A seven feet long serpent was moving in tiny paths of subfloor as if in a metro, but not in a straight line. However, its actions were repetitive. As the long creature only chose the paths it had recently passed, the route it was making had already become a loop. In the center section of the loop was a small chamber whose only occupant was whether sleeping or meditating, as the heat coming from the room wasn’t that of an active human.
Felix didn’t want to take a gamble at putting his trust at the woman he just made a contact with on this very day. Therefore, he inspected every nook near the woman’s accommodation in his snake form, making sure before deciding to finally emerge to the surface on the corridor. This time, he hadn’t knocked out any servant to rob their clothes, though. He could only make up for it by covering his female genitals with his thin and delicate hands, after softly knocking the door whose resident must be… he hadn’t asked her name; a twin or a doppelganger of Lina.
The door opened almost soundlessly, and a strong hand swiftly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in, closing the door behind. Felix resisted a girlish squeak from the sudden yank with his will and partly with the help of another hand that was put on his mouth.
“Shush,” the woman whose hand was on Felix lips ordered him. “Did Tsilonee come to you this evening?”
Felix squinted at her before giving her an odd headshake.
“Did anyone other than her or her guards visit you?” the warrior resumed her inquire. It seemed she was well familiar with interrogations.
Felix shook his head again.
Was she trying to determine his reliability as he was doing a while ago? If that was the case, it could be considered as a good sign. After all, no one would form an alliance without knowing the other party’s intentions. However, from the way the warrior sounded, this woman’s questions were information based that was directed not fully at him.
She took a sigh, which indicated she was relieved from something Felix could only assume. “That’s good,” she said, uncapping Felix’s mouth.
“Why did you ask?”
She let go of her other hand and took steps away from him, not even bothering with his nakedness, then sat on a bed that was intended for a lone sleeper. The room itself wasn’t that spacious as Felix’s. It was around twice as small as his room, with just an ordinary tea table near the bed and a stool.
“You have to help me if you want to escape from all of these,” she said with a serious tone, moving instantly to the topic at hand.
Of course, I do. Felix groaned inwardly. First time he was saved, it ended up at this miserable situation, being forced to assist for an assassination attempt he was no wish to take part in. Now if he were to agree to this deal, what kind of surprises would await him next time? But still, there was no harm in listening to what the woman wanted to say.
“What help?” he asked cautiously.
“I’ll take you out of this mansion tomorrow morning. Then we’ll go to the town’s head manor. To Lord Kartan’s manor. You can change into any other person, right?” she asked, and received a nod. “Good. We’ll have to report this brothel’s inner workings to the town guards.”
Having finished her short explanation, she silently stared at Felix’s face as if asking for his opinion in this plan. He didn’t mind, supposing there were not any further objectives behind this help. The thing that was making Felix a little hesitant was the urgency in the way she talked. Why now? Wasn’t she an important aspect to Tsilonee? Felix still remembered the prostitute requesting ambiguously from this warrior if she was interested in working for her.
“Did something happen?” he asked.
“Two people from the noble background arrived today at the brothel. Their presences mean there is a lot in this riot. It could ruin my own plans,” she explained, and continued, watching him. “If they find out about your ability, they’ll take you away from this town for their own profits.”
Felix’s eyes widened with a pretended surprise. Then he frowned a little, genuinely, from the possibility in case this woman was telling the truth. People from nobility wouldn’t take good care of him as Tsilonee did. Almost all the rich or high status individuals would put their own gains to the front, commoners’ well-beings weren’t much of a high concern for them.
“She works for them?” Felix asked another question, and she confirmed with her nod. “Are you working for someone in secret? As a, like, a spy?” No harm in an innocent question in this innocent appearance.
“I am. I was sent by a certain noble to investigate Tsilonee’s suspicious activities.”
“I see,” he said. She was actually an agent in disguise then.
“Anyway, how did you manage to get out of your chamber?”
The question was given like a passer-by thought to fill an uncomfortable silence. But it was clear she was testing him. His identity wasn’t revealed in the conversation between Tsilonee and her bodyguard with this woman; the prostitute was obviously trying to obscure his ability. Felix had planned to hide the extent of his power as an ace in the hole. He had heard the shapeshifters who were able to transform into animals were not common among this already uncommon inner magic user human species. And he could change into magical creatures; monsters. They were even rarer.
