Entwined Fates

Ch 7 A Very Different Wonderland

My eyes had grown wide at the site before me. Following the cobbled road there were various stalls and stands decorated in red. Small decorative lights as well as red lanterns lit the street in a warm festive atmosphere. All I could smell were various meats being cooked and handed out. I never considered myself a geek, but with all the manga I've read I could say this was a classic scene most people want to attend at least once. The main difference was the multitude of magical creatures roaming about. Some looked humanoid with tails or horns, while others looked like giant blobs and monsters. I caught the eye of what looked like twins at one stall. They were staring at me intently before I turned away.

A low rumbling could be felt against my legs, dragging me from my gawking. Duncan's growl started low and slowly intensified, causing me to look down in curiosity. Right in front of his face was a small girl with reddish hair and matching pointed ears. Behind her a tail swept back and forth as she stared Duncan in the eyes. My eyes went to the heavens before I knocked him in the side with my foot. He whimpered and looked up at me. I could see the feigning pain in his now yellow eyes.

"Cut it out, it's just a little girl. Albeit a mysterious little girl, but still"

The girl looked up at me and smiled brightly before running off and blending into the crowd.

"So, stupid question, but does anyone know where we are?"

Sam's voice carried over surprisingly well considering all the loud commotion of people. The silence to his question gave him the answer. There was no way I'd know. I didn't even know where we were taken to begin with.

"Right, that is a stupid question."

"Rude"

Before I could speak again, Duncan started turning away from him and headed towards one of the stalls. Rows upon rows of smoked meat were laid out in baskets with small price tags. I realized I couldn't make out the letters on any of the signs as they didn't look like any language I'd seen.

The light that was shining from behind the stand was soon blocked by a large shadow. Peering up, there was a man well over 7 feet glaring down at us. Billows of steam escaped from his nostrils as he huffed and smiled, revealing a set of pointed teeth.

"Hmm, never seen your faces around here. Not often do we get guests of your kind."

The shopkeeper's voice sounded like falling gravel and rumbled deep in my bones, making me shudder.

"Where is here exactly?"

Sam didn't seem too bothered by the large individual in front of us. Thinking about it now, most of the people walking the streets were of a taller stature. The yellow eyes of the shopkeeper looked contemplative as he came up with an answer.

" This place has many names depending on where a person is from. For now, you can call it hidden crescent valley."

" I can't say I've heard of it or read about it."

"That's not surprising, American creatures tend not to, even though there are many gateways located there."

" Do you know where we can find an inn or hotel?"

The butcher squinted his eyes, more smoke escaped his nostrils and mouth. There was a knowing glint before he opened his mouth again.

"There's one up the street. You take a right and two lefts to get there."

Relief further flooded my system at the thought of a warm bed and food. My stomach decided to rumble loud enough for anyone with heightened hearing to take notice. I blushed at some of the surrounding stares. The owner laughed heartily, it was the strangest of sounds.

" There's an ATM in front of the hotel. It should take anything you have in exchange for the currency here. You can take a couple of sticks with you on the house."

I eyed the meat, it was all mouth-watering. But with the night we had, kindness felt suspicious. The grumbling laugh confirmed my suspicions.

" It's good to be wary here, girl. It's not what it seems the deeper you go. Best not to take from the left side of my stand unless you're a cannibal."

I grimaced once I knew what he was implying and hated that I called it mouthwatering. With that in mind, I came to understand just how dangerous this place can be. Although it seemed civil, our lives weren't any safer than running from those shadow beasts. I gave a small nod to the shop owner, deciding against taking the offer of food, just in case.

It only took us a few minutes to arrive at what looked like a run-down hotel. There was a sign above it with a house symbol and more words that couldn't be read. Next to the doorway was a rather large ATM, but something was odd about it. We saw someone using it, but instead of a card they dropped a silver watch on a small tray; it disappeared shortly afterward. We could hear the sounds of bills dispensing and then the man left.

"When he said whatever we had, you think he meant literally?"

"Well, based on what we just saw, yes."

"Should we try going in first to see if they accept plastic?"

" At this point, any idea is worth trying."

