Her lower back throbbed as soon as she jumped down from the back of the rickety old wagon. It could have been much worse if she hadn’t found a comfortable spot to wedge herself into securely so that she wouldn’t be thrown about. The last time that happened she almost landed in the tomatoes, and she’d much rather avoid that.

Frederick’s knees shook and he clung onto the side of the carriage. Joseph and his wife, Jennifer, were focused on checking that nothing had been damaged so they didn’t notice that he had yet to get off the wagon. Lily held her hand out for him so that he could better balance. He took it and jumped off, squeezing her hand and nodding his head in thanks. He let go as he turned his attention to the town.

“I never thought I’d be able to wander around the town like this.”

“Are you worried?”

Frederick shrugged. When she had told him about their trip, he had been more than a little on edge. People would know who he was because of how he looked, but she didn’t think that was likely. He didn’t dress in particularly fancy clothes, and most people in the town didn’t really pay much attention to the children. Besides, even if they did recognise him, what were they going to do? Beg for a scrap of his attention?

“Why didn’t Mimi want to come?”

“The wagon makes her body hurt, so she asks Joseph to do her shopping and I come along with them so I can see the town.”

“I’ve only ever seen the town from the window of my carriage.” Frederick’s eyes practically sparkled as he looked at the different shops.

Lily absent-mindedly patted the small coin purse attached to her belt. It was the first time she had ever been given money that she could spend however she wanted, at least on the condition that she bought something for Frederick as well. She hoped she didn’t make any mistakes, but Mimi told her there was more than enough for them both to enjoy a treat or two. Lily knew exactly what she wanted to get - the chocolate bread that she enjoyed so much. It was probably not as good as thing Frederick usually had, but she still wanted to share it with him.

But they wouldn’t be allowed to leave Joseph’s side for even a moment, and she worried that they would be so distracted by their own business that they wouldn’t get the chance to go to the bakery. When Jennifer noticed Lily’s expectant stare, she tapped her husband on his shoulder and pointed at her.

“I think we should let them wander around while we sort this.”

Joseph shook his head. “Levin was pretty clear in his letter, love. We can’t let them out of our sight.”

Jennifer wrapped her arm around Lily’s shoulder. “Then we can keep them in our sight.”

“Jen…” Joseph sighed, clearly not wanting to disagree with his wife.

Frederick stared at them both intently before dropping his gaze on Lily. She supposed he wanted to explore a little, but he wasn’t sure what to do to convince them. Jennifer was kind to think of them, but she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t afraid to disobey whatever her father had asked.

She glanced around the town. The bakery was too far away for them to go to if they were supposed to stay where they could be seen. And that also meant that they couldn’t go into any shops. It was still rather early, so there weren’t many crowds, so they could look in the windows at least. Frederick might not find that fun, though.

Lily noticed the small stalls on the other side of the road. There were lots of colourful trinkets and toys, and even some sweets. That seemed like the best fit. Lily and Frederick could find something interesting, but they would still be easy to see for Joseph and Jennifer.

She decided to tell them her idea and pointed to the stalls. “Would it be okay if we went over there? You’ll still be able to see us.”

Frederick followed her line of sight and stepped forward a little before turning back to the adults and repeating Lily’s question. “Can we?”

Jennifer smiled sweetly at her husband. Joseph frowned as he pulled at his greying beard. After a few more glances in the direction of the stalls he nodded.

“You can only go to the stalls, and once you’re done you come right back here. If you think the crowd is getting too big then you have to come back, and if I don’t feel like you’re safe enough I’m coming to get you both.”

“We’ll be watching you both. No getting any ideas Lily.”

She groaned. They clearly hadn’t forgotten the last time they’d taken her to town and she fell into the fountain. Or the time before that where she followed a stray cat into a weird place with a lot of men drinking and women dancing. They were so furious that time she was sure they’d never take her back to town again. It was weird, the people in the weird place were all kind - they gave her some sweets and juice.

It didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to follow stray animals anywhere anymore. With a pout, she nodded her head.

“Be careful, then,” Joseph said with a sigh.

They nodded and Lily grabbed Frederick’s hand, practically dragging him over to the stalls. Jennifer laughed and waved at them as they ran across the cobbled path.

