Unnaturally Natural

Alexander - Fated Encounter

When Alexander reached the gate, Dara was already there, waiting for him. It came as a surprise, and Alexander wondered how long he had been waiting. Dara appeared to be reading from the little journal he carried with him. In between short pauses, he scribbled something down. It didn't seem like he was aware of anything happening around him at all.

It wasn't until Alexander was right in front of him that he looked up.

"Alex! You're finally here," He said, putting away his little book, "What took you so long?"

"I did some investigating and almost got caught," Alexander replied with a grin.

He proceeded to tell Dara what had happened when he was in the girl's house. When he told him about the trap that had dispersed the silver dust, he took his book out once again and started writing. He continued writing as Alexander explained everything he had seen.

"So, I am assuming you escaped without much trouble?" Dara said as he wrote a few more things down.

"No, I died in her house, and this is my ghost speaking to you," Alexander replied sarcastically.

"What now?"

"Now, I have to get back to my place, and I want you to come with,"

Dara looked confused for a moment. "Why do you want me to come? Wouldn't I be of more use here, keeping a watch on the Huntsman's activity?"

"That crossed my mind too," Alexander started, "but I need your help because I am no good at negotiating."

"Negotiating? What do you mean?" Dara asked, fastening the book and pencil to his side.

"I wanted to tell you earlier today, but I didn't really have a chance. But I got a reply from the Beast King... Well, I say a reply, it was more of an invitation. He believes the topic should be discussed in person, to avoid any misunderstandings," Alexander explained.

"Well, I won't argue against a road trip," Dara said, smiling broadly.

"Perfect, if we leave right away, we should get there with plenty of time to spare."

They didn't waste any more time standing by idly and immediately started their journey to Alexander's house. As they walked, Alexander explained the details of the answer he had been given. Dara seemed more interested that the white wolf had delivered it as a human.

There were two kinds of werewolves in the world; those who thought the wolf's blood was a curse and those who believed it to be a blessing from the gods. Members of the Beast King's pack were often the latter. They carried the title of 'werewolf' with pride, so the white wolf's behavior was peculiar. Unlike the more common black and brown werewolves, her fur was pure white, and she was a sight to behold. If anything, she should have less reason to change back to human. Alexander thought as he talked to Dara.

They walked for hours, and the sun had long since set. They didn't stop until they reached a large inn. If Alexander had come alone, he would have traveled through the night, but he was not alone this time; he had to consider Dara. He had long since known about the inn and had stopped in a few times for their beef mushroom stew.

It was a large building built from white Eucalyptus, which the keeper claimed she had imported from across the ocean. The white wood was engraved with patterns that had no trouble drawing the eye. It had a porch that was six feet wide and extended the entire length of the building. The porch's roof was held up by twelve white wooden beams, each engraved with a different war hero's story.

"We can rest here for the night."

"Are you sure? This inn looks a bit expensive. Wouldn't it be a better idea to set up camp somewhere along the road?" Dara questioned.

"That isn't really an option. From here, we'll be cutting through the forest, and there won't be anywhere safe enough to set up camp. I chose this route because of the inn. It should be a good place to rest before we continue," Alexander said as he opened the door to the inn.

"Maybe so, but that still doesn't address the fact that it might be too expensive."

"Don't worry about that," Alexander assured, with a sneaky grin.

Upon entering the inn, they were faced with a host of merchants and armed men. A young lady with curly brown hair and dark green eyes caught sight of Alexander from across the crowded room. Her face lit up with a big smile when she saw him, and she started pushing past the merchants and their guards. The poofy red dress she wore did not make the task any easier.

"Alex! It's been such a long time," She said when she finally reached him.

"Karla! How has the business been lately? Still getting plenty of customers, I hope," Alexander replied with a goofy smile.

Dara stared at the two in confusion. Alexander had never been one to act confidently around people, especially women.

"It's a little busy at the moment, but I can clear out a table for you and your friend if you would like," she said, looking over at Dara.

"There's no need for that, thank you. We just need a room for the night and some food."

"If that's the case, you're in luck. I have one room open," She started, "It's a spare room, which is quite a bit smaller than the regular rooms, and it only has one bed."

The smile quickly faded from Alexander's face. He was close friends with Dara, but there was no way he would share a bed with him. He rubbed his temples as he thought to himself. We should have just traveled through the night. His thoughts were interrupted when Dara whispered from behind him.

"Short spoon or tall spoon?"

Karla heard Dara's whisper and let out a laugh. "You two do know one of you can sleep on the floor, right?"

Alexander turned bright red. For some reason, that thought never occurred to him. Even when he thought he could act confident around attractive women, he still couldn't think straight.

"Y-yes, that should work," He said simply.

"Alright, then if you two will follow me, I will take you to your room," She said as she turned around.

