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Pulling her cloak close to her body, Alexial raced up the path leading to what she hoped was the inn. It was raining and had been all morning. She was practically soaked to the bone. Only her cloak shielded her from the wind.
With little effort she pushed open the wooden door. She was greeted by warm air. She smiled with a sigh.
In front of her there was a wooden staircase that lead to the upper floor. What she assumed to be where the rooms for renting were. Out to the right was a wide open room. There were tables for dinning and a long couch for lounging. Near the back of the room there was what seemed to be a small bar with a few stools out in front where a few drunken men occupied. Off to the far right there was a little area which looked to be a check in of some sort. There was a woman behind the desk flipping through the pages of a registry, maybe looking for a certain guest’s room number.
The woman at the desk didn’t even look up as Alexial walked through the door. She continued her frantic search for that one guest as Alex made her way across the room. She was glad to finally be in a dry warm place.
A hand caught the attention of the receptionist. With an annoyed look she eyed Alexial. “Can I help you?” she snapped. Alexial yanked her hand back and nodded. “You need lodging or just a meal?” She asked. Alexial wondered why anybody would just stop by here for a meal. They were in the middle of no where.
Alexial had been traveling for days along a trail which she suspected to be commonly used based on how wide it was. It was made for wagons, trailers, and for travelers, however she hadn’t seen any as she walked along it. The trail narrowed down and split into two paths. There was a sign that was well worn, but still readable. The sign pointed north and read “Lodging” and that was the way she went.
“Lodging,” Alexial replied.
“For how long?” the woman asked.
How long? Alexial thought. How long was it since she last saw her friends? Had it been a few months or even a year? It was so long ago when her and Knight walked upon the dead in one of the old Demon Republic Head Quarters. They only meant to be there for a short time, just to find his parents ashes.
It turned out to be more than just a simple mission. They were confronted by an officer of the DR. Knight was nearly killed and Alexial was knocked unconscious. She wasn’t sure exactly what happened after that. The wagon they were kept locked away it was involved in some accident. She remembered hearing the screams of the horses as their legs broke beneath them. The cage she was placed in tumbled out the back of the wagon and crashed open. It was dead of night. She could her people yelling, she thought she heard Knight.
Fire suddenly burned hot and bright behind her, lighting up the dark forest. Silhouettes fought in the near the wagon. Alexial scrambled to regain her senses as she slipped through the cold mud. Tears of fright streamed down her dirty face.
She could hardly make out Knight’s voice behind the roaring fire that yelled for her to run.
That was the last time she saw Knight. She figured that Odin and Dawn would come looking for her. Alexial sure she was far away from home. However, she wasn’t certain all she could see was trees and wildlife as far as she could see. After escaping it didn’t take to long to find a path to follow.
“How long?” The woman asked again with a glare.
“Oh, I wasn’t sure,” Alexial stammered. “I’m waiting for friends.” Alexial pulled a gold coin, the only thing she had to her name, and slid it across the counter. “This is all I have. I’ll take any room you have. I’ll work if I have to.”
The woman stared at the gold piece. “Lady, I don’t even have change high enough for that.”
“Well how long will that grant me stay?”
“As long as you want,” she said with a grin. “Our rooms are only a few copper peaces to rent. The travelers who come through here are usually poor. And to tell you the truth if they look rich,” she paused. “Let us just say that the rooms ‘cost more’.”
Alexial forced herself to laugh along with the woman. It wasn’t really funny at all, but business was business. After her laughter died down, the woman handed Alexial a room key and handed her a blanket and pillow. “15,” she said and pointed left. “It will be up the stairs and to the left. Privy is out back. There are back stairs leading down that way you don’t have to come out and walk through here to get back out side.” Alexial nodded.
The room wasn’t what Alexial expected. A few copper was just what it was worth. Squeezed into to the tiny room was a bed and a table with one chair. There wasn’t even a window. It was a gold piece not a copper she paid for this room. In the morning she would have to talk to the inn keeper. At least the room was clean and tidy.
