Free To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael

Leila wandered into a book tent as Theo stopped by the fruit tent from earlier. She stopped near the wanted posters. Leila picked up the pile and paged through them. She had seen most of the sheets before. It was always best to know what everyone else already knew about you. Behind Leila a man approached her quietly. Leila did not turn around as she addressed him.
    “Done watching?” Leila asked Nalick. She had noticed him earlier when she was dancing with the young boy. Nalick was also wearing gloves and normal clothing to blend in. No one except her had any idea who he was.
    “You left me no choice but to watch,” he argued. “You didn’t even invite me to come with,” he teased.
    “I didn’t think mixing with common people was on your list of things to do for the day,” Leila responded smiling at the bookseller as he returned .
    “ Interested in Mele? Here you go,” the bookseller said handing Leila one book he had been searching for . “You can learn both Mele and Comamele from the same book. They are very similar.”
    “So you are not leaving us so soon?” Nalick wondered with her new interest in their religious and noble languages .
    “Not until you mess up your end of the deal,” Leila replied nodding thanks to the man as Theo appeared beside her and paid for the book .
    “ W e were just going to head back,” Leila explained as Theo and Macarius appeared surprised to see who was with Leila.
    “Let’s just make one stop first,” Nalick suggested as he offered Leila his arm. She cautiously took his arm as he led her through the crowd of people. Nalick seemed more relaxed and happier than normal. The person Leila was now walking with was not the king she imagined . Nalick wanted to be free from the palace as much as she did. Nalick led them away from the market and down several streets to an inn . Theo ran ahead and opened the door to the restaurant in front of the inn. At the back of the r estaurant was a bar that ran the length of the room. Nal ick and Leila followed behind Theo leading the way upstairs .
    Inside was a modestly furnished family room with a window that over looked the street below. Near the window sat Theo’s son, Dimas, playing by himself. Through the doorway to the left was a kitchen with a large table. An old er woman was busy cooking while Theo’s wife Micaela was setting the table.
    “Oh my, what a sight. The three of you made your way here.” Theo’s mother beamed at Theo, Macarius, and Nalick. “And you must be the captive I have heard so much about.” She took Leila by both hands and led her to a chair in the kitchen. “Please sit down and relax dear.” She then turned to Nalick . “Taking a pretty child captive is not a nice thing to do,” she scolded him. Leila watched as the old woman gave each boy a hug. “Better set the table for four more,” she said to Micaela.
    “It has been quite a while since you boys have all been over here,” a large man with an older face of Theo commented as he opened the back door . He started to continue talking, but stopped when he saw Leila. “My, you are more beautiful than they said you were.” Theo’s mother turned around and nodded in agreement. “Now where did Nalick find such a girl as you?”
    “Sitting outside the palace walls trying to get back in,” Nalick replied. Theo’s father laughed pulling up a chair beside Leila.
    “Any good stories about these boys?” she asked trying to get dirt on Nalick.
    “ Many. Let’s start with when we first met the future king. He was only about eight - years - old when Theo met him at the market , ” Theo’s father started telling stories over lunch . “I guess Nalick had been mad at his father and told him he was going to run away. So he packed a bag and left.” Nalick shook his head in agreement, but Leila could also see a bit of embarrassment. “Once he got to the market he didn’t know what to do. The poor child had never been outside the palace before without an