Section Song: Days and Nights

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The town's chief, Reginald, pointed toward a large building that looked like it was made by the hands of a skilled architect. "This will be the Inn you two stay in tonight."

The older man stepped down from the carriage seat and gestured to Zeais and Eris. "Come on you two, down you come," he said with an old but deep croaky voice.

Zeais hopped from the passenger seat of the carriage and landed on the ground with a thud. Eris followed suit and yawned as she casually climbed down.

The view of the Inn from the ground gave it a menacing look as it sat lonesomely in the dark.

Eris yawned again, “It looks like one of those rich people houses. Like the ones with the-”

“Yes, yes, it’s very well built, but the man who built it is far from rich. In more ways than one.” Chief Reginald, seemed uninterested with her remarks.

Well, that’s rude, cutting her off like that.

The Chief walked toward the entrance of the Inn, a large archway. It was made of various stones that towered highly, but there was no gate that was held in place.

Zeais and Eris, followed the old man as he walked down the stone path that leads to the door.

The sound of water somewhere in the dark protruded the otherwise silent night. It was dark in the surrounding area and Zeais couldn’t make out one source of light nearby.

Everything seemed so quiet compared to just an hour ago. After they had been asked so many questions about their situation, it was like night in day.

My ears feel so at peace.

The three of them walked further down the path and met with wooden stairs. From the sound of the wood, Zeais knew they were very dense, he could even feel the strength they had as he walked up.

Oh? Nice choice. Maybe I’ll take a look at these once it’s light out. I’m sure I can find the same wood if I walk around long enough.

Chief Reginald stopped in front of the door and twisted the knob, the lock was set. He knocked loudly on the dark brown wood four times, "Yale! You have customers!"

I wouldn’t blame the guy for not coming out, it’s definitely late.

The Chief looked at both Zeais and Eris, “I’m sure you’ll have a pleasant stay. I’ve known the man who owns this place for more than a decade now. He may seem rough at times, but bear with him, he’s… trying.”

What does he mean by, trying?

A light turned on far off to the left. One of the windows was open. Heavy footsteps could be heard as someone walked down the hall. The footsteps stopped in front of the door and the doorknob began to twist. The door clicked and its hinges made no sound as the door opened.

A large broad shoulder peaked out first, followed by the head and torso of a man who had to be at least two meters tall.

He’s huge!

The man the Chief called Yale earlier, looked at the faces of everyone who stood outside. “Customers? Now?” he questioned with a deep bellowing voice. “Chief too huh. Who do we have here?”

"These children found themselves in an unfortunate situation and need a place to stay for a few nights. Don't worry about them paying, I'll take care of that. Just know that they have agreed to come to visit me tomorrow so we can talk more."

“I don’t mind letting them stay here, but next time Chief can you not make so much noise, my daughter's trying to sleep. You can just pull that string right there, and I will come.” Yale pointed to a thick brown rope that went up into the roofing. A sign behind it read ‘For late summons, please ring twice’.

“Ah, my apologies Yale, my old age has forgotten how much detail you’ve put forth into this place.”

“As long as you remember next time… Anyway, I will board these two, I suppose I can also transport them to your office and pick up the payment as well.”

“Great! I can always depend on you Yale. The others… not so much.”

“Yes, yes. I know,” Yale waved his hand in a dismissively to the Chief then beckoned the children to come in. “Follow me you two. I’ll get you all set up.”

Zeais and Eris walked inside after Yale opened the door fully, a warmly lit lounge area greeted them. The interior was smaller than Zeais thought it would be. It still looked grand, but just at a much smaller more quaint, scale. There weren't any high-quality paintings or rare cloth to be seen anywhere. In fact, it looked more like a giant living room, one of which you’d find in a regular house.

Chief Reginald stood outside the door and turned around. He walked away as Yale closed the door, "Thank you, Yale. I knew I could count on you."

Yale nodded and slowly closed the door. “Yeah, sure... Old man,” he said quietly. He turned around to look at Zeais and Eris as they looked around the Inn, “This way you two.”

Zeais followed his instruction and walked behind him aside Eris. They walked down a dimly lit corridor that was opposite of the area Yale came from. After walking for a while, they stopped in front of a room with a sign that had the letter G on it. Yale grabbed the doorknob and entered into the pitch black room.

After a few seconds of rummaging, an eternal candle lit the room with a warm hue.

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“The bed’s aren’t made so I’ll go fetch you some blankets. Feel free to sit here or use the bathroom to the left of the hall. I’ll be back.”

Yale promptly left the room with Zeais and Eris standing there in silence.

The first to make a noise was Eris as she fell back onto the bed closest to her. Hair covered her face as she laid on her back. “Do you think Nova will be okay? And his uncle?”

Zeais paid attention to her instead of staring at the walls around him, "Uhh, yeah." He walked around her bed, to the only other available mattress and sat down. "I think they will be fine. If what they said is true and the doctor is really the best in town, I think they'll be fine."

“I see. That’s good.” A yawn flowed from her mouth as she covered her face with an arm.

“Tired?”

“Mmm, it’s been a long day.”

"For you too huh… I agree," Zeais fell back onto the mattress, mimicking Eris. "I wish I could fly."

A questioning “Hm?,” escaped from Eris.

"I mean, it's my fault Nova got hurt like that. If I had paid more attention, then maybe I could have… avoided it."

"It's not your fault," Eris kicked her feet up into the air, and threw them down to fling her self off the bed. "Things happened that you can't stop right? Not every day can only be good."

