The silence stretched endlessly between the two girls. Sarah’s glare was boring holes in Alexis’s neck, and Alexis wasn’t sure if the heavy atmosphere was Sarah’s doing or merely her own imagination.

At long last, after what had felt like decades (but was, in fact, closer to a couple of hours), Alexis spoke. “I might have made a mistake.”

Sarah gave her an incredulous snort. “You think?”

“I thought we could trust them!” Alexis said as she threw her hands up, beginning another round of pacing along the cell’s length.

“Can’t trust law enforcement.”

“That’s not true. They’re supposed to protect people.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Then clearly you’ve never actually had to deal with them.”

That wasn’t exactly false. Her mother had been a police officer, after all, so Alexis had been taught to trust cops — but she’d also never run afoul of the law. She paused to think. “You could have said something.”

“I thought you had a plan!”

“I did have a plan! Follow the guards, tell them what happened, and then go on with our lives — that was what the guard lady said—”

“Right, which is why she took our statements and then left us to rot in a jail cell.”

“It’s only been a few hours…”

Sarah’s narrowed eyes told Alexis exactly what she thought of her argument.

“Okay, fine, I was wrong. Are you happy?” Alexis said, slumping down on the floor and cradling her head.

“Not really. We’re still stuck in a jail cell.” Sarah joined the other girl in sitting down.

“Still, I’m sure we’ll be released soon. They’re probably just stuck in red tape or something…”

“Or, they were bribed by whoever attacked us to keep us here. Maybe so that they could come and finish the job.”

Alexis’s eyes went wide. “You really think so?”

Sarah shrugged. “Not really. But it could happen. The timing is suspicious, at least. They found us just as we were done fighting?”

“It was a quick fight, to be fair.”

“Yeah, that’s true. That’s why I don’t really think it’s a conspiracy or anything, but…”

The silence stretched for a few minutes. Alexis concentrated on her hearing, trying to feel the other occupants of the market precinct’s jail. She could hear their attackers (thugs? assassins?) pacing in a cell at the far end of the corridor. One set of footsteps, but four people breathing.

At least, they hadn’t let their attackers leave while keeping Alexis and Sarah locked up. If that had happened, Alexis would have raised hell.

“You said this was your first time?” she finally asked, breaking the silence.

“What?” Sarah said with a start. “Oh, the ambush?”

Alexis nodded.

“Yeah, though I was baiting the second one. Trying to catch a thief.” Sarah smiled as she remembered the young little boy who’d tried to rob her. She hoped he wasn’t getting into trouble back in Ravenrock.

“And the first?”

“Oh, that one was just after I got turned into a Revenant.” Sarah said, and began telling her companion the tale of her first few days in Ravenrock.

“…and then I was like, ‘You work for me, now!’ God, you should have seen their faces.”

Alexis chuckled. “I can imagine.” She went quiet for a moment, her smile turning sad. “I had to fend off some bad guys, too, early on. Before I met the boys, I mean.”

Sarah grunted, prompting her to continue.

“It was bandits, I think. I’m not sure. But they were following me through the forest, and I couldn’t lose them no matter how hard I tried. So I sprinted ahead, to put some distance, then climbed up a tree. I had this crappy bow with me, so I just waited till they were close, and then…”

“You picked them off one by one.”

Alexis snorted. “I wish. I got one in the neck, but the other three spotted me before I could even draw another arrow. I jumped out of the tree, and by some miracle I managed to land right on top of a guy, so he was out. And the other two… I guess they were shocked from losing their buddies, or maybe they didn’t expect me to fight back, because I was able to stab ‘em both with an arrow. I don’t think I’d have won if they fought seriously.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Yikes. But still, it’s impressive you managed to fight back. Other people would have just frozen up.”

“You didn’t.”

“Oh, no, I totally did. The thugs I mentioned weren’t my first fight. I had guards sent after me right on the first day, and I was useless. Couldn’t even hold a sword.”

“It’s fucked up, is what it is,” Alexis said softly. “This whole thing. It’s hell on earth, and made to look like a game? That’s just wrong.”

“I guess. I haven’t given it that much thought. Just… taking it one step at a time. Keeps me from being overwhelmed.”

Alexis smiled. “You know, I think you’re alright.”

Sarah blinked, turning to face Alexis. “What?”

“You’re a good person, I mean. I didn’t trust you at the start — like, you were allied with the bad guy, you know? So I tried to be friendly, but I wasn’t really… friendly-friendly. But you’re alright. Just another girl making the best of a shitty situation.”

Sarah snorted. “I know what you mean. I didn’t like you either, in the beginning. I kept thinking you might just stab us all in the back. But yeah. Now we just need to get the three of you to stop jumping any time you see Shiro and we’ll be peachy.”

Alexis’s smile fell. “I don’t know. I tried to interact with him more, but — it’s just, the way he fights, you know? Like he’s a rabid animal, not a person.”

“I did tell him the murderhobo look wasn’t good on him,” Sarah grumbled.

Alexis broke into laughter. “God, that describes him perfectly. Murderhobo.”

