You’ve got to be kidding me…

Sure enough, there was the young man, leaning against one of the support beams of the nearest stall, his arms crossed comfortably. With a soft grunt of annoyance, I continued walking. He took that as a cue to follow, as he easily pushed off the beam and trailed a fair distance behind me. Once we entered a deserted alleyway, and after quickly making sure there was no one hiding anywhere, I whirled around to face him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap, crossing my arms as I glared at him. This is getting ridiculous!

He simply raised an eyebrow, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Quite a way with people indeed…”

Resisting the urge to massage my temples in irritation, I merely continued to study him. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I never said it did.” He responded coolly, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he continued to survey me.

My aggravation slowly began to rise. “Don’t play games with me, stranger.”

Bewilderment shadowed his features. “‘Stranger’…?” Seconds later, the confusion vanished, replaced instead with an amused smile. “Ah, I see. We still don’t know each other’s names.”

He seems more mature than the last time I saw him… After staring at him for a long moment, I gently massaged my temples through the hood. “Look, just…” A heavy sigh escaped me, “What’re you doing here?”

He stood silently for several minutes, his gaze focused on my face, or where it would be if the darkness of the cowl didn’t hide my features. The sounds of the bustling open market wafted gently into the alleyway as the silence between us lengthened.

“Same as you.” He finally spoke, pulling out what looked like a clear glass orb from his satchel. Holding it at eye level, he shifted his gaze from me to the orb. “I came here to buy this.” He returned his attention to me, a faint smile on his face. “I was leaving when I recognized you from a distance and decided to follow.” A light chuckled escaped him. “Honestly I thought you would catch me, but I was mistaken.”

My cheeks flushed at his gentle jab, my fists clenching in response to my boiling rage. “If the only reason you came here was to buy that thing, why follow me?” I demanded with more calm than I felt.

“As I said, I recognized you, and figured I’d at least say hello.” He responded with ease, his focus never wavering.

Seriously?! All of this just to say hi?! I failed to contain my exasperated growl. “You do realize that this is the fourth time we’ve bumped into each other, don’t you?”

He gave a single nod. “I do.”

“Then you understand why I find it hard to believe you just wanted to say ‘hi’...” Lowering my arms, I motioned to him in annoyance, “Do you intend to say ‘hi’ every time you see me?”

He tilted his head to the left ever so slightly. “I don’t, actually.”

“Then what do you want?!” I burst out, my voice echoing more than expected.

After surveying me for a few moments, he opened his mouth to say something, only to pause and look over his shoulder. His features darkened noticeably before he approached me, then he spoke softly enough for me to hear, “Meet me at the Crying Eagle Inn later tonight. I’ll explain then.” After taking a step forward, he paused. “Oh, and that merchant from earlier is hiding around the corner.” I watched as he exited the alleyway and melted into the crowd, before I turning my frigid gaze to the corner.