A Tale of Two Sweethearts?

Gato sighed as he walked over to the town gate. Well, that was a horridly long time, trying to get a decent weapon at a halfway decent price. To think I still got nothing, did I?

He walked on past the bakery, where there was a fresh loaf of bread sitting on the windowsill. He looked at the price figure that was assigned to the loaf before he slapped his face with his hand. Oh, right, I don’t know what the prices of anything are because I can’t read words or numbers yet. What am I, an idiot?

“Excuse me, young man,” the baker said from the other side of the window. “Are you interested in paying for this loaf of bread? It’s only worth 15 silver pieces.”

Gato, as he removed his palm from his face, grimaced. “I would, but I don’t have nearly enough money to pay for it and do much of anything with the rest of it.”

The baker groaned. “I swear, this town is getting poorer and poorer as time goes on,” he said. “I don’t know who allowed this travesty, but I am not sure how to keep a profit at this rate.”

Gato sighed. So, I’m not alone in thinking that something’s wrong with this town these days. Who knew?

“Young man? Are you okay?”

“Peachy, if I’m able to be honest, though I do not know how to help you. My family doesn’t make much on the farm trade, and I literally cannot help much outside of being an apprentice to whoever can make it work for me.” Gato then perked up. “Speaking of which—”

“Sorry, young man, but I can’t take on any apprentices. I’m literally going broke as it stands.”

Drat… this is bad.

“Still, I know that there’s a fair bit of work opportunity to be had in town, if you ever feel up to it,” the baker said. “How about you go to the forum in town and ask around for work?”

Gato blinked. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Well, it’s worth a shot, is it not?” The baker then moved the loaf of bread inside. “Sorry to burst your bubble earlier. I honestly wish I had a way to give you an apprenticeship.”

Gato shook his head. “No worries, sir. I understand where you’re coming from.” With that, he walked over to the town forum, in the middle of town.

O=====||===============================>

Gato sighed as he arrived in the town forum. The entire place looked like it was a festering cesspool of things that needed to be thrown out of society. There were thugs all over the place, at least based on what initial impression they gave off. To add to that, the structures that made up the forum were in such a state of disrepair. In his mind’s eye, he could easily see that the forum was supposed to house a beautiful garden that surrounded the entire part of town they were in, a stone column in each corner of the forum, a platform for standing on to get people’s attention, and plenty of seats that would allow for people to sit down.

Instead of that, however, he saw that there were many people who sat around, each of them wearing cloaks that obscured their features. He couldn’t tell who they were. It was as if the cloaks were hiding all traces of who they were. Whatever was going on, he did not know.

I can’t believe this is the local advertising and meeting place.

He shrugged before he started on his way through. While he walked, he thought about what to say.

How am I supposed to do this? “Hello, I would like a job. Who do I speak with to get one?” Does that even work?

“Hey, kid, what are you doing here?”

Gato turned to look at the one who spoke, who sounded like a woman. It was one of the many people who sat around here, though this one was standing. “I was told to come here to look for work. Is that a problem?”

“No, but yes,” the woman said. “What I mean is, it’s not a problem to come here for work, but only if you want to have a permanent black mark on your social records.”

Gato drooped his head. “I don’t want that at all,” he said. “How am I supposed to get work like what the baker suggested I do if this place is not the right place to go find work?”

“Wait, the baker suggested it to you?” the woman asked. “Well, this is strange.”

Gato raised his head. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is, the baker had no right to share that with you. He might have thought you had to be a normal rascal from around here, but there’s no way you could be such a thing.”

Gato felt a vein pulse in his head. What’s with this situation? Is the baker trying to add to the crime portion of town? I do not know.

“You okay?”

Gato turned to face the one who spoke this time, who sounded like a man around Jeremiah’s age. Much like everyone else who took residence in the forum, he wore a cloak that fully obscured his features, but he had a short sword attached to his side.

The woman Gato was speaking with earlier gasped. “Bat, what are you doing?”

“Just making sure this kid doesn’t cause trouble for you or anyone else here, Wolf,” the man said.

What sort of names are those supposed to be? Code names?

