To hell and back

Curtsey of the gentleman with light hair

I was warm.

Hell, it felt like forever since I felt this warm and dry. Not for the last week in that damned forest for sure. But even before, I don't think I ever felt warm, at least not like this.

Then I realized that the smell of food was what woke me up. Well, that and the rumble of my stomach it caused.

I blinked open my eyes and looked around the room. It was simple and quite warm. I was lying on a decent bed, only in my dress. I guess someone took off my damp coat that I had lived in for the last week. Slowl I sat up and looked around the room.

There was a man in the room with me, but he was asleep.

He had light hair and the build of a warrior.

Interesting.

I felt down between my legs to check if he had taken any liberties while I was passed out, but there was nothing.

Interesting.

Slowly I pulled myself out of bed, doing my best not to wake the sleeping man.

Quickly, I made my way to the table that had food on it and grabbed a sandwich and an apple from it. Because as nice as this was, I needed to get out of here before he woke up. I have no wish to know what he would request as payment for saving me. As I looked around the room again, I saw my cloak on the other chair in front of the man. s**t, this might be tricky, but I need my cloak, and so I made my way to get there. Next to it on the table was a bag as well as his wallet.

Don't mind if I do...

Quickly, I grabbed it from the table and made my way out of the room, keeping an eye on the sleeping man.

Thank you, mister.

I thought to myself as I closed the doors behind me.

Once I was on the other side, I felt myself relax as I leaned against the door.

Okay, now how do I find the man that was supposed to meet me at the freaking bar... they must have left by now?

I opened the wallet I got from that man and in it there was some money. It was enough to get me to the family that I will be staying with, I hope. After taking out the cash, I placed the wallet right in front of the door where the nice stranger would find it as I made my way down the corridor.

As I made it down the stairs to what I hoped would be the reception area or something like that. But instead I walked into the open air. It was another bright day here. Hell, the difference in weather is throwing me off a bit, but I ignore it for now. I need to get a move on, before that man awakens, and he finds that I had left with his belongings.

Slowly, I walked around the corner and saw the entrance to what I thought was the reception, but instead it was a bar.

As it was daytime, there were only a few people inside, so I made it to the bar where the barkeeper stood.

"Good morning, Miss. What can I get you?"

I put on my most charming smile as I looked the man in the eyes. He was shining me a bright smile, but there were bits of dankness behind his eyes, so I knew that this smile was mostly for his job.

"Hello, I'm looking for a ride. Is there someone you can call?"

He looked me over one time and I knew that he was evaluating whether I would be able to afford such a thing. I guess some things are the same on both sides of the wall.

I reached into the pocket that I put the money I got from the nice man and placed a few bills on top of the bar.

"It would be great if I could leave as soon as possible. I'm kinda in a rush."

The suspicious gleam in his eyes stayed as he reached for the bills.

"You would not be a witch? We do not deal with such creatures in this establishment."

Yeah... I kinda expected a reaction like that, but I did my best to keep my face soft and neutral as I answered.

"Oh no, sir. I'm just a traveler, visiting some family friends. No magic or any other nonsense like that for me."

In a way, I was not lying when I said.

But it was believable enough for that man to take the money as he turned to the side where a dangerous-looking man sat.

"Jack, take the lady where she needs to go."

The man looked up from his drink for a moment, nodded and then downed the last of it as he stood up.

"Where to?"

Ah, yes, I need to remember the family name Luis told me. Come on, think Cali....

"The Mercia family home. I hope you know where it is..."

The man nodded, got up from his chair and walked out of the inn. Before following the man, I turned to the barmen and gave him a smile and a quick thank you as I walked out after the man.

Hell, this is going to be harder than I thought. It was so hard to stay in character as I interacted with them. All I could think about was how they would have crawled on their knees if it were me a few months ago.

No... that is in the past. This is my life now, and I need to learn how to live it.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped in front of a simple looking car.

"Where is your luggage lady?"

Shit...

"Oh, I am traveling light and my stuff has been delivered to the place I will be staying at ahead of time."

My answer was kinda sketchy, but it was true enough.

He looked over me once and just nodded. Good thing he was not much of a talker, so this should be a peaceful ride and I would not need to act as an innocent lady. As I was about to get in the car, I felt eyes on me. It was one of the skills that I had honed in, and it had nothing to do with magic. I looked over my shoulder as I reached for the car door and from the corner of my eyes I saw that man that brought me, looking down on me from the second floor window.

Before he could do anything, I closed the door and we were already driving away from the bar. I kinda doubted that he could get anyone to follow us without any cash to support his request.

Once we were driving for a bit of time, I remembered the little bag that I snatched alongside other stuff from that room. I pulled it open and inside there was a beautiful necklace that I was sure would bring quite a lot of money when I sold it. It had an intricate design and jewels that were for sure worth a lot of cash. Now that I had the time for it, I reached into my pocket and counted how much cash I had gotten from the man as well, and it was around three thousand in cash.

Hmmm... I guess I got lucky that I stumbled upon someone who carried so much cash on them.

With a happy smirk on my face and a bit more reassurance now that I have a way to pay for my living for the near future, I relaxed into my seat as I looked out through the window, taking in the scenery of the beautiful sunlight fields and small houses every now and then. This place was different from the dark kingdom, it was even hilarious. There were almost no fields of crop back in the dark kingdom as the weather did not let the people grow any. As the problem of people not having food only affected half of the population, the half that had no power, there was no real initiative for change.

Lost in thoughts on the difference between the two kingdoms, I did not notice that we had arrived, till the moment the car stopped. After a quick thanks to the driver, I stepped out in front of a very grand looking manor.

Shit Luis, I asked for something low-key...

With a fake kind smile, I handed Jack a few bills as I made my way to the front door. Before I could even knock, the door opened in front of me and there stood a short man with a bleak look on his face.

"Would you be Miss Cali Castillo?"

I blinked a few times and nodded as the man gave a small smile and stepped aside.

"Good, we have been waiting for you."

Confused and impressed, I stepped through the door.