A restless din of voices filled the air of Azurebrook City, its streets clogged with the bustle of human and non-human activity. Cart vendors shouted at passersby, hawking their wares to everyone in sight, and carriages rolled this way and that, with horses clopping noisily on the dirty cobblestone lanes.

Leia kept her head down as she made her way along the thoroughfare, careful to avoid stepping into anything unpleasant. She’d gotten used to being jostled by the crowd, but she hadn’t yet grown accustomed to the smell. Growing up in Sagewood, she’d been around her fair share of manure and animal byproducts, but in the confines of the city, the smells were all so close. Smoke, offal, and the stench of unwashed bodies all came together to form a miasma that always made her queasy when she first stepped outside. Even now, after a long day, she could feel the cloying scents in her hair and on her clothes.

A large figure—half ogre, by the look of him—bumped her shoulder as she walked and nearly sent her sprawling in the street.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

“Sorry,” she said timidly, ducking her head even lower and hurrying along.

Her apartment wasn’t much farther, and she couldn’t wait to get back inside where she could breathe more easily.

All the tall brick buildings looked more or less the same, rising from the cobbles like soot-stained cliff faces in a haze-filled valley. Leia had heard that Azurebrook had once been a beautiful city—a jewel of the north. Sapphires were said to have lined the streets, and babbling fountains splashed on every corner. Those sapphires were tarnished, now, or missing entirely, and the fountains had long fallen into disrepair and rusted over. There were still beautiful parts of the city, but they were reserved for only the very elite—the nobles and lordlings who could afford to maintain their properties. Most districts were overcrowded and teeming with crooks and petty thieves.

At last, she came to her building. She hurried up the steps and made for the front door. A hooded figure blocked her path, and a scaley hand reached out, offering her what looked like a pamphlet. “May I share the good word with you, she-elf?” the figure hissed. “The Cult of the Dragon is always looking to recruit new members.”

“N-no thank you,” she said and moved around the stranger, careful not to step on his spine-covered tail.

The hooded figure whispered something in a language she didn’t recognize and retracted its hand back within its robes.

Leia breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she stepped into the apartment’s foyer, the noise of the city fading as she closed the door. It was a dimly lit chamber with a staircase spiraling into the ceiling and a balding dwarf snoring behind a desk. She started up the stairs, taking them two at a time until she reached the fifth-floor landing. Down the hall to her left, she finally made it to her room.

Once inside, she locked the door behind her and shrugged out of her cloak. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to take a bath and forget about her troubles for the evening. She started filling the bathtub from the corroded copper pipe and tossed in a heating crystal, then sat at the edge of her bed and waited for the tub to fill.

Rowan’s cousin, the alchemist to whom she’d been apprenticed, was a decidedly gruff individual. He was an elderly dwarf with a shop filled with reagents, and he worked her for long hours each day filling orders and mixing ingredients. Leia looked down at her hands. Her fingers were starting to develop callouses from working the mortar and pestle. She’d certainly learned a lot since coming to the city, but it had been a lonely experience, and she hadn’t found many opportunities to make friends.

Leia suddenly remembered a conversation she’d had with Matt, the farmer who had unexpectedly moved to Sagewood the previous year. “I don’t ever remember being truly happy in the city. I was alone most of the time.”

“But how could you feel alone when you’re surrounded by so many people?” she’d asked him in her naivety.

“It’s hard to explain,” he replied. “In big cities, you’re just another person—another face in the crowd. There are so many people that nobody bothers to learn your name. Neighbors don’t talk to each other. It’s just… lonely.”

Leia heaved a sigh and looked out of her apartment’s only window. She didn’t realize it at the time, but Matt’s words had been absolutely true. The city wasn’t the place she’d always dreamed it would be, and the longer she stayed in Azurebrook, the more she found herself missing the simple things she had taken for granted back home.

Her gaze drifted from the window to her open wardrobe and settled on the green silk dress that was hanging there. Matt had given it to her as a gift before she left Sagewood, and she still hadn’t found a suitable occasion to wear it. With the water still flowing, she stood and walked over to the wardrobe, running her calloused fingers over the fine fabric. It was a pretty thing, and Leia couldn’t help but wonder how she would look wearing it. Or if he would find her attractive…

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

There was a knock at her door, and she jumped in surprise. “Who is it?” she called nervously.

“An axe murderer,” came a sarcastic, yet familiar, voice. “Who d’you think? Open up!”

She rolled her eyes and moved to unlock the door. “I wish you wouldn’t joke about such things,” she said as her brother Axel strolled inside. “It’s rude.”

“And I wish you would open a window. It’s steamier than a gnome sweatshop in here!”

Leia moved to the tub and shut off the water. “I was just getting ready to take a bath,” she said, a bit defensively.

“I can see that,” Axel said, sitting heavily in a wicker chair—the only other piece of furniture in the small apartment. “Winding down after a long day, are we?”

