Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Ashes and Remembrance ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

TEN

For Jindra Roh, the last three weeks of her stay in Palas seemed to drag on forever. For the first time that she could remember, she actually wanted to leave the beautiful Asturian city and return to Zaibach. She counted down the days until the ship would arrive to take home - back to her parents, but more importantly back to the man that she loved. Her only regret was that she would be leaving Bethanne. The two women had grown even closer in the past few weeks and Jindra had come to rely on her aunt's support and advice greatly. She was still apprehensive about telling her mother about her relationship with Folken; but she felt better knowing that Bethanne would be with her in spirit, if not in person.

She spent the days visiting her other relatives, sketching and painting, taking day trips out to the countryside, attending dinner parties and writing letters. She had written her parents several times since arriving in Palas - her mother expected to receive regular reports about what she was doing. She had also written twice to Coren, but had not received any replies. Yet most surprisingly of all, she wrote several times a week to Folken. They had agreed, before she left, to not have the letters sent to him at the sorcerer's tower; so instead they had arranged for them to be delivered to a small bookshop not far from the park where they usually met. Jindra had been a regular customer at the shop for several years and was quite friendly with the old woman that owned it. The woman had been more than happy to help the pair out and had promised to see that Jindra's letters reached Folken safely.

The one thing she did not do however, was visit the university. Any other time and it would have been one of the first places that she went to upon arriving in Palas, for it had once been her greatest wish to become a student there. But now she wasn't sure if that was what she really wanted anymore. Jindra's life had changed so much since she and Folken had fallen in love; and she knew that once she returned home, there would be even more changes to come.

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Jindra felt the warm sun on her face as she wandered through the open market in the heart of the city. She would be leaving Palas in a few days and was looking for a few gifts to bring back for her family. She had already purchased several things for Coren, but she still couldn't seem to find just the right thing for her parents. As a special thank you to Bethanne, Jindra also wanted to get something for her aunt as well.

The young woman slowly made her way past the various stalls and pavilions, glancing down at the displayed goods as she passed by. Jindra was investigating a rather nice woven rug when she noticed something glittering intently in the sunlight a few stalls down. As she got nearer to the stall, she could see some of the items displayed on the table. There was quite an assortment of jewelry, small leather goods, clothing, books and other decorative items. What was surprising was that it was all from different countries on Gaea. Most people passing by would have dismissed it all as nothing more than a collection of junk, but Jindra was intrigued by some of the more unfamiliar items and couldn't wait to investigate it all.

When she reached the table, her hands went immediately for the small gleaming square in the middle. As she picked it up, she realized that it was leather - a small purse of some type; but it was unlike any other leather she had seen or felt before. No, I have seen this before - it looks just like that coin purse that Mother had. The one that was made out of . . .

"May I help you miss?" Jindra had not even noticed the man sitting behind the table. Smiling at her, he gestured towards the purse in her hands, "Nice piece, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful," she replied as she turned the purse over in her hands. Jindra watched the sunlight play over the scaled hide.

"It's made out of . . ."

"Dragon hide - yes, I know." Jindra smiled at the man's startled expression. "I've seen a purse similar to this one before."

"Ah, then you know how hard it is to get dragon hide . . . very expensive . . ." The man trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face.

He's probably trying to figure out how much money I have - he knows I want it. Jindra set the purse back down on the table and looked over some of the other items on display. He does have a lot of interesting things . . . those earrings are absolutely gorgeous - Mother would love them. Picking up the earrings, Jindra inspected them as the man watched. "These are quite unusual. What type of stone is this?"

"It's called a sea stone. The design is quite exquisite, isn't it? The pearls are of an exceptional quality too."

Putting the earrings back down on the table, she tried not to let her gaze linger on the dragon hide purse. Well, let's see how much of that Vardas merchant blood I really have - I probably won't have a copper left to my name, but it's worth a try. "Hmmm . . . how much are you asking for them?"

The two haggled over the price of the earrings for five or ten minutes until they reached an agreement. Still ignoring the purse, Jindra picked up several other pieces and the bargaining started again. It took about forty-five minutes, but she managed to find something for just about everyone. Silently congratulating herself on her skills, Jindra was calculating how much money she had left when the man picked up the small purse.

"Well miss, that just leaves this;" he smiled at her as he held the glistening hide in his hand.

"I'm sorry . . . oh, the purse. Well, I'm not sure that I want it . . ." The lie sounded weak, even to her. The man arched his eyebrow, but said nothing.

Suddenly a voice from behind Jindra spoke up. "It's very rude to tease your customers, Estoban - especially the pretty ones."

Turning, she found Dryden Fassa standing behind her. "D-Dryden . . . you startled me."

The young man stepped to Jindra's side and bowed slightly. "Please forgive me; but you were doing so well that I didn't want to interrupt. Your grandfather would be impressed with your bargaining skills."

