Bound in Spirals Ch. 05

"I can't go shopping! I need to get moving, I've already spent too much time fooling around." He said, his voice turning to a mumble toward the end.

Lorry's cheeks puffed out and she stared daggers at him. "Humph. You can't go traveling without proper supplies, you'll starve before you get anywhere! I mean look at you, you don't even have shoes!" She said indignantly.

Sam wanted to argue, but he knew that she was right. "Alright, I suppose I do need shoes at least." He grumbled.

Lorry smiled. "Good, now let's go to the tailor first, then the cordwainer. Need to get you out of these rags." She said, tugging the T-shirt with a frown. Before he had the chance to ask what a cordwainer was, she had already grasped his hand and was pulling him down the cobbled street.

Sam was surprised when he didn't feel her magic and he glanced down at her hand. 'Ah, that must be it...' He thought, looking at the green glove that covered halfway up her forearm. He began wondering if he should ask her if he could get some gloves too when he realized she had come to a stop.

He looked up to see a two story brick building with a small sign that read tailor in a swirling cursive. Lorry was humming softly as she dragged him into the building before he could get a better look at it.

"Lenwrie! I'm back, and I brought a new... friend!" Lorry shouted up the stairs that rose to the left of the small room. Sam could have sworn that she had been about to say pet rather than friend, but dismissed it as his imagination.

The sound of rapid footsteps came from the upper floor, and then, a short, thin woman came stumbling down the stairs. Her short brown hair was messy with bedhead on one side, but her eyes were wide awake. "Lorry! It's been so long!" The woman said excitedly, jumping into a hug with Lorry. She started chattering to Lorry so fast that Sam couldn't understand anything but a word here and there due to the strong accent. Strangely, Lorry seemed to be speaking in the accent now too.

Sam jumped as the two turned to him simultaneously. "Ooh, right good new... friend you've found." Lenwrie said, and this time Sam was certain he'd heard the hesitation. 'What have I gotten myself into...' He suppressed the urge to flee as the both looked him up and down. "Come, come. I'll get ya measured right and fix up whatever ya need." She said, grabbing his other hand and pulling him and Lorry into the back room.

Before he could blink, he found himself stripped to his underwear with Lenwrie wrapping a cloth marked with lines around his chest and writing the measurement onto a piece of parchment. Lorry took turns between watching Lenwrie work and holding up different samples of cloth next to him, nodding occasionally, as if deciding which would look best.

"So, which design were ya thinkin' of?" Lenwrie asked after finishing her measurements. She seemed to have been directing the question to Lorry, but Sam decided to answer it anyway.

"I just want simple clothes for traveling. Kinda like what I'm already wearing, if possible. Maybe slightly more loosely fitting pants though, oh and pockets." He said, hurrying to pull his pants back on. Lorry puffed out her cheeks at him, looking upset that he'd answered.

"Well, the blue does look nice, so make the ensemble coordinated around that. And, I suppose simplicity will have to do." Lorry pouted, crossing her arms. 'And she called me sulky...' Sam thought sourly.

"Righto. Come on back round nighty-ish, should be done up by then. I need get my binder down here..." She said, trailing off as she started scribbling notes on the parchment. "I bet ya will be off to Credden's next? Yes, I thought so. Take some new socks with ya then, can't go wearing them ratty things around." She said, nodding to a basket of clean, paired black socks.

"Ah yes, he did come running into town in those." Lorry said absently, pulling a brown leather purse from somewhere in the folds of her dress. It clicked as she popped open the silver clasp. Sam couldn't help but gape as she pulled out a faded gold coin, square shaped with rounded edges, and flung it to Lenwrie who caught it without looking. The purse was packed so full with the spectrum of coins, that they did not even clink as she hid it away again. "Pull your jaw closed, Sam. You look like the boy in the bathhouse! And pick out a few pairs already. We need to go on, we still have much to do, you know."

Sam's teeth clicked as he shut his mouth. Lenwrie snickered as she glanced at him. He hurriedly grabbed a few bundles of socks that seemed the right size, and stumbled as Lorry ushered him out hastily, waving to Lenwrie. "I did tell you that I had coin to spare, did I not?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah I suppose you did." He replied, scratching his head as they walked the dirty gray and brown stone road. "I didn't know what to expect though really... That was gold right?"

