“I miss the sun already,” Evander complained.
Amara responded with the barest of nods. They’d just reached the middle part of the road leading up to the front gate of Lucyra, and the sound of the ocean's waves crashing against the sand of both nearby shores made it difficult for her to remain focused. She’d been fairly afraid of the ocean when she first saw it from the sky with Mattias, and being so close to it now did nothing to ease her anxiety. The massive walls of Lucyra towered in the near distance, but somehow the threat which she knew dwelled within them paled in comparison to the ocean washing all around them. An alarming sort of elevation existed in the water far off towards the horizon—it wasn’t nearly as flat and even as it’d seemed from the sky. Looking at it, she felt as though the ocean might suddenly swell up to some unimaginably enormous height at any moment. There was so much salt in the air that she could practically taste it.
“I never thought I’d actually miss all the sand and heat,” Evander said. “Do you think it ever stops raining?”
“Probably not. You didn’t like the desert?”
“I guess I liked it more than this. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. The ocean seems…threatening? I dunno. I preferred the desert.”
“What do you think’s past the horizon? Some other coastline?”
“Just more water, probably.”
“Yeah,” he said, pausing for a moment. “But it’s only a boundary if you let it be.”
She shot a curious glance at him before shifting her gaze to the enormous gate looming on the road ahead of them. Its archway looked wide enough to admit at least two wagons at once, possibly three. The bottom half of a massive iron portcullis hung from a long horizontal slot carved out of the top of the gate’s arch, dwarfing the wagons which rested motionless on the road below. The caravan which had preceded Amara and Evander had been stopped at the gate for a while now, and she could see people milling about it.
“What should we do if the guards want to talk to us?” Evander asked.
She gave him an anxious shrug. With the gate and its soldiers now so close, pushing Mattias off her shoulder earlier felt like a serious mistake.
They reached the back end of the caravan after a few more minutes of walking. The men milling about it were a motley assortment of young and old, with dark and light skins, but all of them seemed to be wearing fur clothing that looked to be far too warm for the humid, rainy weather. Most didn’t look up from whatever they happened to be doing, but among those who did, all stared openly at Amara as she walked by. She did her best to ignore them, but by the time they passed the middle wagon of the caravan a newfound anger had encompassed the anxiety she’d felt over the ocean.
Evander didn’t seem to be aware of the attention she’d been receiving.
“Maybe just don’t make eye contact with them as we walk by,” he said, gesturing lightly towards the gate. “They look busy.”
She looked over at who he'd been talking about. Beneath the gate and beside the lead wagon, one of the men from the caravan stood with a pair of armored soldiers, deep in animated discussion. The armor the soldiers were wearing was exactly similar to the armor of the men who’d attacked Shiloh, and seeing it again left Amara with a feeling of mild alarm. But the soldiers didn’t spare her so much as a glance, focused instead on their conversation with the caravan-man. They sounded to be discussing payment for something, and judging by the irritated tones of all involved, negotiations didn’t seem to be going particularly well.
The soldiers continued to ignore them as they walked by. While passing underneath the grand archway, Amara craned her head upward to scan the underside of the gate. The top of the gate’s arch looked to be at least two dozen feet above them, and probably more. It was so needlessly large and tall that Amara found herself wondering at the point of it.
Are they expecting an attack from a herd of giants, or what? she thought.
Beyond the gate, within the city proper, stood a long row of gray-brown stone-brick houses, lining a wide cobblestone street running to both the left and right of the gate. The houses were all oddly narrow, crowded together, and not quite uniform in style. Each house seemed to have been built according to its own somewhat unique design, just similar enough to its neighbors that they were clearly in the same stylistic vein but also different enough to be vaguely frustrating. They were also surprisingly tall, some reaching as high as six or seven stories, and lined from top to bottom with glass windows. Amara had never seen a home with more than two stories before, and she cast her gaze across some of the windows of the closest houses, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever might be going on inside.
Dozens of people wearing various styles of long trench coats walked up and down the street, silently moving out of the way of the occasional horse-drawn cart which happened to trundle along. There was a tremendous variety in the people walking by; young and old, male and female, long hair and short, dark and light skinned. No consistent trends seemed to exist between them beyond what they wore, at least to Amara’s eyes.
There was an odd roaring sound coming from somewhere nearby, and after looking around for the source she soon realized it was coming from the ground. A rounded sewer grate sat dead center in the street, with rushing water flowing through it. A foul smell seemed to be emanating from the sewer as well, but not one of sewage. It smelled more like old, stale water washing across wet stone, not entirely dissimilar to the smell of the pond from earlier. None of the people walking over the grate seemed to notice or even care about the sound of the sewer, or its smell.
