Katherine wove through the marketplace, dodging a cart piled high with fruit and narrowly avoiding a rchant who was enthusiastically brandishing a silk scarf like it was a battle flag.
The air was thick with the scent of roasted nuts, fresh bread, and a hundred different spices.
She barely sidestepped a flying cabbage (why was there always a flying cabbage?) and quickened her pace.
Her destination was more important.
Elseid.
That strange little shop—the one she had visited with nalipo.
She hadn’t planned on coming back. But Zamir’s words had stuck with her, lingering in the back of her mind like a question she hadn’t fully asked yet.
So, here she was.
The mont she stepped inside, the familiar scent of polished wood, aged leather, and sothing faintly tallic greeted her.
The shop looked just as it had before—a collection of oddities and forgotten things, so of them chanical, so of them magical, and most of them a little too intriguing for their own good.
Her eyes landed on the back table, where a series of tiny chanical toys clicked and whirred in delicate synchronization.
She stepped closer, drawn to a small tal bird that hopped forward in precise, robotic movents.
"Well, aren’t you fancy?" she murmured, resisting the urge to poke it.
It was oddly familiar. Not in the way of recognizing a specific object, but in the way of recognizing a concept. The way it moved, the way it was built... it reminded her of sothing.
Sothing from ho.
She frowned. That didn’t make sense.
Before she could dwell on it, a quiet voice cut through her thoughts.
"You notice things quickly."
Katherine turned to see Zamir watching her, arms crossed, expression as unreadable as ever.
She blinked at him."What, staring at tiny birds is a rare skill now?"
His lips twitched, just slightly."Not the bird."
Katherine hesitated, her thoughts clicking into place like puzzle pieces.
"Zamir... are you like ?"
His expression didn’t change."That depends. What do you an?"
She crossed her arms."These machines. They remind of things from my world. Not exactly, but close. And I want to know why."
Zamir studied her for a mont, then said simply,"Things aren’t as different as you think."
Katherine narrowed her eyes."That’s not an answer."
"It is," he said. "You’re just looking for a different one."
She let out a slow breath."You do realize how frustrating that is, right?"
"I’ve heard."
She huffed."Fine. Then let’s try this: why do things like this exist here?"
Zamir’s gaze flicked to the chanical toys, then back to her."Because you’re not the first."
Katherine felt sothing in her chest tighten.
"Others like ?"
He gave a slight nod. "Yes."
"How many? Where are they? Are we talking a handful or—what, an entire secret society?"
Zamir didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he studied her with an expression that made her feel like she was standing at the edge of sothing important.
"Enough," he said at last. "But not all of them stay."
A flicker of unease ran through her.
"What do you an ’not all of them stay’? Where do they go?"
His expression remained steady."That’s for you to figure out."
Katherine groaned, dragging a hand down her face."Of course it is."
She turned back to the clockwork creatures, their tiny gears still clicking and whirring in perfect rhythm.
This world wasn’t just sothing she had read about.
It had been touched by others before her.
And if that was true, then... what else was she missing?
She sighed, glancing back at Zamir."You know, one day, I’m going to ask you a question, and you’re going to give a straightforward answer."
His mouth curved slightly."Maybe."
She narrowed her eyes."That wasn’t a yes."
"No, it wasn’t."
Katherine sighed again."I should stop expecting normal conversations from you."
"That would make things easier."
Shaking her head, she turned away, but the weight of his words settled into her bones.
She didn’t have all the answers.
But she knew one thing for sure.
Zamir wasn’t just a shopkeeper.
There was more to him.More to this place.More to everything.
And she was going to figure it out.
***
Katherine made her way back to the old woman’s stall, practically floating at the thought of fresh bread and cheese. The comforting scent of baked goods wrapped around her like a warm hug, making her stomach grumble in anticipation.
As soon as the woman spotted her, she chuckled. "Back again? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were addicted to my bread."
Katherine gasped dramatically. "? Addicted? Pfft! That’s ridiculous." Then, under her breath, she muttered, "It’s only a mild obsession."
The woman smirked, handing over a fresh loaf. "Mild, huh? You ca back awfully fast."
"Shhh, let live." Katherine waved a hand before pulling out her pouch of coins. But this ti—oh, this ti—she was prepared. Gone were the days of fumbling and awkwardly trusting rchants to give her the right change. She had studied the currency system like her life depended on it.
With expert precision, she counted out the exact amount for her bread and cheese—plus the little extra she had been short on last ti. She set the coins down with a flourish. "Behold! A perfectly calculated paynt. I am officially a functioning mber of society."
The old woman raised an eyebrow, amused. "Ah, so you’ve figured it out at last."
Katherine puffed out her chest. "I have conquered numbers! Bow before ."
The woman let out a hearty laugh. "Alright, alright. But if you’re so good now, maybe I should raise my prices."
Katherine clutched the bread to her chest like a knight protecting a sacred relic. "You wound , kind bread lady."
At that mont, a mischievous boy darted past, nearly toppling a stack of loaves. Without thinking, Katherine lunged forward, catching the top one just in ti. She held it up triumphantly. "HA! Reflexes of a bread-saving champion."
The boy, unfazed, stuck his tongue out at her before disappearing into the crowd.
The woman sighed. "That’s Timmy. Always running around, causing trouble."
Katherine smirked. "I like his spirit. But maybe I should set up a bread-catching station."
The woman chuckled. "You’ll need quick hands for that, my dear."
A sudden commotion from a nearby fruit stall caught Katherine’s attention. A small argunt had broken out between a rchant and a custor over the price of apples. Katherine leaned in slightly, fascinated.
"I swear, you raised the price since yesterday!" the custor accused.
"The price is the price," the rchant replied flatly.
The old woman snorted. "Happens all the ti. Prices shift depending on supply and demand."
Katherine humd. "So, it’s like a dieval version of surge pricing?"
The woman gave her a look. "A what now?"
"Never mind." Katherine grinned, taking another bite of her bread.
As she stood there, listening to the lively chatter and the occasional shouts of rchants advertising their goods, she felt an odd sense of belonging. Maybe, just maybe, she was starting to find her place here.
She glanced at the woman, realizing she had never even asked her na. That felt almost criminal, considering this was her second visit.
Before she could overthink it, she blurted out, "Wait—I don’t even know your na."
The woman smiled. "Gledis."
Katherine repeated it in her head a few tis. Gledis. The na suited her.
"Well, Gledis, I’m honored to know the na of the finest bread-maker in the land."
"Oh, flattery will get you nowhere," Gledis said, though her amused expression said otherwise.
Katherine just grinned. Maybe this world wasn’t so different from hers after all.
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