Some Rash Kids

"You think this is acceptable!?"

"Take it or leave it kid!"

I push through the crowd just behind Katherine, eventually leading to an unusually open space. All of the onlookers have taken a few steps back and now surround the source of this commotion.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

In the centre of this mess is a young man that I've seen only once before, but I would be senile to have forgotten. He is dressed as if prepared for a bout with monsters at a moment's notice, sword fastened securely at his side. His short brown hair sits just above a pair of furious eyes. Standing barely a step from Leon is a man whom I can only assume is selling something. The young hero is pushing his soured face towards the man.

"Fifteen silver for three apples!? Nobody would be so foolish as to purchase at such a price!"

"Do you doubt the quality!? I will have you know that these were freshly sourced from a private orchard only this morning! You won't find anything better in this whole kingdom!"

The merchant is an old lad, his young kids playing with a dog in the back of their stall. His products are a complete mismatch for anybody other than an adventure. On one side is a set of foodstuffs, from fresh fruit to preserved meat. The other side has things like rope, kindling supplies, and even a hatchet.

With Leon basically spitting in his face, the merchant struggles to keep himself from grappling the young hero. Fortunately, he manages to keep violence from breaking out.

"Don't blame me for your own benightedness! Go run to your mum and get her to teach you a thing or two!"

"You swine—!"

The merchant finds his collar in a death grip, the force of Leon's hostility pushing him against his own stall. His eyes seem to flicker for a moment when he slams his head against the solid wood. Despite this sudden violence, the merchant finds room to sneer down at the young man.

"Looks like she didn't teach you manners either! What did she even do?"

"You…you…!"

Each word makes Leon's face turn a deeper and deeper shade of red.

"I'LL CUT YOU DOWN RIGHT HERE!"

"I'd like to see you try! I bet you couldn't hit a crippled horse!"

The merchant is putting up a tough front, but I can see his eyes glance down at Leon's sword. If the young man is this easy to rile up, who knows how quickly he'll turn to murder. Fortunately for him, he has bought himself enough time to make the first move. With his aggressor blinded by rage, the merchant feels across the counter to the well-sharpened hatchet.

Blood starts rushing to my head as his fingers land just beside the weapon. It benefits nobody to let this young hero die in a random argument over apples.

"I have to do something…!"

"That's enough!"

Before I can make my move, a large figure steps in from the wall of civilians. His silver armour shines in the slowly fading daylight and a large axe covers much of his back.

"Finally, a Knight! Please remove this half-witted child!"

"Bernard, this man is a fraud!"

Both make an appeal to the young knight, both certain that they can obtain his favour. The merchant especially has a satisfied grin now that the authorities have arrived.

"Do not harm that man, Leon. Even for you, I cannot turn a blind eye."

"Haha! See that, kid! Unhand me at once if you know what's good for you!"

"However—"

Bernard takes a heavy step forward and directs his glare towards the merchant.

"Leon's concerns must also be heard. We cannot allow merchants with intent to do wrong walk free."

Colour drains from the merchant's face as the tides seem to have turned. He looked briefly suspicious when the two referred to each other by name, but it still felt like the knight was on his side. With Bernard's next words, his hands have started to tremble.

"I must perform a brief inspection of your goods. If you are innocent, then you should have no fears."

"W-Wait! That isn't fair! You can't just start digging through my merchandise!"

Dig through the merchandise Bernard does. The merchant attempts to stop the knight, but is met with a stronger hold by Leon. Any little bit of ground he makes is stopped by being slammed into the post of his stall. At my side, I can even see energy forming at the tip of Katherine's hand. The colourless mass seems aimed and ready to intercept the old man if he tried to make any moves.

"You can't do this! I haven't done anything wrong!"

Once again a hand reaches towards the hatchet. His fingers begin dancing around the wooden shaft, looking for a good grip as none of the heroes seem aware of his movements. The young knight has barely started to pick up one bag before the merchant nearly finds a weapon in his hand.

"Now everybody just hold on for one moment!"

Before anybody can be hacked in the head, my body moves me into the centre of this whole mess. Katherine quietly yelps in surprise as I tug her hat over her face, the lapse of concentration breaking the energy she had been collecting. When she is able to see again, her oversized hat is in my hands. The merchant jumps at my sudden shouting, keeping him off of his hatchet long enough for me to clear the distance.

"Ah—!"

The merchant tried to back away, but he was never my target to begin with. My words were for the young heroes alone.

"You lot need to calm down!"

I place the hat atop his head and pull it down to cover his face. With my other hand, I grab the neck of Bernard's chestplate and tug him away from the counter. I don't manage to move either of the young men very far, but I have taken complete control of the situation.

"I take my eyes off of you all for one second and you're flapping about causing trouble! I'm so very sorry for this!"

Leon, in his surprise, loosens his grip on the merchant's collar. This allows me to free him from the vicious boy. No matter how hard he tries to pull off his covering, I keep the hat firmly in place.

"Seriously, these young people are so quick to anger! We really can't leave them to run free, can we?"

Seeing my cheerful grin and the pacification of Leon, the merchant loses much of the tension and begins to fix his shirt.

"Y-You're telling me! What will be our future if this is how the next generation behaves!?"

"I must say, the very thought keeps me awake at night!"

The crowd, unsure if the show has ended, slowly begin to return to their own business. Meanwhile, all three heroes haven't quite figured out what is happening and stand in a dumbfounded silence.

"Now, I must ask that you forgive these boys here. They're still up and coming and I'll see to that they'll stay out of trouble. Here—"

I reach towards the counter and set aside a few apples from the pile. Reaching towards my coin purse, I remember once again that I have no way of knowing how much they cost based on the signs. As such, I turn to the young knight quietly watching from the side of the stall.

"Hey kid, how much does it say these apples are?"

"A-Ah, fifteen silver for three…"

"Fifteen silver? Got it, I'll take three."

A couple of gold coins soon find their way into the merchant's hands as I push them into his palms. Looking around the spread of goods, I see some other items that catch my eye. After pulling down the hat once more over Leon's face, I start pointing around the stall.

"I'll do you a favour as an apology! I'll take that piece of salt pork for the road, that handy-looking sack too. Ah, you even have a box of ship biscuits! Our girl is pretty fond of those, so I'll take a box as well."

"T-Thank you for your patronage!"

"Don't worry about it!"

Bernard finally recovers from shock and looks as if he wants to say something. Of course, I'm quick to disallow that desire.

"Hey, help me tally up the coin for this! Hurry!"

"O-Okay…"

Once I get the money laid out on the table, I pack away my change and pick up the backpack full of goods. For a second time, the knight steps forward. He is much more meek than when he was about to storm the stall at full force.

"Rado, I still need to—"

"Hold it right there, bud! We still have a lot of work to do, so take these and get back to preparing for our trip!"

"But—!"

"Hurry up now! We're running out of daylight!"

I shove the bag into his arms and start pushing him into the moving crowds.

"Also, take this one with you. I had better not see you lot getting into any more trouble!"

Leon is finally given a chance to breathe, but not a chance to complain as the tides take him along with the rest of the heroes. It's only once they all disappear that I let out an exhausted sigh.