It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses Their Mind
And Life Was Never Worse but Never Better
“So you two had fallen in love?” she questioned. I couldn’t help but smile at her naivety.
“Not exactly… We returned to the Enchanted Forest together, as that’s the rule of the portal jumping magic, but we went our separate ways…” I recounted, shaking my head with disbelief at the chance encounter that had happened next.
The market was in full-swing by the time I had finished setting up my stall. I had been late to arrive, remaining in my workshop to hurriedly finish one last masterpiece to sell. It now sat at the front of my table, proudly on display, and I could see many people’s gazes drifting towards the royal purple hat though none were interested in buying it. I guessed that was because they knew a hefty amount of coins would need to be exchanged for the hat, and I didn’t blame them for shying away.
Throughout the day, many of my lower quality hats sold, made from thin brown material and with wide rims, simply to help keep heads dry as the peasants went about their daily routines. The queen didn’t show at her usual time, so I lifted the purple hat from the table and turned away to place it safely into a transport container, hoping I could entice her to purchase the masterpiece the next time I saw her.
Once the container was secure beneath the table, I rose and saw a man had appeared. He was already trying on one of my hats, a simple tan coloured one that I had made in haste to sell for a couple of coppers, and was watching his reflection in the mirror at the end of my stall.
“Do you like it?” I called out, attempting to make conversation. The man was startled, obviously unaware of my presence, and he turned. I had been walking over to stand before him but I halted when we met eyes. My lips parted a little from surprise before I chuckled. “Hello again.”
“You make hats?” Jefferson stammered, quickly removing the one from his head. I shrugged and I saw his eyes wander to the top of my head where a new hat was sitting. It was uncommon for women to wear such an accessory, unless they were rich, and I certainly wasn’t. “Your hat makes sense now.” I smiled at his comment, glad that my admiration for the accessory was obvious.
“And I don’t think that’s the right hat for you,” I remarked. I then reached across the stall and plucked it from his grasp. “That’s the type people such as farmers typically purchase. I’m sure you could afford one of these black ones here, and it would suit you very well, I think.”
“Is that the saleswoman talking, or are you being honest?” Jefferson asked when I offered him a new hat, one made of black velvet that rose higher.
“I’m being honest,” I promised. My large smile disappeared when I realised that Jefferson wasn’t making a move to try the hat on. “Is there something wrong?”
“I can’t afford this,” he muttered, instead returning the hat to its spot on the table.
“What do you do for a living?” I wondered and he hesitated.
“I, uh, spend all day in the woods collecting fungi to sell. I actually have my own stall, over there,” Jefferson replied with a gesture towards the other end of the market where food goods were sold.
“Well if you need a hat, I could give you a discount,” I suggested. Although we had only spent one night together, I was more than aware of his kind heart. Jefferson’s eyes fell to another hat further along the stall and I recognised it as a similar style to the one I had been wearing the night we had met. He leaned in closer, and I already knew what he was going to ask before the words left his lips.
“Are they all… magical?” Jefferson questioned lowly. I shook my head slightly, partly scared that someone was going to overhear him and report me to the queen.
“Just take a hat, any hat you want, for free,” I offered in order to change the subject. At first it had been nice to see a familiar face, but now I was too anxious to play games with the man.
“Really?” Jefferson said, blinking repeatedly. I nodded and he took his time moving along the stall until he finally lifted a black top hat with deep purple cloth wrapped in layers around its base. “You have really fine craftsmanship…”
“Thank you,” I replied. My cheeks were reddening from how genuine he had sounded and I took the hat from his hands to place it atop his head. “It suits you.” Jefferson returned the smile before walking back to the mirror.
“I can’t-”
“I insist!” I exclaimed. Jefferson exhaled and looked to the ground, clearly uncertain about walking away with an item I had spend a good amount of time and money on.
“I’m going to the Phoenix Tavern tonight. You could at least let me buy you a drink in exchange for the hat,” he offered. My initial reaction was to decline. I never saw a man twice, partly because the town was so large and partly because I never wanted to. They were always considerably less charming the next day, but my gut was urging me to accept this man’s proposal. He was different; his kindness was still present, and the way he looked at me was refreshingly new.
“Okay,” I agreed before bidding him farewell. I packed away my hats not long afterwards and journeyed home to find a nice outfit and matching hat to wear to the tavern, for the first time in a long time experiencing a jittering sensation in my stomach.
“And then did you fall in love that night?” I was asked. I opened my mouth to dismiss the question but I didn’t speak when I realised that that night was when the romance had really started.
“We spent time getting to know each other. We went on more adventures and we both fell head over heels,” I confessed. My tone had initially been happy, but had quickly turned sombre as more memories played out in my mind. She noticed and frowned.
