It was about 10 bells, the morning before I departed for North Port.  Azabooth was coming with me all the way to New Harbor.  We ride by carriage to North Port and take a ship to New Harbor.  We could have taken a carriage all the way to New Harbor, but it would have taken us much longer, Azabooth said.

I entered the music room, realizing this would be the last time I see it for a long time.  After talking with Bradley, I really was excited to leave, but there was no helping the sadness I felt.  I looked around thinking of the memories I had of this room and smiled.  Then I went to where the lute was setting and picked it up fondly.

"It's just you and me now, old friend," I said to the wooden instrument, and strummed a chord, smiling in self satisfaction.  I loved that sound.

I looked around for anything else I might have been forgetting, and decided there was nothing here I needed.  The other instruments we owned were fun to play, but not as fun as the lute.

I walked downstairs to the great room, where Azabooth and Kayle were.  "Got everything?" Kayle asked.  She looked sad, but held a weak smile on her face.  Azabooth had his arm around her and bore a similar expression.

"Yes," I said, placing the lute at the top of the trunk and latching it.  I smiled at both of them for their benefit.  I really didn't want Kayle to cry.  "I have an errand to run though." I said.

"Oh?" Azabooth asked.

"Just a farewell for Sarah," I replied.

Azabooth and Kayle smiled, and Kayle said, "Ok, honey.  Please come home soon, I am claiming your last few hours." 

I smiled back, "I won't be too long, promise!"  Then I left through the front door, and was on my way.

The sun was warm on my skin as I made my way down the street with excitement.  I walked south down a block and cut through the alley that lead to the next street.  Then I went north, crossing the street, just almost running but not quite.

I cursed quietly to myself at this dress, and soon made another right through the next alley.  A short distance and my destination was within site.  I raced down the last two blocks as fast as one can walk, nearly squealing.  I skirted around a woman, almost knocking her down as I reached the door.

ding!  The door opened.  My smile was so wide, I couldn't contain my excitement.  Not waiting for Mrs Dullie's call, I went to the shelf.  "Come to me you little demon doll!" I said quietly to myself with a smile, almost giggling.

Not on the top shelf, I knelt down to the one below it...  I must have missed it!  I popped back up to the top but... but it wasn't there!  O knelt back to the bottom shelf again... gone!  Princess Tara was gone!

"I'll be right there," Mrs Dullie called from the back.

"No no no no no..." I said frantically to myself.  I had my purse, and it was barely enough!  I looked around the front displays frantically.

"Mrs. Dullie!" I exclaimed, hurrying to the display on the other side of the isle.  Not on the top...  I dropped to the one below.  Not here either!

"Mrs. Dullie?!" I cried again.  "Where's Princess Tara?!"

"I'll be right out!" she called again.

"Mrs. Dullie!"  I walked to the wall display, where many of the older dolls were.

Mrs. Dullie walked up behind me with concern on her face.  "What's wrong child?" she asked.

"Princess Tara!" I exclaimed, "Where is she?  I have just enough!" I said, looking at her pleadingly.

Mrs. Dullie's eyes softened as she cocked her head in sympathy. "I'm sorry sweetheart," she said.  "I sold that to.." she paused, thinking a moment.  "Elanor Smith" she said.  "Just two hours ago!"

I stood there staring and shook my head silently in disbelief.  Lagging behind my realization, my face seemed to melt as I cocked my head and slouched my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Mrs Dullie said, searching for the right words.  "If I would have known, I would have saved her for you."

I didn't know what to say.  This was to be Sarah's... It was the nicest thing I could think of for my best friend before I left.

"That's ok," I whispered, as I turned for the door.

"I..." Mrs Dullie trailed, truly not knowing what to say, as I pushed the door open.

"Thank you," I said in the same tone just long enough to let the door slip off my hand and close behind me.

I walked a block down, feeling deflated.  I made sure I was out of sight of Mrs. Dulies front window, and sat down on the curb to sulk.  What was I going to do now?  Anything I bought for Sarah would be second best.  I certainly wasn't going to feel happy about buying her that yellow monstrosity.  She wasn't going to be as happy with it either.  It would have been better to do nothing at all, than to buy her the thing she liked second.

Elanor Smith was a snooty woman who seemed to care more about what others thought about her than what she thought about herself.  When she bought her daughter something, it was probably more to impress the moms of her daughter's friends than her daughter herself.  Kayle never cared for her much.  Elanor was critical of anyone she viewed as beneath her, and Kayle as never much for keeping appearances.  Needless to say, Elanor gossiped from time to time, and Kayle received her share.

