"We made it, Blau! We're outside!" she said to the toy she hold in her hand.
Good. It's cold in here, Kathy.
She gently apologized, and stuffed the teddybear into her largepocket. "Better?"
Much.
Kathy started walking along the streets, awed by all the diffirent people there. She had only been allowed outside once in a week, on Saturday's. The library was open then, but the library was almost next to the Schell house and she never went anywhere else. For the first time in her life, Kathleen Swayze was in a marketplace. And she loved it.
"Look!", she whispered to Herr Blaub�r, "So much people!" She slowly walked through the marketplace, and every time she passed someone selling something, anything, she wanted to buy it. She saw two girls, a couple years older than she, play violin and flute in the end of the marketplace. They played beautiful music, but they looked so sad. Kathy thought they propably were trying to collect money for their families, who, by the look of their clothes, were extremely poor. Kathy felt sad for the two girls, but she had no money at all.
" Look, Blau! Aren't those things just beautiful?" Kathy stopped in front of a man who was selling small, shiny things. "Trinkets, brooches, ornaments, gems, diamonds, have your pretty shiny things today!" he yelled. The man's face was pleasant looking, he was older than Herr Wentz. Kathy guessed he was around thirty, thirty-five years, but he could've been older, too. Kathy went closer to the man's table, and looked at the jewels. She remembered Frau Schell keep all kinds of jewels in he neck, hands and ears. Even Nancy had had ear-rings, only one couple wich she was very fond of.
Kathy noticed the man was watching her, and she thought she must've look funny, staring at all the expencive stuff she could never really afford. She hesitated and lifted her eyes to meet his. The man had piercing blue eyes, olive skin and black, curly hair. He had the most colorful clothes Kathy was ever seen on a man, or any human ever. He also wore many jewels himself, mostly rings. The thing that troubled Kathy most, thouh, was the sparkle in his eyes. Even Kathy knew it meant trouble.
"What do we have here, hm?" The man smiled, and Kathy noticed one of his teeth was golden.
"I-I was just looking at all the pretty things you have in your table, I, I hope you don't mind mein Herr- I-I mean sir."
(don't stutter stop it stop the stutter and act like a grown-up act like)
The man raised his eyebrows, and knelt on the other side of the table, so he could be on the same level with her.
(act like a grown-up) (you're on your own now remember) (remember?)
"You, my dear child, are the first one ever call me sir in this very town. And I thank you for that." The man seemed deadserious, and Kathy couldn't look straightly to his eyes anymore. She started looking at the the table again, and the man didn't seem to mind, he stayed knelt behind the table.
"That's a good piece of jewellery you have there, little-one." The man meant the little bracelet Kathy was holding in her hands. The bracelet was beautiful, it was blue with white and black small markings all over. Kathy noticed the little writing it had inside. She was shocked to see it was a glumsy peace of poetry - a love poem.
(!selling other peoples gifts maybe he even her to get the bracelet oh that's just so filthy!)
She glanced at the selling man, who just smirked and shrugged. "From Justus to his beloved Wilma on her birthday 14 of January." she read aloud and narrowed her eyes.
Kathy put the bracelet carefully down, and was about to leave in disgust when she saw the most beatuful peace of jewellery ever. It was a small necklace, a little red amulet hanging from a silver chain.
She took the necklace to her small hands and looked into the amulet.
First, she saw just red, red stone. Then she suddenly saw something forming. The blur quickly grew legs, and head, and Kathy saw it was an animal. It moved around, and Kathy begged it to stay still so she could see what it was. And for a small moment, the form-
(stopped!what it is!what it-)
And the unicorn winked to her.
The man quickly grabbed the necklace from the girl, and Kathy stared at her hands a little moment before she noticed the necklace and the unicorn were gone. "Hey!"
"If you want it you have to pay for it," the man said, showing Kathy the necklace and swinging it right abowe her head, grinning with all his white, white teeth shining. Plus the golden one.
(I wonder I wonder is it really gold)
She frowned and tried to reach the necklace, but the man just laughed and moved his hand further from the girl's fingers.
"But I don't have any money!" she protested, wanting to see the unicorn again, just once. The man smirked and took the necklace into his hand. He looked at Kathy, looked so hard Kathy could feel the blush creep to her cheeks. The man smiled his weird smile again and laughed. His laugh, like everything else in him, was strange. If Kathy wouldn't know for a fact men certainly did not giggle, she'd say it was a giggle. High and quick, then gone. Weird man, weird, weird
(!dangerous!)
man.
"You could have it, if you do something for me." He said, measuring the girl with his eyes. "But I don't think you can do it, so why bother." He said, turning away.