“And then what happened?”
“Not exactly… We returned to the Enchanted Forest together, as that’s the rule of the portal jumping magic, but we went our separate ways…” I recounted, shaking my head with disbelief at the chance encounter that had happened next.
The market was in full-swing by the time I had finished setting up my stall. I had been late to arrive, remaining in my workshop to hurriedly finish one last masterpiece to sell. It now sat at the front of my table, proudly on display, and I could see many people’s gazes drifting towards the royal purple hat though none were interested in buying it. I guessed that was because they knew a hefty amount of coins would need to be exchanged for the hat, and I didn’t blame them for shying away.
Throughout the day, many of my lower quality hats sold, made from thin brown material and with wide rims, simply to help keep heads dry as the peasants went about their daily routines. The queen didn’t show at her usual time, so I lifted the purple hat from the table and turned away to place it safely into a transport container, hoping I could entice her to purchase the masterpiece the next time I saw her.
Once the container was secure beneath the table, I rose and saw a man had appeared. He was already trying on one of my hats, a simple tan coloured one that I had made in haste to sell for a couple of coppers, and was watching his reflection in the mirror at the end of my stall.
“Do you like it?” I called out, attempting to make conversation. The man was startled, obviously unaware of my presence, and he turned. I had been walking over to stand before him but I halted when we met eyes. My lips parted a little from surprise before I chuckled. “Hello again.”
“You make hats?” Jefferson stammered, quickly removing the one from his head. I shrugged and I saw his eyes wander to the top of my head where a new hat was sitting. It was uncommon for women to wear such an accessory, unless they were rich, and I certainly wasn’t. “Your hat makes sense now.” I smiled at his comment, glad that my admiration for the accessory was obvious.
“And I don’t think that’s the right hat for you,” I remarked. I then reached across the stall and plucked it from his grasp. “That’s the type people such as farmers typically purchase. I’m sure you could afford one of these black ones here, and it would suit you very well, I think.”
“Is that the saleswoman talking, or are you being honest?” Jefferson asked when I offered him a new hat, one made of black velvet that rose higher.
“I’m being honest,” I promised. My large smile disappeared when I realised that Jefferson wasn’t making a move to try the hat on. “Is there something wrong?”
“I can’t afford this,” he muttered, instead returning the hat to its spot on the table.
“What do you do for a living?” I wondered and he hesitated.
“I, uh, spend all day in the woods collecting fungi to sell. I actually have my own stall, over there,” Jefferson replied with a gesture towards the other end of the market where food goods were sold.
“Well if you need a hat, I could give you a discount,” I suggested. Although we had only spent one night together, I was more than aware of his kind heart. Jefferson’s eyes fell to another hat further along the stall and I recognised it as a similar style to the one I had been wearing the night we had met. He leaned in closer, and I already knew what he was going to ask before the words left his lips.
“Are they all… magical?” Jefferson questioned lowly. I shook my head slightly, partly scared that someone was going to overhear him and report me to the queen.
“Just take a hat, any hat you want, for free,” I offered in order to change the subject. At first it had been nice to see a familiar face, but now I was too anxious to play games with the man.
“Really?” Jefferson said, blinking repeatedly. I nodded and he took his time moving along the stall until he finally lifted a black top hat with deep purple cloth wrapped in layers around its base. “You have really fine craftsmanship…”
“Thank you,” I replied. My cheeks were reddening from how genuine he had sounded and I took the hat from his hands to place it atop his head. “It suits you.” Jefferson returned the smile before walking back to the mirror.
“I can’t-”
“I insist!” I exclaimed. Jefferson exhaled and looked to the ground, clearly uncertain about walking away with an item I had spend a good amount of time and money on.
“I’m going to the Phoenix Tavern tonight. You could at least let me buy you a drink in exchange for the hat,” he offered. My initial reaction was to decline. I never saw a man twice, partly because the town was so large and partly because I never wanted to. They were always considerably less charming the next day, but my gut was urging me to accept this man’s proposal. He was different; his kindness was still present, and the way he looked at me was refreshingly new.
“Okay,” I agreed before bidding him farewell. I packed away my hats not long afterwards and journeyed home to find a nice outfit and matching hat to wear to the tavern, for the first time in a long time experiencing a jittering sensation in my stomach.
“And then did you fall in love that night?” I was asked. I opened my mouth to dismiss the question but I didn’t speak when I realised that that night was when the romance had really started.
“We spent time getting to know each other. We went on more adventures and we both fell head over heels,” I confessed. My tone had initially been happy, but had quickly turned sombre as more memories played out in my mind. She noticed and frowned.
“And then what happened?”
♠ ♠ ♠
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