The bells rang at the Alibanenity church.  One chime and three gongs...  11 bells.  Kayle would likely have something prepared to eat soon, and I decided to return home.

My pace was much slower than on the way to the shop.  All I could think of was my disappointment at not being able to surprise Sarah with a gift I felt good about.  I wondered if there was anything I could buy her or do for her that would feel as genuine.  Nothing came to mind though.  She really seemed to love that doll.

Upon my return home, Kayle and Azabooth were in the dining room eating and talking with each other.  I sat down in one of the empty chairs with a slouch.  Kayle likely had more food in the kitchen, but I wasn't in the mood to eat.

"What's wrong, Sweetheart?" Kayle asked.

"The doll I was going to buy Sarah was already sold," I said.

"Oh, that's too bad honey.  Why don't you get her a different doll?" Azabooth  asked.

"She liked the other dolls, but she was most excited about this one when we were at the doll shop," I replied.  "If I got her a different doll, it wouldn't be special."

"I understand," Azabooth said thoughtfully, in his deep voice.  "Sometimes, our plans aren't sufficient to achieve our goals.  Usually, we mistake our goal for being unattainable, when it's actually our plans that we fail at."

I screwed up my face, not understanding what he meant.  "So what are you saying?  I steal the doll from Mrs. Smith?"

"No," Azabooth smiled. "Your goal isn't to buy an expensive doll, but to give Sarah a thoughtful gift.  You've known Sarah many years.  I'm sure there are other gifts you could get her that are just as valuable or more so."

"I have one day before we leave," I said as I stood and started to leave.  "There's no way I'm going to find a new gift before then." 

"Think on it," Kayle said.  "If you put your mind to it, I'm certain you can think of something."

I walked up to my room, passing Haut in the upstairs great room.  He was where Azabooth usually sat for our lessons.  He looked up from whatever he was reading and watched as I entered the room, and started to pass.

"Hey Min, you look like you got the pox or something." he said.

I stopped, not immediately replying, and wondered if I should even bother.  Did I really want to explain my ordeal to Haut, and come up worthless advice as I got from Azabooth and Kayle?

"Fine," I said, more to myself than Haut.  It wasn't like I had any ideas.  Though it hadn't been long, Haut seemed to take me more seriously after helping me get the lute back.  It might have had something to do with me leaving soon too.

Haut sat back in the chair as I explained my problem, perhaps with more detail than I gave Azabooth and Kayle.

"...and I'm not sure what else I could get her." I finished.

Haut sat quietly in his chair and thought to himself.  As he did so, his freckled face lit up as he weighed out a thought.

"What?" I asked.

Then he grinned and cocked his head.  "Don't get her anything else," he said.  "You should get her that Princess Jurell doll."

"Princess Tara," I corrected.  "How?  I'm not stealing it..."

"I know," he smiled.  "We're going to sell her a doll for a doll."

I shook my head and eyed him, "what?"

Haut explained his plan to me.  It sounded risky and a little dishonest, but he said he'd do most of the work.

"It sounds like stealing though," I said.

"That's the way all buying and selling sounds," he replied "Do you know how much we pay for an ounce of sapphire, and how much we sell it for?"

I shrugged.

"We buy an ounce of sapphire for 10 silver, and sell it for 1 gold," he replied.  "And do you know much it sells for once it's placed in a simple gold ring?"  His eyes were wide in exclamation.

I shook my head and shrugged again.

"No less than 5 gold!" he said.  

"So gold is expensive," I replied.

Haut rolled his eyes.  "Noo," he said.  "The gold is the cheapest part of the ring!  Compared to other metals, gold is relatively useless, except for fashion."

"I don't get it," I said.

Haut smiled, "See, the value of an item has nothing to do with how useful it is.  An item's value is based on what others perceive it to be.  While you cannot do much with a brick of gold, you could sell it for a great deal to someone else, because they believe it's worth buying!"

There was a pause and then he added, "and you know the most amazing part?"

I was losing interest, but shrugged and asked anyway.  "What?"

"When someone believes they cannot have something, they want it even more!"

Haut seemed quite pleased with his knowledge on the topic, but I just rolled my eyes, "Interesting..."  I said.

I wasn't really excited about his idea, but I didn't have to do anything aside from get a different doll, and watch from a distance.  I didn't see that I had much if I wanted to surprise Sara with Princess Tara.

"Ok," I said.  We don't have much time.  What do we do?

