Many hours later, the fire was under control. The place was a sight. The entire second story of the inn had gone up in flames, and a good portion of the bottom layer had burned as well. Nothing could have saved it. It had been good fortune on the part of the townspeople that they had been able to put out the fire at all.

The innkeeper was, of course, distraught to the point of tears. His business, his livelihood, had just gone up in flames before his eyes. It wasn’t even as if he was a rich man. He hadn’t the money to build a whole new building. Perhaps if they could have put out the fire sooner, the building could have been at least partially saved.

As for Tomas, he wasn’t much less of a mess. It was daylight by now, and still Dove had not made an appearance. He was worried about her.

He’d made an attempt to ask the innkeeper what he had seen when he first went into her room and discovered the fire, but it had not yielded much. The innkeeper had said that all he had really seen was the fire. It had caught on the bedsheet and spread throughout the room without mercy. Upon further questioning, he had mentioned that there had been a bag on the floor, but he hadn’t paid it much mind. He’d been more worried about the fire, for obvious reasons.

This didn’t help Tomas. The fact that Dove had left her bag behind told him little. She probably would not have thought to bring it on a walk, anyway. Of course, the longer he waited for her to show up, the more he thought that she had not merely gone for a walk.

He was still trying to figure out how the blanket had been set alight. The lantern had been on the table, of course, as it should have been. But when the innkeeper had entered, shards of broken glass had littered the floor, and the lantern lay on it’s side beside one corner of the blanket. The corner that had, of course, caught fire.

The more he thought about it, the more it just didn’t add up. Something more had happened to Dove than just her deciding to go for a walk. Something that he was sure was much more sinister.

What, of course, he was still unsure of. With hardly any information to go off of, he had no leads. Whatever had happened to her couldn’t be good, though.

His stomach growled as he walked through the marketplace, looking to buy himself some breakfast. Had the inn not burned down, he would have eaten there. The food was good, cooked there at the inn by the innkeeper himself. Tomas was trying to find something as good in the marketplace, but it wasn’t easy.

A large portion of what was being sold at the moment was not something one could pick up and eat. Raw vegetables and eggs, of course, as well as hens themselves. Other vendors were selling items, such as jewellery or rugs. Definitely not edible.

Fortunately, he soon came across a man selling pies. They were still hot, steaming in the chill morning air, and his stomach growled again. Walking over to the vendor, he dug in his pocket. He counted himself lucky that he had remembered to grab his bag, and with it, his money, before leaving the burning building. While his purse was quickly dwindling, it had enough to buy him a few more meals.

It occurred to him that he didn’t know what he would do after that. He had enough money for another day’s worth of meals, he estimated. But what would he do after that? If he had no money, he would have no food.

He turned the coins over in his fingertips before dropping them with a small clinking sound into the other man’s hand. He would worry about food after he ran out of money. For now, his stomach was protesting, and he ought to buy something while he still had coins.

A few polite smiles and murmured words later, he strolled away from the vendor with his pie in hand. It wasn’t a large pie, of course. It was small, baked to be individual. Probably better for sales, he figured with a crooked smile. Not many hungry pedestrians would invest in a whole pie. This, however, was just the right size.

“Tomas!” His name rang out over the bustle of the crowded marketplace, and he paused, just about to take a bite of his pie. Lowering it from his mouth, he turned, searching for the source of the bellow.

It didn’t take long. A few yards away, he spotted an older woman making her way towards him. Her small feet peeked out from under her skirts as she made her swiftly but surely. The air of confidence she held about her aided her in parting the crowds despite her stature. Tomas, of course, recognized her almost instantly.

“There you are, dear!” Viola cried with a large grin that split her features, emphasizing the crow’s feet around her eyes. “I’ve been looking for you all morning!”

Tomas opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly cut him off before he could even begin. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as she set off on him.

“And especially with that fire! Dreadful, isn’t it? Why, I’m just glad everyone got out okay. But what an awful business, don’t you agree? And poor Nero, losing his business like that.” She tsked sadly. “It’s just not right, you know?”

Tomas opened his mouth to reply, hoping she would cut to the chase soon - he knew her well enough that she’d merely been sidetracked. She had something else she wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, she began to speak again, continuing her ramble.

But, to Tomas’s surprise, she didn’t ramble. “Say, where’s that girl you had with you yesterday when you came by my stall? You know, the pale one, pretty, couldn’t speak?”

Viola leaned in closer then, putting one hand beside her mouth as if telling a secret. “If you ask me,” she began again in a lower voice, and Tomas leaned down to hear her better. “She needs a bit of feeding up. Your mother should be ashamed of herself, sending a girl out looking like that. And so thin! My, I do say it can’t quite be healthy for her. Not natural, that’s for certain.”

Tomas hid a small smile, but underneath he also felt worried. Not because of what Viola had pointed out - he already knew Dove was thin and pale. He also knew why that was, unlike Viola.

No, what he was worried about was Dove herself. And most particularly that Viola had noticed something odd about her even with the hood up. He silently thanked the gods that at least it had been up. No telling the looks they’d have received had it been down. Her hair stood out like… well, like a dove amongst pigeons. Which, he thought to himself, was a fairly accurate depiction.

Viola broke into his thoughts, and he realized he’d been silent for too long. “Well? Where is she?” The woman’s eyes widened. “She did make it out, right?”

Tomas rushed to reassure her. “Of course she did, don’t worry yourself about it. She’d left the building before the fire even started.” He offered her a small smile. “She’s probably running around here somewhere.” He gestured widely to the marketplace. He knew it was a lie, though. If Viola hadn’t spotted Dove with her sharp eyes, there wasn’t a high possibility of her being in the market.

But Viola nodded. “Good. All’s as it should be, then.” Her eyes brightened as if remembering something. “Oh! But that’s not what I came over here to talk to you about. Remember yesterday when you brought her over? You were looking for someone who could read, right?”

Tomas’s eyes widened a touch as he felt his heart drop. What sort of cruel fate would do this to him now?

Viola, unaware of his inner turmoil, simply grinned. “Well, I just remembered that I know someone who can help! I don’t know why I didn’t think of him yesterday, to tell the truth. That’s why I was looking for you.” She glanced around. “Though, without your girl here, I don’t know what use I can be.” She turned back to Tomas and smiled. “You sure you don’t know where she is right now?”

Tomas shook his head, feeling as if he was in a daze. “I… I’m sure.”

“Dear, are you feeling alright?” Viola asked him, her brow creasing in concern.

“Fine. I’m fine,” he said, managing a smile. Viola looked unconvinced, but she gave a short nod.

“Well, when your girl shows up, you know where to find me.” She patted his shoulder, stretching up her arm. It looked a bit ridiculous, considering their opposite statures. “And get some food in you. You’ll feel better.”

And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving him with a final wave. Tomas looked down at his small pie and swallowed hard. Suddenly he didn’t feel quite so hungry. Fate had an odd sense of humor. One that he, unfortunately, did not share.

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A/N So sorry for the late chapter, guys! I was going to put it up Saturday, but then my editor (aka, my mom) hadn't read it yet. So I had to wait on her. (Of course, by editor I mean proofreader more than anything... the chapter is still unedited, really) But anywho, here it is. Hope you enjoyed, despite the lateness :) Vote, comment, tell me your thoughts, all that jazz xx