“Well, he isn’t causing us any trouble,” the woman, Wolf, said. “In fact, someone had to have tricked him into coming over here.”

The man, Bat, put a hand to his chin. “Is that right? Well, kid, I’ll give you one chance to tell us the truth. Who told you to come over here?”

Gato began rubbing his forehead with one hand. “I don’t know his name, but he’s the baker in town.”

“Which baker?”

Gato opened his mouth, but then paused. Wait, we have more than one baker in town? Who else bakes bread in this town we call home?

“What’s the matter?”

“I hate to break it to you, but I didn’t know Alfheimwood had multiple bakers in the town walls.”

Wolf cleared her throat. “I think we’ll have to start from the beginning. Which direction did you come from?”

“I was near the town gates when I was next to this baker’s shop,” Gato said. “Is that a problem?”

Bat sighed as he shook his head. “No, it isn’t. However, this baker should know not to do that to anyone. What did the baker say you’d find when you got over here?”

“Work to take care of, just by asking around for it,” Gato said.

Wolf snorted. “Yeah, as if that will ever help you out here.”

Bat interjected, as Gato was about to say something. “Just because you think that someone should give you a work opportunity here does not mean it is your best shot at getting a job, or even an apprenticeship. Just a heads up.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Gato asked. “I’m literally the last child in my family, so to speak. I need an apprenticeship that will turn into a full-time job.”

“Well, kid, I hope you get the job somehow, because it won’t happen here, I’m afraid.”

Gato turned to face the newcomer, who had to be an elderly man, given his cane. “And you are…?”

“Call me Goat,” the old man said. “It’s stated around here to never give your real name to anyone that lives here for work-related purposes, no matter what.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“What I mean is, in case you couldn’t tell this already, this part of town is a hive of scum and villainy. Hardly anyone would be caught dead coming here for work. You seem to be the exception to that rule.”

Gato nodded. Okay, that makes sense so far. What am I supposed to do next to get this over with?

“Kid?”

“Yes, Goat?”

“What were you trying to accomplish by coming here?” Goat asked.

Gato put a hand to his chin. “Well, to put it plainly, I was trying to get a job of some sort. I don’t have any way of getting to work so far, mainly because I’m the known youngest child of my family.”

Goat sighed. “Well, let’s just say that you need to maintain the proper appearance of a normal citizen, kid. It won’t do you any good to be a member of this underside of society.”

Gato nodded. “My apologies, Goat,” he said. “I’ll be on my way out of here.”

As Gato walked away from the town forum, he heard Goat give off a wet cough.

Wait, hold up, WHAT?!

He spun around and rushed over to Goat. “Are you alright?!”

“Urk… I’m sorry you had to hear that, kid. My old bag of bones won’t let me live peacefully any longer.”

“Don’t worry, young one,” Wolf said, placing a hand on Gato’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of healing Goat. He’s sort of our mentor in this place, so he’s our responsibility.”

Bat grabbed Gato’s other shoulder and lifted him up. “I’ll be honest, you being here is more of a mistake than anything else, considering the baker you mentioned tricked you into coming here.”

“Maybe,” Gato said, “but still—”

Bat covered Gato’s mouth and turned him back around. “None of that, now,” he said. “Get out of here while you still can. That’s an order.” With that, he removed his hand from Gato’s mouth and pushed him away from the town forum. “While you’re out of here, check with the baker about why he put you in this position, will you?”

Gato turned to face Bat and nodded. “Okay, will do,” he said, walking away.

O=====||===============================>

Gato walked on his way back to the baker’s shop near the town gates. What will I say to this baker when I see him next? I hope he will not make me feel like a nimrod over this.

As soon as he made it back to the shop in question, he raised his fist to knock on the door, but the door opened before he could do anything else. The person who opened the door was a young woman who looked to be about the same age as Simon and Andrew, wearing a baker’s outfit and a hairnet of some sort over her auburn hair. “Welcome to the Gourmet Lady Bakery. How can I help you today?”

Gato blinked. “How many other bakers work here?” he asked.

The young woman tilted her head to one side. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Could you please elaborate?”

“I mean, last I was here, there was a male baker putting away a loaf of bread he said was worth 15 silver pieces.”

