Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 16

The streets were crowded as all heck. The noise of people going about their daily life could be incredibly annoying, but to Sinthia, this was the best music she could ever ask for. She walked amongst the people, letting their laughter and chatter envelop her. This was the closest she could get to the hustle and bustle of city life. The people, leading their own lives that she probably would never know about, was something that she enjoyed witnessing. In the palace, there was nothing but endless silence. Today had been the exception because all the staff was preparing for the arrival of the Imperial Envoy from the Nova Empire that was coming to attend the Silk Lights Festival that would happen in a few days. But other than that, there was silence. Always silence.

To a degree, Sinthia hated silence. Whenever there was silence in her life, it was closely followed by bad things. Whenever she was still, she was struck by misfortune. So that was why she always moved. Why she was always on the move. Just as long as there wasn’t any silence. As she strode past a stall, she caught a whiff of something sweet frying. The crackling of hot oil as food was submerged into it was mouth-watering. “Oh, wild...! Excuse me, auntie! What’re you frying up??” She leaned over the counter, watching a round, jolly woman straighten from a bend.

“Why, I’m frying silk buns, dear! Want a bit?”

”yes please! How much for it?”

”You get one free, considerin’ ya don’t seem to know what they are!” The woman gave a warm laugh before turning round to get a napkin. “Wow, auntie! You’re too kind! Are you sure?” Sinthia laughed along, feeling a familiar, causal warmth fill her up.  Interacting with normal people who had no biases towards her was nowadays such a rare and special gift that Sinthia cherished it greatly whenever it did happen. “Of course. You’re gonna like these so much, you won’t be able to resist buying a basket-ful, I swear it! Here ya go.” The woman handed her a large, fluffy lavender bun. “It’s purple!”

”Aye! That’s the most popular flavor for the festival. Our kingdom’s colors are officially purple, so people feel patriotic bitin’ into those purple ones.”

Sinthia grinned, then bit into the irresistible fluff.

“Oh!” She gasped, chewing slowly at first, then faster and faster. “This is amazing, Auntie!!”

”’Course it is, dear! My buns have everyone comin’ ‘round to my stall. Make sure ya bring your friends next time!”

”This... it’s amazing!” Sinthia gasped. She knew what Silk buns were from the previous Sinthia’s memories, but she had never actually tasted them before. What she ate when this festival came about were very refined foods made from the cereal plant called Silk Light; the very reason for the celebrations. Silk Light was a grain that could only be harvested at a very specific time once every few years. They called it Silk Light because it’s texture was as soft and beautiful as silk, and when they were ready to be harvested, they would shine like fairy lights in the field. Silk buns were what commoners made and ate, so the princess had no reason to even see one in person. But the Silk bun was perhaps the best way to prepare this rare and wonderful grain! Bursting with flavor, the grain’s natural sweetness was emphasized and on full display. The meals consisting of Silk Light in the Palace were always accompanied by something else, such as another vegetable in season or a light seafood broth, and often it meant that the delicate and light flavor of the grain was overshadowed. “I’ll buy two baskets, aunt. These are good enough to overthrow a kingdom for!”

“Oh?” A low, interested voice said from behind her. Sinthia stopped chewing for a bit, then cautiously turned around. A man stood a little behind her, his head tilted. He had on a dark cloak that partly obscured his face and hair. Sinthia got a very particular, strange feeling from him. Perhaps it was the quiet confidence he stood with. Like as if everything was his. She did not recognize his face, but somehow it felt uncomfortably familiar. “Are the buns really that good?”

”Of course, sonny! Don’t believe me? Have a try!” The auntie handed him one too, and he received it elegantly. Like a gentleman. Sinthia felt a tingle down her spine. The kind she got when a plan was about to go to shit. She watched the man bite into the fluffy bun. A small, refined bite. He chewed, then his light, turquoise eyes widened in surprise. Just like her, he chewed slowly at first, but as the flavors bombarded his tastebuds, his speed increased. Soon, he had another bite, then another and another. And before he even realized it, the bun was all gone. He looked at his gloved hand in dazed shock, then at the auntie, and finally at Sinthia. His mouth hung open, staring in amazement. “My word. I...”

”You liked that one, didn’t ya? Just like she said, it’s good enough to go to war over!” The auntie laughed again, before turning back to tend to the buns in the oil.

Sinthia kept her eyes glued on the man, who had gathered himself by now. “Well, I suppose you were right about those buns. They most definitely could start a war.” He laughed. Sinthia smiled politely in return, automatically feeling herself slip back into proper behavior. That was a sure sign that this man was not an ordinary man at all. “Of course. Rarely am I wrong.”