Seeing the woman’s face was turning from inquire expressing into doubt, Felix sighed and lowered his head in defeat. Then he slowly started changing into his serpent form. If you want to gain trust, give trust.
He hadn’t yet disclosed this form to anyone, hiding it. So by revealing his hidden transformation skill, he hoped to receive at least a small verification of trust.
“Impressive!” the woman said with vague nods of approval, examining his tiny scaled body.
“There is a hole under my bed,” Felix told her, once he returned to his teen human girl appearance. “And there are small ways for me to move under the floor.”
“Heating system! Nice discovery,” she praised him. “You should go back now. We’ll get out of here tomorrow after breakfast is over.”
“Why not now? People are all asleep. It’s the rightest part of the day to escape, isn’t it?” Felix frowned, having suspicions about this deal. The warrior was clearly stronger than he was. If she was lying to him and testing his loyalty to Tsilonee under her command, now he had spilled nearly all of his secrets he had kept from the prostitute, this was a convenient time to hand him in.
“I have to confirm something first. Sorry,” the magic warrior said with a light shrug.
“All right. I will go back now then.”
Felix carefully opened the door and inspected the hallways to check for any movement. It was as silent as the time he came in. He walked out and found the corner where a small rectangular door was located on the floor, which he had used to emerge into the corridor. After turning into his snake form, he dove into the subfloor heating system.
The watchers in his chamber had lessened their working hours considerably by now. Felix slipped in his bed sheets more freely, not detecting any heat from the surroundings that could alert him of a living presence. Changing into his male form, he started recollecting the conversation with…
I forgot to ask her name again!
No matter if she was truly in the mind of helping him or not, it would be clear in the morning. There wasn’t any other choice for him, anyway.
The night went on very sluggishly as Felix did his best to try to fall asleep. Many possibilities kept appearing in his non-stop working mind, which he tried to shut it to call it the night many times, but failed. When he finally found some peace and started feeling his consciousness falling into pleasant nothingness, the door of his chamber made a few knocking sounds. After a couple of seconds, it was opened and a servant woman in her early twenties walked in with a tray full of various types of food. Lately, the meals he had been tasting had multiplied, in both number and sort. But this wasn’t a time to be joyful right now.
“It’s already morning?” he asked the maid.
“It is, esteemed guest,” the maid answered shortly, not clarifying the exact time. It was pretty much expected to the level that he stopped caring.
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Once he had asked a question about the weather on the outside from a servant girl and received a detailed answer about even the looks of the trees in the cool middle autumn. The next day she didn’t come. Instead, a silent, very silent woman served him at around his age or a bit older in place of the usual younger ones.
“Madam Tsilonee wanted me to notify the esteemed guest that the morning lesson will be canceled for this day.” Surprisingly, the woman talked to him after she had placed all the dishes on the table. Then she simply left, without expecting further questions.
That’s perfectly fine, he wanted to tell behind her, but restrained doing so in case one of the watchmen was to be present in the side room.
Felix had his breakfast alone in his room, contemplating the events that might unfold on this very day. At last, he had a chance to feel freedom again. These thoughts made his inside heat up with hope, and nervousness, as though he was doing things he was not supposed to do. And this made his appetite to be short lived.
After feeling his stomach was satisfactorily full, he went into his bed and lay down, covering his body with blanket, curling up. After ten minutes of lying motionless, he fully submerged inside the thick sheet and slowly transformed into his feline form.
Why is he here now?
The first thing he noticed was the Guy B was present at this hour of the day, as he had named one of the guards observing him. Felix didn’t react at this founding as usual and kept lying still, listening. The cat form was as large as a cub of a lion, so it would appear big from the outer view. Felix used this to his advantage and made a few rolls with his body until the warm blanket stood on its own to look occupied.
Then he transformed again, into his serpent form and left the bed into the subfloor pathways. He slithered to the guard’s location and stayed inches below his feet, checking for the heat signature if there was a change that could indicate curiosity or nervousness. There was nothing.
