Squires' Day Out

“Cavall, hey, are you free today?”

The short blue Cybunny turned around and saw a green Zafara trotting toward him and waving. Both of them wore simple cream shirts over belted brown breeches, and pinned to their chests were matching red, blue and gold squire badges.

“Huh?” Cavall shifted the books in his arms. “Oh, uh, yeah. Sir Rohane said he was going to visit home for the weekend.”

“Great!” Joanna smiled. “Philip is stuck in kitchen duty, Sir Oakley took Mulligan with him for some archery practice…so, why don’t we go to the marketplace today?”

“The marketplace?” he repeated, blinking. “Um…sure? Why?”

“Need to buy a couple of things, but don’t you want to just go out and have fun before our classes and training start up again? Meet me at the front doors!”

She smiled, and Cavall could only awkwardly smile back.

* * *

He stared when he saw that Joanna traded her squire garb for a neat sunny yellow dress with a ribboned sash and a pattern of daisies on the hem and sleeves. The Zafara even wore gold hoop earrings and combed back her mane.

And then he realized he was staring.

“Is there…something on my…” Joanna reached up toward her face.

“No!” Cavall exclaimed. “I mean…no, nothing. S-Should we go now?”

She chuckled. “Who else are we waiting for? Our friends and our masters aren’t available anyway. Come on!” Then she grabbed his wrist and the two of them left Meridell Castle, taking the winding path down from the drawbridge and toward the largest marketplace anywhere in the kingdom.

As a small mercy, Joanna did let go of his hand as the stalls and shops loomed into view, as did the hustle and bustle, the vendors calling out their wares, the shoppers haggling, and at one point, the commotion between two bakers who both displayed Loveberry pies.

Is this…a date? Cavall wondered to himself, grimacing discreetly. Did Joanna…would she…does she…

“Cavall, look! Aren’t they pretty?”

She tugged at his sleeve and pointed to a table full of beautiful porcelain and wood jewelry. Joanna started gesturing to various necklaces, asking about designs and sizes and if the shopkeeper charged extra for gift wrapping. Cavall found himself unintentionally tuning out and instead, tuning in to his thoughts.

When he entered page duty, Joanna had become one of his first friends, and she, Philip the brown Moehog, and Mulligan the hulking shadow Grarrl, became his inner circle. She was the best fencer out of all of them – and Cavall the worst, despite being mentored by one of Meridell’s greatest swordsmen – who never gave bullies the time of day, but who also enjoyed dressing up and collecting miniature figurines in her spare time. She was kind, and clever, and knew how to keep the prankster Philip in line, and just like Philip and Mulligan, accepted Cavall when he revealed his true past to them as the son and heir to one of Meridell’s most corrupt noble families.

I like her as a friend. Maybe I do love her, but definitely as a friend. I…I don’t like her, like her. He shuffled from foot to foot. But I said I’d come with her to the market…and she would’ve said something if she wanted to go on a real date with me, right?

If we were just going to the market as friends, why’d she dress up nice? Er, n-not that she shouldn’t, it’s just…

“What do you think? This one, or this one?”

Joanna held up two bracelets in front of him: one with beads in the colors of the sunset, and the other awash in rainbow hues.

Cavall froze. I-Is this for her? Am I supposed to buy one for her? Partners buy stuff for each other, but then again, isn’t that also a friend thing to do?

“Oh, uh, I think the red, yellow and orange one stands out more…”

“I was thinking the same thing!” the Zafara exclaimed as she whipped around again to face the sleepy Tonu shopkeeper. “This one, please, and can you wrap it up with a ribbon and stuff?” She leaned toward Cavall and whispered, “Lady Colleen’s birthday is next week and I wanted to surprise her.”

The blue Cybunny was surprised that he had been holding his breath when he let out a sigh that was larger and probably louder than normal.

“Are…you okay?”

He stiffened again. “Yeah…yeah, I’m okay. So…you were looking for a gift for your mistress? Is…that all you wanted to do here?”

Joanna looked at him after forking over a handful of Neopoints to the Tonu, who was suddenly a little less sleepy as he counted the coins out on his palm.

“Of course not! We should go look around some more, it’s not even dark yet!”

And she took his hand again, and Cavall found both himself and his thoughts dragged along.

M-Maybe this really isn’t a date. Friends do this sort of thing all the time, we hang out at the market with the others, I’ve been here with Sir Rohane too, but…

But now it’s just the two of us. Joanna and me. What if this is the part where she figures out how to tell me she likes me likes me, and I have to tell her I don’t like her like her?

* * *

Dread filled Cavall from ear to tail when he saw Joanna stop in front of a milkshake stall advertising shakes for two, complete with intertwined straws, and strawberry, cherry and Loveberry cookies all shaped like hearts.

He wanted to say something, but his voice caught in his throat when Joanna said, “I’m parched, we should grab a drink, maybe some snacks.”

“A-A-A-Are you sure you want to buy from here?” he asked, managing to remember, just in time, to lower his voice in case the vendor at the stall heard him and got offended.

“Why not? Lady Colleen says they have the best chocolate milkshakes around! They’ll even draw patterns on the whipped cream if you ask.”

“It’s…um…”

“Don’t you like chocolate milkshakes, Cavall?”

“Of course I do!” he blurted out, tugging at one of his perpetually droopy ears. “I love them, it’s just…I’m…JoannaIneedtotellyousomething!”

The green Zafara seemed confused at first, before she stopped and met his eyes. “What is it?”

“I…” He swallowed hard, imagining that he was swallowing all of his doubts and everything else he couldn’t describe swirling around in his head. “Joanna, I like you, but I don’t like you…”

“What?”

“No, no, I’m sorry! I do like you!” Cavall said, burying his face into his hands. “I just…” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Joanna, but I don’t like you that way. I don’t like you like you. I like you, as a friend. And i-if you wanted to date me…I’m really sorry.” Please don’t cry, he mentally added as he steeled himself, and shut his eyes.

Joanna stared at him as though he had shrunken into an Eizzil and burrowed away beneath the market. She opened her mouth, only to end up snorting and giggling, slapping the small table the two of them had claimed in front of the milkshake stall.

Oh no, what did I say now?

“Cavall!” she cried, reaching out to him – and then slapping his shoulder so hard he flinched. “Cavall, you really thought…”

He gestured discreetly at her dress. “You got dressed up and all…”

“Because I only wanted to, silly! Didn’t you notice? Whenever Meridell Castle has these banquets and parties where I can wear anything I like, I sometimes pick out a dress or a neat skirt. Sometimes I even wear a skirt as part of our squire uniform!”

“And the…” Cavall tilted his head toward the advertisements for milkshakes for two.

Joanna snorted again. “I mean, we could share one if you can’t finish it by yourself, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I know you don’t need my help drinking an entire milkshake. Especially chocolate. And c’mon, the cookies do look delicious, don’t they?”

“Then…then we…we’re not on a date?

“I asked you to come with me to the market ‘cause we’re friends, and I think that after all you’ve been through, you deserve little trips like this every now and then.” She beamed; even though he didn’t like her like her, he had to admit that her smile was beautiful, with an infectious cheer, and it helped calm him down after his panic.

Still, he had to ask. “Then you’re not mad at me? Or…”

“Of course not! Now, are we getting milkshakes or not?”