Disclaimer: Unless Soul Eater's setting is Egypt, I don't own it xD

Chapter 7: Anklet

"The only real treasure is in your head. Memories are better than diamonds and nobody can steal them from you"
― Rodman Philbrick, The Last Book in the Universe

Soul 'Eater' Evans watched his companion seemly dance back and forth the different stores, admiring the variety of products that the bazaar could offer. He couldn't help but find it adorable with her eyes alight with curiosity and excitement.

If there was a perfect comparison, it'd be like a child in the amusement park for the first time, the way her happiness seemed to ooze out of her very pores.

Occasionally, she would glance back at him, as if he was her assurance that she would be safe; that he would protect her. Although that wasn't far off from his feelings; it frightened him that he would trust her that much too. The fact that he would let his guard down so easily just felt so natural because there was just something that he could not put his finger on about her.

He shook away his errant thoughts, striding forward to her where she was staring at one of the many products with a strange intensity.

"A beautiful woman with a great taste." The store owner came up to them, smiling warmly, speaking in a thick local accent. "You are very lucky to be of company to her, young man."

The store owner held up the small accessory that Maka was entranced by, allowing them to have a better scrutiny of the product.

It was a beauty; nonetheless. The anklet had a small emerald nestled in the midst of gold, with intricate bird designs having its wings outstretched an inter lapping one another to form a diamond shape with a few protruding ends. The chain that connected it to the latch had small charms upon it, light reflecting off it easily.

"Would you like to have it? I'd cut the price for someone that is as jameel as you." He offered his eyes hopeful for a potential customer.

As the owner offered the price, Maka's eyes fell. Yes, she certainly did love that small trinket, but it would cut her expenditure short by a hefty sum. She wasn't sure if this would take long, however, she refused to take chances of being broke and stranded.

"I'd love to, but I have to refuse." The ash-blonde lady said softly while she tugged her albino companion away who was shooting an apologetic glance.

Soul looked over at her curiously, wondering why she didn't buy that anklet. He knew she wanted to possess it badly, from the way she stared at it.

'It's the exact same colour as her eyes too...It would have complimented her.' He thought wistfully, not wanting to speak that out loud to remind her of what she could not get.

They soon fell into comfortable silence as they looked around the streets, their arms occasionally brushing one another when they were forced to squeeze through tight spaces created by human traffic.

Maka let out a peal of laughter as she heard Soul's stomach growl, rolling her eyes at his self-starvation to let her explore further. She pulled him into a nearby shop that seemed appealing to her, with the strong aroma of food wafting out and about the streets.

The store was rather quaint – mostly furnished with wood, oil lamps hanging down with a single chain which swayed slightly with the breeze that entered the store. It constantly flickered; casting an orange glow on those that sat beneath it. The pair sat at an inconspicuous corner, blending in with the crowd. The shadows at the corners of the room hid their lighter complexion, barely making them look out of place.

It was bustling with business, the place packed with people who sought for refuge after a long day of work, or some simply to mingle, their boisterous laughs and light chatter filling the air. Maka and Soul muttered to each other in hush whispers, not wanting to ruin the tranquillity of the place with their differences.

"Stop drooling at the food." Maka teased in a low voice, poking his arm. "If the waitress was looking over, she would think that you want to devour her and she'll run mile away."

"Only because she's terrified of the attraction she has for me." He shot his companion his signature smirk. "But if she is succulent and cooked well and served on a silver platter, why not?"

Before Maka could retort a reply, a waitress sauntered over to them, asking for their orders. Soul ordered quickly and the server took it down with rapt attention before reluctantly taking her eyes off the specimen that sat before her.

The ash-blonde lady tried not to let the green monster in her seep out, knowing that it wasn't her position to have a say about which he might or whoever has an interest in him. She quickly ordered and chugged down some water from the bottles provided, wishing that it could flush down the jealousy away.

Of course, Soul was not one to not notice such subtle hints of emotions that she may have hidden. He could hear a weird fluttering sound emitted from her, almost as if it was being annoyed. It was faint – but after years of musical experience (or so he presumed) he could easily heard such things, even being able to point out the scale of notes.

"Why are you so quiet, cat got your tongue?" He poked fun at Maka.

She huffed indignantly before replying. "Of course not. It's just that the guy that has been passing by me one too many times is annoying the hell out of me."

Soul glanced around to see who she was pointing at, only to catch the leering looks of one of the men that sat a few tables away. He held back a growl, giving the guy a stank eye who met his glare with equal anger.

"Don't bother." She muttered. "He's clearly drunk. His pupils are slightly dilated, his entire face and neck is flushed an unnatural red and he'll be out before the sun sets at the rate he's drinking."

"Can I have the pleasure of knocking him out then?" He said seriously, directing his attention back to the green-eyed girl.

She shook her head, her feet pressing painfully against his as a warning. "We are just passing through. No need to cause a ruckus."

The albino grunted in reply as he dug into the food that had just arrived hungrily.

"Whoever gave you the nickname of the nickname of Eater is a genius. They must know how you murder your food, gulp by gulp." Maka commented dryly, looking at the barbarian who was wolfing down his food like no tomorrow.