Perfect.
Felix made his path toward the chamber the woman whose name he didn’t still know, but stopped as he sensed the very familiar female’s scent. It was Tsilonee, along with Seron, of course. She was speaking with the magic warrior in her apartment.
The sense of smell of a snake was extremely good that he loved. But he hated its hearing organ as much as he liked the smelling one. Especially now. Muffled sounds could be heard, and the words they were uttering were actually low in volume.
It looked he had arrived at the near end of the conversation, since the duo brothel heads exited the room and left. Felix really hoped Tsilonee would stay on her word about canceling the lesson.
After he made sure everywhere was peaceful, he made his way out and approached the warrior’s room. This time he didn’t have to knock; the door opened itself. It revealed the woman he planned to meet. She gestured him in, which Felix obliged and sat on the bed to cover his private parts a bit.
“Put on these clothes.” She threw him orderly folded what looked like a set of a maid’s outfit and a thick coat that looked to be made by an amateur tailor.
“When and where did you find this?” he asked, and then thought. Maybe he needed to stop asking smart questions. After all, he intended to look like, at most, a sixteen-year-old girl.
“From the servant’s section. Get ready quickly. Tsilonee will go to the mansion within an hour. So we must reach there first and make our report,” She said, urgency in her tone. “Actually, I have a proper plan now.” She smiled at him.
You didn’t have one yesterday? He barely restrained the urge to make another smart comment. Instead, he chose to make a quizzical expression by tilting his girly head, squinting his eyes.
“I’ll explain when we get there,” the warrior didn’t elaborate her statement.
He gave up pursuing the matter and quickly dressed up. Then they carefully got out of the room, making a shortest path to the entrance of the underground compound, observing the corridors carefully before crossing them. The secret facility wasn’t that big, which made their walk to the guard responsible for the steel door easy.
“Winter is not far.” The guard nodded to them and let them pass.
“Does Tsilonee entrust you with all the passwords.” He couldn’t contain his curiosity, maybe the cause of his current teen female persona.
“Not always. I was ordered to go to the manor this morning.”
Well, that can explain it.
The outside of the mansion was bustling with various activities. Some people were scurrying hurriedly, while some others were repainting the outer walls, or fixing some damaged parts on them. The duo didn’t linger inside of the structure, and quickly made their way toward the manor where the Town Lord resided.
The outside was the same as the brothel’s mansion. It was as if a massive cleaning up was taking place. Most of the streets were swept speckless; the pavements would probably be shining if they weren’t made of stone bricks. Miscellaneous kinds of decorations were being hung on the town buildings; they were different colored and appeared paper made, but still, they were good.
Does Christmas come to this world so early? Felix inwardly asked a question.
“What is all this preparations?” he asked his companion.
She looked at him in puzzlement, as if he was asking the simplest math’s equation. Seeing his genuine questioning expression, she looked away at the crowd around, and soon the confusion on her face somehow faded as she prepared to answer.
“Twice a year, we have a grant celebration; at the beginning and at the end of each year,” She started patiently explaining. “The early spring starts new life. We make a grand festival to honor the Day of the Beginning. And at the end of the year, farmers gather crops on the fields and prepare for the cold winter, but we don’t forget to reward the hard work of people. We celebrate the Day of Plethora,” she said and glanced at him. “It’s in three days.”
“What about the winter? There isn’t any celebration in the winter?”
“Why would there be?” She asked him back with a mild confusion. “Winter is a dead part of the year. There isn’t anything to celebrate.”
“Yeah, right,” he said what he could only say. “But the snow in the winter is beautiful. Skating on ice feels very good.” He resumed, not having appropriate vocabulary to describe the charm of the coldest season.
“Yeah. That’s right, too,” she said, after a bit of pondering.
They eventually reached the walls of the Kartan manor, finishing their walk that was spent in silence. The warrior woman led him away from the main gate of the Town Lord’s residence. From further away, they watched passers of a minor sized gate that he was told it was for manor’s personnel.
“Let’s go,” Felix’s companion said, motioning him to follow together behind an old woodcutter who had recently got out of the gate.