"You need to get a replacement doll," he said.  "I'll change into something more... feminine, and find Elanor.  Once I find her, I'll meet you at the doll shop."  He paused, and added, "Probably best not to run around in your klee if you want to watch."  Pausing one more time he interjected again, "I'd change into something more fancy too, so you'll fit in wherever we find her."

I looked down at what I was wearing and considered the effort to dress like one of the hens Elanor surrounds herself with.  "I'll risk it." I sad.

Haut shrugged and shook his head.  "Suit yourself," he replied.

---

I returned to Mrs. Dullie's shop, and looked around for a replacement doll.  They were all priced differently.  Some were obviously finer than others, but to me, none of them seemed like a good idea.  The replacement I decided on was on the pricier side which was something Sarah had said she liked in the past.  I knew it wasn't going to Sarah, but I figured her judgement on dolls was better than mine.

I loitered outside the doll shop, with Princess Gellintime in my hand.  Mrs. Dullie always sold the dolls in a wicker basket, surrounding the her merchandise in straw.  It was as good for concealing a potential gift as it was protecting the purchase from damage.

After what seemed an eternity, a female voice startled me, "Excuse me, miss?"  Simultaneously, I heard Haut's Seech voice ask, "Minli?"

"It's me," I replied in both voices.

Haut was guised as one of Elanor Smith's catty gossip-mates, Taunie Alund.  She was a little older, and quite homely.  She walked with a limp.  She had an annoying way of repeating herself at time, but talked assertively.

"She's reading at the tea sittery," Haut said.  "Let's go."

The town had many places for the upper class to lounge.  The town had three tea sitteries, which served as a meeting spot for many of well-off women to meet and socialize.  It might as well have been the woman's version of a jousting yard, except it was a daily affair.

I followed Haut quickly through the streets, turning on this street, and then up that.  We finally found our way there, which wasn't far from the manor walls.

Elanor was sitting alone at a table that was placed in the walk area.  This side of town had higher end shops, and the walks were wider.  In fact, wagons, horses, or carriages of any kind were allowed on this street while shops were open, so as not to disturb the dealings of the upper class in their affairs.

"Stay here far from her sight," Haut said.  "I'll come for the doll later.  What's this one's name?" he asked.

"Princess Gellintime," I said.

Haut said, "ok," shaking his head smiling.  "Princess this... princess that..."

"You should see what she looks like," I replied with a smile of my own.

I watched from a street post.  Haut approached Elanor from the rear.  "Elanor?  Is that you?" he said in Taunie's exaggerated voice.  The impersonation was exactly right, but it was hard to know how women of her social status could stand the fakery.

Elanor turned, looking away from her book.  Her painted smile materialized in response.  "Taunie!"  she said in the same manner.  "I thought you were going to be late," Elanor said.

Haut was obviously not expecting this response, and there was a brief pause before his reply.  "Oh," he replied, batting at the air femininely.  "It turns out I was available early.  Early, enough."  He made a point to repeat his meaning as Mrs. Alund often does.

Elanor gestured at the empty chair across from her.  "Aren't you going to sit down?"

Haut gestured to the server as he sat down, and looked back at Elanor.  "I'm just dying.  Dying for a cup of tea," he said.

Elanor smiled a peculiar smile at Haut and said "I thought tea made you sneeze and well up?"

Haut fluttered his fingers at her.  "Some teas," he replied.  "Some teas, but not balmic tea."  He paused, "Balmic soothes my throat.  Yes."

When the server arrived Haut turned without looking and said, "balmic tea, please.  Balmic"  He continued looking at Elanor with a smile and nodded to himself as in agreement with his order.  I had to admit, he did a great job at imitating her, to the way I remembered.  In fact, it was almost comical.

Haut continued talking with Elanor for some time.  The discussion seemed widely based on the social status of the women in the town, including Elanor's and Taunie's.  It was sick, but probably necessary, since I knew Haut couldn't dive right into the subject.

The server arrived with Haut's tea.  "Yes, thank you, dear, thank you," he said as he received the cup, and turned to look at Elanor.  He held it close to his face, blowing on it as Elanor and him talked.  Occasionally, he would take a sip, but never removed it from under his lips.  

After a few minutes of conversation, Haut looked down at the basket Elanor had sitting in the chair next to her and peaked inside, pushing some of the straw aside.  He looked back up at Elanor, and wrinkled his nose.  "I see you got one of those Princess Gellintime dolls.  Gellintime, yes,"  He looked back at her smuggly.  "It seems every little girl has one of those lately."

Elanor smiled almost rudely back at Taut, and cocked her head arrogantly.  "No, dear, this is Princess Gallen.  She was the last and only that Mrs. Dullie had."