Evander came to a sudden stop once they reached the middle of the road, turning about to scan the people around them, and Amara stopped with him. No one walking by paid them any mind, even though they were now clearly in the way. People flowed past just as easily as water meeting a momentary obstruction in a stream.
“Destiny divide us!” he muttered. “Where’s everybody going?”
A scoff erupted from Amara before she could stop it, and Evander turned a frown to her. She pointed down the leftward road.
“Let’s just go that way.”
He gave her a nod before moving off, and within moments they’d merged into the flow of people moving along the street. It was undoubtedly impolite to stare at the people around them, but Amara couldn’t help herself. She could’ve counted all the strangers she’d met throughout her entire life on both hands back in Shiloh, and now she was in the midst of dozens upon dozens of them. There was an odd sort of absence within the faces of the people walking opposite of them on the street, as though each person were drawn up into themselves in a way she could only guess at.
Overhead the sky remained overcast and gray, but the light drizzle of rain that’d been pestering them ever since they’d stepped out of the portal finally came to an abrupt end. The constant clamor of moving feet against the wet cobblestone persisted, however, becoming slightly louder—or at least more noticeable—with the end of the rain. Amara quickly concluded that the wet noise in the street was a sound the Lucyrans probably heard every single day of their lives, or close enough.
As they continued deeper into the city, the buildings lining the street underwent a noticeable change. Unlit hanging lanterns began to appear along the walls, along with signposts next to doorways prominently displaying names like ‘The Tumbling Tides’ and ‘Oceans Rose’. One in particular bore the name ‘Squid Shakers’, which drew a quiet scoff and a fleeting smile from Amara. Quite a few people seemed to be coming and going from the buildings now, merging into or departing from the flow of traffic in the street. They’d apparently crossed over into a tavern district at some indiscernible point.
It was then that Mattias reappeared, landing from behind on Amara’s shoulder with an abruptness that caused her to let out a startled gasp.
“Warn me next time!” she instantly hissed at him. Evander simply shook his head.
There’s a patrol coming, Mattias said. Get off the street!
“A patrol?” Amara whispered. As she said it, the sound of dozens of heavy, marching feet rose slowly into the air from the street ahead of them.
Hurry, damn it!
“What’s—” Evander began before Amara abruptly grabbed him by the wrist. She hurriedly led him across the flow of traffic to the closest building on their right, casting a quick upward glance at the name plaque affixed above the door which read: ‘The Wandering Whale’. Mattias flew off once again right as Amara opened the door to drag Evander inside.
Once he’d made it in, Amara finally released him, and shut the door firmly behind them. Through a nearby window she saw a disturbance occur in the people walking outside along the street, and moments later a troupe of armored soldiers marched by in formation, their polished armor shining here and there despite the somewhat dim conditions. They looked different somehow from the other soldiers she’d seen thus far, or at least their armor did. It was bulkier and more ornate, with thin green tassels hanging from their collars and pauldrons.
They looked on in anxious silence as the troops marched by until they finally passed out of view. Before Amara could breathe a sigh of relief the voice of a young woman called out to them from behind.
“Welcome to the Wandering Whale! What can we get you?”
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Amara and Evander turned about in unison. They’d clearly just ducked into a small tavern, one that appeared to be mostly empty. A long bar stretched across the length of the room’s left side, lined with a dozen or so empty wooden stools. Opposite of the bar sat a long, uneven row of empty tables. Behind the bar stood a bald, light skinned man sporting an impressive black handlebar mustache, wearing a white shirt and slacks beneath a brown leather apron. He held a rag and an empty glass in his hands, and he seemed to have stopped mid-motion in order to stare at Amara and Evander.
A dark haired, light skinned man wearing a gray trench coat sat at the far end of the bar, nursing a large mug of ale. He was broodingly handsome, and he held Amara’s gaze from beneath the locks of his long hair for several long moments before she tore it away.
The woman who’d called out to them stood just a few feet away beside the empty tables, a blonde, light skinned woman sporting a bobbed haircut and wearing a yellow maidservant’s dress. She had an adorable heart shaped face, and judging by the way she was looking at Evander, her smile was definitely meant for him.
“Can we get something to eat?” Evander asked.
Amara shot an irritated glance at him, which he noticed. He leaned over a bit, whispering.
“We needed a good reason to come in here, didn't we? Besides, I’m hungry.”
“Of course you can get something to eat!” the woman chirruped. “My name's Nixie. If you just follow me this way we’ll get you all set up!”