'But damn, those teeth though... will it hurt if he kisses someone?' She wondered as her mouth ran dry, watching his take a large bite into the apple that came as a small appetizer next to his meal. She would be lying if the way he bit into the fruit wasn't at all of a turn on.

She slapped herself mentally for having such thoughts. She had absolutely no time for romance – with her education that she had to get back to whether she managed to discover anything or not. She had goals to accomplish in her life, and love was definitely not on her to-do list.

In fact, as much as she would hate to admit, she was slightly OCD about how her life might turn out. She had it pictured in her minds so many times, so much that she had willed most into reality through pure hard work.

"I'll take that as a compliment, since I gave that name to myself." He mocked, before he diverted his attention back to the second plate of food before him.

Meanwhile, Maka clenched onto her utensils tightly when the man passed by her once more, getting too close to comfort.

'Calm down, he'll be gone soon. He's leaving now.' She did an internal chant, trying to not let her instinct to kick the man into the wall and teach him a lesson about craving something that wasn't his.

When his hand brushed against the small of her back, she lost it. Smashing the empty glass bottle onto the table, she slammed her chair back into the annoyance that had been bugging her ever since he had set her eyes on her, her head swivelled back to meet his eyes with a furious glare.

She brought the broken bottle with sharp edges near his throat, hissing. "Touch me the wrong way again; I'll make sure the only bed you'll be staying in is your deathbed."

She gained looks from the entire restaurant that was looking her outburst incredulously, with the menacing shop owner seemingly approaching her for causing disruption.

"Time to go angel." Soul said quickly as he slapped money on the table, wrenching the glass bottle out of his companion's grip and leaving it abandoned on the table. It cascaded on the ground after a few seconds, shattering into more pieces.

He quickly swept Maka up bridal style, before walked out of the store, the owner missing them by a bit as they made their escape to a slightly more isolated place.

"Don't make a ruckus, she says. And then she contradicts herself." He said sarcastically while he settled her onto a haystack. "What in the right mind made you think taking off your shoes at a place where the floors are probably dirtier than an average male's internet history?" He said sourly, inspecting her feet that had small pieces of glass stuck into it.

"Logic?" She suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your humour is not needed, as of current." He deadpanned. "Now you just won yourself a bleeding foot. Congratulations."

"Oh my, what an honour." She drawled sarcastically. "Do I get a medal?"

"The only medal you're winning is being hot-headed." He muttered sharply. "Don't move."

Maka gave the albino the are-you-serious look. "I wonder where the hell I can run with an injured foot, smart punk."

Her companion rolled his eyes at the sarcasm that was dripping heavier in her voice, before he ran off to get some medical equipment, leaving the ash-blonde laying there on the haystack, glancing at the sky that a purple-pinkish hue, wishing that the stars would come out faster so that she could amuse herself with something.

It was easy to find stars in Egypt, it was difficult to install stable sources of light due to the sandstorms, only sturdier infrastructure or movable ones could survive it. Without the light illuminating the skies, it was easy to gaze at the stars and admire its beauty.

She sighed in boredom, other bothering to look up when there was approaching footsteps. She didn't really care about her wound, allowing it to stain the soil with her blood slowly, drip by drip.

"You seem really stupid doing that. It doesn't really fit your aura of sophistication."

She shot up and glared at him with all the fake annoyance she could muster.

"Judgmental cactus." She murmured under her breath.

Soul ignored her comment, as he used tweezers to take out the bits of glasses and put poured some water over the wound, giving her an apologetic look when she winced. He then applied disinfection cream and bandaged her feet before he started to rustle the plastic bad next to him.

He pulled out strap on sandals and put it on her, pleased with himself that he had chosen the right size. The green-eyed girl couldn't help but smile at his concern, her heart warming up a bit for her newly made friend.

As she was about to raise her feet to inspect his handiwork, he yanked it down gently and clasp something on her ankle, before looking away, his face slightly red while he ran his fingers through his hair.

Maka gasped as she saw the anklet she had wanted dangling delicately on her ankle. She let out a squeal as she jumped onto Soul, giving him a spontaneous hug. "Thank you!" She screamed in delight. "I'll treasure it forever."

The albino returned her hug, his face going even more red, which was remarkable since he had rather tan skin. The ash-blonde lady pulled away, feeling a little more than she should from the hug. She casted her head down and fiddled her thumbs before she glanced up and smiled shyly at the red-eyed man.

"It seems like we've spent more time than we should have here." He muttered. "Shall we find somewhere to stay before we proceed to the Pyramid at dawn?" He suggested.

She nodded warily, knowing that it would be a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

This chapter took forever. Let me tell you my tales of misfortune. I wrote the entire thing on paper and lady luck hated me so I lost it. I re-wrote the chapter on my computer. My brother was a genius and accidentally turned off my computer by accident so it was a goner. So I had to rewrite my chapter 3 times. Joyous right?

Anyways, favorite, follow and review! Your reviews spur me on ;)

Love you guys! See ya next chapter~ Check out my other stories too, hey? (shameless seld-advertisment)