The young woman sighed as she pinched her nose momentarily. “No, this bakery doesn’t employ men as bakers,” she said. “However, I will file a report to the Town Watch, to make sure they know what’s going on here.”

“Yeah, I hope you get the authorities involved in this one,” Gato said. “This is going to be one of those days, right?”

The young woman nodded. “Come in, will you?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“I need to have you inside to help me describe the baker you saw in this store.”

Gato nodded. “Sure,” he said, walking into the bakery. Upon hearing the door close behind him, he turned to face the baker. “What’s going on?”

The baker sighed and drooped her head. “I was in the middle of baking something that I’m not ready to sell when I noticed you walking on over here.”

“Oh, okay, I see.”

The baker raised her head. “Now, how about we talk about what this impostor looked like?”

“Sure, let’s do that,” Gato said. “How do we do this?”

The baker walked over to the owner’s side of the counter, pulled out a parchment and drawing lead, and laid the parchment on the counter. “What did the impostor look like?”

“Okay, the impostor was at least slightly rotund, and he had a thick beard,” Gato said.

“Before we continue, how pudgy is this man, really?” the baker asked. “On a scale of 0-10, 0 being not at all pudgy and 10 being obese. How pudgy is he?”

“I’d say between 2 and 3,” Gato said.

“Okay, good thing,” the baker said, drawing the best rendition of such a man. “Now, regarding his face, what did it look like outside of his beard?”

“He has a hooked nose, a mole under his left eye, and no mustache,” Gato said. “Oh, he also has brown hair and black eyes.”

“What shape were his eyes?” the baker asked.

“They look like sideways ovals,” Gato said, “and he had no eyebrows.”

“How much hair did he have on the top of his head?”

“He had a thinning hairline all around the top of his head.”

“What was the length of the beard, do you imagine?”

“It had to be down to his stomach.”

The baker took a few more moments to finish drawing the sketch before she showed Gato. “Is this the man?”

Gato nodded. “Yes, that’s the man.”

“Thank you for being an excellent help to me, young man,” the baker said. “Now, would you like to try a sample of our bread?”

Gato looked at the baker with a raised eyebrow. “What’s the catch?”

“Oh, good for you. You’re smart to check for that. It’s one sample per household per day.”

Gato nodded. “Okay, I’ll give this sample a try. Where do I find it?”

“It’s next to the door, on the way out of here,” the baker said.

Gato walked over to the door and found a platter of bread. “Thank you,” he said, picking up a slice of bread and giving it a small bite. Upon swallowing, he turned to the baker. “This is a lot better than I thought it would be! You make the best bread around, I can guarantee that much.”

“Thank you for your kind words,” she said, a small smile on her face. “Now, I hope to see you tomorrow, give or take.”

Gato nodded. “Sure.” With that, he walked out of the bakery.

Okay, how am I supposed to handle this from this point onward? Do I even need to know that now? Maybe…?

Still, as he walked on his way to the town gate, he —

“GANG WAY! COMING THROUGH!”

—Gato turned to look in the speaker's direction. Huh?! Who said that?

The person who spoke, a young woman about his age, panted as she ran in his direction, her golden blond hair waving through the air behind her. She wore what had to be a dancer’s loose-fitting outfit, dyed in a magenta and sky blue color scheme. He noticed that the low-cut nature of the blouse that she wore exposed a small part of her cleavage. As near as he could tell, though, he was certain he recognized her from somewhere. He just didn’t know where.

Still, when the girl who came his way was within what had to be ten feet away from him, she slowed to a halt. “Ah, Gato,” she said between breaths. Upon taking a deep breath, she said, “I didn’t expect you to be in town today. What brought this on?”

Gato blinked a few times rapidly. “I was in town because of a situation that happened last night at my family’s farm,” he said in reply, looking her in the eye. “Also, remind me, who are you?”

This caused the girl to facepalm. “Oh, right,” she said. “You probably don’t remember me. It has been six years since we last played together.”

Come again? Six years since we last played together? “That’s probably the case, but I don’t really remember much regarding my childhood, unless it is the different chores my parents had me doing for what has to be no reason at all.”