“Something like that,” she murmured. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Can’t a dwarf come visit his adopted sister when the mood strikes him?” he asked, raising his bushy eyebrows in a look of feigned affront. “You wound me, dear Leia. I only want to check in and see how you’re faring.”

She crossed her arms and gave him a flat look. “Spill it.”

Axel blew out a breath and pulled a letter out of his beard. “Bah—you’re no fun anymore.” He cleared his throat and began reading. “A new shipment of spring lotus petals has arrived from the east, as well as a barrel of squid acid. All apprentices are to report to the alchemical lab three hours before dawn to prepare the prophylactic potions.” He folded up the paper and tucked it back into his beard.

Leia groaned. “Again with the prophylactic potions? The last time we made those, my skin wouldn’t stop peeling for a month!”

“I just deliver the stuff,” Axel said with a shrug. “Don’t stab the messenger.”

She sighed and sat at the foot of her bed. The thought of waking up so early to perform such a grueling task filled her with dread. Not because she was afraid of hard work, but because she’d come to the conclusion that alchemy was not her life’s ambition. She missed the feel of soil and the scent of fresh blooming flowers.

As the silence stretched on, Axel’s expression softened. “Hey—is everything all right?”

Leia forced a smile. “Of course,” she replied. “Never been better.”

Axel gave her an appraising look. “You sure about that?” he asked. “Because you look like you’ve just swallowed a mouthful of bitterroot juice.”

She glanced back out the window. “I mean—what’s not to like? I’m on my own with a real job, supporting myself in the big city. I don’t have dad nagging me about the nursery. I don’t have any plants to look after. And I even have my own room!” She gestured around the dingy little apartment. “I don’t have to share it with anyone!”

“That’s true enough,” Axel said, glancing around dubiously. “It’s all you’ve ever dreamt about, isn’t it?”

“Exactly.” Leia forced another smile, but a few seconds later, her expression cracked, and tears began rolling down her cheeks. “It’s all I’ve ever dreamt about,” she said, sniffling. “And this city… it’s so big and overwhelming. And it isn’t how I dreamt it would be at all.”

Axel was by her side in an instant. “There, there,” he said, patting her shoulder as she cried. “Get it all out. It’s all right.”

This was the first time she’d broken down since coming to Azurebrook, and it felt like all the disappointment she’d buried deep was rising to the surface. This adventure hadn’t been at all how she’d pictured it, and the thought of spending even one more day as a cog in this great machine made her want to weep. She scrubbed her cheeks and tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself.

“I never thought I’d say this,” she said when she could finally talk. “But I miss my old life back home. I miss the forest and the fields. I miss the townsfolk and the festivals.”

“And the farmers?” Axel ventured. “Or, rather, one in particular?”

“Among other things,” she replied grudgingly. She wiped her eyes with her shirtsleeves and took another deep breath. “It’s just all so confusing! For the longest time, I thought this was what I wanted. But now, I have no idea what I want.”

Axel was quiet for a long moment before responding. “Sometimes the thing you’ve always wanted was already right in front of you. You just couldn’t see it. And sometimes, you have to leave in order to realize the beauty of what you’ve had all along.”

Leia glanced at her brother with red-rimmed eyes. “Axel—that almost sounded poetic.”

“What can I say?” He grinned broadly. “I’ve got a way with those word thingies.”

She laughed and dabbed her tears again, then took a deep, shaky breath. “I think I know what I need to do,” she said. “I don’t belong here. I belong back in Sagewood.”

“Well, I can think of at least one person who’s going to be really happy about that.”

Leia got to her feet, her fatigue all but forgotten. “You’ll talk to the alchemist, won’t you? I don’t ever want to see that smelly shop again for as long as I live.”

Axel chuckled. “Aye, I’ll talk to him. He won’t be too happy about losing one of his apprentices on such short notice, but the old codger will get over it. Think you can make your way back south on your own?”

“I think I’ll manage.” She went back to her wardrobe, determined to start packing right away. She suddenly felt lighter, happier than she’d been in months. The decision to leave had come suddenly, but it felt right to her—like she’d finally found the correct path on a long journey. The journey back home. Her fingers once again brushed against the silk fabric of the dress, and a smile tugged at her lips. I think I’ve finally found a reason to wear this thing, she thought to herself. I just hope he hasn’t forgotten about me.

Axel made his way back to the front door. “Well—I’m off, then. Unlike you, I still have responsibilities in this city. Just promise me one thing before you go.”

She looked back at him. “Promise you what?”

“No big events until after I get back! I don’t want to miss out on anything fun or memorable. That includes parties, festivals, and…” he cleared his throat, “weddings.”

Leia could instantly feel her cheeks flush, and she quickly looked away. “Sure, all right. No events—fun, or otherwise.”

His grin widened as he stepped outside. But before closing the door behind him, he leaned in and shook his fist. “And tell that spewman to behave himself, or he’ll have more than crops to worry about when I return!”