Seconds to Midnight: A Maiden of Midnight Prequel
Seth- Day Four

Seth- Day Four

The Town Square was bustling at this time of night, Karla plowing a path through the crowd, carrying a basket of jams and other supplies to sell tonight. The stall she was renting tonight was positioned near the Execution Post, too close to it for my comfort, or for hers, but she had chosen it deliberately, intending on having me front and centre for all the nobles who brought their families to witness the executions and flayings.

Behind me, Merry and Emmett were grinning from ear-to-ear, the latter flirting with a brunette girl, while Lucy clung to my shirt sleeve, her hand clasped around my elbow, keeping close to me. Merry was chewing on a fresh, hot bread with butter on it. He’d already split it three ways with Lucy and I.

It had been the best tasting thing I ate in the last few months. Butter was rare in the winter months, and so was fresh bread!

“Karla!” I called out, bending and scooping Lucy up when she nearly tripped on an uneven cobblestone. My little sister cuddled against my side, excitedly resting her hands on my shoulder and peering behind us at Merry and Emmett, who wiggled their fingers at her, making her giggle.

Our mother didn’t pause, even though I could tell she could hear me, aiming straight for her stall, where, beside it, a noble family stood, their faces upturned to the Execution Post. A man was chained to it, shivering in the cold. He was shirtless and barefoot. His eyes met mine before sliding past, silently begging someone to help him.

It was freezing out tonight, even my winter cloak doing nothing against the cold, Karla twisting and placing her basket down atop her stall, reaching for me. She plucked Lucy out of my arms, sitting her on the table, before adjusting my shirt and cloak, smoothing her fingers through my hair. I frowned, pushing her hands away, whining, “Karla, stop!”

Merry joined my side, pulling out a chair for our mother, who breezed around the table, nodding her head toward the closest noble family. They had three daughters, each one of varying ages, the middle girl around my age.

She was wearing a dress with plenty of coloured, decorated skirts, held up by a skirt cage, and her hair was swept up in intricate curls. I turned away, gnawing on my lip, and Karla shoved the basket into my arms, “Introduce yourself.”

Twisting, a blush already spreading up my cheeks, I stepped toward the family, and the girl. She turned to look at me, her nose wrinkling in disgust before she turned away, leaning over and whispering something to her older sister, who ushered her away.

Swearing under my breath, I heard my mother cough my name.

She was already pointing toward another noble family. This time, the girl my age had long orange hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a green dress.

My eyes lingered on the dress, the colour stunning- one of my favourite variations of green, and seeing that I was struggling to replace a way to approach her, Emmett strode past me, elbowing me sharply in the back with a snicker, sending me careening toward the girl.

She flinched when I nearly tripped into her, stammering apologies, lifting my basket as if that would save me from embarrassment, and she shook her head, “I’m not interested in secondhand wares.”

She, too, turned away, walking into the crowd, leaving me stranded.

Shit.

“Those girls wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole, and so they shouldn’t. They would probably catch a disease.”

Groaning at the familiar, snide voice, I turned to face Bramfield, rolling my eyes and muttering, “What do you want, Bramfield?” I refused to call him Lord Bramfield, or whatever his title was outside of the Academy, not even if it got me flogged.

“Not whatever shit you’re selling, that’s for sure,” he snorted. His posse of friends wasn’t with him tonight. Instead, there was a dark-haired girl at his side, her hands clasped neatly in front of her, her face downcast. The both of them were wearing matching colours, the Bramfield green and grey, and he snarled, “Get your eyes off my sister!”

I couldn’t snap the retort on my tongue without insulting his sister, who lifted her eyes to me. They were the softest brown I’d ever seen in my life, nothing like Bramfield’s cold expression, and she curtseyed, murmuring, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“He isn’t one of us,” Bramfield snapped, grabbing her arm and moving to pull her away from me, flicking me a copper coin that rolled across the stones. I had enough dignity that I didn’t scramble to snatch it up, but I did place my shoe over it, covering it from any thieving fingers as he called over his shoulder with a laugh, “Keep the change, you’ll need it!”

I waited until he was out of sight to bend, plucking up the coin and studying it. I didn’t want to admit it, but the coin would help.

Merry emerged from the crowd, clapping a hand on my shoulder, nodding in the direction of Bramfield, “Who was that?” There was a troubled expression on Merry’s face- the sort of look he got when someone mouthed off to one of us, and I shrugged, “Just someone from the Academy. Don’t worry about it, Merry.”

“Mira told me you’re having trouble with a classmate. Was that him?”

“Forget it,” I begged with a sigh, annoyed that Mira would reveal something I’d told her in confidance. I didn’t need the embarrassment of having my big brother swooping in to save me, not when I could take Bramfield on my own. It would take training, but I could do it.

Eyeing the crowd around me, Merry thankfully changed the subject, “You aren’t going to replace anyone out here, Seth. Karla is wrong for parading you around.” I huffed my agreement, clutching the basket closer out of embarrassment, using it to hide, and he grinned when I blushed, teasing, “When you meet that special someone, little brother, you won’t care if she’s a Lady or an Eastern Ordeallan girl or a criminal.”

“A criminal,” I repeated flatly, “You think I would hook in a criminal?”

“I think you’re destined for great things, and whoever you choose to stand at your side will be perfect for you. Come on.” He grabbed the basket, handing it over to Emmett, who walked casually by, the hand-over so smooth I barely noticed it, “Let’s sneak off for a bit. Emmett will sell all that, and you and I can get out of Karla’s hair for a bit.”

Leaning to peer over his shoulder, I glanced at our mother, who was busy talking to an old friend of hers, Lucy balanced on her lap, adding her own anecdotes to the conversation.

Meeting my brother’s eyes, I nodded desperately, and he slung an arm over my shoulders, ruffling my hair, “Let’s go, little brother.” With a second look at me, he amended, “I can barely call you little anymore. Jeez, Seth, you’re practically a man already!”

I grinned, nudging his side and mumbling, “Stop teasing me.”

Whatever ‘great things’ Merry thought I was destined for, I didn’t care about. I didn’t even care about replaceing a noble wife and elevating the family status.

I just wanted to live up to my brother’s expectations for the kind of man I would be.