We were hesitant to enter the dilapidated building. It screamed, ready to fall apart at any minute. Once we stepped through the doorway, however, we were greeted by granite floors and extremely high ceilings. If decadence was a place, it would be this one. There were stairwells everywhere, a giant chandelier hung above us; the golden specks of light dancing on the light. For the second time, I was speechless as I took everything. Pillars of pearls opened up to a large foyer with a receptionist. She looked like a humanoid cat, her fur a mixed shade of brown, orange and black. She looked up as we approached, her pupils dilating when she looked down at Duncan, still in wolf form. Sam spoke up once we were standing in front of her desk.

"Hi, is there a room available, preferably on the cheapest side?"

The receptionist was silent for a bit as she took us in completely; her thick metal earrings and ringed choker jingled with her movements. She finally spoke.

"Yeah, we got one, but dogs aren't allowed here", I glanced down at Duncan.

" He's a wolf."

" Potato patato, still not allowed"

" Do you have spare clothes then? If not, you're just going to have a naked man running around your foyer. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

She paused at that thought, then got up and flicked her head towards Duncan to make him follow. They disappeared through a white door not too far from the desk. Minutes passed before they came back out, Duncan, now partially clothed with a grin on his face and a piece of paper in one of his hands. Sam scoffed at the sight of him.

"Really?"

" You're just jealous of my popularity."

The feline receptionist cleared her throat.

"So how is this being paid for?"

" Do you take card?"

"No, the higher ups don't like human money. The ATM outside will make an exchange for anything".

"Just in case, is there another way to pay?"

A clawed finger came up to the receptionist's mouth as she thought about Sam's question.

"You can make a contract, but I don't think you'll like the contents of the agreement." She slyly looked at all of us and placed her head in her hands. A tail swayed slowly back and forth as if she were playing a game with them. Her response made us look at each other quizzically before we turned away and headed back outside. Up close, the ATM was huge. The longer I looked at it, the more it seemed like it was breathing. There were two options on the bright screen; insert card or insert object. It was a miracle that Sam still had a credit card on him. Before he could put the card in, however, a small shadowy figure jumped in front of us and snatched the card away. A moment passed before Sam darted after the figure disappeared around the corner.

~Can't we get a f*****g break?~

I was about to follow after Sam when I noticed Duncan wasn't moving. He put his hands up in a shrug.

" I'm not changing back into a wolf right now and streaking is for drunken parties only, so I'll be waiting inside."

He walked back in, leaving me baffled.

~Weird~

As I ran down the path Sam took, the lights gradually disappeared along with the cobbled road. I turned the corner only to find an empty dirt street with rows of dark houses and shops. The feeling of anxiety started to creep into my gut and my magic was blaring danger inside my head. The air grew chillier and my eyes just barely picked up a swirling smoke weaving through everything.

~ It's too quiet, I can't hear the bustling of the street anymore. I can't hear anything anymore. What's going on?

The longer I stood there the more it felt like the air was closing in around me. It wasn't until I heard a loud crash and a groan that I was able to snap out of the trance I was in. Ahead of me was an alleyway and skittering out of it was the little black shadow from before. Looking more closely, it looked like a tiny imp as it ran up the gutter of one of the shops. I ran towards the alley.

"Sam?"

"I'm okay", he grunted out. His body was sprawled on a pile of trash while raising his credit card triumphantly in the air. "Got it".

I sighed, reaching my hand down to help him up.

"You really shouldn't chase after things in a weird place," I scolded.

"Emergency situation, besides we've got two princesses that need a proper bed tonight," he said with a wink.

My heart warmed at his relaxed demeanor, which caused me to playfully punch him in the arm.

"You know I'm far from a princess, right?"

"Yeah, but Duncans not and you'll always be my princess. I might just start calling you hime-Sama to really show my devotion."

That got a giggle out of me which was short-lived when a light suddenly came on and the door to the shop next to us opened up. Quickly peaking out, a stocky woman came out and landed her eyes on us before darting them up and down the alley. Her brown hair was tied in a messy bun ready to collapse because of how fast she was looking around. Without another word, she grabbed both our wrists and dragged us into the building while quickly turning off the light again.