”Apparently so, young miss.” His politeness was not something frequently seen amongst common folk. Sinthia took note of it.

”So then? Where are you from?” She asked, moving aside so as not to block any other customers that wanted something from the auntie. He followed suit, coming just a tiny bit closer.

”?”

”I get this interesting vibe from you. Like you’re not from here.”

This made the man smile knowingly. “Vibe? What is that?”

”Vibe? Oh. A feeling. I get an interesting feeling. My bad.”

”No, no. Don’t worry about it.” He laughed it off. Although Sinthia felt very weary around him, his smile was a bit disarming. “I’m just a... visitor. I wanted to see the Silk Light festival and experience it myself. It’s very famous, you see.”

”Is it?”

”Oh, quite so.  And what about you? I thought you were a local but you’re just tasting silk buns for the first time along with me.” To this, SInthia laughed. So he had been shadily eavesdropping into the conversation she had been having with the auntie! Whoever this man was, he most definitely not making a good first impression. But that was only secondary to the fact that he had asked a rather troublesome question. She was indeed a local, just not the way he was expecting. She had to construct a lie quickly, for she had no intentions of revealing who she was.

“I moved here some time ago for work, but it was after the last festival. I’ve gotten comfortable with city life, but I’ve got a lot more to experience. Say, what’s your name?” She quickly directed the questions to him. His clear eyes watched her carefully, like he was evaluating her actions and words, the same polite smile hanging on his lips. Oh, how Sinthia hated that look. She felt like she was slowly being discovered.

”My name is Vick.”

”Vick? Is it short for Victor or something?”

Sinthia had simply said it without any particular reason, but the way his smug face immediately shattered caught her by surprise. He blinked twice, then looked away. As his head turned, a lock of startlingly blond hair peaked out. Sinthia had to catch herself from gasping, for she had never seen anything quite like it. Under the hood, whatever little hair Sinthia could see had looked normal and unsuspecting. But the little bit that stuck out into the light of the afternoon sun was mesmerizingly beautiful and golden. She was not sure if she was seeing things or not, but it looked like it glittered and refracted like as if it was a high quality gem in the sunlight.

“Not like Victor, just Vick. And you?”

”Huh?”

”Your name? I offered mine, so I ask yours.”

”Right, yeah! My name. It’s Thia. My name’s Thia. It’s nice to meet you.” Snapping out of the strange daze she had found herself in over his hair, Sinthia forced back the casual mannerisms that she had nearly lost. In the common manner, she held out her hand for a firm handshake. Vick looked at it a bit confused, then awkwardly shook it. “Why so awkward, Just Vick?”

He looked at her, then smiled at her humor. “Well, I suppose this is the first time I’m shaking a lady’s hand.”

”What, you’re not popular with them?”

He chuckled, almost like he was saying that it was the opposite. It would seem he liked laughed a lot. “No, no. I’m just always kissing them. Like this.” His voice became deep and smooth, as he turned her hand that still rested in his and slowly brought the back of it to his lips. Oh, so this was the kind of person he was. Commoners rarely ever kissed hands like so, because it was how nobles and knights greeted noble and royal women. Only in specific circumstances would a commoner kiss the hand, and that was if the hand belonged to a noble or if it belonged to a female lover. Sinthia was confident that he was unaware of her status, so that left a single possibility. He was flirting.

Sinthia felt the corners of her mouth twitch. He was quite brave to try such childish things with her. After all, she may be in the body of a twenty-year-old princess, but her previous life had ended when she was about thirty-five, and married thrice. There simply was not much that could surprise her in terms of men and their behavior and intentions, and this young boy could not hope to compare to the infuriating men she had dealt with a lifetime ago. Sinthia burst out laughing, quickly snatching her hand away to wrap it round her midriff, doubling over. Vick’s eyes went wide, a wave of embarrassment flooding his body. “Why are you laughing?” He asked, trying to sound calm.

Sinthia straightened, her laughter now light. She planted her hands on her hips, then exclaimed, “No, I suddenly thought to myself, “what if those ladies hadn’t washed their hands in a while? Still gonna kiss them?””

To this, Vick cringed slightly. For some reason, this woman was deeply unsettling. She looked young, naive and impressionable, but she also felt like she could see through the things he did. And she didn’t hesitate to say such disgusting and foul things even to a stranger. He had met many commoners all over the continent, but it would seem the Ophelian ones were something else. “Well, that’s an interesting...perspective I’ll admit.”

”You should start shaking them.” She advised, turning round to begin walking away.

”Shaking hands?”

”Oh yeah. Then you make sure to wash them after.”

A new character has appeared DUN DUUUUUN!! VICK the questionable flirty stranger.