Chapter 3 IN EXCHANGE FOR A DONKEY

I watch the knights going in pursuit of the man on my donkey, and rapidly realizes the situation. The strange, shifty man is a thief. He broke into the King's vault of magical items and stole some seeds.

I glance down at the satchel again.

These seeds.

They are indeed magical, from the castle and even belongs to the King. If they be so precious, why did he steal them, only to give them to me in exchange for a donkey?

I tie the satchel up and place it into my rougher satchel, along with the five copper pieces.

I decide to keep them, for they have to be as priceless as the man claims if so many royal guards are in desperate pursuit. Then, I think about aunt, and the 30 copper pieces I have to deliver to her.

The guards will return tomorrow for our debt, and we have nothing else to sell. Our cow is too useful to be put for sale just yet.

Telling her such a story is sure to be disappointing and will paint me as a reckless, gullible young lad. But I have no choice. I have to repeat the man's words to her, and hope for the best.

Before then, I decide to head to the pawn shop at the more rowdy parts of the marketplace where Adam waits. The hot sun beats down against my face as I squint at the familiar lanky male figure lingering in front of the pawn shop.

I call,

"Adam!"

He immediately turns in my direction, flashing a broad smile as he hurries over to meet me. His blue eyes dance around my face, as he speaks,

"About time you showed up! My sisters have had nothing to eat today, and I plan to sell the trinket and buy some good, filling bread. Hopefully, you can get some copper pieces too."

I nod, "That sounds like a plan. But you should keep all the copper pieces, I have some with me."

As best friends, we often share the little food and earnings we get or borrow around the marketplace. However, his two sisters are very little, and he shoulders the responsibilities of feeding them.

That is why he steals more often than I do. So whenever I can, I make sure not to take a share of his earnings. Unless there's plenty to go round. Judging by the fake gold of that trinket, it wouldn't be worth much.

"Oh. You earned some copper pieces today?" He asks.

I shrug, digging into my pockets to produce the satchel and the five copper pieces. Adam stops to peer at them, with a frown.

"What's in the satchel?"

"Seeds. Magical seeds. Earlier, I was by the old stone ruins at the other side of the market, trying to sell a donkey for my aunt when a man came up to me offering me these seeds, along with the copper pieces."

Adam gives me a incredulous stare.

"A whole donkey for this?! Jack, you were swindled! Those are no magical seeds, they are probably some green beans! Your aunt definitely would not get her money's worth from that. No respectable person would ever make such an unfair bargain!" I clench my hands around the seeds.

"The man stole the seeds from the king's vault of magical items. I heard it from the castle guards myself. They were chasing after him, and he needed my donkey to escape outside the kingdom gates."

Adam lets out a sigh, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looks sympathetic as he holds my gaze.

"That man being a thief proves my point, Jack. Why would he give you something he stole from the King? Something magical and precious? It must have taken him mighty a trouble to even get into the castle with all those knights and guards around."

"So, he knew the guards would come after him, and he saw your donkey as a way to flee as fast as possible. But leaving the seeds with you would defeat his entire point of stealing them, so he gave you ordinary seeds and lied that they are magical, just to get your donkey." He pats my shoulder one last time and shrugs.

"Not only is the man a thief, but also a trickster. I wish I had been there with you. I trick people too, so I would have seen straight through his darn schemes."

Realization washes through me, as I see the fact that Adam could be right. It feels me with a downcast feeling, and I wordlessly tuck the satchel back into my pockets.

"At least I got five copper pieces."

I humorlessly joke, as we step into the musty embrace of the dim pawn shop.

Another hour passes, before I head back home to face aunt with my disappointing news. She looks a little stronger than she was yesterday, as she is out of bed, sitting on creaky chair and sipping out of large steel cup.

The warm smell of herbs boiled in spring water bathes my nostrils as I step closer. She looks up at me, hurriedly placing the cup back on a rickety, termite-eaten table.

An expectant light appears in her tired eyes as she asks,

"You took long enough, son. I reckon you must have gotten a fair price for the donkey?"

I stutter a few incoherent words, not sure how to start. The lines I rehearsed on the way back from the market seems to vanish into thin air. So I just reach into my pockets and produce the satchel, and the copper pieces.

"I got this is exchange for the donkey. The man said if we plant these seeds, we would never have to go hungry again."

Aunt stares at the five copper pieces as they clink and roll on the uneven surface of the table. The satchel is open, and her eyes peer in to stare at the meagre number of round, green seeds that lay within.

A moment of silence passes. Then she asks one question in a very quiet voice. I recognize that as a sign of her fury.

"You sold the donkey for five copper pieces, and some green beans?"

"They are not just green beans, aunt. They are-"

"-Jack!"

She cuts in, whipping her head around to stare at me. Her voice is raised, yet the effort it takes from her makes the tendons in her neck bulge against her sickly pale skin. Her eyes widen.

"This is not a fair price! I told you we only need 30 copper pieces, and nothing else. That was our last hope!"

I flounder, trying to make the situation seem less dreary,

"The man offered me five copper pieces since I insisted. He needed the donkey for his journey out of the kingdom. He was unwilling to part with these magical seeds, because he claimed that it was priceless, compared to a donkey."

Aunt sighs, looking back at the table in resignation.

"Was he a sick man? He has to be, if not, he would have gone for a horse, which is faster and more energetic."

"Yes." I answer, without thinking.

"Very well, then. Plant the seeds outside, near the bed of tomatoes. Hopefully, it grows into something we can eat."

I blink, taken by surprise by how fast Aunt accepts the situation. She actually sounds sympathetic!

She gives me a soft look, raising her hand towards me. I crouch down, so her hand strokes my long dark hair.

"Do not be cross about my scolding, child. I was taken by surprise, but now, I am glad you helped out a sick man. With these five copper pieces, we can persuade the guards for more time. After all, it is just a copper piece short."

I respond,

"Yes, aunt. I will persuade them."

I head outside with the satchel of odd green seeds, with the old gardening tools. Crouching next to the bed of tomatoes, I dig out a shallow hole in the soil. I empty the satchel into the hole, watching as the seeds roll eagerly into the earth.

Carefully, I shift some more earth into the hole, until it is covered. Straightening up to my feet, I spray water from aunt's gardening can over the little mound.

"Well, you had better be magical enough to fill our hungry stomachs." I say to the wet mound, brushing the dirt off my hands.

I spend the rest of the evening patching some more holes around the cottage walls. A section of the old cottage roof is also coming apart, so I climb up to fix it as well, with aunt reminding me to be careful from within.

The chores are done early enough, and I retire to my sleeping corner to catch an early night's sleep. Tomorrow, I plan to do as many jobs I can find around the village, and in the marketplace, to earn money for aunt and I.

As my eyelids drift close, I find myself thinking of the odd green seeds.