She eagerly spun about, sending the hem of her dress upwards a few inches with the motion, and trotted off. The bald man behind the bar—the bartender, Amara decided—lost interest in them, giving his attention to the glass in his hand. The trench coat man finally stopped openly staring at Amara, but she could still feel him looking at her out of the corner of his eye as she walked past.
Nixie stopped beside one of the tables towards the back end of the tavern, gesturing to it.
“Take a seat! I’ll go get you some menus.”
“Thank you,” Evander told her kindly.
Her smile widened at him before she trotted off towards the bar. Amara prevented herself from rolling her eyes as they set their rucksacks down on the floor beneath the table. She was well accustomed to the attention Evander tended to get from women, but something about it being so blatant, and seeing it come from the very first woman they’d met outside of Shiloh, felt irritating.
He chose the seat closest to the wall, and she decided to sit across from him. Once they'd settled in, he leaned across the table to whisper.
“That patrol couldn’t have been looking for us, right? We’ve barely been here for ten minutes.”
“I dunno,” Amara whispered back. “But Mattias definitely thought we should stay away from them.”
“They were different, right? Those green tassels they had on their armor. Maybe they were policemen?”
“Or just elite troops. Kingsguard?”
“Could—” Evander began before Nixie reappeared. To Amara’s surprise she held a tray containing two large mugs of ale, and she placed them both on the table before also setting down a pair of hide-bound paper menus.
“Compliments of the gentleman at the bar,” she said pleasantly.
Amara looked past her to the man sitting at the bar and immediately made eye contact with him. He nodded to her, raising his own mug.
“Oh,” Evander said. “Should we buy one for him in return?”
Nixie let out an amused giggle. “...You’re a bit of a bumpkin, aren’t you? You shouldn’t, but she could, if she wanted.”
She hadn’t looked once at Amara so far. Anger began to settle in her chest like a tight glove, but before she could say anything Evander reached out for the closest menu. He scanned it briefly before looking to Nixie.
“Uh, what’s good, here?”
To Amara’s shock, Nixie pulled out one of the empty chairs beside him and sat down. She pointed over his arm at something on the menu.
“The fish and chips are popular,” she said, then turned an eager smile to him. “You’re new in town, right? What’s your name?”
The realization of what she’d been doing finally appeared on Evander’s face. He shot a nervous glance at Amara before responding.
“...Um…Tim.”
Nixie’s face lit up. “Timothy? Hey, that’s my brother’s name! What a small world!”
“Yeah,” Evander said, crestfallen.
“You know, I’ll be off work in a few hours. I could show you around the city, if you like? I know all the fun places.”
Before he could respond, Amara angrily reached out for the mug sitting on the table before her. She brought it up to her mouth and began to gulp down her ale as fast and as loudly as she could. Once she was finished she slammed the empty mug back down and reached out for her things.
“Wow,” was all Nixie managed as Amara stood back up. Shock was written all across Evander’s face, and he hurriedly reached for his own things as Amara turned to leave.
The bartender briefly looked up from his task to frown at Amara, but said nothing. She made a point of locking eyes with the man at the bar, who’d been looking on as she drank. The half-smile on his face made it clear that he’d been impressed, and for a fleeting moment she considered thanking him for the drink. But the sounds of Evander scrambling to gather up all his things held her tongue, and she stepped back outside.
She rejoined the flow of people moving along the street, seriously considering making an attempt to ditch Evander in the crowd, but he forced her to put the thought to rest by catching up seconds later.
“Would you just wait up?” he said. “I wasn’t flirting with her.”
“You’re absolutely the most braindead clueless person I know.”
“Now hold on! I didn’t say anything when that guy at the bar bought you a drink, did I?”
“He bought you one, too.”
“Now who’s being clueless?” Evander said, scowling. “Why do you even care in the first place? You keep insisting that you're not interested.”
“You’re right, I don’t care.”
“Yes you—oh for fucks sake!”
Mattias appeared from nowhere once again, landing smoothly on Amara’s shoulder.
I don’t see any more patrols in this area, he said, pausing. Oh. Did something happen?
“No, nothing happened,” Amara said. “We just felt like finding someplace else to eat.”
“No, you wanted that,” Evander fired back. “You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go in there, you just dragged me inside.”
“We were trying to avoid a patrol, but you can go right back if that's what you want, Evan. I’m sure that girl would love to accommodate you.”
Evander looked away from her with a deep frown on his face, shaking his head with anger.
Goodness, isn’t this amusing, Mattias said. I’d forgotten just how awkward youth can be. It’s almost refreshing, in a painful sort of way.