Haut smiled back, "Ok, dear, that's fine.  Yes, fine.  I hope Amantine doesn't know the difference either.  Except,"  He looked uninterested at the table beside him, never moving the cup of tea from his face.  His smile stayed painted in position.  "Except, that one is all over town, yes, all over" he said.  "I can name three other girls.  Three who have her sitting in their doll... uh... chests."

Elanor's smile faded slightly in doubt, but she hadn't given up that easily.  "You must be mistaken, Princess Gallen is quite rare."

Haut smiled contemptuously.  "Ok, dear, ok," he said.  "Yes, that's fine.  Fine."  An empty silence lingered in the air as Haut let Elanor stew on the thought.  Finally, he said, "How do you like this weather of late? Nice, isn't it?  Nice?" he said raising his eyebrows and changing the topic.  He glanced at the basket with a faint smile, keeping the subject in the back of Elanor's mind.

"The uh.."  She paused in thought, "yes, It's beautiful." Elanor replied.  She too, looked at the basket briefly, but returned her composure and her attention to Haut.  She was obviously in thought, and it seemed Haut didn't want to interrupt her brooding.

Haut set down his tea, "one moment, dear.  One moment, please."  Then he stood up, and limped towards the back of the sittery.  "Geoff!" he called, "Geoff, I need sugar!"  At the same time, he was calling loud enough for me to hear, "back door," in Seech.

This took me by surprise, and I froze.  Back door? Why would he want me to go to the back door.  I looked around as I thought about what was going on.  As I decided to just go with it, my eyes widened when I saw why.  There was the real Taunie Alund walking slowly with a limp towards the sittery.  She wasn't a terribly fast woman thankfully.  Haut was going to have to act quickly!

I turned, and walked hurriedly to the alley.  There were two men sitting on boxes a couple paces from eht door, peeling root vegetables.  One of them was a larger man, and the other was thin and greying with a mustache.  They looked up as I approached, to which I only smiled, but didn't hold either of their gaze.  I stopped at the door, peering inside, and facing away from the men.

I hope this is what Haut meant!!

"Can I help you miss?" one of the men asked.

"No, thank you," I replied, continuing to look for Haut in the door.  It looked to be just a large kitchen with a few men and women doing various tasks.  I looked back at the men nervously, then stepped inside.  As I did, Haut - Mrs. Alund - came around the corner, colliding with me hard.

"Here," I said, pushing the basket to him.

"No," he replied.  "Change of plans.  You need to..."  Haut looked up at the two men behind me.

"We don't want rotten eggs here," he said in common.  He started discussing almost random topics as he spoke in Seech - it's very hard to say two things at once, and make sense sometimes.

"The real Taunie just arrived," he said in Seech.

"I know," I replied, trying to keep on topic with the common conversation.

 "Shift to Mrs. Dullie," he continued.  "I can't, because I'm wearing Taunie's clothes still.  Deliver your basket, and tell her there was a mistake.  This is the real Princess Gallen."

"Tara," I corrected.

"What? Yeah, whatever," he said.  "She thinks she has the wrong doll, so she'll happily trade for what she thinks is the right one." He finished.

"Alright," I said in common.  "I'll fix the eggs."

"Cover my shift," Haut said.

The two men hadn't had a good look at Haut's face yet, so I stood straightened blocking as much of Haut's view as I could.

Haut shifted, to a much younger woman with the same figure and hair as Mrs. Alund.  When he was done, I turned, and we both looked at the two men who stared at us in bewilderment.  I smiled widely at them, knowing they just listened to an exchange that made absolutely no sense, and then started walking.  

"Keep left, and cover my shift.  Let me pass as we turn the corner," I told Haut a little quieter.

Haut walked in front of me as we made our way to the main street, and I shifted into Mrs Dullie's face.  As we rounded the corner, Haut slowed to block as much as my exposed view as we could, while the wall of the sittery remained on my right.  As I left the sight of the men, I shifted my weight as much as I could to match Mrs. Dullie, while not overfilling my clothes.  My eyes darted around as I shifted, guarding for any onlookers, but there was none.  Everyone seemed preoccupied with their own affairs, and paid us no mind.

We were still a little ways off from where Elanor and Mrs. Alund were seated, but they had obviously met.

Haut and I looked at each other.  "This might get a little awkward," I told him.

He smiled, "Just work the guise, there's nothing to it."

"Showtime" I told myself, as I entered the door to the sittery.  I hurried my step and looked around the room with a frantic posture, pretending to look for Mrs. Alund.  I scanned the room with my head, starting furthest from where she was seated, until my gaze fell on her.