"Yes, it was." She answered simply, then her tone turned slightly defensive. "I have much of my coin in Stralden, only a small amount is with me, and none of my platinum. I usually use a silver square for these sorts of things, but Lenwrie is an old friend from childhood."

Sam didn't know how he should respond. It seemed like she was confused about whether he was amazed or disappointed somehow, though he could not tell why she would think that. 'Jesus Christ, She's seriously loaded...' He thought, wondering what he'd have done if he had all that money back in his world. His mouth seemed a bit dry all of a sudden. 'Maybe... Maybe it would be possible to convince her to come with Theodore and I... Gah, what am I thinking! I shouldn't try to take advantage of her more than I already am.'

"I don't think I've ever seen that much gold before, or silver for that matter." He admitted honestly. "You must be quite good at your magic to be so rich."

She looked surprised at his words, then glanced up at him suspiciously. When she saw that he wasn't being sarcastic, he caught a faint flush of pink to her cheeks and a small smile before she could turn away. "Well, I'm not that wealthy... Well, not compared to most of the high nobles of Stralden." She said coyly. "But, I suppose I've done well for myself considering my background..."

"Yeah, I'd say so!" He said. "What's your job, something with familiars?"

"Yes, for the most part I bond non-bind mage people with familiars, since they cannot do it themselves. The sever mage nobles are my most frequent customers, though occasionally I get another weaker bind mage or a mundane person." She explained. "Sometimes I do other work as well, but familiars are by far my most lucrative line of work."

"Huh, sounds interesting..." He said. 'I wonder if she can tell me why Letta has been acting so strangely...' Sam sighed and brushed his hair back. His eyes were trained on the ground. 'I'm worried about her. I hope she can get over this.' He looked up to see Lorry looking at him questioningly. "Ah, sorry. Just thinking about some things. After we see this, er, cordwainer person, I need to check up on my friend. Along with a few other things besides."

"You know you can't escape from me so easily." Lorry said, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him sternly. "I'll be able to find you. I grew up here ya know."

Sam sighed again and shook his head. "I'm not trying to get away from you. I really do need to check up on some things. My friend is in critical condition, I have to make sure he's alright."

"Okay, I suppose I will allow you to take some time to do what you need, but I will come with you." She said, letting her arms fall.

'Damn, it'll be difficult if she sees Letta. I'll need to convince her to wait while I go somehow, or give her the slip if necessary...' He thought with a frown. "Fine."

He suddenly noticed that she was no longer walking next to him. When he turned, she had stopped in front of a small wood house, not much bigger than Dandeery's. It's roof sagged precariously, and the walls looked to be ready to crumble to dust at any moment. The small holes covering the wood gave it a porous appearance. The open front allowed them to see inside where a thin man was mending a worn shoe.

"Hello Credden, I need to purchase some new boots for this boy. He ruined his previous ones." Lorry said, glancing at Sam with a firm look.

'What the hell is she looking at me like that for? It was an accident! And why is she treating me like a child?!' Sam thought and muttered under his breath as he glowered at her.

"Come here Sam. He cannot check your size when you are standing way over there." Sam was tempted to just walk away, but he really did need some new shoes.

He looked at Credden who had looked up from his work. His sturdy face was lined with age and he had a fatherly look about him. His clean cut black hair was flecked with silver. The man shrugged at him as if to say 'What are ya gonna do' and Sam chuckled softly. He walked over and sat down on the low wooden stool next to Credden.

"What're ye searching for, lad? Something for work it all?" Credden asked in an accent clearly not from Eltinn. Ignoring Lorry's attempts to speak for Sam, he gestured to the walls that were covered with seemingly hundreds of different shoes and boots.

Sam wasn't certain what he meant by that, so he just answered the first question. "I just need something that I can travel in, tough but still comfortable. If that's possible."

"Certainly, I have some o' that type you can test out 'ere." He replied, and set down the shoe in his hands. He stood and grabbed a couple pairs of boots seemingly without looking and set them at Sam's feet. "Let me know which ye think is yer fit."

He handed Sam the first pair of brown leather boots, and he began to try them on.

