Snow touched the dark-blue scarf tied around his head, effectively hiding every little strand of silver hair.
When he’d seen ZaiWin walk out the door, he had had no idea of where he was going, much less to do what. Of course, he had immediately taken that opportunity to quickly do as he had been told and get dressed. It had been embarrassing enough, having to take off his clothes in his presence. He was really grateful that he didn’t have to put them on again with him standing there, blatantly watching him. And so, by the time ZaiWin had returned, he had been fully clothed and cloaked, boots included. It had been then he had noticed the blue scarf that ZaiWin had been carrying.
Sure, like ZaiWin had stated, using a scarf to cover his hair was way more practical than having to constantly wear his hood up. When he did so, he had to continually worry that it wouldn’t fall, or that the wind wouldn’t blow it away. The hood also made it a lot harder to see the world around him. But wearing a scarf was … strange, to say the least. If nothing else, because only women wore them, Snow thought, lowering his head in embarrassment when a couple of young ladies stopped to look at him, changing whispered comments between them, before they both laughed softly. He almost wanted to shave his head bald again!
Feeling his steps become increasingly more hesitant, ZaiWin peered back over his shoulder. And, true enough, found him practically standing there.
“What’s wrong?”
As if he had just been startled awake, Snow immediately looked up at him and shook his head, hastening his steps.
Ah. As if he would ever allow himself to be deceived by that!, ZaiWin quickly decided and, reaching out, simply held his hand.
“What are you doing?”
Glancing down at those dark eyes, ZaiWin couldn’t help smile.
“Holding your hand, of course,” he simply declared, pulling him down the street.
“Why?”
“Don’t want you to get lost.”
Snow frowned at that.
“As if I would get lost just like that! I’m not a kid!” he grunted. “Besides, you’re so tall that I can easily find you anywhere.”
ZaiWin chuckled. Snow sounded more than a bit annoyed. ZaiWin had just noticed it, a few days ago. Apparently, Snow had a height complex. Sure, he was a bit shorter than normal boys his age. But it had never occurred to him that such things would even cross his mind. After all, he was a Celestial, for Heaven’s sake. And Celestials weren’t supposed to see the world the same way other people did. They weren’t supposed to feel the same way other people felt. At least that’s what he had been taught since he’d been a child. Well, fuck all that! Either they didn’t know the first thing about Celestials, or Snow was just plainly different. Either case, he would never make the mistake of judging him the same way he judged other Celestials ever again. He would never allow Snow to feel like no one could really see him, like no one cared for what was really going through his mind. And there were so many little things ZaiWin still didn’t know about him. He couldn’t help feeling excited at the prospect of slowly learning all about them.
“Even if you can easily find me. You always get lost inside that little head of yours,” ZaiWin pointed out and Snow opened his mouth to contest, but closed it again.
So he had seen through him, Snow thought, feeling strangely happy and embarrassed at the same time. He knew he was being silly. Who cared about what people thought or said? Certainly not him! So what if there was a silly scarf on his head? At least he was clothed in warm, comfortable clothes. At least he had shoes to warm and protect his feet. He couldn’t care less, about some stupid scarf! It was just that … seeing people secretly snickering at him made him feel … uneasy. And he couldn’t help stare in amazement at the elegant hand now holding his. Because the moment that hand had touched him, all his discomfort had been immediately swept away.
They spent the rest of the day walking around town, and Snow couldn’t help thinking that this was probably the most beautiful city he’d been in, up till now.
They didn’t have to walk far, until they found the first water channel. And Snow couldn’t stop staring in amazement at the bright, glistening waters, slowly flowing beneath a small, curved bridge.
There were several bridges, he soon realized, almost as many bridges as streets, so that the people didn’t have to walk too far if they needed to cross a channel. Snow didn’t know if there were only seven channels, like ZaiWin had told him. He had the feeling that there were a lot more. But, then again, he could have crossed the same channel more than once. It was hard to keep track of them, as they flowed everywhere.
The bridges were all amazingly cute, he thought, taking notice of the intricate woodwork of the railing flanking one of them. All curved upwards, they were all small and made of wood. And although they looked similar to one another, once one got close enough, it was easy to see they were actually very different.
And then there were the boats. Small and big, all flaunting their large white sails, they simply glided soundlessly over the calm surface of the water. They were used for everything, Snow soon realized. The smaller ones were mainly used by people, either simply crossing the channel by boat or actually going somewhere else, the same way one would walk down the street. The bigger ones, however, carried all sorts of goods, from fresh vegetables and fruits, to livestock. Snow had even seen one of such boats carrying a horse.
The floating marked ZaiWin had talked about was even more amazing. It was held where four water channels intersected, making for a wider water-body, very similar to a small lake.
