Chapter 6 - Walking the Inner City

With a new goal set, May felt apprehension for the first time since using [Telepath’s Box] to lock her fears under lock and key spun of Truth. The problem isn’t the bathing per se, but… when you were a doll belonging to a young boy, there were many, many instances of “little prince, May is really stinky today, why don’t you guys go take a bath together?” and then spending the next half an hour being constantly dunked in soapy water as Hector got washed.

Now, some might argue that as a doll, May wouldn’t drown. Or even, if her memories of those times are so sparse, why hold on to that fear? Wouldn’t it be better to use this as an opportunity to overcome all of this?

And May would agree, of course. There was no better time to become a worthy servant of her Master than now, after all. However… she had been walking around for six months now. And for a few weeks, she had stayed in one war orphanage, watching the children and their behavior, just to notice that in the end, all kids act the same. So her memories of bathing, be they from before she awoke or after, were always comprised of dunking, drowning and stubby fingers pulling her hair in a mock attempt to “make her prettier” that ended up feeling more like torture.

The logical appeal of the bathhouses was also greatly lost on her, who could just pluck grime from her exterior with her fingers; one of the advantages of having skin that couldn’t absorb anything. So when Bel-Alis said all of them needed to clean themselves before going out to buy some supplies for their first run in the dungeon, May was filled with half foreboding and half exasperation at the waste of time doing something so needless. That was until the Priestess told her to smell her own, new hair.

Apparently, having a new body to call her own, especially a fleshy one like this, came with new concerns, such as bad hygiene. That became even more of a concern when the body you took belonged to a poor, young girl from the slums, where bathing was something to be had sporadically or 一 when the seasons allowed 一 as it rained. No better water to bathe than the fresh one that fell from the sky during the end of spring days and all along summer.

What that also meant, was that the concept of soap and any other possible implements to your shower that would distract a child, such as bubbles and the sweet smell of oils, was utterly foreign to them. As such, it came as no surprise that the smell of her hair was so difficult to bear. May should have noticed something was wrong when the curls kept sticking to her face.

Now convinced that bathing is, in fact, a true necessity, May innocently asked if Kreacher could be brought along. And when Bel-Alis agreed, stating that the garbage-dweller could probably use a shower of his own in one of the specialized shops for pets at the Inner City, the grin she gave to the rat as they tried to hide from the idea was all May had ever wanted.

They were lucky she wasn’t the one bathing them, or they would come back bloated and blue from spending so much time underwater. But this would do. For now.

Her retribution for that fetid breath would be slow and complete.

All parties in agreement, May only had to wait for Bel-Alis to grab a pair of boots so they could begin their trip up to the surface. As the older woman leaned on the wall for support, slowly putting her shoes on, May noticed how deeply twisted the Bel-Alis foot was.

Although covered in bandages, her right foot was smaller, curved at the center as if it had been compressed for a long time and it ended up trying to fold itself in half to escape. She couldn’t see the state of her toes, but the way the appendage dangled from her leg as if it was unable to firm itself like a proper limb, made May disconcerted. Bel-Alis, however, seemed to take it all with the ease of someone used to the condition, barely complaining about it and 一 if the smaller size of the right boot was any indication 一 successfully adapted to it. All that May wanted to know now, out of morbid curiosity, was if the wound was a birth condition or consequence of something that happened to the Priestess later on, but it felt rude to ask such a thing for now.

Looking downwards to her own feet, May noticed the girl was wearing sandals when she passed. The leather was coarse on her feet, but the same sunflowers embroidered in her shirt had been finely painted on the strips that tied the sandals. It wasn’t hard to notice the girl had an ongoing favorite when it came to flora.

May wiggled her toes a little, feeling them and how they moved while Bel-Alis swore softly in the background. It was odd that she couldn’t move her toes individually like her fingers; you would have thought humans had more dexterity than this.

Raising her head when she noticed Bel-Alis’s silence, she was greeted with the sight of the woman 一 boots in place 一 trying to grab Kreacher so that they could go out and bathe, but the rat was adamant in their refusal. Fortunately, with bigger stature also came bigger power, and after a while, the Priestess simply plucked them by the scruff of their neck and brute forced her way to a nice, hot bathing session.

Seeing the rat screeching “Tyranny!” at the top of their lungs was enough to make May’s smile even more genuine.

