The next morning dawned bright and clear, though by the time Haruka woke up there were dark clouds gathering around the far-off mountains dotting the horizon. Still, the area around the manor was bathed in sunshine which flooded through the gaps in the large curtains that draped the windows of her room.
Haruka groaned as she sat up, feeling a very slight, familiar pain deep in her abdomen. It was a harbinger, of sorts, that she knew well; in another day or two the cramps would be much worse before they settled down again.
She groaned again as she dug around in her luggage; apparently, she’d forgotten to pack extra supplies for the occasion.
“Ohayo Gozaimasu,” Andrei said as he caught sight of her coming down the stairs, “There’s still some food laid out in the dining hall for you. Breads, fruits, meat, and such, if you’re hungry.”
“Is Maiko up yet?”
“Up and out. She’s outside exploring the grounds.”
“Off on her own again?”
“I sent the hound with her. She’s got her own guardian Anghel”.
“How long have you been waiting to use that joke?”
“Since you told me you were coming to Europe for the tournament,” Andrei said sheepishly.
“Hey, do you think we can run into town today? I need to pick up some things.”
“What do you need? I might have something lying around.”
“Um, I kind of doubt it.”
“Try me.”
“Feminine hygiene products?”
“Ah. Um, no. Right. Er… I do have a meeting later today, I suppose you can tag along and do some shopping while I’m playing old blood politics. Hopefully, the meeting won’t run too long and leave you waiting around bored.”
In the end, it was Andrei who was left waiting for Haruka.
Haruka and Maeko were excited to learn that there was a market day going on, though Andrei tried to calm their excitement by explaining that, as it was only a small village, there wouldn’t be too much happening. But it was all new to the two Japanese girls, and they were fascinated nonetheless.
Haru and Mae wove their way through the crowded market street, followed at a short distance by one of Andrei’s employees who had ridden into town with them, the driver attending the meeting with Andrei. They browsed as they walked, passing by fruit and cheese stalls and stopping to inspect the occasional handcraft goods on display. Everything seemed small and quaint, so different from their home in Tokyo.
"Zenbu ha gin," Haru commented to herself, perusing some jewelry on the table at an open-air stall.
"Yes, all silver," replied the short, slightly overweight man behind the table, speaking English. "Good luck, keeps the wolves away."
"You know Japanese?"
"Understand, some. Speak? Chotto dake."
Haruka bought a small ring, intertwining leaves and vines made of silver. The merchant gave her a small cross on a silver chain as well, despite her protest that it was too much, and she wasn't Christian.
"You keep," said the man. "Wear it, good luck!"
"Ooh, Haru, come look!" Mae pulled at her arm, dragging her toward a small crowd around a street performer.
"Thank you!" Haruka called over her shoulder, closing her hand around the cross as her sister dragged her away. Together they worked their way through gaps in the small crowd — Haruka marveling at how tall people were here — until they found a spot off to the side where they could see.
A man balanced atop a small five rung ladder standing only on its rails. He shifted his balance and the ladder tipped sideways, balancing only on one rail. The man slipped one of several large knives from under his arm and balanced the point on his nose, face turned upward, and began to juggle the other knives.
An outcry from the other side of the crowd tore Haruka's eyes from the spectacle. A small child ran toward the performer, father trailing behind, outstretched hands grasping for the boy. Time shifted into slow motion as the boy stopped short of the ladder, staring up at the juggler. The commotion broke the juggler's concentration, and he struggled to keep control of the knives as the ladder shifted back and forth from one rail to the other. He caught the knife that slipped from his nose when he looked down and managed to grab hold of one other, but two more were still falling straight down toward the boy — no, toward the father who pushed the boy out of the way, only to be struck himself.
Someone screamed. Haruka rushed forward; she may not be finished with med school, but she might be able to help. She ran toward the man as the juggler fell, somehow landing lightly on his feet. Haruka grimaced as the man tore the knife free just as she reached him, with a stab wound, it was often better to leave the implement in place, as it would block the blood flow until help could arrive; besides, it might do more damage as it was pulled back out. By the amount of blood already spreading around them, she feared any attention she could give would already be too late, but upon reaching the man, she still wadded up the shawl she'd been wearing and pressed it to the wound. The man tried to sit up and Haruka gently pressed him back down, holding her shawl firmly against his wound, telling him to hold still. The man didn’t seem to understand, and tried to sit up again. Haruka wouldn’t realize until much later that she had slipped into Japanese, and he probably didn’t understand her. Finally, the man seemed to relax and look up at Haruka. He trapped Haruka’s gaze, and she was looking in his eyes as he let out his last breath.
“Papa?” a young voice called out. The boy was getting up from where he’d fallen when his father had pushed him out of the way. Mere moments had passed.
Later there were questions, with both the medical staff and the local police, asked and answered in broken English, their only common language. By the time everything was finished, it was late, and they were back at the manor by the time Haruka realized she still hadn’t had a chance to buy what she needed.
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