[Amelia] Prologue: An Eye for Quality

[Mysticsage]

Amelia walked slowly between the open-air stalls of The Fremont Sunday Market taking in the sights and smells with a practiced rhythm. It had been a tradition since she was a child to come to this market almost every week even when her brother was still an infant. Bustling bodies mixed with the scent of cooked brunch, coffee, and must that was a kind of nostalgia in concentrate for the teenager. It always seemed to bring a bounce to her step no matter how early she went, as soon as she entered that wave of humanity she was back to being a five-year-old girl digging through mysterious sands for hidden treasure.

The same could not be said for the friends she often dragged along at her side at all hours of the day. "You promised actual shopping and food, Ami, currently I have neither and we've been here for over an hour." her best friend Jules yawned dryly too tired to be swept up in her friend's aura of wonder.

"You have a large cup of coffee in your hand right now" Amelia smirked.

"Yes," She sipped dramatically, "and it's the only thing keeping my blood moving right now."

"I don't know how you aren't jumping off the walls you have so much caffeine in your system."

"Working late nights in a coffee shop causes a certain amount of immunity in the employees. However, being this fucking cool all the time does not make me able to go without food." quipped the tall brunette. "Why I let you choose the places we always go I have no idea."

"I told you, you would regret it for promising to pay for us to hang out before I left for Europe."

"I know I'm a saint aren't I."
"Saints are usually willing to starve themselves." Amelia stuck her tongue out as she pulled a hand knit scarf to inspect it.

"Hardy Har Har. Listen you agree to stop your treasure hunting and sit for a bit while I eat, and I'll promise to buy you anything you find that you can carry in a suitcase. Take it as a gift to remember me and be stricken with guilt while your galavanting all over Europe."

"Thank you, are so thoughtful" Amelia laughed "I'll remember that the next time I beat up a guy for you."

"Brent is an asshole,"

"You have bad taste in men."

"We can't all have a complicated will they won't they relationship with a good looking childhood friend. And you know you like threatening the men I choose to fall in lust with for the moment."

"There's no will they won't they thing," Amelia said rolling her eyes.


"I'd say, you haven't even kissed yet Connor just pines after you. For years."

Amelia blushed "How about that food, huh?"

"I thought you would never ask."

Brunch was simple on two-part timer's budgets, but the promise of hours of walking meant that they had no abandon on their choices. Three muffins a cup of tea and another large coffee later and the two girls were prepared for the hunt. Jules was more interested in designer goods than anything second hand but now with a full stomach, she could appreciate her friend's infectious enthusiasm. Amelia, on the other hand, was busy applying the family trade as she let herself be pulled by her eye and instincts from storefront to storefront.  The ability to see past patina, hard use, and fakes to see the real treasures was one that took years of experience. She remembered when she was an only child and her parents were called away at work she would try to impress her parents with her finds while they had been gone. Her younger self-had worked hard trying to learn everything she could just so she wouldn't be left behind, and as a result, she had found a series of treasures in markets like this.

Today, however, was special there was going to be an art convention in Paris her parents had worked on and off for the past year and they had gotten invitations to the opening events. It being summer they had decided to make it a family trip by going to see distant family that still lived all across Europe. Her first trip overseas had her more excited then she wanted to admit. To see castles and culture like nothing they had in America was an appealing prospect. Yet it was a bittersweet happiness. She was leaving her territory the places where everyone knew her name as well as her best friends like Jules or Conner. So she wanted to take in every moment she could of this place to drown out the nagging fear that this may be the last time she saw this place in a really long time.

So she took her time holding each chipped piece of China that caught her attention and every bronze statue as if perfoming an act of ritual worship, Each piece was created for a purpose be it a specific task or to express an idea. Even a fake if done properly had equal value to the real deal so long as it was made with care. However, even more than quality, it was the memories they contained that always attracted Amelia the most. A locket with a faded picture or some aged cabinet all held memories of their various owners. Walking through these markets was like walking through time itself. However, that day had yet to hold her attention for longer than a few seconds at a time. That was until she made it to her favorite area which contained the second-hand books. There was something particularly romantic about old books. That smell of old paper especially mixed with a cup of coffee or tea was like heaven a means of escaping from the real world to a fantasy using all of your senses.

"We should have just come here first." laughed Jules

"Hey books are perfect for travel!" said Amelia defensively she was digging through a pile of books mostly old fantasy paperbacks on top of an old writing desk,

"Says the bookworm who has always been more interested in fantasy and reality."

"I'll have you know-" she stopped mid-sentence as she absentmindedly opened the main drawer of the cabinet and something fell to the ground with a thud. "Hello, why were you hiding in there?" The book was an old leather-bound novel with flaking and aged gold filigree, the pages were yellow and brittle as she picked it up but the binding was well kept enough at a glance that she felt comfortable opening it.

"That book is missing a title?" said Jules looking over her shoulder any writing on the books cover had given away to time long ago.

"The first few pages are missing too no big surprise based off of how old it is." said Amelia as she carefully flipped through the pages. "I think it's some kind of fantasy book said Amelia through her quick scanning. It talks about magic making the world and some kind of divine story. It's written almost entirely from the first person like some kind of memoir." She sighed as she turned to the back, "I think the page with the author's name is missing too."

"Is the entire story there in the first place?" said Jules skeptically.

" I think so, the binding seems almost totally intact just those first few and last pages seem to be missing." She stroked the front cover someone had used real cowhide and gold while making this book even if most of it was beaten away by time. No small expense even in today's publishing market. Something about the fact that there was the added mystery of who wrote this book and why made her even keener.

Jules sighed seeing the glimmer in Amelia's eye's "You really do have the weirdest taste Amelia no wonder you are more interested in princes then real men." She held out her hand, "I promised to buy whatever you chose remember? I'll check with the seller to make sure you aren't staking a claim to some long lost family inheritance." What was strange was that the owner of the stall had no clue where such a book came from in the first place. Which to their benefit meant that Amelia could haggle down her prize well past what she surmised was its actual value.

She was giddy as a child as she left with a small shopping bag in hand she and Nyx would be spending a lot of time together with this one. She even had Jules and Connor sign the bookmark she had gotten a day before she left. Something about this trip caused her heart to pump with that kind of nervous adrenaline at least with this book she could escape into a world where nothing could go wrong.