All ready to leave the Chapel, Bel-Alis took the lead by opening the 一 until now completely solid 一 wall of stone on the opposite side of the smaller one that led to the corridor and rooms by hammering her cane in the middle of it, making an entrance that swung outwards, similar to the double doors that led to some of the temples in the All-Saints Square.

To May, however, what was starting to truly amaze her was how many times since they met, the Priestess solved her problems by using her cane as a magical all-fixer. To the untrained eye, the lack of incantations and magical energies when doing something fantastical made the thin woman seem more like a bludgeoning berserker with draconic strength and an apparent distaste for all things ground-related than the reclusive scholar she truly was.

Following Bel-Alis as she walked outside, an eye-watering stench hit May like a physical force, making her turn around in distaste as she sniffed pitifully. When she did, however, the double doors they came from closed soundlessly, and for the single second, before they perfectly merged with the bricks of what seemed like a sewage tunnel, she saw a drawing shine.

The image was only completed when both of the doors stood together. A pair of almost parallel arrows leading towards a vortex in the middle of them. The slight violet glint of the rune vanished as the drawing sunk into the stone.

“Where… where are we?” May asked through pained breaths, and she could swear her nose would bleed if she smelled another disgusting thing today.

“At the sewers, of course,” Bel-Alis answered, taking a deep breath before coughing. “Hells. You’d think with all the nice things they eat their waste would smell better.”

“Anyway. I know what you’re thinking.” The Priestess turned to May, and through the darkness, she could see the smaller girl looking at her as if she was either mad or disgusting for living here. “Bel-Alis, why the sewers? Why not choose a cleaner space, with 一 I don’t know 一 fewer roaches? And I come back to you with a question. Where would I find somewhere under Crystalia that no one would think of searching?”

And to that, May had no answer.

“Come, May. We have things to do.” Bel-Alis scrunched her nose as she kept on walking over the dark walkway beside the sewage. “Besides, being indifferent to the sewers doesn’t mean I appreciate the smells. Gods, what is wrong with their diet?”

“We blame it on the beans. We’ve been noticing they have this weird obsession with it.” Kreacher said from his place on Alis’s hands, resigned to the fate of soap and perfume like one of the lapdogs they had seen while scouting the Inner City.

The trio turned a corner and kept walking under Bel-Alis’s guidance, making small talk all the while.

“So, what is it like in the Inner City?” May asked after a moment of silence.

“You haven’t been there? I thought you awoke in Crystalia?” Bel-Alis said.

“I woke up close to the All-Saints Square. My memories of before that are… hazy.” And that wasn’t a lie. May could remember the palace 一 or at least parts of it 一 but she had no recollection of the city. It fell under one of those gaps her memories had where she couldn’t be sure if she had never been to the Inner City, or if she had been there with Hector and couldn’t remember.

“Humm, you know, I always found it weird that the White Queen didn’t build a single temple in the Inner City.” Bel-Alis thought out loud for a second, starting to get distracted with her new line of thought, before returning to May’s question with a small degree of shame. “Ah, sorry. Well, the Inner City… humm. It’s pretty. Rich. Safe. A little too pompous for my taste, but most people are nice, although some of the most insufferable people I’ve ever met were from there.”

“They have a market area, nice houses, lots of green areas… Oh, Kreacher, is the fountain plaza still running?” Bel-Alis added and May yielded to the fact she would have to check things with her own eyes. To her, The Priestess seemed great to talk about certain topics of her interest, but when they were… outside of her curiosity, getting a proper description felt a little like milking stone.

“It should be. We haven’t been in that area for a while now.” Kreacher answered, mollified. “The ladies started complaining about rats in the region and now the sweepers are killing them on the spot.”

Watching the rat try to spit on the floor after talking about the upper class of the surface, similar to a few of the workers that she had watched during all this time made May giggle a little bit; which didn’t go unnoticed by them.

“Oh, wow! She can actually laugh.” Bel-Alis said, hairless brows moving upwards in amazement.

Kreacher, however, only seemed indignant. “What? You found something funny, youngster?”

“Just your face… rat!” May hissed to the animal.

“Tsc. Youngster!” Kreacher said from his prison made of purple fingers, wiggling a bit to face her.

“Vermin!”

“Brat!”

