Chapter 576

576 Preferred Company(Part One)

“So it’s all about the food, then, hmm?” Tidas commented as Skye sat up in their bed.

After another yawn, Skye replied; “I can smell before I can see when I wake up, husband..”

As her eyes fell on the trays at the end of the bed, Skye beamed as she said; “Ya brought me food in bed?! Aww! I love you! Thank you! I thought I was just smellin’ it cookin’ or somethin’ like that.”

Tidas grinned back lovingly at her; “You’re welcome. I thought eating together in bed was a perfect start to our day together.”

Skye was eagerly sniffing towards the food when she stopped to turn back towards her husband; “Our day together? We can’t-”

“I already had Peggy warn everyone that we would be gone shopping most of the day. I have a list that Bai Lei gave to Peggy for us, since ‘we’d be out shopping anyways’. So we aren’t expected back until dark..”

Tidas reached out, and gently grabbed Skye’s hand as he added; “I miss spending time with you. Just you.. We see each other, but we never get to talk about mundane things, or simply enjoy each other’s company anymore. It is the day before Yuletide Eve, and we have presents to buy. Is it too much that we do that alone?”

Skye nodded and smiled, happy to hear that her husband seemed to miss her as much as she did him. She squeezed his hand back as she said; “Not at all. I look forward to it, love. I miss ya as well.”

Seeing her lean in after speaking, Tidas did the same, and they shared a tender kiss. He had meant it to be short and sweet, but Skye leaned into it, making him happily match her enthusiasm. When she tried to deepen it, however; Tidas had to break away.

.....

As disappointment started to overtake Skye’s features, her husband kissed her forehead, then said; “As much as I would love for us to stay in bed, we need to eat and get going if we want to be back by nightfall.”

“...Fine. I’ll keep me hands to me self fer now, but dinna expect any mercy from me tonight, dear husband..”

Tidas nodded and smiled, then reached for the two trays. He handed one to Skye, and set one down on his lap. As he grabbed a kind of spring roll, and dipped it into the miso, Skye quirked an eyebrow at him; “And what do ya think yer doin’, exactly?”

Tidas paused as he went to take a bite, looked at her with a confused expression, and replied; “Eating....why?”

“Well, go get yer own.”

“What?” Tidas exclaimed then gestured to his lap; “This Is my food.”

Skye shook her head; “I dinna ken what yer sayin’: this is All mine.”

“We can get more food while we shop. I’m hungry, too.”

Skye had kept a straight face the whole time, but the utterly serious scowl on her husband’s face was too funny. She chuckled hard before saying that she was joking, then finally started to eat when she’d calmed down. Her tray had literal piles of food on top of it, so she knew that Tidas had brought the other tray for himself.

They ate quickly, then Skye rushed to wash, and dress. Tidas helped her by getting all of her undergarments together, then became a hindrance when it came time for her to dress..

“I changed my mind: get into bed.”

“Yer funny, husband. Now stop gettin’ grabby, and help me zip up the back.”

Tidas huffed like a child, but he complied with his wife’s request. She still has to playfully smack his hands away several times before they even made it to the carriage. A couple of servants gave them sideways glances, but the two didn’t care.

It wasn’t actually bothering her; in fact, Skye loved when her husband was being playful. Any time it did start to bother her, she could trust Tidas to stop when she asked. Since she hadn’t been serious with her refusals, Tidas was grabby even in the carriage.

The ride into the shopping district of the city would take a bit longer to get there now, but the two didn’t mind. They talked and messed with each other the entire time, laughing loudly, and often. The driver couldn’t help but smile as he flicked his wrists, keeping the horses going at a slow, yet steady pace.

The day was cold, but bearable in the sunlight. The pearly snow crunched under their feet once they’d reached their first stop for the day: an animal shop of some kind. Skye didn’t fully understand why they were there until Tidas grinned cheekily..

“This is referred to as a pet shop. They carry only supplies meant for animals that people commonly keep as pets, like dogs and cats. But guess what ‘novelty items’ they sell-for decorations, not actual use. But guess what type of things they carry here?”

Tidas looked like an over-excited puppy as he waited for his wife to answer him. Skye chuckled at how sweet he was being, even though she didn’t understand a word he’d said. When she’d calmed and told him as much, Tidas replied; “Jus-Just come in! It’ll be better if I show you, anyways.”

With utter confusion plastered all over her face, Skye followed after her husband as he practically dragged her inside of the shop. It was a very old building, and the architecture was similar to the style used for the former palace. A bell rang when they came in, which summoned a worker from the back.

The two initially had their hoods up, to help block the cold. When they saw the employee approaching, Skye had been the first one to pull her hood back. Upon seeing her golden hair, the worker dropped the bundle of tiny clothes in her hands..