The next morning she was woken by the sound of arguing. The loud voices carried up the stairs waking other sleepers as well. Alexial stared at the ceiling in her bed listening to the muffled voices. She wondered what anybody could be fighting about so early in the morning. The sun had barely risen. Curiosity got the best of her. She got out of her bed and dressed.
Down stairs she found a tall man with sandy blonde hair and a matching mustache. He was yelling at a man with dark hair and a long black coat. The blonde suddenly pulled out a sword pointing it the other. Alexial’s eyes widened. Should she stop them? A short, plump, man stepped in between the two men, and told them to take their fight out side. The blonde agreed and stormed out the door, the other man was right on his heels.
“What on earth was that about?” Alexial asked after the door closed behind them. The man sighed shaking his head. He told her he wasn’t sure what happened, but he didn’t care. As long as they made their messes out side his inn he could care less if they killed each other. Alexial’s eyes widened. There wouldn’t be any killing while she was around. She would certainly stop them both.
Outside, neither of the men had drawn weapons. Alexial was glad for this. It would be harder to stop an argument involving weapons. “Excuse me.” Both men stopped and glared at her. She locked eyes with the handsome man with the mustache. Something about him made shivers run down her spine, and if she wasn’t mistaken she knew this man some how. “I couldn’t help but be awaken by both of your rudeness. You are waking up half the sleeping occupants over a petty agruement.”
The dark haired man glared one of the most hateful glares at the other. He pushed back his long bangs away from his brilliantly blue eyes and pointed a gloved finger at the man across from him. “This man!” he started, “tried to kill me!” The dark haired man was slightly taller than the other. He wore a dark coat that nearly reached the ground. It was open showing that he wore simple cloths underneath.
Alexial doubted that was true.
“Try to kill you?” The blonde spoke up. “You were following me for days and until now did I not decide to kill you.” The man seemed to be a simple traveler. Alexial guessed that maybe he had traveled through her old town and that was where he saw him.
“Wait!” Alexial scrambled between them. She puffed out her chest trying to make herself look brave. “Wait,” she said again this time with more authority. “Intstead of killing him why don’t you find out why he was stalking you.”
The blonde looked at her dumbfounded. “Do I know you.” He looked her straight in the eye. Yes he was sure he had seen her face before. He couldn’t exactly remember when it was but he knew that she was somebody she had met. Not only somebody he had met but somebody who had connections with somebody he knew all to well.
“I’m not certain,” she said quietly. Studying his face she knew she had to have seen him before. His bright green eyes seemed to look deep with in her. She put her hand to her heart. She felt like he was looking into her soul. Her eyes then followed a thin scare on the side of his face, though it look almost chilling to imagine what could have happened to him, the rest of his handsome face drew her attention away as if it wasn’t there.
The blonde rolled his eyes and pushed her aside. “It doesn’t matter. Move aside or I will kill you too.” Alexial’s jaw dropped. How dare he threaten a woman, the one that was trying to save somebody’s life this early morning?
“Excuse me!” she snapped. “Who do you think you are to talk to a woman like that? You can’t speak do me that way and you certainly can’t go around killing people because they followed you!”
The blonde rolled his eyes. He was getting annoyed with the woman rather quickly. “May I tell you why I am going to kill him?” he questioned. “Perhaps then you will agree that it is my right to take his life before he takes mine.” Alexial gave him a confused looked. “You see he followed me for days and before we got to this Inn he tried attacking me in my sleep. I managed to defend myself and in return for his kindness,” he said sarcastically, “I hit him over the head. This morning he managed to catch up with me and try to stick a sword in my back.” The blonde waved his sword about as he explained. Alexial looked over at the other man.
“This is true.” He nodded then opened his mouth to speak. Alexial raised her hand to silence him. She turned back to the blonde. “Why not call authorities?”
The blonde laughed. “Authorities? The nearest town is miles off. Do you think they would come out of their way for one person I can easily kill?”