This time around, the girl apparently tripped on her own two feet. “Ow,” she said between a groan. “Gato, this isn’t funny, I hope you realize.”

“What do you mean?” Gato asked, moving to pick her up. “I always have chores to do on the family farm, barring extraordinary circumstances like today, anyway.”

“That’s…” the girl trailed off, before she shook her head rapidly. “Don’t you remember playing with a kid named ‘Bell’ when you were younger?”

“I do, yeah,” Gato nodded, before it clicked for him. “Wait, you mean to say you’re Bell?!”

“Yes, that’s me,” the girl said. “Bell is short for Isabella, in this case.”

“But… but… but Bell’s a boy!” Gato exclaimed. “I remember he played rough like any other boy my age!”

Isabella slapped her face with her palm again. “Gato, I was what you’d call a tomboy back as a child of eight,” she groused. “It’s not like I could’ve told you upfront that I was a girl, since that would’ve prevented you from treating me as an equal.”

“Is that what really happened?”

“Yes, it’s what really happened, Gato.” Isabella wrapped her arms around one of Gato’s. “Come on, we need to find a better way to get you to remember our past together.”

“H-hey!” Gato raised his voice indignantly, even as she led him around. “I have to get back home in a short amount of time, you know!” Especially since I know my parents will want me to do some extra work somehow, even if this is a free day for me…

“You… you mean… you don’t want to spend time with me again?” Isabella looked Gato in the eye, tears threatening to stream from her eyes.

Gato felt a twitching sensation on his face, coming directly from his eyes. This… this is blatant manipulation, isn’t it? “I’m sorry, but my parents are that strict with me, Bell.”

Isabella blinked a few of her tears away. “Oh, boo,” she groused. “Well, you’d better make it up to me later, Gato.” With that, she let go of his arm and stepped backwards a few feet.

“Believe me, I plan to make it up to you as soon as I can,” Gato replied, before he started walking back to the gate, while —

“LADY VON RIDDLE!”

—Gato looked toward the unfamiliar voice, which was in the direction Isabella was running from. Wait… Bell’s a noblewoman? Actually, why is it she’s running from what has to be the town guard?

“Urk!” Isabella let out before she tapped Gato on the shoulder. “Nice seeing you again, Gato,” she said, running off right after.

“Huh?” Gato turned to look at Isabella’s retreating form before he shrugged it off. “She’ll tell me what’s going on later,” he sighed, shaking his head.

At that, he walked on his way back to his parents’ house, hoping to leave this debacle behind for the rest of the day —

“Hey, Gato, question.”

Eh?

—Gato, now at the gate to town itself, turned to face the person who spoke to him. It was a slender young woman, her dark brown hair done in a high ponytail. Her bright and shining blue eyes struck him. She wore an emerald dress that was considerably more modest than Isabella’s dancer’s outfit, in that it was a typical peasant fashion for someone around Gato’s age. Yet he could tell she was unaccustomed to wearing the clothing that she had on, if her squirming was any sign.

“Yes? How can I help you?”

“Why is that girl running from the town guard? Is she not the daughter of Baron von Riddle?” the new girl asked.

“Well…” Gato scratched his cheek as he pondered the question. “I never knew her as a girl, nor as the daughter of the Lord Mayor, so I wouldn’t know the reason she’s running.”

“I see…” the new girl lowered her head. “I hope that she’s not in trouble with the law or anything.”

Gato nodded as he went back to walking on his way out of town, barely taking a step before —

“Please wait.”

—Gato paused in mid-step. “Yes?” He turned to face the girl.

“Which farmstead is your home at?” the girl asked.

Eh? “Well, my family’s farm is about an hour away from here on foot,” he shook his head. “If it has a name, I don’t know it, but only because I can’t read to save my life.”

“Do you think your parents will mind if I stay there if I do my part to help?” she asked.

Warning, warning! This is going down a strange road that I do not know how to best traverse! “I don’t know about that, but I think we could ask them.”

“You mean it?” the new girl looked Gato in the eye.

Are her eyes… sparkling? “I mean it.” He closed his eyes and smiled at her.

“Thank you!”