“Kiara! You’re finally up!” A voice shouted.

Kiara turned and saw a girl walking to her with a happy smile. Oh my god! Who is this?! Kiara thought as her eyes widened at the girl’s appearance. She had on a brown skirt, a white tunic with a dark brown jacket over it, white stockings, and black shoes. On her head was a white cap but on the sides of her head were horns! The horns were brown in color and were curved with sharp points at the end of them.

“We have quite the crowd today! A lot of travelers and adventures!” She walked up to Kiara and stood beside her. She looked out at the people below. “Did you have a good night’s sleep? You looked so tired last night!”

“I…I…eh…” Kiara did not know what to say as she stared at this strange girl. Her eyes were still wide in disbelief as she looked at the girl’s horns. She thought for a moment that they were fake but they definitely weren’t!

The girl giggled. “What’s the matter? You are looking at me as if I were a Fylerian!”

Kiara had no idea what she was talking about but tried to compose herself and make sense of what was going on. There had to be a rational explanation for all of this. She cleared her throat and tried not to look at the girl’s horns. “Where am I? How did I get here?”

The girl laughed. It was a hearty laugh and filled with amusement. “You are so silly, Kiara! Come on, you goofy elf, you!”

“Elf?!” Kiara said in surprise. The girl did not seem to even notice Kiara’s surprised reaction and if she did she must have thought that Kiara was continuing to be silly. She grabbed Kiara by the hand and they quickly moved toward a staircase.

Elf? Kiara thought. She called me an elf?! Kiara looked at all of the people again over the banister and her eyes went to the people with long pointy ears. Those are elves! She thought with shock. But elves don’t exist! She looked at the girl who had her hand in hers with her eyes going to those unbelievable horns. This girl shouldn’t also exist! Kiara thought.

“You woke up quite late, Kiara. No worries though, we have been able to take care of all the travelers and adventurers up until now,” The girl said. She was walking at a brisk pace which was causing Kiara to have to run a little to keep up with her. “You should eat and have some Frelian tea before helping the patrons. I don’t blame you for sleeping here tonight. The snow was quite heavy last night! Several feet of snow and poor Adria has been shoveling all morning.”

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“Eh?” Kiara uttered. They hurried down the stairs and Kiara had a chance to look at these strange people up close. Several of them nodded and even smiled at both her and the girl in a friendly manner.

“Zyli! Another cup of Grecixian tea, please!” A woman with a pointy hat and a large weird-looking stick in her hand said to the girl. “I can’t get enough!”

“Sure, Hewolia!” Zyli said in a chipper voice. “Coming up shortly!”

Zyli led Kiara to a door in the back and she opened it and they stepped inside. Kiara saw two women and a man working in a kitchen. The two women had large pointy ears with one of them with horns that were short and pointy on her head. The man had cat-like-ears and greeted them both with a smile.

“Good morning, Kiara! I see that Zyli found you! We were worried that you had decided to venture out into the snow last night!” The man said. He was thin with very dark skin. He had short black curly hair and thick eyebrows. There was a white stained apron that he had on over his dark green tunic and black trousers. He had on black boots that were covered in a bunch of stains. Before him on a small table were several cakes, pies, and smaller desserts. Kiara’s stomach growled from hunger. All of the desserts were colorful and made Kiara’s mouth water!

“Um…good morning,” Kiara managed to say to him.

Zyli giggled. “Don't mind her, Fejara! I think that she must have had too much Whysklian tea last night because she has been acting quite peculiar! Myrtha warned you that the Whysklian tea could have a strong effect on you and make you drowsy but you didn’t listen! You are such a risk-taker! That’s what we love about you, Kiara!”

“Good morning, Kiara!” The woman with pointy ears and horns said to her. She was beautiful with light brown skin and her hair was long and black and she had it tied into a ponytail. She was of average build and wore an apron over her brown tunic and light green trousers. On her feet were black shoes similar to what Zyli wore. They were well used as there were many dents and scratches on them. Her eyes were a light maple color that seemed to sparkle as she looked at Kiara.

Kiara felt a warmth wash over her as she looked at the girl. She was instantly attracted to her! Kiara felt her cheeks flush a little with shyness. “Good morning,” Kiara whispered in a very shy voice.

“Don’t be coy with Bexia!” Zyli laughed in amusement. “I know you two were eating some of Myrtha’s Red Chulipian cake and drinking the Whysklian tea last night! How come you are not acting strange like Kiara, Bexia?”

Bexia giggled. “I don’t know. I did have more than her too!” She looked at Kiara and this made Kiara blush even more with shyness. God, she is so beautiful! Kiara thought.

“Let’s finish these dishes, Bexia, and then you and your best friend can chat,” The other woman said. She appeared a little older and had a friendly warm smile on her face. She was chubby with short red hair. Her eyes were a light green color and seemed to have specks of white in the irises. Her hands were in a bowl as she was kneading dough.

“Yes, Ms. Grecia!” Bexia said, and with a parting smile at Kiara, she turned back to a pot that was hanging on a rod before a fire pit.

“Come,” Zyli said to Kiara. “Your food and tea is over here in the back room. Eat up and drink because I am going to need your help with the customers! We are expecting an even fuller house with the heavy snow!”