Kathy ran to his side and grabbed his hand, frustrated from the man's behaviour. "No! I can do it! Whatever it is, I can do it!" The man turned at her again, suspicious. "I want to do it!" she said. The man grinned and looked at her eyes, smirked again.
"Fair well, then." He gestured Kathy to come closer, and she quickly obeyed. The man turned her around so that she was looking at the crowd.
"See that man over there?" he pointed one man in the crowd. Kathy nodded, trying to guess what she'd have to do. She wasn't afraid it'd be something she really loathed doing; there wasn't actually too many of those things to start with.
"Now go over there, and ask the man if he'd kindly loan his wallet to you. If he does so, you thank him and bring me the wallet."
Kathy turned to look unsurely back to the jewellery
(rainbow)
man, and he nodded. "If you get into trouble, I'll be right here." He gave the girl a reassuring smile, and turned his eyes to a new customer.
Kathy didn't hesitate long; she quickly walked to the direction man had went, and when she saw him he started to follow him around. Kathy could say he was a rich man, he had expensive clothes and the lady who walked with him also had fine clothes. The lady reminded her of Frau Schell, and she thought if her dear Herr Wentz had gone to real trouble becouse of her. Nancy was so mean to people, if she'd know he had opened the door to Kathy she could get Herr Wentz fired by complaining to Frau Schell. In that matter, Kathy was awfully scared of her friend.
Kathy shook all the thoughts about Nancy and Herr Wentz, and quickly walked to the man, who had stopped in front of a pottery seller.
What are you doing?
Kathy heard a sleepy voice from her pocket. "Shh! Be quiet, Blau! I have to do something really important, and you have to keep your mouth shut for a while."
But what are you *doing* up there? Let me see, let me see!
"Blau!"
You *will* explain this to me, Kathy.
"Yes, yes. Now please, Blau." The toy made a kind of grumping noice but kept quiet otherwise.
Kathy ran in front of the man. He was fairly tall and fat too, Kathy saw. He was still talking with the pottery seller, and Kathy, the short person she was, went totally un- noticed by the man. She didn't quite know what to do, she considered speaking to the man but she knew it was not proper before the man gave her a permission. Kathy was almost considering to nudge his sleeve when the woman did it for her.
"Pip dear, I think this little girl wants to tell us something?"
(!!pip!!)
"Shh! Didn't I tell you not to use that name on public! My name is Peter!" He snapped to the woman. She didn't seem to mind at all. "However you like it best, Pip honey."
"Women!!" The man turned to look to Kathy's face. This seemed very hard for him, because of Kathy's shortness and the man's roundness.
"Well?" He said, impationately. He was sure this was just a waste of his precious time in London. Seemed like everything wanted to ruin his and his lover's happy holiday. First the accident with the blue and red shirted luggage-thieves, and then straight after them the green shirted one with the help of a vicious dog - And they'd only been in London fortwo hours. And now this little dirty girl wanted to waste his precious time (although the 'dirty' part wasn't true at all, Kathy was clean from toes to fingertips. Nancy was very stright with this issue, and Kathy couldn't wait to go all dirty).
"What do you want?" He snarled, . Without all the Stephen King's books Kathy would've maybe found it very scary. She didn't, but the way the rich man looked down to her was very enough to make Kathy feel very little.
"Iwouldliketoloanyourwalletplease.".
The woman and the man looked at her for a brief second, before the woman spoke, with a funny accent Kathy -
French.
(huh what did you say toy?)
Kathy was suddenly aware Blau could hear everything she was speaking to the two adults.
The woman, the accent. She's from France. You didn't notice it before?
No, actually Kathy hadn't. How strange.
"Pardon?" The woman was flashing a confused smile to Kathy's direction, and for a second Kathy had been scared they'd understand the words. A weird thought, that was.
The man looked unhappy with the whole situation.
"Frances, don't let that little punk -" A disgusted snarle and a look
downwards to Kathy -"bother you, let us go already." Kathy frowned and narrowed her little greyish eyes, her mind
chanting the word over and over again
(punkpunkpunkpunk)
and she was quickly taking an expression most mothers through out the world knew and feared.
That expression always meant harm.
"Give me your wallet." She whispered.
!!KATHLEEN SWAYZE!!
(calm down Blau. I know what I'm doing I do)
And Kathy was surprised to notice she actually did know what she was doing.
(stupidstupidstupid how could I bee so stupid)
she tought and wanted to bang her head into a brickwall. Both adults blinked, and the woman's confusion deepened. The man's face twisted oddly and for a brief second Kathy was sure she was going to explode. He didn't or at least not in the sense Kathy was wating him to explode. He threw his head back and laughed.
TBC...