“Pest!”

“Ankle-biter!”

“Garbage eater!”

“With pleasure…” The sudden change in Kreacher’s demeanor, from heated to sardonic, threw a wrench on May’s tirade. “Child!”

Thrown from the loop she ended up taking too long to make a comeback. The rat snickered, winning this time.

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Oh. Kreacher. One. May. Zero. The whispers did not help. May stomped her feet but proceeded, hugging her naked doll body closer.

“Sigh. We’re here.” Bel-Alis suddenly said, choosing not to comment about the sudden name-throwing that had just happened.

‘Here’ according to May’s eyes, was a dead-end with a metal circle on top of them. From the inside, the lid that covered the insides of the sewage system had an ever-so-faintly halo made of light from the summer sun outside. Slowly, May climbed the rusted iron stairs on the wall and reached the top, doll hanging from one arm as the other she used to push the metal lid.

It took a moment, Bel-Alis even asking if she would like to trade places sometime during the huffs and puffs of her trying to dislocate the affixed manhole cover. When May finally heard the pop! and squelch of the metal grating against dirt and the overgrown moss that settled in some parts of it, she grinned from ear to ear.

Climbing outside, all three of them had to take some time adjusting to the light; the change from the darkness of the sewers to the summer sky above made May’s eyes sting. She seemed to take it the worst, as Kreacher barely stopped as most of his other bodies were already under the sun and Bel-Alis seemed to take more time confused by the sudden light than annoyed by it.

The place where they climbed into was a distinctly tight alley between two buildings. The floor was made of paving stones, mostly clean if not for some dust that accumulated with time. What amazed May the most, however, was the lack of garbage anywhere.

The sweepers seem to take their job more seriously than she expected.

As she looked around, the magnitude of what Bel-Alis called “rich and pompous” transformed more into “beatiful, if sometimes gaudy” according to May’s opinion. The bricks that made the two walls around them were colored and decorated in their entirety, reds and yellows coupled with marks making them look similar to the jungle birds that could be seen sometimes. Moving closer to one of the walls, May noticed that not only were the bricks finely carved with the image of animals and vines, but the windows and the single wooden door on her right also had carvings on them. Even the door knob was decorated, a brass thing with a flower carved around the keyhole.

“Where are we going from here?” May asked, outlining the carving of a bird with a beak shaped like a scythe’s blade, longer on the top half and which, by the way it was drawn, had stripes on it. Her fingers stopped at the tip of its wings before Bel-Alis said anything.

“We should go to the Brimming Plaza, so… we need to take a right from here.” The woman said, dusting her robes a little before settling in her limping gait towards the open, bustling streets.

The first impression May had of the proper Inner City was how crowded it was. The street bustled with people, walking around alone or in pairs as the early morning passed and the vendors and service staff reached their jobs. May could see a trio of ladies making their morning stroll and stopping to see a dress in a showcase that was as colorful and ribbon-filled as the ones they already wore.

Most of the buildings in the area were built with the same brick-like material as the first ones she had seen. What differed them were the colors and inscriptions. Green, red, yellow, purple and pink were some of the most common colors, making the city a rainbow mosaic if seen from above. The clear streets and abundant trees 一 along with the crystal unlit lamps that decorated the walk 一 made it all more welcoming,

If May raised her head a little bit, she could even see some of the palace's large quartz-clear towards, all four of them marking the place as the house of the royal family. The sight filled her with expectation, the moment to return to her master approaching with every passing second.

Not only that but now that she tried to make an effort to understand how different the people of Crystalia were 一 instead of simply dubbing them as Hector’s subjects 一 May started to notice the different races that made part of the queendom.

Humans, like the body she wore, were a slight majority. Most of them, however, wore the whites, cream and browns of workers and merchants. Some carried aprons or more specialized clothing, but it was difficult to see any of them wear the more colorful clothing that seemed to mark the upper class.

The other part of the population was made of a multitude of races. Men with loose long shirts and tight vests, leaving space for their curled horns and bare legs, showcasing their goat hooves. Women clad in colorful seashells and corals, their top leaving their stomachs naked, but the skirts they wore were long enough to drag along the floor, tied with a knot around their waists and falling lightly over their lower half, unlike the bell-shaped absurdities the few human ladies seemed to fashion. Even some gentlemen who had a fair resemblance to humans, were it not for their more pointed ears and taller stature.

