Once the boat let them off on the white, paved roads, Aros and the others stood there for a moment, utterly transfixed by all that they beheld.
The Citadel was a place of magic, despite the king detesting the very notion of it. Its power was in its beauty and obvious show of wealth. Such architecture was unheard of where Aros was born. He was used to log homes and wood. Here, everything was composed of precious stones, stone and glass.
It twinkled beneath the brief show of sunlight. He could only imagine what it looked like in the summer when the sun was in its full glory. They each stared in silence, turning to take it all in.
There were several areas where crowds of nobility congregated within large canopied vistas. The smell of delicious food being served from carts along the many crisscrossing roads wafted through the air, and Aros' stomach began to growl.
Breakfast was hours ago, and consisted only of dried fish and bread. Hunger wasn’t usually an issue. He and the others could easily shift into their Wolf form and hunt. But, there would be no hunting in this land. It was forbidden, as the fae folk dwelled in the forests and were protected by the wood nymphs. The king made it illegal, to keep the treaty between the Wolves and fae.
What Rollo, the Fenrir King, said was law, and his citizens obeyed without question.
Eostre removed her cloak, and turned to them. "Let's find the shops then, shall we?"
Helgi and Magnus followed as Aros and Eostre led the way along the winding paths of the Citadel. They left the river behind, heading away from where it cut through the center of the dome, and went underground to spill out on the other side as a sparkling waterfall. It didn't take long for the citizens of the Citadel to notice them. Looks of distaste were cast from all around, and Aros and his brothers kept their heads up.
Eostre did as well. She even spoke to some of the passerby with her thick accent, making them turn their judging eyes away. It seemed they were all well versed in dealing with snobbery.
A sign pointed the way to the Merchants Square, and once they turned down a wide open-air corridor between two massive buildings, they found themselves at the top of a set of marble stairs that went down into a courtyard filled with more shops and carts than Aros had ever seen.
There were even people set up on colorful carpets and blankets, with their goods lined up all around them.
This was the place to be if you wanted to make a fortune selling goods, and Aros could tell by the look in Eostre's eyes that she was exactly where she wanted to be. "This is incredible," she said, blinking as if it would all fade at any moment.
"Let's find something to wear," Magnus said. "I don't like how these snobs keep looking at us like they'll happily see us tossed right back out."
“I agree,” Aros said, tightening his hood over the tunic his mother had embroidered for him.
Helgi nodded. ”The sooner we clean up, the better off we will be."
“Come on then, boys,” Eostre said, clasping her hands before her. “Let’s buy some pretties.”