He had been sitting quietly under the wooden eaves of large stone-walled estate, ruminating over the scattered remains of his smoking weed, when Kitten found him the next morning. The traveler was genuinely taken aback as her voice carried under the shrouded overhang; he had believed he was well tucked away from casual view.
She approached him carrying a bundle of fabric, smiling as she plopped down next to him on the unkempt grass, not noticing him shy away from her nearness, nor that his surroundings were littered with grey ash and that his discarded flint lain forgotten in the weeds. She set the bundle of clothing before him, an offering.
His expression was guarded; his voice spoke without tone. Emptily. “What is this?”
Kitten sensed then that he had retreated behind his old familiar stoney walls, and tilted her head in concern. The cheerfulness she met him with was replaced by confusion. "I got you something?"
He made no move to touch the things set before him and so the girl unfurled the fabric, revealing a better pair of leather boots than what he wore which had been wrapped in a new woolen grey cloak. The traveler glanced briefly at them, then looked pointedly at the girl once more. “And what did these cost you?”
She counted aloud on her fingers. "All together, three silver pieces and forty copper ones."
Undeterred, he questioned her again. "And what did the coins cost you?"
His grimy fingers fidgeted, longing for something to hold as Kitten attempted to answer his question. She spoke of looking after ‘bee houses’ and showed him multiple red welts on her arms, which concerned him more than he revealed and he fought the desire to look over her wounds. He remained troubled by what he saw the previous night and the ache of it smarted still.
Kitten fumbled for words. “I'm sorry I couldn't find you for a few days. I checked Mud Gate and didn't see you…”
Quietly, calmly he responded, “Perhaps that was for the best. You seem to have found means while away from me.”
“Means?” The look of confusion on her face was earnest.
“Means. To buy things,” his voice remained neutral.
Kitten tried to follow along but could not grasp his meaning. Instead she countered with a deluge of questions such as whether the boots would fit him and if he liked them, which made the traveler close his eyes and take a deep breath. When he opened them, he turned to look pointedly in her eyes.
"A man bought you these things.” There was no accusation in his voice. It was a simple statement.
She shook her head. "No. I told you, I looked after bee houses for a week and made coin. I even got stung.”
"Is that so? And no man has attempted to kiss you, perhaps after buying you these things?" He played his card.
She replied with another jumble of words. “He didn't buy them. He did ask for a kiss, though. Which was strange because he was trying to give his arm to the tailor lady. How did you know that?"
The traveler ignored her question. "Perhaps he is better prepared to help you travel to where you need to go than I am. Perhaps it is his company you should seek more of."
Kitten snorted and let out a small laugh. "I don't want to go with him. He's strange. Nice enough, but odd."
The traveler gestured to the clothes set before him. "He can buy you the things you need, and want. It would be foolish not to take advantage of it."
The girl took no offense to his meaning, but tilted her head curiously at his words. “How did you know about him asking for a kiss? Do you know him?”
He glanced downward for a moment, aware that he had been wrong to follow her. ”I do not know the man.”
“So how did you know that?"
"I care about what you do,” his eyes remained lowered. He would deserve the coming ire.
"Ok. So how did you know that then?"
“Does that matter?” He knew it did, but stalled yet longer.
“I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know,” she still smiled sweetly at him and he did not merit it.
The traveler sighed deeply and pulled a stray thread on his trousers. "I saw you leave the Archives as I came to visit you. I was curious where you were going."
“You followed me?” He nodded once in answer.
A pout appeared on her innocent face and her eyes turned glassy. "Why didn't you come say something? I've been looking all over for you. I missed you."
Inwardly, he winced. “You had arrangements. I only followed to see what you were doing, and if you were safe.”
“I would have prefered to see you,” she reaffirmed.
He had been unfair to her and now there was nothing but for him to own his mistake. “I am sorry to have pursued. You are free to do as you will.”
The maelstrom he expected was not the one he received. He had expected outrage and perhaps fury; instead, the girl melted into a crying fit and seemed to blame herself. The traveler brought a calloused hand to his temple and rubbed for a few moments, then leaned forward and pulled her into him, encircling the sobbing girl with his thin arms, rocking her gently.
He murmured into her ear as he stroked her hair. "I care not about these things you bring me. I only care that you have what you need. And I am not the man to give you that."
He said nothing further but held her until she calmed again. Once the weeping turned to sniffling, he brought a hand to her quivering chin, lifting her face to him, leaving a soft kiss on her lips. “Stop this, Kitten.”
The girl seemed soothed with the kiss. He continued, this time with tenderness in his voice. “I only want what is best for you.”
“I don't understand. I earned that money, for myself. Why is that wrong?”
“It is only wrong that you give your time to me, when there are others who can do for you so much more than I am able.”
“I don't want others. You think I wanted Mr. Tweed?” The girl looked incredulous.
“He would be an improvement, I would think.”
Kitten blinked for a few moments, then broke into unabashed laughter.
“That is funny?” He tried to remember what he could of the man. It had been dark and his view obstructed, but the man seemed sturdy and dressed in fanciful attire. Surely not one who had trouble with women.
“I just never thought of him that way. And I don't think he seems to like me either. He's always cross with me. Do people always choose who they're with because of what they can give them?”
He shrugged. "Some do."
“So you think I should kiss Mr. Tweed for money?”
“You should do what is best for you,” He did not like where the conversation was headed now.
“I don't want to kiss people for money,” she began and then paused before continuing. “Is that what you think I did?"
The traveler closed his eyes and deeply sighed. “Perhaps. Or if not, the man presumed so.”
Kitten looked hurt at his words. “What he presumes isn't my fault.” She shrugged before continuing. "If I can just make my own money, I can kiss whoever I want.”
The traveler knew he was culpable and that she would have been justified in any indignation. But Kitten, in her own curious way, internalized it all rather than cast blame on him for his low actions and words. She deserved better indeed; she deserved better of him.
He would give her that, he decided, for they mended each other. Theirs had been a quiet comfort, one that did not need the formal trappings of courtship nor the intrigue of a baser affair. They just were, with no pretense or expectation. And he wanted to continue with her because of that and more.
The traveler shifted himself behind the nearby pillar, pulling her along with him. Tangling themselves together in the tall grass, he whispered in her ear, “My apologies for doubting you.”
