Leon awoke to the sound of pots and pans clattering against eachother.
'Can't she be a bit quiter' Leon grumbled to himself as he flipped over on his bed, pulling the sheets over his eyes.
"Wake up! Breakfast is ready."
Leon ignored the words that were most certainly directed at him. Choosing to get more rest before his long day at work. Sadly, that wouldn't happen.
SMACK
A wooden spoon hit Leon on the little part of his forehead that remained outside the safety of his sheets.
"AH! Aunt May!" Leon quickly sat up, rubbing the small bruise that was already starting to form on his pale forehead.
"Eat! You have a long day." Aunt May responded, ignoring his complaints.
Leon got out of bed; quickly throwing a bland brown cotton tunic over his bare chest while slipping on his worn down sandals.
'I should see if Ivan can make me a new pair of sandals.'
Leon quickly took his spot at the table across from his Aunt May, her beautiful brown hair was cut slightly short reaching just below her jaw. Her glimmering green eyes… or maybe they were blue, looked at him from across the table with a frown on her face.
"Are you going to eat?" She quipped.
"Sorry!" Leon realized he had lost his train of thought, quickly picking up a wooden spoon on the table he began to gorge himself on the fresh rabbit stew that his Aunt had made for him.
Once Leom had finished eating he quickly stood up and began rushing towards the door, fearing he might be late for his job at the market.
"Grab some water on your way back. We're almost out." Aunt May reminded Leon as his back was already out the door.
"You got it!"
Leon ran through the crowded street lined with different stalls set up by people trying to peddle their goods. Quickly making his way through a few back alleys Leon found his way towards the village square.
The village square was an open area lined with all different types of stalls, unlike the ones that lined the streets and alleys, the ones set up here needed explicit permission from the Chief.
At the center of the market a well made of deep black onyx stood tall. Even though it was the only source of water within the village it always seemed to have enough to go around.
The Chief had said that the village sat on a large spring well that was fed from the mountains way north of here.
'But thats not possib— ' Leon lost his train of thought once more.
Finally Leom came upon a stall situated towards the far corner of the market, laid out on the table was an assortment of different spices as well as other types of fresh produce.
Behind the stall an older gentleman with an unkempt gray beard and bald head sat in a chair; the mans eyes were closed and the sound of snoring was clear to the ear.
"Old Man!" Leon shouted at the man behind the stall.
"I told you… I don't know who Beatrix is honey…" The man explained his wrong doings in his slumber.
"Hahhh." Leon sighed as he made his way behind the stall, opening his palm he brought it down on the top of the bald mans head.
SMACK
"HA!" The Old Man was startled awake, his eyes rapidly roaming around before they settled on Leon.
"Oh! Leon, right on time." The man quickly composed himself, dusting off the non-existent dust on his gray cotton tunic.
"I was just taking count for everything sold yesterday." The man began to explain that he was merely counting with his eyes closed… not sleeping.
"Whatever. Its your shop not mine." Leon grumbled to himself as he took his place next to the man.
Minutes passed before their first customer came up to the stall.
"Lucas, Leon! Do you guys have any more salt left?" A man in a blue silk robe came up to ask. A gold bracelet with a deep purple gem adorned at its center was found on his right weist. His short blond hair was neatly slicked back.
Leon didn't seem surprised at this man who came from a seemingly wealthy background coming up to the stall. After all, in the village, everyone was from the same status. Thats what The Chief taught everyone, treat all with kindness.
"Oh! We just so happen to only have a few pouches left." The old stall keeper told the finely dressed man.
"I'll take a pouch. The foods been getting pretty bland." The man smiled.
"Three tokens please." The old man said as he raised his hand in front of him.
Leon watched as three small black stone were placed in the old mans hands. Each cut into the shape of a square.
The old man curled his fingers around the tokens before giving Leon a glance along with a nod.
Leon hurriedly grabbed a small brown leather pouch that was tied at the top with cord, handing it over to the blond haired man before smiling,
"Thanks for your business!"
The blond haired man gave a small smile to Leom before turning around and walking out away, quickly finding other goods he needed to purchase from the many shopkeeps set up across the market.
A few other people found their way to the stall, Leon did most of the transactions as at some point the old man had found himself once more dozing off lazily in his chair. Leon merely smiled, letting him get his rest.
"Old man, wake up. Time to close shop." Leon gave another smack to the top of the old mans shiny head, the man quickly opened his eyes before reaching for a pouch that was tied to his belt. Undoing the thin cord that kept it closed he reached in before pulling out 5 small black tokens.
"Don't spend it all on women." The man winked at Leon before handing him the 5 tokens.
Leon rolled his eyes as he walked away, bidding the old man farewell until the next day.
Before leaving the market Leon grabbed a spare bucket and made his way towards the well at the center. Quickly stringing the rope at the top of the well around the handle of the bucket he then lowered the bucket into the well.
The well was so deep that Leon couldn't even see his reflection against the disturbed surface of the water, spending a good few minutes lowering the bucket before he heard a splash.
Leon pulled the bucket of water up from the well before undoing the rope around the handle, being careful not to spill any.
Taking a quick goance around, just to make sure his Aunt wasnt around, Leon took a greedy sip straight from the bucket. He knew that if his Aunt were to see this she would smack him with her favorite spoon,
"Use a cup!" He could imagine her voice already.
The water seeped down Leon's throat as he gasped feeling refreshed. A little bit of the water dripped from his lip before falling to the ground, dying the white stone of the market black.
Leon quickly found his way back home, his Aunt had already made a stew for dinner. Hungry after a long days worth of work, Leon sucked it down as if his stomach was an endless abyss.
Before long Leon had already wrapped himself in his warm covers, unable to get himself comfortable Leon shifted around positions.
'Damn, my back stings, I must have overworked it today.' Leon thought to himself.
Before long Leon found himself in the world of dreams.