From the corner of her eye, May could swear she even saw what seemed like a moth woman excitedly fluttering her wings while a giant beetle man tried to keep her isolated, spear in hand like a guard.

She really, really needed to get her hands on some books about these different races. Her lack of knowledge of their names made her curiosity itch, and she couldn’t turn to Bel-Alis for questions, as the Priestess seemed to be working hard in remembering the correct route.

Since half of her companions were occupied, May turned to the resigned rat that had been released from Alis’s grip and had been occupying her shoulder.

“Psst. Hey, Kreacher!” She half whispered the words towards them, their beady eyes turning to her for a moment before they resumed looking forwards.

Cursing their rudeness for ignoring her, May was about to call them again when she heard a squeak from her left and found a furry shape trying to climb her, tiny claws making the climbing a lot easier as they walked over her linen shirt. When the brown rat settled on top of her head like a hat, May sighed in distasteful resignation.

“What is it, youngster?” Kreacher’s other body said from his position, nestling among her curls.

“What is that?” She discreetly pointed to one of the goat men walking on the opposite side of the street.

Kreacher took a moment to understand what she was pointing at exactly. “Oh, him? That’s a satyr.”

“Why does he have horns?” May asked, tilting her head a little. Kreacher had to hold onto her hair.

“We don’t know. But why do humans have arms?” They asked, prodding after slapping their tail on her forehead for the sudden movement. “They just have horns. The same way humans just have legs instead of hooves.”

“Humm, I guess it doesn’t matter,” May said. They all served the same prince at the end of the day. “What about her?”

The woman passing by them was more plant than flesh, her skin a mix of light yellow and soft pink that harmonized with the bright pink flower that was her hair. It grew naturally out of her head, a multitude of petals that formed a perfect spherical frame to her small face. The light pink that was her short dress along with the crystal heels of the same color tone just made her not only beautiful but exotic.

The servant following her, with bark-like skin and deep moss green hair, seemed utterly emaciated when compared to the proud flower lady in front.

“Shit! Don’t point at her!” Kreacher warned, causing May to immediately curl her finger. “Look away! Look away!”

The woman turned at the chitchat between them, and her face twisted in disgust at the sight of a dirty girl walking around with a rat on top of her head.

The naked doll just made her raise her nose so hard, that May thought her neck would snap.

“Those are dryads… plant women.” Kreacher said when the woman was far enough away, voice dripping with distaste. “You see the woman in front? They call themselves Flower Nymphs. Complete vixens.”

“Are they different from each other? I saw the other one behind her looked like a tree.”

“There’s a difference. But we think it’s more social than anything else.” The rat explained.

“Indeed, it is,” Bel-Alis said, turning to them with that small smile of usual. “Come, we are close by now. I’ll explain on the way.”

After she cleared her throat, Bel-Alis stated that the dryad culture still bears remnants of their old ways, when they still lived isolated and deep into the Arilan Jungle, which was a fact that came as a surprise to May. Part of her, especially the one that wasn’t exposed to the common knowledge due to her age and exclusion, still thought history began with Asden.

Bel-Alis laughed at the idea, stating that the world was an old, old thing. And for a time, before the settling of the current queendom they were in, Dryads lived in a rigid society divided by their birth characteristics. Flowers on top, followed by Trees and then Herbs.

When Kreacher asked if there were Mushroom Dryads, Bel-Alis admitted not knowing of any. She stated, however, that it wasn’t impossible for them to be simply isolated still. Much of the world still had its mysteries.

The expectation in the rat’s eyes dimmed at the knowledge, but the possibility of another giant sentient fungi seemed to appeal to them.

May just thought it was horrifying the idea of another Kreacher.

“Ah. This is the place.” The Priestess said, suddenly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, causing May to slam her nose on her back. “Oops, sorry! Humm, let’s get inside, shall we?”

The place they reached was less of a large building like the ones all around it, and more like an open space surrounded by smaller homes. After going through an empty archway made of what seemed to be some porous stone, May could see the buildings complex and how all of them were built with the same blue bricks, decorated with depictions of sea currents, waves and submarine animals. Their roofs were white like sea foam and larger than the buildings, having to be supported by columns that ended up making verandas limited by white, wooden fences.

