Sike! (That's next chapter).

Leaving the maze of alleys is relatively painless. The streets and back roads are quiet, and we don’t come across anyone else as we walk quickly, keeping our heads down and moving with purpose. Despite this, I can still almost feel the eyes that track our little group, it’s a palpable sensation, like an itch on the back of my neck that refuses to go away. All of us are on edge, ready for a retaliatory attack.

Twice during our brief walk, the ring that Anna had given me, plucked from our attacker’s finger, cooled noticeably. She had been adamant I wear the trinket, telling me that it blocked magical analysis more completely than my current protection. I was grateful for the assist, especially considering it appeared to be working, but wasn’t a fan of the implications. I filed the information away and made a metal note to ask about it later.

The sensation of being watched only lessens as we step out onto a main street, lightly populated with pedestrians. A passer-by gives our group a suspicious look as we step out of an alley and join the main thoroughfare, but we ignore them, relieved to be somewhere a little more public. With a collective sigh of relief, our little group relaxes slightly, some of the tension leaving us. Anna turns back to Mia and me and quietly says, “We’ll want to slow down now. Rushing around will only attract the wrong sort of attention.”

From then on, we casually stroll through the streets of Kybor’s Rest, following Anna’s lead, trying (and failing) not to stick out like a sore thumb. The town matches my initial assessment from my earlier stroll, with clean streets and interesting architecture. I try to enjoy the sights of an honest to god medieval town, but something is really bothering me. I’m in a fantasy world, literally and figuratively, a world of my dreams. I can become an adventurer, learn magic, save lives and fight monsters, all the cool stuff in stories that I longed for as a kid. This is real, I’ve taken my first step, had my first real taste of combat and survived. We beat the bad guy, and looked super cool doing it. So why won’t my hands stop shaking?

I clench and unclench my traitorous hands into fists, but it hardly helps. My heart throbs in my chest and my perception of world shrinks as I desperately try to come to terms with my first true near-**** experience. It all could’ve ended so differently. If I had been a moment slower to dodge when he charged, or if that new ability had been blocked by the man's magic shield thing, I could be dead right now. What had that chance been? 20%?

My thoughts continue to spiral, my mind leading me down a dark path of what ifs. That’s when a small hand grips my own and squeezes. The contact breaks me out of my spiralling thoughts, and I stare at the small hand firmly gripping my own. Numbly, I follow the arm up to the petite woman who grips my hand so firmly. Our eyes meet, and I the look of concern and reassurance in Mia’s eyes causes a lump to form in my throat.

I feel a pressure on my other hand and turn in time to see Anna clasping it in her own. Her eyes are full of compassion as she says, “It’s okay, your safe now. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you. Come on, let’s get you off the street and to someplace safe.” I nod in response, not trusting my voice. With a small smile, Anna turns and keeps moving forward, still maintain a grip on my hand.

By the time I’ve calmed down enough to think straight, we are walking through what appears to be a residential area of the town. I give the hands of both girls a squeeze before I let go, muttering a self-conscious thank you. Paying attention to my surroundings again, I notice that the smaller residential buildings we are passing quickly are making way for larger, fancier looking buildings as we enter what is most definitely a posh neighbourhood. Mia and I look around wide eyed at the residences, more manors than houses. It’s clear that we both feel out of place, and despite Anna’s whispered advice to “Act like we belong”, I feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Luckily, it's not long until we reach our destination, and we stand in front of a wooden gate set into the side of a large stone wall. The door is clearly padlocked, so Mia and I share a sceptical look as Anna places her hand on the door and pushes firmly. Anna turns just in time to catch our disbelieving look as the door swing open silently. She gives us a cocky smile, wiggles her fingers dramatically and says “Illusionist, remember”. I can tell by Anna’s satisfied expression that we both look suitably impressed.

That expression only grows as we walk through the gate and get our first look at where Anna has been staying. The gate lets out onto a gravel path, which leads to the back of a gorgeous manor house. I whistle, impressed. The two-story manor building is simply beautiful. We turn to Anna, mouths agape. She has the good grace to look at least a little sheepish. “you live here!?!” I ask, incredulous. She blushes and shrugs, before she replies, “I needed a place to lie low, and a lot of these big houses are empty most of the time anyway, what with the families who own them basically abandoning the rim. What can I say? It’s cosy.”

Mia nods, a speculative look on her face. “That’s pretty clever. From what I’ve heard, most’ve those that’ve left already probably won’t be back. Still, you’d think the buildings would’ve been claimed by the remaining nobles.” Anna shrugs before replying, “that’d be politics. Anyway, lets get inside and get comfortable, I have a lot of questions.” The last is directed at me, and I nod, resigned. “As long as I get to ask some too, I’m game.” The Kitsune’s expression turns mischievous. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, eh? I can work with that.”

I shake my head, amused, but refuse to take the bait. Anna chuckles to herself, then motions for us to follow as she turns towards the house. We crunch our way down the gravel path round the side of the house, Anna strutting like she owned the place the whole while, and make our way to the front door of the property.

The door opens to a beautiful antechamber, all marble floors and other such architectural marvels. Worried about tracking mud all over the place, I unlace my boots, leaving them in a semi-neat state near the entrance. I smile, appreciating the feel of the cool stone through my socks and turn back to my companions, who are looking at me funny. I raise an eyebrow at the pair who shrug, then copy me.

Whilst the girls take off their shoes, I take a better look around. The interior gives off a pristine vibe, which quickly has me self-conscious considering my sweaty state. I look down at my clothes and frown, noticing a couple of stains on both my blouse and jeans that I hadn’t noticed before. I shake my head in exasperation. Maybe they’ll have a bath? Hoping for a shower would be too much, right?

Growing up in the same house as with another person, you tend to pick up certain hang ups and habits. Aunt Viv hated being sweaty, hell, it was more accurate to say that Aunt Viv loathed being sweaty. On warm days during the summer, or after our joint runs, the first thing she would do when through the door was ditch everything else and hop in the shower. I wasn’t quite that bad, but a cool shower after exercise was always refreshing. Right now, I felt absolutely grotty.

Despite putting on a brave face, I was also still reeling from today’s events and longed for the familiar comfort of warm water. Whenever I was stressed or unsure at home, I would hop in the bath and let my body soak in the warm water. By the time my fingers would begin to prune I had usually worked through my issues in my head, or at the very least had an idea what I should do next. It was not fool proof method, but it always seemed to make me feel better.

“Any chance there’s a bath I could use?” I ask, then smile in relief as Anna nods, then replies, “yup, sure does, this place is pretty swanky.” Mia perks up, clearly as excited about the prospect as I am. The poor girl is filthy, so I can hardly blame her. I notice her eager expression, so I add, “Did you want to go first, Mia? I don’t mind waiting.” The diminutive Mouse-kin shoots me a grateful look, but it quickly shifts to a look of embarrassment as she says, “I would love that, but I don’t want to get the water all gross before you guys are finished.”

Before I can reply, Anna speaks up. “Well, it’s a good thing that there’s a way to clean off before entering the tub which, as an added bonus, is large enough to fit an army.” The kitsune’s smile deepens as she adds, “So, fancy taking a dip together?” Her smile slackens slightly as she remembers how I had been on the walk over, so she is quick to add, “If you feel up for it, that is.”

I shake my head, bemused. Gods, the women of this world are incorrigible perverts. I look over to Mia, who is blushing furiously, and mentally add, or at the very least the redheads are. Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

I smile at the eager Kitsune, then reply, “Sounds like fun, lead the way.”