Apparently having already seen me, she was standing and glaring at me.

I waddled my way to her, "Oh dear, Mrs. Smith, there has been a terrible mistake." I said partly from across the room as I approached.

"Somehow, I gave you the wrong package," I said with a frantic waivery voice.

Elanor looked at Mrs. Alund, "You were right," she said.  Mrs. Alund looked at me, and back at Elanor in bewilderment.  Elanor didn't seem to notice and looked back at me.  She only continued to glare.

I swallowed hard as my fear welled up inside me, and pointed at her basket.  "That package was meant for another customer," I said, swallowing again.  "This one is the right one," I said, gesturing to the one I held outright in my hand.  "If you would be so kind as to exchange your basket with mine, I'll be on my way."

People started stealing glances at us over their conversations.

"I can't believe you tried to cheat me," Elanor said.  "I paid for a unique product, and got this inferior one instead.  Can't you do anything right, lady?"

I stammered, not knowing what to say.  I had to think... what would Mrs. Dullie say?

"No, dear..." I said stammering, "I mean yes I...", trying to smile as nicely as I could.  After all, Mrs. Dullie was a very nice woman.  A mishap like this could hurt her business.  Especially if it were a mishap with someone like Elanor Smith who reveled in the power of...  Then it hit me.  That's exactly what Elanor wanted.

"Well?  What which one is it?" she asked with a haughty smile on her face.

Mrs. Dullie's business was going to suffer if I let Elanor have her way.  I had to think quickly.  The silence seemed to grow when Haut's explanation of value hit me.  Value and knowledge!! I was going to have to break character a little, but I didn't see any way around it.  Mrs. Dullie would just have to to grow a backbone today.

I composed my frantic expression, stood up straight, and took a step forward.  "I tried to keep this discrete, Mrs. Smith, but given your crass regard, I see no choice."

Elanor's composure changed with mine, and she took a step back.

As a matter of show, I walked to Elanor's basket, and moved the straw to the side to view the doll inside.  Continuing my act, I almost started to rise, but stopped and looked again.

...That was not Princess Tara!!

I stood up not changing my demeanor.  For four heartbeats, my mind raced, screaming this is not what I came for, and I need to finish this quickly, without taking that rag with me.

Two more heartbeats passed and I said with resolution, "Yes, this is the much cheaper Princess Gellintime, and you paid the price for Princess Gellintime."

Elanor's eyes widened.

"Hoping as not to spoil your surprise to little Amantine," I said, "I hurried here to exchange the packages, and collect the difference of 3 gold pieces."

Elanor responded almost like I thought, "This is your mistake, thief," she said.  "I will not pay you the difference!  I expect this to be righted immediately."

Inwardly, I celebrated.  I could leave this mess! I thought to myself.

"That's alright dear, not everyone can afford my wares," I replied.  "Princess Gellintime is a terrific choice, and I am certain little Amantine will love her just the same."

I whirled, almost too quickly, and started for the door.  The establishment was silent, save for some the workings from the kitchen door and my footsteps.  I could almost hear my heart beating as I held on to my composure and avoided making eyes with anyone as I moved on.  The journey seemed to take a lifetime, and I was 5 steps from the door when...

"wait," I heard a faint voice.

I paused.  The voice was so quiet, I wasn't sure if I really heard it or not.  When I heard nothing more, I kept walking.  Now was not the time to look back and ruin what little respect I was trying to salvage for Mrs. Dullie.

"I'll pay the full price," the voice said loudly.

I stopped again and turned slowly not knowing what to expect.  Another woman was standing, two tables to the right of Elanor's.

Elanor looked agass.  She glared at the woman, and immediately scorned her, "Sit down, woman, this doll is mine.  It was a simple mix up is all."

The woman sat down as Elanor reached under her cloak, obviously withdrawing coin from her purse within.  Then she marched over to me with her hand outstretched.  "Here," she said.

Leaving her hand suspended in front of me, I replied, "I'll need the other doll too, dear."

There was a short pause as Elanor glared at me.  Her eyes narrowed, then she walked back, grabbed the other basket, and held both hands outstretched, with coin in one, and the basket in the other.

I set my basket on the ground, and took Elanor's basket in my one hand, while I let her empty her other hand into mine.  She dropped the golden marks, one by one into my hand.

"Thank you, dear," I said with a smile.  I attempted to contain the look on my face, but I found it quite difficult containing my smile, so I just turned and left.  As soon as I reached the outside door, I turned left and began walking down the street, knowing Haut would catch up to me in one form or another.