“Go be an ass somewhere else,” Amara growled at him.
“Speaking of being an ass,” said Evander. “It’s considered rude to leave people out of the conversation when they’re standing right next to you.”
Amara decided to ignore him, and the new silence that descended between them felt deeply uncomfortable. She grudgingly admitted to herself that he’d had a point about the ale, but on the other hand he’d clearly been acting like an idiot.
I don’t know why you two are doing this silly dance, Mattias eventually said. He’s an attractive young man, and his interest in you is painfully obvious. Why not just get it over with?
She shot him an angry look of contempt, and spoke in a whisper.
“How’m I supposed to talk to you when we’re in a crowd?”
Oh, trust me, no one is going to care, not here. Even if someone were actually listening, they’ll just think you’re talking to Evander. He paused. If you’re hesitating because you’re not sure, then why not just sleep with him? It might be what you need to sort out your feelings. He certainly seems willing enough.
“Don’t be disgusting,” Amara spat out. Evander shot an irritated glance in her direction.
Why be shy about it? Sex isn’t disgusting, it's delightful. With the right person it can even be exhilarating!
Amara’s face began to burn, and she reached up to shove Mattias off her shoulder. An aggravated squawk erupted from him, and he regained stability in the air with a few heavy flaps of his wings before landing again, this time on Evander’s shoulder. He gave Mattias a look of displeasure before turning his gaze to Amara. She immediately turned her face away from him, attempting to hide her blush.
I prefer Evander’s shoulder now, anyway, Mattias said. It’s far less prudish over here. He's got a much more open attitude about sex. In fact, he thinks about it all the time!
Amara lunged for him once again, but he anticipated her this time and leapt away, leaving her grasping at air. He flew off once again, disappearing behind the roofs of the nearby buildings, letting out a few indignant squawks for good measure.
“Are you going to tell me what just happened?” Evander asked, frustrated.
“No,” she replied instantly.
He let out an exasperated sigh, and they continued on together beneath a loaded silence, following the flow of the crowd deeper into the city.
----------------------------------------
Mattias eventually reappeared in the sky above them, guiding Amara to an inn he’d found on the far end of town. He claimed it was on the east side of the city, by the waterfront, but between the high walls and all the tall buildings she hadn’t seen the ocean again even once since they'd crossed beneath the gate. If the massive castle sitting on the rock above them hadn’t been towering overhead, she probably would’ve lost her sense of direction ages ago.
The exterior of the inn was indistinguishable from the other buildings she’d seen thus far; a narrow stone brick building, five stories tall with a sign hanging beside the front door which simply said ‘Inn’. Once again, Mattias disappeared without a word just before they stepped inside.
The inn’s reception room could’ve easily passed as a house’s front parlor for how comfortable it seemed. An unfriendly looking old woman sat behind a grand wooden desk just inside, her gray hair pulled back tight in a bun, and the greeting she gave them was about as friendly as her demeanor. The price for two separate rooms for one night seemed unbelievably expensive at one hundred lira, and Amara briefly attempted to haggle with the old woman before simply giving up. Between all the stimulations of the city and what’d just occurred at the tavern, Amara felt overwhelmed, and too exhausted to put up much of a fight over the price. Besides, Mattias had wanted them to be there, and if things went according to plan the money would be irrelevant.
Their rooms were upstairs on the fifth floor, and located across the hall from one another, just like at Raven’s Roost. Before disappearing into his room, Evander awkwardly offered to go and buy some food for the both of them once he’d put his things down. Amara quickly accepted, more from a desire to get away from him for a little while then on behalf of her empty stomach.
Her room was significantly smaller than the one she’d had in Raven’s Roost, but it was fairly charming nonetheless. A soft white carpet covered the floor, and on the wall opposite the door sat a wide double window, with what looked to be silk blinds drawn across it. A queen-sized bed sat against the wall just a few feet away from the door, covered in a simple blue-green quilt that looked warm and welcoming. A tiny mahogany dresser rested beside the bed, barely big enough to fit a few pairs of clothing, and that was the entire extent of the room’s fittings. It seemed cramped but not uncomfortable to Amara, and a wave of sympathy for Evander washed over her. If her room felt small, his room would undoubtedly feel tiny for him.
She set all her things down against the foot of the bed, and sat down on it with a heavy sigh. It was soft, at least.
Too much is going on, she thought wearily. Would it be alright if I just took a nap for a while?
Mattias hadn't stuck around to give her his thoughts, so she decided his absence implied consent. She scooched over to lay back, not even bothering to get under the covers, and sleep overtook her within moments.