A Trip to Market

[Deleted]

Ysabel hated this place. Too many pushy people came to the bazaar; she preferred her plants and her solitude. She was here hoping to pawn off some of her homemade herbal teas. They were delicious and nutritious. She had never reserved a booth, so she was hoping she would find someone who seemed interested, sell them, and get out of town. Wearing her armor, sword at her hip, sash flowing behind her, she tried to find someone who didn't appear to be too dodgy and who also seemed rather well off. She was in the market for some milk, so she hoped she would find some of that here as well.

It wasn't long before she just gave up hope and sat down by the fountain. She began people watching and enjoyed seeing some of the people going quietly about their daily life, happy and healthy. Children played around her, giggling at this and that. Being around people wasn't too bad, it was just those pushy ones that bothered her immensely.

[keaka]

Zephyr grumbled as he carried another crate of milk into the market to be sold. He really didn't like cows. Sure, he had used to, but that was before he had ever tried milking one. His arm was still throbbing where the stupid beast had kicked him. He was sure he was sporting a decent size bruise by this point.

He set the crate onto the table and sighed. That was the last time he ever volunteered to help Malon with her chores. No. From this point on, he would be feeding the chickens.

[Deleted]

Hey, look! The milk man! Wait. That was that man from the dragon adventure. Ysabel had mixed feelings about this, but by golly she wanted some milk. Boldly, she stood, parted a herd of children, and approached him. "Excuse me, but how much would you charge me for some of that milk?" Blunt, but it was how she felt. She did not want to spend more time here than need be. Maybe she could trade him some tea bags for some milk. Heck, she'd even brew him some tea if she could get some milk for free. She didn't have many rupees, being a college kid and all, but milk was worth it.

A delicious buzz from some cow juice sounded splendid right now.

[Gannondorf]

Malon smiled as she set some crates of milk on the counter "Well It depends what you have. A rupee a bottle sound fair?" She asked wrapping an arm around Zephyr "By the way thanks for helping me Zeyphie." She whispered to him while kissing his cheek. "and sorry for the whole cow incident. She can be very testy can't she?"

[keaka]

Zephyr sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, sure. But don't expect me to do that again. I hate cows.." He grumbled and looked up to see the familiar face of the girl that they had run into on their way to the top of Death Mountain. "Well, well, would you look who it is? It's been a while, Blondie." He said, not actually remembering her name. He tended to forget those sorts of things. He started unloading the crates once again, trying not to get behind in his work.

[Deleted]

For some reason, being called 'blondie' really irritated Ysabel. She wasn't sure why, but the disapproval quickly sprawled across her face. That was, well, incorrect. "My hair is not blonde, it is brown. But please, there's no need to call me blondie. I can be addressed by Ysabel or Izzy, depending on who you are." With that being said, she turned to the farm girl who had the milk and apparently the cows as well.

"A rupee a bottle does sound fair, but I was wondering if you would be willing to consider a trade?" Politeness swept back over Izzy's features, the disapproval completely gone. Both of the lovers from Death Mountain were here, which was interesting, considering she hadn't really ran into anyone from there since the lake.

[Gannondorf]

Malon sighed and rolled her eyes at Zephyrs daftness "That boy some days." She said with a grin as she leaned on the counter "A trade?" she paused and tossed the idea around in her head "Well what do you want to trade?" She asked crossing her arms while still on the counter. "I mean some tea leaves or a new bucket would be nice but I don't think you have either of those!" she chuckled to herself and looked back at Zephyr "You go put the crates away."

[Deleted]

Ha, this boy was so totally her pet. She wanted a boy she could boss around like that. Well, maybe not. A bit of defiance would be nice. Some rebelliousness, but she had no doubt in her mind that this man, Zephyr, had a wild streak at least a mile wide. "Actually, I do have some tea leaves. All nice and neatly bagged. I have also started crafting scent samples, if you would like something to, well, spruce up a little bit for a special occasion." The statement, though not meant to carry any offense seemed kind of rude, so Ysabel paired it with a friendly smile. She dived into her pack and pulled out a few different baggies, each labeled with a fancy script. It just helped them sell.