When he was out of the sight of any passer-by eyes, the warrior woman quickly inspected the surrounding before stealthily stalking after the old man. Felix could only inwardly apologize to the man.
“Transform into him and change outfits,” she ordered, indicating to the man’s unconscious body.
After completely making sure he was in the role of the old woodcutter, he walked out of the alley he was in and made his way to the small gate the old man recently exited. His companion got separated with him after helping him to make up an excuse to go back to the manor in case questions asked.
“Didn’t you just get out, Fendir?” one of the two guards patrolling the entrance inquired him in a demand mixed confused manner.
“I did, but this basket was…” he showed them the huge basket made from resilient tree bark the old man was carrying; it was in a nonfunctional state. The guards didn’t ask further questions and gestured him to pass in.
“What now?” he asked after reuniting with the warrior woman and finding a safe spot.
“You see the guard over there behind the corner?”
Felix peeked from the wall where he stood and saw half part of someone standing still with a spear in hand beyond a stonewall, on a half a meter high pavement attached to the building he was near at.
“I’ll go knock him out and carry him over here,” she explained, clearly not overly pleasant with making people unconscious repeatedly, while digging her clothes as if in search of something. “Then you change into him,” she said, then showed two small flasks she just pulled out of her coat.
One of them showed bluish color, the second looked slightly red on her palm.
“In the morning, Tsilonee visited my room to discuss the assassination she was planning. I was ordered to take you out so you can familiarize to this manor in the afternoon. If you were to show any sign that you were trying to find a way to escape, I was instructed to force feed you with this poison,” she placed her thumb onto the faintly red flask. “Now I’m going to use it against herself,” she added with a slightly mischievous and triumphant smile.
Felix became quiet, his breath quickening, taking time to digest what he had just heard. Poison him? Why? Just for trying to run away? Or was she aware of everything he had been doing in secret? So he proved himself not capable of being loyal to her?
“Why did she want to poison me?” he asked the magic warrior. He tried to control a slight tremble in his young female voice, though it didn’t look like he succeeded as the woman in front of him made a sorrowful expression.
“Shapeshifters are not common folk,” she started explaining in consoling tone. “And you are able to turn into animals. At fastspeed. Usually your kind is controlled in this way; using drugs or slow affecting poisons, leaving the victim in need of more drugs, or antidotes.”
It felt like clod water far below zero degree was poured over him, biting his skin, his heart. He had imagined the prostitute would do something to chain him by her side, like producing a child via other prostitutes in the brothel or making some romantic bounds with him. But he could have never guessed she could be capable of this.
He took a several shuddering breaths, calming himself. What to do now? It appeared, following the magic warrior’s guide to disrupt Tsilonee’s plans along with herself was the rightest choice. Besides, this woman didn’t seem unreliable.
“Do you think she already poisoned me?” he couldn’t help but ask.
She lifted the reddish flask to the eye level. “If you had drunk this, you would have felt the effect in about an hour. This antidote will weaken or temporarily stop the poison’s advancement throughout the body.”
“There is no cure?”
“There is. But this is too little to completely remove the poison from a body.”
The breakfast meals were still fresh in Felix’s mind as he kept staring at the poison. It hadn’t been an hour, and Tsilonee had said he would be fed the poison if he were to act skeptically. This made his tangled up mind from the chock a little hopeful that he was not poisoned.
“Alright, what should I do now?” he swept away the problems he couldn’t have solutions now.
“As I said, you will act as a guard and arrest me to take to the chief of the guards. You will say you’ve spotted me carrying suspicious looking vials. I’ll be interrogated. They know whom I was brought by, so it won’t be difficult for me to throw the blame onto Tsilonee. They’ll send some armed men to drag her here, and it’ll be all chaos…” she took a half-tired sigh, as if envisioning the size of a mess that was soon about to occur.
“You will go into prison then!?” Felix exclaimed. Although he didn’t know the woman well enough to care, her nature and character felt like she was a dependable person, maybe even a worthy one to be friends with.
“The rails of the town’s cells cannot hold me long. Don’t worry,” she said with confidence that didn’t sound like a boast.
“I want you to do one more thing,” the magic warrior continued. “But you don’t have to agree if you don’t like.”