They stopped just before they got to the small wooden stalls decorated with brightly coloured cloths. There were lots of different types of toys. It took her a few times, but she managed to read the small sign that said they were each handcrafted. The details that had been etched and painted into them were impressive, and Lily wondered how they had the patience to sit down for long enough to carve such complicated designs.

Frederick pointed to some of the masks hung up on the left side of the stall. They were in various animal shapes, each one with a different symbol painted on the forehead.

“Is it normal for people to wear something that has the symbol of the gods?”

“I see those symbols a lot. People usually wear them at the festivals.”

“That’s strange.”

The stall owner noticed their conversation and leant over to them. “The next festival is in honour of Solamia, so people will be dressing up as different gods to honour her.”

Frederick hummed thoughtfully. “Don’t people go and pray to her that day?”

The owner shook his head. “Not usually. That’s something the nobles do, we’re not allowed in the Grand Temple at the best of times.”

Frederick seemed confused by that and looked at Lily. “You don’t go to the temple?”

“I actually don’t worship Solamia anyway. Papa does, but Mama and I worship a different God.”

Lily turned her attention back to the toys as Frederick continued to ask questions to the stall owner. She picked up a small wooden doll that was fashioned into what she supposed was Solamia - it had a long red dress and hair that looked like a golden flame. The main goddess worshipped by the people near the capital, and the goddess of the sun.

Her papa had told her a lot about her so she understood why she was loved by the people, but Lily didn’t really understand. Especially because her mama was always so upset when people spoke kindly about her. Mimi didn’t really care about going to the temple, so the only time she had gone was when Joseph had taken her. It was just a bald old man using difficult words, and it smelt strongly of burnt things. Frederick didn’t seem to think it was bad, and clearly, he thought it was strange that people didn’t go to the temple during important times.

Lily placed the doll down again and moved onto the next thing that caught her interest She picked up a small bracelet with wooden beads and a word etched into it. ‘Always’. That seemed like a rather strange thing to want to put on your wrist.

Frederick noticed what she was holding and picked one up as well. “I didn’t know you could make bracelets out of wood,” he mumbled.

“They’re nice, right? Look, those ones are painted.”

They picked up and put down every different kind of bracelet they found, reading out the different words that were carved into the small square bead at the front. Some of the words were strange, and some were simple. But the best part was making jokes and laughing with Frederick.

They moved onto the other toys and tried to decide which one they each wanted. Lily decided to buy a small puzzle box with a flower carved into the lid, while Frederick chose a yo-yo. He inspected it in the same way he had the frog, intently and from all angles.

The toys hadn’t been too expensive so Lily was sure she would still be able to buy some chocolate bread for Frederick to try, even if they had to share one. But for now, they strolled back across the road to where Joseph and Jennifer were waiting for them.

Jennifer made a show of being extremely interested in what they had bought and asked why they had bought them. Lily happily told her that she bought it because she thought it was pretty, but Frederick didn’t seem to know what to say.

“I don’t really have very many toys,” he finally admitted.

“Oh?” Joseph frowned. “Forgive me for saying so, but I’d have thought you’d have three rooms full of them.”

“Yes…but my father always thought they were just a distraction from my lesson, so he had them thrown away.”

“That’s mean!” Lily stomped her foot to emphasise her point.

“My mother gives me puzzles to solve, so I do have some things.”

“That’s not the same thing as having a ball or a doll.”

Frederick shrugged. “I’ve never played with a ball anyway. The toys I used to have weren’t really for playing with anyway.”

Jennifer clapped her hands. “Well, if that’s the case, you’re going to have to come and take whatever you want from our home. None of our children needs them anymore.”

“That’s-” Frederick held up his hands as if he was going to refuse, but Lily interrupted him.

“That’s a great idea!” She turned to Frederick and wiggled in place as she thought of the times she played with their children. They had many wonderful toys, even if they were old and worn. “Tommy has a ball he got from his grandpa, we should play with that!”

Just as Frederick was about to refuse, Jennifer interrupted him with a clap. It didn’t seem to bother him. That was good, Jennifer was a master at making people do whatever she wanted them to.

“It’s getting on. How about we go and find some food.”

“Great idea, love.” Joseph placed a hand on Frederick’s shoulder. “What do we feel like eating?”