their surroundings painted a bleak picture. A half dozen guards in gambeson armor had encircled them, and their noose tightened with every passing moment, further limiting Vir’s options. It was plainly obvious that the two of them stood little chance of winning a confrontation.

Not to mention the crowd—innocent bystanders would likely get caught up in the action, and he was sure that all the blame would fall upon him and Maiya.

But Vir didn’t need to win. Their disguises meant they could flee, then simply wipe off their makeup, and no one would ever find them. The vast benefits of the art of subterfuge were dawning on him.

“W-what evidence do you have?” Maiya shouted, her panic clear.

Vir took stock of his inventory. He had a single chakram draped around his neck, and a half dozen chakris worn as bracelets. Plus his katar, currently concealed inside his waistband.

“Evidence? Boy, four shopkeepers have all lodged complaints of grand theft against you. Seems you stole a great number of goods from them all. Give up and come quietly. If you are who you say you are, I’m sure yer father will have you out after a night or two in the prison.”

Vir sidled up to Maiya and discreetly whispered into her ear. “On my mark, we’ll make a break for it. See that road over there?”

Maiya nodded subtly, eying the street that intersected the principal thoroughfare they were on. “We’re gonna run there. Make the guards think we’re giving up.”

His friend looked down dejectedly, acting frustrated. “Fine. It seems that my brother doesn’t want to make a scene,” she said. “We shall cooperate.”

“Good. Saran may be nowhere near where you’re from, but we take our security very seriously.”

“Yes, yes. Get on with it, then,” Maiya said, feigning irritation.

The guards sidled up around them and led them away from the rest of the crowd, shooing onlookers away.

That’s one obstacle cleared, Vir thought. No need to worry about hurting bystanders anymore.

They shuffled closer to the street Vir wanted to take. Maiya gave him a furtive glance, and he nodded back.

In one smooth motion, he retrieved the chakram from his neck and hurled it at the guard in front of them. Vir’s hands never stopped moving, lobbing chakris from his forearm in every direction.

With how close the guards were, it was hard to miss. Most bounced harmlessly off the guards’ gambeson, but some bit into exposed hands and necks.

Maiya was his perfect partner, shoving guards that began to react to Vir, and swiping at others with her katar to distract them.

They bolted for the street the instant an opening presented itself, running as hard as they could.

“After them! Capture them!”

Vir couldn’t believe how quickly the guards reacted, pursuing them into the alley.

They were probably anticipating we’d try and pull something… Vir thought, scanning the street for any alleys they could take.

“Maiya! Turn left!”

She complied, leading them into a back alley. Vir followed on her heels, leaping over sacks of garbage and Ash’va dung. Maiya was less dextrous—the terrain slowed her considerably.

Vir took the lead, hoping to scout the other end of the alley while Maiya caught up.

As he neared the end of the narrow passage, two guards entered, cutting off his escape. Both wielded buckler shields and spears, their deadly tips pointed straight at Vir, daring him to take them on.

Vir wasn’t an idiot. He had no intention of fighting battles he couldn’t win.

“Back, Maiya! Double back!” He shouted, running to his friend. Then he saw the other end of the alley—where they’d entered—and despaired.

Two guards occupied the entrance, pincering them in the alley. On both ends, their enemies moved in slowly, corralling them.

Think! What can we do?

Vir looked up. He saw balconies and poles jutting out horizontally into the alley. It took only half a second for him to chart a route up to the rooftops. Escape was possible… For him.

“Maiya? Can you jump?”

She looked up and blanched. “I-I’m sorry, Vir. I don’t think I can,” she said, shaking her head. “Listen to me. I want you to save yourself. Escape on your own. Okay?”

Vir seized up. Only seconds remained before the guards were upon them. With a sigh, he retrieved his katar. It was an old, rusted thing, sharpened by his amateur skills on Riyan’s grinding wheel.

“Vir!? What are you doing?”

He held up his weapon for the guards to see. Then he threw it on the ground. He removed his remaining two chakris and threw them down as well, clasping his hands behind his head.

“We’ve lost, Maiya. We need to cooperate.”

His friend stared at him blankly for a moment before biting her lip.

“I’m so sorry, Vir,” she said. “If only you’d—”

Vir stared into her eyes, suddenly realizing what he’d known all along, deep down. “I’d never abandon you, Maiya. Not ever.”

She held his gaze for a long second, and nodded. She threw her own katar down as well.

Vir now understood how foolish he’d been, thinking he’d part ways with her if she wanted to leave Riyan. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“Even when the entire realm turns against you, I’ll be there by your side. Fighting. Until the end. So don’t you dare tell me to leave you behind.”

“Vir!” Maiya whispered.

“Alright brat,” said a guard, pointing his spear at them. “We could’a done this the easy way. But nope. You’ve gone and chosen the hard road. You chose pain. And it is pain that ye shall receive.”

Vir moved in front of Maiya, shielding her. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.

“Bring it.”