Anchored in that lake of sorts were several boats, each one carrying a specific type of merchandise. And Snow quickly realized that each boat was equivalent to a merchant’s stall.
Smaller boats served as means of transport, taking the customers from boat to boat, so that they could check the goods being sold and buy whatever they needed.
Pulling him through the lively, noisy crowd, ZaiWin led him towards a small dock. There were so many people around him that Snow couldn’t help leaning closer against him. And then warm hands were grabbing him by the waist and raising him from the ground, the same ZaiWin always did when placing him on Black’s back. This time, however, Snow was gently put down on an unstable wooded surface, that only shook even more dangerously the moment ZaiWin jumped onto it as well, easily landing right in front of him. And then they too, were gliding over the smooth surface of the water.
Crouching down, Snow held on to the side of the boat so that he could see the water from up close. Its surface was so calm, only disturbed by the gentle movement of the boat, that it actually mirrored his face. And then he looked at the boat itself.
Like the others he had seen from the bridges, it too had a big white sail, with the difference that seen from up close it looked much larger than he had thought. An old man was sitting at the bow of the boat, slowly stirring it deeper into the lake, the loud sound of voices coming from the docks slowly fading away. The air smelled of freshwater, Snow thought, closing his eyes to take a deep breath. And the soft, almost imperceptible breeze that touched his hair was cold but clean, feeling really good against his skin.
He had never been on a boat before, Snow thought, looking back at the smooth water, his eyes widening at the sight of the silver slithering forms that rushed by the boat’s side. The watery sounds reaching his ears were soothing and relaxing, and he had no doubt that he would sleep very well lying on a boat like that.
“Where to, young master?”
ZaiWin blinked and turned back, to look at the old man. He had been so absorbed simply watching Snow, simply taking notice of every little expression that crossed his face, that he had completely forgotten about the old man.
“Just take us around for a while.”
The man simply nodded.
“Oh. We do want to get something to eat. So if you know of any good places, I’ll be extremely grateful.”
“Of course, young master. No trouble at all.”
That settled, ZaiWin simply sat down on the wood plank crossing the boat from side to side serving as a seat. Snow was still staring at the water, a small smile tugging at his lips. He hadn’t changed at all, ZaiWin thought. He could as well be looking at him crouching by the side of the road, completely forgetting about the rest of the world, staring intently at the insignificant flowers growing there. Which was good, ZaiWin suddenly realized, a sense of relief taking over his chest. It meant that he hadn’t corrupted him in any way. And he couldn’t help smiling bitterly when a small voice inside his head added ‘yet’.
The voice of a woman announcing her beautiful flowers finally captured Snow’s attention, and he immediately sprang to his feet, practically running to the other side of the boat, making it balance more strongly beneath his stormy footsteps. Eyes glistening from excitement, he expectantly watched as their boat slowly approached another larger boat, where four women sold bunches of colorful flower and other potted plants.
Ah, he was being completely ignored, ZaiWin concluded, watching him as he dangerously leaned over the rail. Snow had even completely forgotten that they were on a boat, ZaiWin sighed, but still let him be. His chest felt unusually warm just from watching him, offering him some comfort and allowing him to feel a bit less worried about what could be happening in Nox. The honest, child-like wonder with which Snow looked at everything was just too precious, and something ZaiWin didn’t remember having ever possessed, even when he had been younger.
They sailed from vending boat to vending boat, sometimes even having to stand in line so that they could approach a more busy merchant. From vegetables to fruits, to bright clothes and colorful fabrics, there was nothing that wasn’t being sold in that lake.
Of course, it didn’t take long until Snow realized that they never approached the boats selling fresh fish or small game, like rabbits and pheasants, and he couldn’t help being grateful for that. But he did enjoy seeing from up close the boats selling live animals, like chickens and ducks, the men having to run after them all over the boat every time a customer bought one.
As always, the boats selling shiny jewelry and crystals were the most captivating ones. Not that Snow desired to possess any of those glistening things, but he couldn’t help feeling mesmerized by the way all those colors shined so beautifully.
They also approached a few boats selling food, but they never got too close to those. The smell coming from them, that Snow was sure must be delicious for most, always left him feeling nauseated. And so ZaiWin would always be the one talking with the merchants, choosing what to buy. He even bought food for the old man, who looked very surprised by his generous gift, even though there were no signs of fish or meat inside the huge pastry he handed him.
Snow deeply enjoyed everything he was offered, from savory dishes to strange, colorful sweets, all things he had never tasted before. He had never eaten so much in one single day, he thought, feeling so full that he couldn’t take another bite. Still, ZaiWin kept buying all sorts of different dishes, so much so that, by the end of the day, he was carrying three packages wrapped in brown paper and a jar of something Snow doubted to be water, all things Snow hadn’t been able to try.
Language:
ZaiWin: Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos).
