When she opened her eyes, Agnes found herself standing in a discreet corner of Pens street. It was an empty space between two buildings.
The streets were still lined up with people and sellers working overtime to make their living. It was around eight, and there were still many who were out on a stroll or purchasing things.
Agnes turned around to see two old people sleeping on the ground covered under a patchy blanket. Their arrival did not disturb their sleep.
Jinn saw the look on her face and whispered, "not everyone is fortunate enough to have a caring family with a huge fortune."
Snapping out of her thought, she flashed him a forced smile.
"Wait here; I will be right back." Jinn stepped out into the crowd, moved with practiced ease, and left Agnes in the dark corner by herself.
Although she felt a little uncomfortable, Agnes waited for Jinn to arrive, and soon he did. In his hands she saw two robes. They were neither cheap-looking nor too expensive.
"Wear it over your gown." Jinn passed a purple-colored robe to her while keeping the black one for himself.
Agnes was still wearing her old golden robes from the church, since everything she had beside her money was now in the church’s possession.
"There are guards all around the city." Jinn spoke, seeing her staring at the robe. "This will help you blend in with the crowd, but don’t cover your head.
After awakening, Agnes looked different than before, so there was no need for them to spare more efforts to hide.
"Wait," she said, flapping the robes in the air as she quickly put them on over the robes she was already wearing. "Let’s go."
Jinn nodded and stepped out of the corner with Agnes following behind. With Jinn’s powers and experience, they blended into the crowd with ease.
As they walked, Agnes’s eyes flickered towards the patrolling figures wearing shiny outfits walking into and out of the street.
A wave of unease filled her mind, making her palms sweat.
’What if we get caught? They will capture Jinn.’ All kinds of negative thoughts appeared in her mind, but a firm grip pulled her out of the daze.
She looked down at the big grip holding her hand and jerked. She had thought she was caught, but seeing the familiar cloak over the man’s body, her eyes widened.
"It’s me." Jinn whispered. "I have used my powers to make myself look like an adult."
The person holding her hand was none other than Jinn. Using the illusion powers, he had made himself look like a man with a gentle appearance wearing a brown suit underneath the dark robe.
After a wave of shock, Agnes calmed herself before looking around. Much to her surprise, although people were glancing in their direction, no one seemed suspicious of them.
It was their striking appearance that caught their eyes, and Jinn planned to use that fact to their advantage.
Suddenly he wrapped an arm around Agnes’s waist, surprising her. ’What?’
But before she could protest, Jinn smoothly pulled her towards the nearest stall, "what do you think of this, dear?"
Agnes blinked... and blinked again. She stared at the topaz pendant wrapped in a blackish-silver chain, her mind as blank as paper.
"Follow the act; you don’t want those guards to become suspicious, right?" Jinn leaned beside her ear and whispered with a silky voice that sent shivers down Agnes’s spine.
But his words helped her realize what Jinn was doing. Even Jinn was taken aback by how quickly she stepped into the role.
"But dear, why did you bring me to such a place?" She acted pitiful while glancing around in disgust. "Everything is so fake and cheap here."
Jinn chuckled out loud and replied, "There is a unique charm to such things. No matter how genuine they are, some things don’t have a soul of their own."
His eyes drifted to the topaz jewelry in his hands as he added, "And this fiery rock makes me think of you. Just like you, I don’t think there is a second piece on this planet."
Hearing his smooth words, the nearby women looked at him in surprise and longing, their eyes brimming with emotion while the men looked at him with jealousy and envy.
Even the saleswoman who owned that topaz looked at her husband like she regretted the day she married him.
Her husband groaned, feeling a sharp stabbing pain in his ribs, courtesy of his not-so-understanding wife’s elbow.
’Where did he learn to speak such words?’ Even Agnes was caught off guard by Jinn’s slickness. She stared at him with narrowed eyes and thought, ’for a moment even I felt my heart skipping a beat.’
"Is that so?" Quickly regaining her composure, Agnes looked at the pendant with a newfound intensity in her eyes before glancing at the middle-aged shopkeeper and asking, "How much is this pendant?"
Before the man could voice a price on the item, his wife decided to cut him off.
"100 Dor, This is 100 Dor." Her eyes shone with greed while the nearby hawkers looked at her with dumbfounded expressions.
Even her husband knew that the thing was no more expensive than a cheap loaf of bread, which was worth a single Dor or 100 Fen coins.
Even the law enforcement officers nearby looked over, hearing the exorbitant price.
"Should we interfere, sir?" One of the patrol officers asked, but their superior shook his head. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⟡𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Let them be; we have a more pressing matter to attend to. Keep your eyes and ears focused on the woman we were told about."
His stern order made no room for negotiation.
"The woman with brown hair and red eyes in her thirties?" Another member spoke up looking for confirmation.
"Yes, the same one. Spread out; don’t waste time, or your career will end before it can start."
When others thought the couple would leave the shop, Jinn tossed a silver coin in her husband’s hand.
"I would not shame my wife by diminishing the worth of something that matches her soul." His smooth words left the people around speechless once more.
By the time they recovered, Jinn and Agnes were long gone with the necklace.
"Where did you learn to speak like that?" Once they turned to a quieter street, Agnes looked at him with a deep gaze.
Jinn chuckled and paused. He walked behind the woman and placed the necklace around her neck, locking it in the back.
"Just mixed truths with words I came up with on the spot." Jinn started walking again, leaving her stunned on the spot.