Free Rise of the Retics by T J Lantz

be the biggest and busiest city in the world.
    As her eyes took in her surroundings, Tyranna was abruptly knocked to the side by a man who rushed by her. She looked up at him, waiting for his apologies, but none came. The old man just turned his white-bearded face forward and kept going, as if nothing stood in his way.
    Tyranna shrugged. At least he wasn’t trying to kidnap me , she thought half kiddingly. She wondered if that idea was going to cross her mind every time a new person brushed by her.
    The image of her slain teacher jumped back into her mind. She had been able to keep from dwelling on it for most of the morning as she focused on what to think about Branchy and his stories. She fought to push it back out of her head, determined not to let her grief impede her ability to make decisions at the moment.
    She tried to concentrate on the ideas that Branchy had told her. Was there really a hidden city full of mythical creatures out there somewhere? Was she really one of them? It was so hard to believe. She felt so human, not that she really knew what human felt like. She supposed she could have been confusing the feeling with anything really. For all she knew, she was feeling like a puppy, or perhaps even a worm. She really hoped not, though. She hated worms.
    The fish monger closest to the western dock wasn’t as busy as some of the others. “The fewer people around me, the better,” she muttered to herself as she turned to approach the stand.
    As she got closer, the wafting smell of saltwater and fresh fish made her hands shake nervously. She’d never been asked to purchase goods before. She knew the basics from watching the brothers deal with visiting merchants. They would tell you how much they wanted, you would argue, and eventually a price would be reached and money exchanged. The concept was certainly simple enough, but like many things in life, until one actually engages in the process themselves, it was a frightening prospect.
    Making sure her cloak was wrapped tightly around her in an attempt to hide her muddy bedclothes, Tyranna walked up to the market stand. She tried to remain poised and composed, though the rocky ground was a great bother to her bare, scratched up feet, even with the remnants of Branchy’s mud wrap on them.
    The man working the stand was much younger than Tyranna expected, only a few years older than she was. He was tall and thin, and he moved with fine, fluid grace as he quickly haggled, took money, and cut and packed fish like he had been doing it for fifty years. Though the air was cool, with the crisp breeze of a new autumn, the boy’s chestnut hair dripped with the sweat of his labor. 
    “Ahem,” she coughed in her hand, unsure exactly how to get a seller’s attention. He paid her no mind and continued wrapping the two silver fish in front of him. They were both very large, each over a foot long and easily weighing ten pounds. They had scales that sparkled like fine jewelry as the sun bounced off their bodies.
    “Excuse me, sir,” she said in a small voice, trying hard to maintain the politeness that she was sure a young lady would undoubtedly use at the market. After all, if a person couldn’t be polite when shopping, then what kind of person were they really?
    He continued to ignore her, even turning his back to her to grab his next load of fish. Tyranna began to get annoyed. She had always been taught to use manners and courtesy toward everyone she met and had always expected them to do the same. She wondered if anything in the world was the way she believed.
    Her patience began to waver. She decided to try a more direct approach.
    “I SAID EXCUSE ME, SIR!” This time she left no doubt that she could be heard. The tall brown-haired boy snapped his head up to look at her. He quickly darted his eyes up and down, taking notice of her disgusting clothes, knotted hair, and mud streaked face. Even as he glanced at her, he never stopped moving, continuing to do his job like