———

Dettella smoothed out her pale violet silk dress. Her hands trembled slightly, and she thought she might be able to hear her heart beating in her ears. Outside her carriage, she heard the winnem squawking anxiously. She couldn't blame them, not right after the attack. 'I-It seems that Tenall has received word of my departure...' She thought, her suspicions having been confirmed.

"Wh-What reason could they possibly have for attempting to mu-mur-murder you, milady? I'm sure they must have been b-brigands, not assa... assassins!" Her handmaiden Yalene said, her voice quavering. No matter how shaken she must have been, Yalene was many times worse. She clutched Dettella's hands and looked to her for assurance.

Dettella could feel the jerky tremors of the girl's hands. 'It has been quite a while since I was so shaken, but I must not let her worry herself to death.' She forced her composure back to steadiness. "Of course. I was only considering the possibility, but doubtless it must have been the rogues we've heard of around here. The guards should have no more difficulty now that they will not be surprised." She said, but she knew that the group were far too well equipped to be mere brigands.

'She must have panicked to send someone so recklessly. Perhaps it was not so wise to taunt her so, by saying I was leaving for a time to research crystals in the east...' Dettella thought, and smiled down at Yalene, giving no sign of her own inner fears. Yalene's wide, trusting, amber eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears. 'I should have taken one of the elder handmaidens. She is still so young, and I was too selfish. She should not have to face this danger for my sake.' Dettella regretfully admitted.

She pulled Yalene up and drew her into her soft bosom, and stroked her red hair gently. "Once we cross Crestell's boundaries into the tundra we shan't be bothered by thieves." She said softly and kissed the top of the girl's head. When she finally released her, Yalene was not shaking nearly as much and she looked grateful, if a bit flushed. Dettella supposed that Yalene felt she shouldn't be so familiar with her mistress.

Dettella slid back the curtain covering the carriage window and watched the guards who rode in formation around them, their large, armored winnem chirping occasionally. Six of her purple clad guard that remained after the attack were glaring out over the fields with eyes like hawks. The seventh rode at the center, a few feet from the gilded wagon.

Darrel glanced at her as she opened the curtain, his steel gray eyes were harder than any man's she'd seen before. His gaze turned away after a brief nod at her and returned to the road. Darrel was very handsome for his age, at least in her opinion, but he had little to no personality that she could see. His face seemed to have been chiseled from stone, and his expression never changed. She wondered what he had been like as a child, before he had become one of captains of the high guard.

Dettella had not expected him of all people to be waiting among the guardians who accompanied her. She suspected that her brother had asked him personally to join them. Hennel was one of few people that Darrel seemed to respect, and certainly the only noble. At first she had been frustrated with Hennel for doing it, but after he had singlehandedly killed nine men in defense of the carriage, she'd relented.

'I really should learn some self defense,' she thought, then sighed, 'If only I could learn that from books, then I certainly would not procrastinate so. Perhaps the elves can teach me something beyond the spear and swordplay that the guards know. I cannot trot about wearing something so unwieldy.'

Dettella franticly looked away, realizing she'd been staring at Darrel. Despite herself, she felt a faint burning in her cheeks. She pulled closed the curtains and was thankful that Yalene had not been watching. 'Why am I blushing like a girl caught watching the young men sparring?! I am a woman, and if I find a man attractive I should not be embarrassed by it.' She thought bitterly. 'If only I were as unflappable as everyone seems to believe.'

The truth was, Dettella had been sheltered for close to the entirety of her 25 years and still had the tenderness of a young maiden, in spite of all of her training for court. Only two years ago, she had not even seen the city outside the castle walls. 'No matter. I am out in the world now, and I will need to harden. Else I will be crushed by the walls closing in on me.' She thought, her expression becoming grim.

"Wh-What is wrong milady? You seem angry." Yalene said suddenly, and when Dettella looked at her sharply she flinched back.

"My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you. I was only thinking of the situation of the war at the moment." She said, wishing she did not need to lie.

"Ah yes, I heard it is going very well! They were stupid to try to force their foolish ideas on us!" Yalene said enthusiastically. "Slaves are slaves. The females are just as inferior as the males are."