“He’s really nice when you get to know him. But he’s just a kid. Can’t expect him to be a beacon of maturity.”

“You’re just a kid,” Alexis pointed out.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but I’m one year older. Which makes him a kid to me.”

Alexis’s gaze softened. “I had — have — a brother around his age.” Her smile fell. “With me gone, he probably has to take care of the others. I hope they’re all okay…”

“You took care of your siblings?”

Alexis nodded. “Mom was always at work, so I ended up raising all my siblings.”

“Sounds tough.”

“It was.” Something in her voice was adamant that there would be no further discussion on the topic. “What about you, though? Did you have any siblings?”

The girls were soon comfortably chatting about their lives from before, all prior enmities and suspicions forgotten. For now, they were simply two young women in a jail cell, more alike than they could have predicted — and in those few hours, friendship sparked. It was tenuous still, a fragile thing that still bore the scars of that fateful fight on the hill, but it was friendship nonetheless. And when the duplicitous guardswoman came by hours later to release the two Heroes, she was surprised to find the pair giggling as they enacted scenes from their past.

She approached the jail cell, but if Sarah and Alexis noticed her, they gave no hint. The guardswoman cleared her throat, perhaps expecting to acquire their attention.

And then she did so, again.

And a third time.

Finally, Alexis deigned to acknowledge newcomer with a nod of her head, then she spread out her arms theatrically. “Ah, the honorable constable returns! Are we finally to be freed of this wretched misery you have condemned us to?”

The guardswoman blinked, quite clearly taken aback by Alexis’s strange new manner of address.

Sarah scrunched her brow and gave Alexis a thumbs down. “A bit too on the nose, I think — and she’s not a constable. Good delivery, though.”

Alexis shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to do theater. I figured now’s as good a time as any.”

The guardswoman gave the would-be actress a wary look, then shook her head and released the lock on their door. “You’re free to go. It wouldn’t have taken so long, normally, but there’s been… pressure, from above.. To put it mildly. What did you two do to rile up the council so bad?”

Sarah put on her best angelic face. “No idea,” she said with a pout. “We just got here yesterday.”

The guardswoman’s raised eyebrows made it clear she didn’t believe the girl at all, but she put it out of her mind and motioned for Sarah and Alexis to follow.

Alexis stepped up to walk alongside the guardswoman. “Did you manage to find out who sent those guys?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified,” she said sourly.

“What? But they attacked us! Aren’t we entitled to know why?”

“No, actually. You aren’t. You’re already lucky enough you’re not being detained indefinitely.”

“But that’s not fair,” Sarah muttered.

“Life seldom is,” the guardswoman said curtly. She led them to the front of the building. “You can go — and, word of advice? I don’t know what you managed to get yourselves wrapped up in, but you need to make yourselves scarce. The precinct’s been buzzing with messages from people we really can’t afford to piss off ever since you were brought here. Having all their attention isn’t good for your health.”

Alexis gave her a tight smile. “That’s out of our hands, but — thanks for looking out.”

After they parted, it took less than a minute for Sarah and Alexis to notice their new problem.

“Hey, Alexis?”

“Yes?”

“When they walked us here, did you pay attention to the streets?”

“Uh, no. I was too focused on not getting stabbed in the back.”

“Right. Me too.”

They stopped and looked at each other. The sky was red on the horizon, the sun about to set on the Floating City. They’d been imprisoned for the better part of the day.

Sarah looked around. “Do you know which way the docks are, at least?”

Alexis turned, squinting as she tried to discern where they were supposed to go. But though her class came with an uncanny ability for tracking, she was still a ranger. And despite the Alasvir being more than able to qualify for the title of ‘urban jungle’, it was still a city.

She pointed eastwards. “It’s in that general direction.”

“Are you sure?”

“…No.”

“Dammit, we’re lost.”

“Should we go back and ask the guard lady?”

“No way, what if her bosses change their minds and arrest us again? Let’s just ask anyone else.”

So they did. The first person they’d asked looked at them amusedly, but had pointed them in a direction not too far off from Alexis’s guess — except it wasn’t as straightforward as walking in a line. Alexis would have said Alasvir was built like the European cities of old, organically grown — therefore, it was designed with little rhyme or reason, the streets going in any direction (except perhaps straight) and with no respect for any kind of planning.

And so, they navigated the city, one question at a time, until they finally made it back to the Grand Bazaar. But with the sun already setting, few merchants remained, and even those who did were currently putting away their wares.

“Guess I’m not getting a new sword today,” Sarah said as they passed by the empty stalls.

“We can come back again tomorrow,” Alexis said, and paused. “But we’re taking the official entrance this time.”

From here, the way back was easy. Alexis could remember at least this much. Walk two blocks, take a right, a left, three more blocks, another two rights in quick succession, and then they’d be back at The Cranky Kraken.

There was only one problem, they noted as they approached their place of accommodation. Normally, The Cranky Kraken was pretty easy to miss — it was a good inn, for sure, but merely one in the Docks District. Nothing to write home about, at least.

It wasn’t easy to miss at this moment, however. Quite far from it.

The Cranky Kraken was on fire.