“I can’t believe it! When I heard that you two had come to the kingdom, I Prayed that this would happen! I Dreamed of it! And you’re here! You’re Really Here!”

The short, round woman was barely understandable as she continued to go off in Saianese. It was hard to keep up with how fast she was talking, but Skye managed to get the gist of it. She smiled politely as she partially bowed, then asked; “Excuse me, but could you explain why you are so excited?”

The bubbly woman had instantly frozen; “Are you not here for your dragon?”

“Zazzy? What do you mean?” Skye questioned as a smirk stretched across her husband’s face.

Catching what was going on, the woman apologized for not introducing herself, then said; “I am Susanno Shikoku: the top creator And seller of dragon equipment in all of Sai. I thought that was why you were here..”

“That’s exactly why. Could you show us what you have?” Tidas replied while maintaining his smirk.

Skye chuckled; “Dragon equipment? Aside from Zazzy, there has not been any dragons in existence for centuries. Why would a shop sell, let alone make, equipment for a creature that was thought to be extinct?”

Susanno lost a bit of her pep again; “My people treasure dragons, whether they exist now, or not. We know that they did, thanks to the great gift that surrounds and protects us. As a child, I always hoped that dragons would return.. Although until you, that was just a fantasy..”

“My ancestors made everything from the armor, to the reins and saddles, to less important accessories for the Royal Dragon Knights of old. They are all novelties now, but my family still makes them the same way that they always had: to be functional. We charge quite a bit more than any other shop, but our products Could be used, if a real dragon wore them.”

“This be why we came here?” Skye asked her husband with a grin.

“Aye, wife. I thought that we could find some interesting things for our scaly bairn’s birthday here. Do you like my little surprise?”

Skye’s smile stretched to blinding proportions as she replied; “I love it, and so will Zazzy. Thank ya, me love.”

Reaching up onto the tips of her toes, Skye kissed her husband’s cheek as thanks. Susanno turned away, slightly embarrassed to witness a royal foreign couple sharing affection. Such things usually didn’t bother her, but she didn’t know the protocol for it.. ‘Do I avert my eyes? Do I acknowledge it? Will I get in trouble for seeing it?’

The former nobles made regular people look away in such situations, but she had no idea what to do. Fearful of angering them, Susanno chipperly piped up without looking at them; “Let’s go see my stock, shall we?”

Not realizing the awkwardness, Skye and Tidas happily followed after Susanno. The showroom for the dragon equipment was in a separate room altogether, due to their size. Most people that bought the pieces used them as a centerpiece for a room, or a garden.

‘My creations will Finally be used for their Real purpose.. It’s like I’m dreaming..’

As Susanno thought that her day couldn’t get any better, she was floored by the princess’ knowledge on metal and leather working. The fact that she was a royal made it all the more surprising, since most nobles she’d ever dealt with barely knew how to count. It was a wonderful change of pace, and one she hoped would be reoccurring in the future.

Tidas watched his wife with a massive smile on his face. He loved seeing her happy, and she was ecstatically chatting away with the shop keeper for well over an hour. They discussed armor-shaping techniques, attachable weapons, and other various things that previous dragons had used.

Skye put in an order for a specially designed weapon that would attach to the end of Zazzy’s tail. It doubled as armor, and as a retractable mace when she twisted her tail in a certain way. Barbs would shoot out of the armored tip, and be used as the mace by swinging her tail around.

Susanno’s knowledge of a dragon’s capabilities surprised Skye enough that she requested Susanno to come visit Zazzy, and coach her on how to use the weapon properly. At first she declined, but Skye had worded it too perfectly to pass up; “When will you ever get to see one of your creations actually being used properly? By a real dragon?”

With that and a few other words of encouragement: Susanno finally agreed to come train Zazzy after the New Year. She promised to deliver the dragon mace personally, to make sure it was handled properly. After she showed them a few more things, they paid for their items upfront, with a bonus for Susanno, then they left happy.

The next thing for them to do was to collect the things off of Bai Lei’s list. There were very few items listed, but they were all at shops that were quite a ways apart. They hit the first two of the five shops, then stopped to eat lunch. A particular smell wafting from an open Ramen stand had drawn Skye directly to it.

Tidas ordered four bowls of ramen with extra naruto in it, even though he hated eating fish. Skye ate two bowls of ramen, and eight large hot buns filled with sweet pork. By the time they had finished, the daylight was already beginning to fade.

They were rushing to the last shop so they could go for a walk in the public garden before heading back to Bai Lei’s home. Tidas had convinced Skye to leave the carriage behind, and was carrying her while running when she caught sight of Genie above them.

Tidas wanted to ignore him and continue on with their day together, but Skye was adamant about flagging him down. He seemed to be searching for something or someone, which turned out to be them. Much to Tidas’ annoyance..