Dettella smiled, but inside she was not so sure about it. She thought neither kingdom was in the right. As much as she had loved her mother, she could not agree with those laws. With Tenall as queen now, she doubted it would change in her lifetime, unfortunately. The queen of Stralda, who likely sat at her throne in Stralden at that very moment, would likely not change her ways anytime soon either.

She took a deep breath and decided to try to relax herself, they still had quite a long way to travel until they reached the edge of the Leddin forest.

———

Half an hour after meeting Credden, Sam and Lorry were on their way to Mother Ranlenn's. He was already appreciating the comfort his new boots offered, no longer feeling every shard of glass and sharp pebble on the cobblestones underfoot. It would take a little while to get used to the new dark gray pair, he still hadn't gotten used to his last pair when they were eaten.

'I think Lorry might be mad at me for some reason... She's so demanding.' He thought as he glance at her from the corner of his eye. Her arms were crossed under her breasts, and she wore a frown on her slightly chubby face. He chuckled softly, he couldn't take her anger seriously when she puffed out her cheeks like that.

As soon as he laughed, she rounded on him. "Sam, I am the one paying for you, I deserve to pick out what I want you to wear!" She said.

Sam sighed in frustration, "I don't really give a shit what you want me to wear, I'm leaving today, and I need clothes that will last a while. Besides, why does it even matter to you? I'm going to be gone!" He said, and as he saw her expression change he instantly regretted it. Lorry raised an open hand.

Sam saw his stepmother there, and he staggered back. He raised his arms to block his face as he stumbled and fell to the ground. "I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. P-Please, Britney, please! I really didn't mean it, I won't do it again!" He cried, as he tried to push away. He felt the pounding pain of each bruise on his body. Tears streamed down his face and stung as they seeped into the broken skin on his cheeks.

He curled up against the side of his bed, hoping she believed him. She did not. He whimpered as the flat of the pan came down against slap his side. 'Daddy, why did you leave me?! Please come back!' He wished desperately. The pan came down again crack against his ribs and he felt something break. His mouth was wide in a silent scream.

"I-I didn't, didn't know," thump, "know that they were for the party!" He stammered between sobs. "I'll, I'll make new brownies, and a cake too! I p-promise..." He wept. 'Why won't she believe me?' He asked himself. 'Dad why did you have to die?!'

Finally, the blows ceased. Sam laid there crying softly long after she slammed his door shut. He crawled with agonizing slowness to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Reaching inside, he felt around under the top. He felt the tape and pulled out what he'd hidden there. Clutching the ring tightly, he wondered if maybe he deserved his punishments...

"Sam?! Sam I'm sorry, I wasn't really going to hit you... Please forgive me, I was wrong." The woman had wet lines on her face. "Please don't cry... I won't make you wear what I want you to. Just, please forgive me." She said despairingly.

'Wh-Where am I?' He wondered, as he saw the woman crouched down next to him. His vision was blurry, why was it blurry? 'How did I get here?' He saw another woman looking at him from her door, and a man who had stopped in the street, carrying a woven basket. "What happened? Who are you?" He asked.

"Huh? I-I'm Lorry, remember? I've been with you all morning," she said, "I've been buying you clothes." Sam dug in his memory, and suddenly it all poured back in. He scampered away from her, pushing against the cobblestones with his feet.

His eyes were wide and he felt panicked. 'I need to run away. I need to get to Theodore and run away. We can escape, we can get to Letta, she'll protect me.' He thought panic-stricken as Lorry set into another bout of sobs.

"I'm sorry Sam. Please, don't be 'fraid of me. It was wrong for me to even think of hittin' ya. I swear I won't do it again!" Lorry's accent returned as she cried into her hands. Sam didn't know what to do, what if she was lying? What if she was just saying that so he would trust her again? She would probably just try to hit him again.

'No, no, I should give her a second chance. I need to calm down, think rationally, not emotionally.' He thought, holding his head as he tried to stop himself from running away. 'It's not like I can escape anyway, dad would want me to stay with Britney for him. She told me he said that before he died. No! I'm not at home. I'm fine. She isn't here, this is Lorry, not Britney. Get ahold of yourself Sam, you're fine, stop thinking about it!'