"Hello Islinda, long time no see," said Belinda, the merchant used to buying her produce from the hunt.
"Nice to see you too, Belinda," Islinda responded, yet her gaze traveled to the side, taking in the sight of her step-sister, Remy, and Eli looking around the meat market.
Islinda let out an exasperated sigh, why would Remy insist to come to the market with her along with Eli? It bothered her. Perhaps, she came to monitor how much she sold the deer hide? It was not a secret that her stepmother always wanted gains from the sale.
Most of the time, Islinda lied about the price she sold them, that way she had more money to save. But now, she couldn’t tell anymore. What if Remy comes back to question Belinda later? But then, Islinda trusted the woman would keep her mouth shut. Everyone in the village already knew about her situation in the family.
"Is that the boy?" Belinda peered out from the store, following the direction of Islinda’s gaze.
"What boy?" Islinda pretended to be oblivious to her question, wanting her to spill her secret first.
"I mean the boy you found in the woods, is that him?" She probed.
"Yeah, it is the boy, and how do you know about him?" Islinda narrowed her gaze at her suspiciously. She did not go along introducing Eli to the villagers unless Remy did the favor.
Belinda rolled her eyes, "It is not gossip, Islinda, everyone in the village already knows about him. People saw you with him that day go into the chief’s house, and the news spread."
"Of course, they saw," Islinda muttered under her breath. It was not every day that things happen in their village, and people would soak up the news until another interesting event comes up.
"You should have heard more of the rumors. They would have gossiped that you secretly had a child if it wasn’t the fact that you’ve lived in the village all your life and the age doesn’t match. They assumed it was Remy’s, however, even a blind man knows she would never be able to birth a child as adorable as that one. Not to mention neighbors heard your family arguing over his stay."
By the gods, Islinda lowered her gaze to the ground with her cheeks flushed, wishing some imaginary wind would blow her out of here. How did she and her family become a source of entertainment for the whole village? She hated the attention, although Remy would be glad to bask in the glory.
"Tell me though, is it true that the boy was abandoned by his mother?" The lady inquired further which now become borderline annoying to Islinda.
She knew Belinda was a gossip, most traders were. Information was powerful and could get you a lot of things money could not. But Islinda refuses to be in the limelight, affairs about Eli and her family would remain private.
"It’s a full one." Islinda ignored her question, placing the animal skin on her table instead.
"Mmm," Belinda recognized her reluctance to speak and didn’t push further. She poked and turned the deer hide, checking the product with the eyes of a shrewd trader.
"A hundred silver coins." She announced.
"Two hundred." Islinda bargained firmly.
Belinda scoffed, "That’s daylight robbery."
"This is winter," Islinda countered, lowering her voice to elaborate, "We both know that animals hunker down in this period. How many hunters have picked a big game lately? Not to mention how I risked my life getting this. I deserve more." She didn’t describe how close she had come to the divider.
"One hundred and twenty coins then," Belinda arched her brow, "That’s a fair price, don’t you think?"
Islinda released a sarcastic smile, "I’ll find out somewhere else, don’t you think?" She was already reaching for the deerskin when Belinda grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"Why are you being like this when we go way back?" She attempted to flatter her.
But Islinda said in a grave tone, "What’s your last price, Belinda?"
Belinda sighed heavily, "A hundred and thirty silver coins - Ahh!" She grabbed her hand swiftly when Islinda attempted to take it again.
She said through gritted teeth, "A hundred and fifty coins, you would not get that somewhere else."
Islinda’s grip slackened having achieved what she wanted, "A hundred and fifty silver coins it is." She fought the smile that tugged at the corners of her lip.
Belinda cursed as she went into her store to get the coins, complaining about how that was a rip-off. Not that Islinda cared, Belinda was not exactly an honest trader and her greed was usually her downfall. The woman would charge an exuberant sum to whoever buys that. But then, business was business.
She returned moments later, handing a coin purse to her, "Count it."
Islinda did not need to be told twice, she gleefully counted the coins and was satisfied to know that it was complete.
She smirked at Belinda, "It was nice doing business with you."
"Aye. Wait... " Belinda called her attention when she was about to turn.
"What is it?"
"In case you are not able to find the boy’s parents, I might need a boy like him to help around in my store. I would pay for his board and food."
Discomfort crept inside of Islinda at that suggestion but she pushed it down. Such a thing would not happen. Hence she gave Belinda her fakest smile, "Thanks for the lovely suggestion, Belinda. But we would have to wait for that to happen."
If Belinda saw the annoyance in her eyes, she didn’t say anything and let her go.
Islinda turned around to leave only to stop short when she found out that Eli was nowhere to be seen. Not just Eli, but Remy. She looked around her surrounding, they were nowhere to be seen.
Darn, it! Panic gripped her and Islinda hoped to the gods that they were exploring the market and not what she was thinking. If anything happened to Eli, Remy would pay for it.