Chapter Five

We made it to the city before dark.

I didn’t take in much of the scenery. It just seemed… I don’t know wrong to marvel over the new after, well, after.

The knight and our group all entered together, ‘For our protection,’ they said. Like they think that they can do anything if it comes back. It was a quiet walk to the city. The knights carried their dead through the city gates, and we separated soon after entering the city.

The city smelt horrible. The smell of densely packed people, animals, and trash mixed in a way that somehow combined the worst aspects into a pungent odor that made me and Daniel curl our noses.

Hundreds of people were going about their evening. Did they not know what happened just outside their walls, or did they just not care? Either way, it felt off-putting in a way I could place. It just felt wrong.

Sticking close to Lantos as we navigate our way through the crowded streets, he explains our next steps.

We will meet with the Hallon family to discuss safe travel to San’kis upriver in the morning. Apparently, there was an agreement between the Imperial family and the ruling families of the Empire for safe passage through the empire for imperial agents.

For now, however, we enter a crowded, rowdy tavern hoping they have room for us to sleep.

The bartender was a middle-aged woman whose demeanor just had a resigned annoyance. Stepping up to the bar, she leaned forward, the candlelight of the bar sconces reflecting off her shaved head—Lantos and her negotiated for how much for rooms going back and forth before settling on a price.

With a quick exchange of coins, we were shuffled up the stairs and into a room—me and Daniel in one, Lantos in another.

The room had barely enough room for a bed, and an adjacent chest, let alone two people.

Neither of us talked. Daniel did something incredibly idiotic. If the Beast were fighting more of those guards from earlier instead of those knights, we would have died. He didn’t even say anything before running off, didn't ask, or try to convince us or anything. He just ran off without a thought. That’s what angered me the most, I think, his thoughtlessness. I bet he didn't even have a plan.

Opening my mouth before sighing, I slump down on the bed. I just don’t have the energy to argue.

Daniel laid on the floor, staring at the slightly warped ceiling, “I did the right thing.”

I, however, did have the energy to slap him.

---

I was back home. It wasn’t a big or fancy house, just one room with ratty sheets hanging from the ceiling to separate the corner I slept in from the rest of the house. But it was mine, and the village was kind enough to help build it. That had to mean something. It should mean something.

I quickly dress and walk to the stove, feeding it some wood and making stew for breakfast. It’s cold today.

Is this how you lived?

I have to fix my dress again. I must have snagged on something the other day. Somehow managed to get a hole in it. Pouring the stew into a bowl and grabbing some stale bread from a shelf, I sit on the cold dirt floor and eat.

I need to help with fieldwork today; maybe after that, I can patch my clothes. At least till I can make new ones, these were getting a little tight anyway. Perhaps I can talk to Richard about it. Gods know nobody will help me with anything without him telling them to.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Opening the door and stepping outside, a yawning black void greeted me. Till the endless horizon, an all-encompassing empty replaced Han'gallon.

Stumbling back and slamming the door shut, I try to calm my breathing. What happened? Where is everyone? Is Daniel ok? There has to be a way out of thi-

Calm down, Little Flame. You’re dreaming.

Then it hit me, I’m dreaming. I’m still at a tavern in San’hallon. I’m fine, Daniel’s okay, the village is fine. Of course, it's a dream. Though now I feel a bit silly believing in it for so long.

The walls flexed as the dream began to swirl and fade away. They were twisting around me, mixing into a dull gray.

Wake up, Little Flame. The ____ is ________.

I woke up with a chill running down my spine.

---

Traveling anywhere was horrific. The roads turned in weird, confusing ways, twisting back and forth on itself dozens of times to the point traveling a mile in any direction could take an age. And that’s not adding the crowded streets full of people, animals, merchant stands, carts, trash, and who knows what else, which slows travel even more.

All this to say that the “short trip" to the palace took roughly three hours. Three. Blasted. Hours. Just to go four miles.

Once there, however, the change from the overpopulated city to the palace grounds was stark.

The palace was the largest building I had ever seen. Standing three stories and had to be at least one hundred feet long. Built entirely of white stone and decorated with carefully arranged flowers that grow from the walls.

Surrounding the palace was the grass so green it looked like new wheat shoots. Statues of knights and various animals sat in the middle of sporadically placed sitting areas throughout the yard.

I couldn't help but marvel at the scene. It almost made walking through this nightmare of a city worth it to see. Almost.

Sharing a brief look with Daniel, we stood in silent awe at it.

Walking down the stone path leading to a pair of double doors made of some kind of dark wood, if the stone wasn't imported, that definitely was. There aren't trees with wood, so dark locally.

After knocking on the door, a well-dressed servant brought us to a waiting room, and we were greeted by a man dressed in a tight green tunic with a sigil of three spears embroidered over the heart. Bowing his head, he spoke, “Adept Lantos, I’m afraid the Margravine won’t be able to see at the moment, but if you would like to take the time to make yourself more presentable, the facilities are open to you.”

“You can just say that we need to wash. No need to lie to us about Ms. Hallon’s availability,” Lantos says, walking away. “ And tell the Queen’s whore to wear clothes this time. We have children present.”

Lantos seemed familiar with the manor's layout leading us down a series of fancy painted hallways. Though eventually, my curiosity won out.

“Queen’s whore?” I had never heard the term before.

Lantos lets out a long sigh. “Lady Hallon enjoys carnal pleasures a bit too much for her station. And instead of taking a husband, she rotates between “horses'' and “saddles.” “Makes the nobility look bad, not to mention how unsanitary the practice is. What she will do if she catches something or worse bears a bastard." He looks down at me, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Shouldn’t you know this already, Anna? Hallon is your margravine."

Daniel spoke up, "San’hallon was taboo to ask about. The village tried to be as self-sufficient as possible." Not that the city was asked about that often. We just understood that no one would leave. What use is knowing about a place you'll never see and has no bearing on your life.

"Also, I meant that I don't know what a Queen's whore is," I say.

Lantos blushes slightly, turning his head away from me, and scratches his cheek before answering. "It’s just an old phrase. It just means the Margravine has a low-class lover or prostitute under her employ. Don't overthink it."

Oh, ew.

We continue walking for another minute before we stop in front of a door. "Anna, inside, there’s a bath. Once you're finished, ring the bell on the right side of the room. They'll bring clean clothes so don't worry about that. Otherwise, wash thoroughly. I want any insult we give the Margravine to be on purpose."

I furrow my brow, "Wouldn't any clothes they bring me not fit?"

"No, they will."

"But-"

" Shut up and get in the bath."