Jindra felt herself blush, "Really? Thanks - although I never really did anything like this before."

Estoban cleared his throat and two looked up at him. "Are we buying or not?" He asked, still holding the purse.

"What's this?" Dryden held out his hand and the man placed the purse in it. "Verrrry nice - dragon hide?" Estoban nodded. Dryden looked at Jindra, "You have very good taste; this is quite lovely."

"Yes, it's beautiful . . . unfortunately I don't think I can afford it though."

"Jindra - you're a Vardas - of course you can afford it." Dryden laughed.

Upon hearing the young man's statement, Estoban made a strangled sound in his throat. Jindra looked at the man with concern, "Sir, are you alright?"

"Uh, yes miss. Did I hear right? You're a Vardas?" The man's voice held a note of worry - and fear.

"Well yes . . . I guess I am. Yellan Vardas is my grandfather."

Estoban blanched at her words. "Uh . . . uh, I uh don't want any trouble with your grandfather - I wasn't trying to cheat you. Look miss, you've bought enough from me already - so why don't I give you a little break on the purse, huh?

Jindra gave the man a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

"Name your price - what are you willing to pay for it? All I ask is that you're fair and don't try to take advantage of me."

Jindra looked at Dryden for help. The young man shrugged his shoulders as he handed her the purse and then whispered in her ear. Recalculating her finances, she nodded her head. Looking up at the waiting Estoban, she named a price. The man relaxed visibly, reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and wiped perspiration from his brow.

"Yes miss, that is quite agreeable - you're more than generous. It's a bargain." Holding out his hands, he took the purse from her and then gathered her other items together. "Let me wrap all of this up for you; it'll only take a few minutes." Estoban turned away and busied himself with packing up Jindra's purchases.

Fishing coins out of her black satchel, she thanked Dryden for his help. "I'm not sure what just happened, but thanks."

"No problem - just trying to help out a lady in distress."

"Distress - was I doing that badly?"

"No actually; although I think you could have gotten those earrings a little cheaper - but we'll let Estoban make some profit today." He gave her a rakish smile.

Estoban had come around to them and held out Jindra's package. She started to reach for it, but Dryden took it instead. "You can't count out your money with your hands full, now can you?"

Jindra smiled her thanks and counted out the money for Estoban. After pocketing the coins, he thanked her for her business, wished her well and hurried back behind the table.

Shifting the package in his hands, Dryden asked "So, where to now?"

"Here let me take that," Jindra reached for the bundle that he held. The young man shook his head, "No it's alright -- I don't mind helping you." He smiled at her, "So, what's next on the agenda?"

"Home I think; I've spent most of my money anyway. So, if you want to hand me that;" she indicated the parcel that he still held, "I'll be on my way."

Dryden gave her that impish smile again, "Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let a nice young lady carry this all the way home?"

Jindra glared at him, "Really Dryden, I think I can manage it."

"Just humor me, okay?"

Jindra sighed in annoyance, "Oh alright . . . c'mon then." Without looking to see if he followed, she turned back and retraced her path through the market.

Surprisingly Dryden was right at her side. "It looks like you were doing some serious shopping; mind if I ask what the special occasion is."

"Just some things for my family - I always like to bring something back for them."

"I remember . . . you're just here visiting. Where are you from?"

"Zaibach."

"Zaibach! I knew that Vardas traded a lot with the empire, but I didn't know he had family there." Jindra could hear the surprise in Dryden's voice as he spoke.

"Yes, my mother is his daughter. My father is the Vice-Secretary of Trade for the Zaibach Empire." She replied.

"Wow . . . how did that happen? Their marriage I mean."

"My parents met when the treaty between Asturia and Zaibach was signed. My father was here as part of the trade delegation. He was only a junior under-secretary at the time, part of his job was to help arrange trade between the two countries."

Dryden looked thoughtful, "Interesting . . . no wonder my old man was always jealous of your grandfather's business with Zaibach."

"Your father does trade with the empire too, doesn't he?"

"Yes, but not like Yellan Vardas does. Your grandfather is a very rich man, did you know that?"

"I think I'm just beginning to realize it; and from that man's reaction today, it seems he's a very powerful one too."

"Well, from a merchant's point of view, money is power."

The two walked quietly for a short time; until the silence was broken when Jindra's stomach started to growl. Guess I should have waited for breakfast. We can't be that far from home - I can get something then. Glancing at Dryden as he walked beside her, she saw that he was giving her a rather strange look.

"What's that look for?"

"Was that your stomach?" he asked.

"I skipped out before breakfast," she replied a bit sheepishly.

"We can stop and get something - I could do with some lunch myself."

"No, that's okay - I'm sure I can last until I get home; besides, I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't have any money. I probably couldn't buy a day-old crust of bread with what I have left."

