I let my gaze wander over the people on the other side of the street. My eyes settled on William, the grandson of the healer and one of my few friends. He motioned for me to join him, and after confirming that Daleen and Miss had their attention elsewhere, I dashed across the mucky lane to join him.
Clasping his hands in greeting, I spoke first.“ Why are you here? You’ ll get me into trouble.”“ Are you scared of Miss?” William challenged. I bristled and opened my mouth to provide a smart retort when green-eyed Azalea loudly announced my presence— or rather, the lack of it— to Miss. Gritting my teeth, I murmured an oath no child should utter. Miss’ black glare was enough to send a shiver up my spine.“ Come on,” William nervously said, tugging on my arm. No doubt he also wanted to escape a confrontation with my forceful guardian.“ Let’ s go to Gran’ s shop until she calms down a bit.”
We darted through the crowd and into an alley, giddy with disobedience. Our feet kicked up clods of filth as dirty rainwater soaked into my white socks and the hem of my sky blue dress, leaving them sodden and dirty. The alley opened up to Kalve, Jarn’ s main road and only cobbled street. I kept a close eye on William, afraid that I would lose him among the thick crowd.
As a lock of my raven hair came loose and bounced against my forehead, a sprig of blue flowers fell out of my mane. I stooped to pick the blossoms up, calling out to William so he would halt. But when I looked up, he was nowhere to be seen.