"Each has a different purpose, and if you aren't familiar with it I would be glad to assist."

[Gannondorf]

"Well I uh..." Malon said standing straight up. "I've never seen anything like it so I'll need some explaining." she chuckled nervously for she never liked to be wrong or ill prepared for anything. "So what do they all do?" she asked with a small smile. She slowly realized what she meant by the joke "Please I would never let him anywhere down there. He hasn't earned it yet."

[Deleted]

"Alright, no problem. Think of them like a potion; color coded. Red is for that extra boost of life you may need. Green is for magic replenishment, if you're in to that kind of thing. Blue is multipurpose. Orange is for the common cold, purple soothes the nerves, and black enhances the senses." The black looked the most menacing, perhaps because it was. Ysabel had only tried it once, and it greatly improved her precision. She didn't recommend that kind for the faint of heart, and it was by far the most expensive.

Wait... anywhere down there? Hasn't earned it yet? "What do you mean, 'down there'?" Oh heavens. Ysabel turned bright red. That was not what she had meant at all. Still blushing, Izzy chuckled nervously. "My apologies for giving such an implication, Malon," the name came to her fluidly now. It was very clever.

[Gannondorf]

"I like the red and blue one." Malon said picking up the bags to look at the leaves. "I mean exactly what you think I mean. I may not be waiting for marriage like the princess but he still has to be the right one." She explained with a smile. "I don't suppose you have a love yet. I hear Isabel's son is looking for a girl."

[Deleted]

Ysabel watched as the young woman looked at the leaves. "It's quite simple. Just add water. They are flavored, too, so they won't taste terrible. You could even add them to some milk, if you'd like; I don't know how it'd taste, though." She'd never tried to add it to milk before.

Malon was playing directly into Ysabel's chain of thought. She must have a very intuitive mind, or she was just a clever guesser. Izzy had meant to meet this son of Isabel's since the first time he was mentioned. She didn't want to let anyone in on that little secret she kept, so she remained unphased. "Well, I mean there are lots of attractive men around here. Link's a really attractive man. I'm not really in to the whole 'hero' thing, though. I just like his hair. I mean, I'd be open to dating, but I've never met anyone who I've liked in a romantic way who has liked me back." Maybe Malon had an inside source so she could get to this son of Isabel's. Ysabel felt like a child for being so infatuated with someone she had never met, and if she were to tell her mother about it, she would say she was setting herself up for disappointment.

[Gannondorf]

"John is due to come home from the army soon. He's a very nice man actually." Malon said smiling to herself. "He can be a bit brash at times but he's like his mother in that he will always take care of those he loves and would die for them." Malon blushed slightly as she remembered her previous affection for the man "Trust me he'd be great for you. He should be at the Christmas Gathering coming up." She explained hoping Ysabel would fall for him.

[Deleted]

If he was so great, why wasn't she with him then? Ysabel shook the thought aside, quite literally. The two girls barely even knew each other, but Malon was trying to play matchmaker. It wasn't that Izzy minded per say, it was more the fact that she had never met this guy and she wanted to and this conversation was playing into her thoughts and she wanted a subject changed immediately. She simply had to draw attention away from herself and to another person nearby.

"Being such a wonderful young milkmaid as you are, shouldn't you be with a big strong lumberjack instead of a more flirtatious man?" Stereotypical, perhaps, but she just didn't want to have her secrets revealed unwillingly. If she met this John, she'd assess him herself. Malon had clearly approved of him.

[Gannondorf]

Malon chuckled and looked at Zephyr "Well mainly because well." She paused and struggled for an answer and found none. "I honestly can't tell you. I mean me and him aren't an official couple yet and we've only been on a handful of dates." she explained. She sighed and shook her head as she thought about the boy behind her. She knew he wasn't good for her yet she still stayed with him. Maybe it was desperation or simply she had been tricked. Any way she looked at it she knew it wasn't good.