Smiling he said, "Hey, my treat . . . I think there's a decent pub around this next corner." Turning down the street, he stopped at a door with a faded wooden sign hanging over it. "C'mon, I'll buy you lunch."

"Dryden . . ." Jindra started to say as she stood on the corner several feet away.

"Jindra . . ." he replied, mocking her. "Think of it as a welcome gift from one of Palas' most distinguished families to another."

Jindra smiled, "Then you had better make it a going away gift then; I'm leaving for home the day after tomorrow."

"Really? Wow, that's too bad, I was going to ask you to dinner . . . in that case, I really must insist on buying you lunch."

Gods, he really is just as irritating as Coren. Jindra smiled at the thought.

"Pleeeeeease," Dryden said, batting his eyelashes at her.

Jindra shook her head and threw up her hands as she walked towards him. Balancing the package in one hand, Dryden Fassa opened the door to the pub for her with the other.

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Jindra was packing up the last of her things when there was a knock on the bedroom door, "Come in." Turning, she saw that it was Bethanne. "I'm just finishing up. Is the coach here already?"

"Don't worry, you've still got a little more time. I just wanted to see if you needed any help."

"No, the maid did most of it last night; I'm just getting the last of my things together." Jindra reached for a small wrapped package on the nightstand next to the bed and handed it to her aunt. "What's this?" Bethanne asked, as she looked curiously at the box.

"Just a little something to say thank you for letting me stay the past few weeks . . . but mostly for being such a good friend. I really appreciate all that you've done for me." Jindra gave Bethanne a quick hug. "Go ahead, open it."

Upon opening the box, Bethanne's mouth formed an "O". "Jindra . . . it's beautiful, where did you find it?" Lifting the small purse out of its cocoon of tissue paper, she watched as the sunlight sparkled on the scaled hide.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I absolutely love it! I've never seen anything like it before."

"It's made from dragon hide - I got it in the market. It was so beautiful I just had to buy it." Jindra couldn't help smiling as she spoke.

Bethanne's eyes widened, "Dragon hide? But that's so expensive; Jindra you really shouldn't have spent so much money."

"It's alright Bethanne; it didn't cost me as much as you think. Turns out I'm not all that bad when it comes to bargaining - must be that Vardas blood coming through. But as soon as I saw it, I knew that it would be the perfect gift for you."

"It is . . . I love it." Bethanne hugged Jindra and kissed her cheek, "Thank you." Holding the purse up towards the window, she watched as the sunlight glistened over the scales like falling water. "It is truly a treasure."

Jindra's voice was serious as she spoke, "I'm going to miss you. I hope that you'll come and stay with us in Zaibach - I know that Mother would love to see you too."

"I will, don't worry. I'll write you in a few weeks and let you know when; besides, I can't wait to meet this Folken of yours." The two women were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," Bethanne called out.

The door opened, admitting one of the upstairs maids. The girl made a small curtsy, "Excuse me Madam, but the coach is here for Miss Roh."

"Already? I thought that we'd have more time. Tell the driver that we'll be down in a few minutes; and have someone come up for these other bags as well." The maid curtsied again and closed the door as she departed.

A few minutes later there was another knock as the coach driver entered to retrieve Jindra's remaining luggage. The man was about to leave when Bethanne spotted a large wrapped package in the corner by the bed. Reaching for it, she stopped the man. "Wait a moment, here is something else." She was about to hand the parcel over when Jindra stopped her. "No, wait! That's coming with me."

Bethanne gave her niece a curious look as she handed her the package. She noticed the blush on Jindra's cheeks as the young woman put the parcel down on the bed. "I-It's a gift . . . I don't want anything to happen to it."

"A gift, huh? Now I wonder . . . who could you be giving a special gift to?" She arched her eyebrow at Jindra, "Should I try and guess?"

The younger woman glared at her aunt, "Bethanne!"

"I'm only joking, Jindra." Bethanne smiled, "Well I hope he likes it - whatever it is." Taking a quick look around the room, she continued; "I guess we should be getting you downstairs. Have you got everything?"

"Yes, I think so - although it seems like I always leave her with twice as much as I came." Jindra gave her aunt another quick hug, "I'm going to miss you."

". . . and I you;" Bethanne replied as she returned her niece's embrace. "But I'll visit soon, I promise." She stepped back, "Are you sure you don't want me to ride to the dock with you?"

"No, I'll be fine." Jindra picked up her black leather satchel and the wrapped package from the bed. "I guess I better get going, I don't want to keep the ship waiting."

The two women walked downstairs and out to the waiting coach. They embraced once more before the coachman helped Jindra up into the box. "You better come and visit - I'll be waiting for your letter."

"Give my love to your parents;" Bethanne smiled and waved, "and tell that young man of yours that I look forward to meeting him as well."

"I will," Jindra called back as the coach started down the street.