“That’s true..”

"But not every day has to end badly either," Eris said as she disappeared out into the hallway.

Not every day has to end badly either, huh.

Yale entered the room slowly as he carried a large bundle of sheets and a box. He set them down on the bed Eris had been using. “Where did your friend go?”

“I think she went to the bathroom.”

"Alright. If you decide to use it too, there are separate rooms for both the bathtub and the lavatory. They both have a men and women side."

“Thank you.”

“If you want to go use it while I set up the room feel free.”

Zeais thought about it for a second. I haven’t showered in a while, probably should…

“I’ll do that. Just that way right?” Zeais pointed to the right of the hall.

“To the left little one.”

“Ah, thank you.” Zeais gave Yale a nod as he unpackaged the sheets. He then left the room to walk down the dimly lit hallway.

The darkness of the hallway wasn’t too bad, he could still make out the small details far ahead.

It should be somewhere nearby… Ah is this it?

A bright light shined from underneath the door he stopped in front of. A picture of a shower, hands with water pouring over them, and a toilet, were all engraved on the placard of the door.

This must be it.

Zeais entered the room, bright candles scattered around the walls lit the room brightly, it made it hard for him to see for a few seconds. After his eyes adjusted, he studied the various shelves that held towels and all types of other bathroom necessities. The room was neither small nor large in size.

There’s probably enough for the whole hallway to use.

Zeais grabbed one of the drying towels and smelled it.

Freshly washed.

He began to grab more items for use, things he had not seen before. A bottle he picked up was had a hand-drawn label that read ‘smell good’.

Is this soap? He opened the bottle and sniffed it.

Yeah, this smells like that expensive perfume that town ladies wear. Don’t need that.

After putting the jar back, he took what few items he had and walked to the next set of doors.

Neither of these has a sign… Which one is it supp-

A voice from the left door grabbed his attention.

“Hmm, hm, hmm, hmmm,” A childish hum came from the door to his left, he knew the decision would be easy.

Yep, not that one.

He opened the door to the room that sounded empty. There, he was greeted with a decently sized washroom with a sink, bathtub, and toilet. In fact, there were several of each with curtains that surrounded them.

Wow, if we had something like this at brights, I wouldn’t have to look at Eloy walk around naked all the sudden.

Zeais plopped his things down near the closest bathtub and went to the faucet.

Oh nice, they have showers too! Guess I’ll do that first.

Zeais was excited, after all, his hometown could barely be called a town at all. A smile came upon his face that he couldn’t quite keep down.

Guess I’ll have to rub this one in their faces when I get back. His smile turned into a snickering grin as he turned on the water to the shower.

Section Song:

Along with them

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The next day, Zeais awakened to the smell of fresh food. His eyes blinked as he opened them. Bright sunlight illuminated the room as a breeze rolled in through the open window. The air carried the scent of a meal through the room and into Zeais’s nose.

Bread? He sniffed the air and some kind of… meat?

His eyes focused in on the gray wood in front of him.

Wha… What roof is that?

Zeais turned over to view more of the unfamiliar surroundings. A nightstand sat next to his bed with a wooden cup holding water and a handwritten note that said ‘Welcome!’

Oh right… I remember now. The Inn.

He attempted to sit up and get a better view of the room.

“AH! Ow!” Zeais put a hand to his back, “My arms too… So sore. Nope, I’m done.” After letting his body fall back down to the bed, he pulled the covers over his head. I can’t live like this, I’m done forever. I’m going back to sleep. His eyes closed as he adjusted himself into a comfortable position.

Silence overtook his mind as he began to sink into sleep mode, but a knock on the door ruptured his bliss.

“Room Service!” a light voice on the other side of the door called.

A sigh escaped his mouth as turned over, “Come iiinn.”

Wait a minute, is that girl even here?

Zeais pulled the covers from his head to look at the bed in front of him. It was empty. The sheets were set and it looked like there was nobody there at all.

Where’d she go?

As he thought about where Eris had gone, the person who was on the other side of the door began to come in.

“Excuuse me, coming innn.”

A girl with fair skin and yellow pupils popped her head in slowly. Her light brown hair was tied in a ponytail  and swung about as she twisted into the room with a large tray of food. The girl wore a simple blue, cotton button up shirt, with dark coffee colored pants. The pants barely reached her ankles.

She looks around our age. She’s a bit tall though. Really pretty though, maybe she’d look like an angel if she wore lighter clothing?

The girl entered the room and closed the door behind her as she held the tray with one hand.

“Good morn..ning?” she said as she looked around the room.

“Riiight here.” Zeais tiredly said as he peaked from the sheets that covered him.

“Oh… Sorry to wake you, but I brought you breakfast.”

As if he had heard the words he'd been waiting for for years, he rose up as if he had all the energy in the world. "No no no, it's fine, I was already awake anyway."

“I see, I’m glad then!” The girl gave him a large smile as she walked over to the table that sat near the window.

Ohh! That looks delicious. There’s even some mashed corn paste! But…

“This is free right?”

The girl set the tray down on the table and turned around with a happy bounce, "Yes! And in fact! I made this!" She gave a triumphant pose as she stood next to the table. "Not all inns do this you know but my father believes in treating guests as if they were family!"

“Your father?”

“Oh, sorry. We haven’t had a guest in a while so I almost forgot.” She bowed her head slightly, “My name is Anya and I work this Inn with my father. I hope you have enjoyed your stay so far!” She lifted her head and gave him a large smile.