In the middle of the area, a small lake had a fountain in its center; the statue of a woman with the lower body of a fish was sculpted above the surface. Her hair was shaped out of water, flowing to her lower back, while the saber she held to the sky seemed sharp enough to cut stone. A glinting, circular sapphire was lodged into its pommel.

All of that would be impressive enough, but there was something else around. An energy that permeated the air around them the closer they got to the small lake and the fountain. It was electrifying and rejuvenating all at once, making her skin tingle.

“Nice isn’t it?” Bel-Alis asked, noticing May’s sudden stop. “It’s the mana around here. The entire area has it more concentrated than in most places.”

“How come?” May said.

“It’s the statue. Can you see it? That’s Captain Serena of the Brimming Tide. The one responsible for commanding the fleet of ships holding the original asdenians during the Exodus.”

May didn’t know what the Exodus was, but she had more pressing curiosities. “What is she? A fish woman?”

“A fish woman? Ha, I’ve never heard my kind being described as such.” A female voice from May’s left announced its presence with kind laughter. “We are sirens, dear. I’d dare say that our cousins are closer to fishes than we are.”

The woman that appeared sported the same fashion as some of the others May had seen; a top made of seashells covering her breasts, sagged with age. Her body was round and small, sporting a light hunch and thin green hair, along with wrinkles on her skin. Her fin-like ears grew to the sides of her head with a darker shade of green.

The tied skirt she wore on her hips fell asymmetrically, geometric patterns drawn in a toxic purple over the green cloth, making it unique. The old lady extended a wrinkled, brown-skinned hand towards Bel-Alis.

“Madam Leticia.” The Priestess said, bowing to kiss the back of Leticia’s hand.

“Alis. It’s been over two weeks now. How is your foot?” The siren asked with a little concern, sharp eyes assessing the Priestess from head to toe.

“Aching as always, but the ointments you gave me did help.”

“Humph. You should have come for the massage as I said. What use is there in treatment without consistency?”

“I’ll make sure to do so.” Bel-Alis said, scratching the back of her neck. Was that… sweat on her brows?

“Make sure? Oh, no dearest, you’re doing it today, now that you’ve come. And I’ll not hear a no for an answer.” Leticia proclaimed, and Bel-Alis's eyes widened in silent despair. May watched the interaction with confusion until the siren turned to her. “And who is your young friend, Alis?”

Nodding slightly, May felt Kreacher’s paws holding onto her scalp. “I’m May, madam.”

“A beautiful name, dear.” The older woman smiled at her, nodding. “I assume you are here to use our facilities? The baths are always open.”

“We were looking for a more private area, Madam.” Bel-Alis interfered. “It will be May’s first time and I want it to be remarkable.”

“Her first time at a public bath?” Leticia asked, a little shocked. “Really? Even the Outer City has them.”

“Oh, she’s from the south. One of the villages near the front.” Bel-Alis lied immediately, hand tightening around her cane. Leticia’s eyes glinted.

“Well, I’m sure we can make it memorable. For you and all your little friends, May.” She said, finger pointing towards Kreacher and the doll she held. “Let’s go to the lounge, shall we? I will check on what exactly is open for use today.”

Bel-Alis went forwards, the Kreacher body she had with her absent from her shoulder. Although May could see a faint bulge in her back that wasn’t there before.

The rat seemed to notice her staring and gave her a grin from the top of her head. “No need to pay double the fee, right?”

The sly animal’s quick thinking made her scoff, impressed.

Her eyes darted to the back of the siren, hunched but with the same confident air as if she was walking straight. In silence, they walked the inner pathways covered in gravel around the buildings towards the central, largest one, directly behind the lake and fountain. The two stories tall, blue mansion rose among its smaller siblings like an elder, surrounded by trees that hid the entire large open area behind it.

From her point of view, the place looked more like a home than a reception area, but when she saw Madam Leticia nimbly climbing the steps that led to the veranda 一 and open the single, tall wooden door 一 May knew something was different.

The sensation she felt around the statue? The house had the same energized air all around it. And it took but a step into the lounge area for her to feel the muscles she wore relax.

Madam Leticia, the old siren and manager of this place gave them the inviting smile of a businesswoman proud of her work.

“Welcome to The Brimming Plaza.”