She lead them around the crowd to a smaller hallway that was dotted with doors on either side. While walking down the narrow hallway, Alexander was reminded of how small the building really was. He thought back to some of his early visits, what Karla had said. It can house thirty people, ten merchants, each with their two guards. He remembered.

They walked to the far end of the hall and stopped at the last door.

"This shall be your room for the night," She started, with a smile, "I will send one of the maids with some extra sheets and pillows. I hope you two enjoy your stay at the Ivory inn."

Both Alexander and Dara thanked her before she left. The room was by no means small. The single bed took up most of the space but left plenty of room for a small table. In the corner opposite the bed was a table and chair in front of a window. There was plenty of open space, and it could have easily accommodated three people.

It only took a few minutes for a maid to knock at the door. There were two, one who carried the sheets and pillows and another who held a plate of food and a large silver flagon. Alexander took the bedding, and Dara brought the tray to the small table.

While Dara wasted no time indulging in the food and drink, Alexander laid the bedding down in the open space at the foot of the bed. The food's aroma made him aware of his apparent hunger, and he was quick to join Dara.

The food was quite exceptional. The maid had brought up freshly baked bread, with two large steaks; elk, he guessed. The meat was tender and covered with some of the most delicate spices; it was, by far, the best among the mountain regions. The flagon was filled to the brim with his favorite drink, ginger beer. He liked its strange, almost bitter taste and enjoyed the savory after taste.

"So, how exactly are we going to afford this?" Dara asked between bites.

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't. But as you might have noticed, I am good friends with the owner. Usually, whenever I stop here, she gives me a room free of charge."

"That was the owner?" Dara asked, stunned.

"You know, that was my first reaction, too," Alexander laughed, "Yeah, she's the owner. She took over from her father when he passed away a few years ago."

"How did you even come to know her?"

"That is a long story," Alexander smiled.

"Well, the night is still young. I don't see why you can't tell it."

"I guess you're right," he started. "It was three years ago...no, four, right before winter. I had gotten tired of staying at home the whole day, so I decided to take a walk. Quite sometime before that day, I had noticed a strong smell of cooked meat, so that day, I decided I would find out where it came from."

"It took me a while to find this place, mainly because I was in no real hurry. But when I found it, I was pleasantly surprised. Before I saw it, I expected it would be some filth pit for undesirables. But it seemed to be a respectable establishment. At that time, it was quiet because the merchants had left in anticipation of winter. When I saw the sign that read 'Ivory inn,' I decided I would find out what was cooking."

"I'll be honest; I didn't really think I had the funds to pay for anything when I walked in. It looked like a nobleman's house. Or at least it did when it was that empty. There were a few people there, some of the lesser-known merchants, and Karla. Back then, I thought she was only one of the maids. When I asked to speak with the keeper, she told me it was her. I was surprised and embarrassed, but she was nice about it. She offered me a room I could afford and some food."

"It was pretty quiet that day, until the sunset. That's when things got interesting. I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard strange noises outside my window. When I got up to look, I saw a bunch of thugs sneaking around. They didn't seem too friendly, so I left my room and went to the bar. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for, guards maybe? I can't remember. But I found Karla, and she was holding a sword. It seemed she had heard them too and was preparing a surprise of her own."

"Needless to say, she was surprised to see me... so much so that she almost attacked me. After about a minute of me trying to calm her down, she explained what was happening."

"Apparently, before I arrived, she got into a 'disagreement' with someone and broke his nose in the process. It turned out he was the leader of a group of thugs. After being humiliated, he wanted revenge. Naturally, I offered to help. It took more convincing than I thought to get her to agree. She was set on handling it herself. But after going back and forth, she finally agreed to let me step in."

"I went back to my room and snuck out through the window. From there, I just snuck up behind the thugs and took them out one at a time. I'll admit it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. They might have been trying to sneak, but they didn't do much to hide the fact that none of them knew what a bath was." Alexander laughed.

"Did you kill any of them?" Dara asked, concerned.

"You know I don't work like that," Alexander started. " I just knocked them out. Karla helped me tie them up, and while we waited for them to wake up, we swapped life stories."

"Wait!" Dara Interrupted, "You 'swapped' life stories? Does that mean she knows?"

"No, she just knows the natural part of my life. I wanted to tell her about the rest, but I just left it at 'I'm not completely human.' Which at the time seemed reasonable," Alexander explained.

"So, she knows you're a supernatural?"

"No, or at least, I don't think so. I think she took it to mean I am part elf or something; she didn't really ask anything beyond that."

"Okay, so what did you two do after the thugs woke up?" Dara asked, steering Alexander back to the story.

"Ah, yes. After they woke up, Karla kindly asked them to leave. She explained that she would turn them into girls if they ever came back and then into a pack of unicorns."

"Do you mean she would..."

"Yes, exactly that," Alexander said, knowing what Dara was about to ask.

They both laughed at the thought, and Alexander went on to tell Dara more about Karla. About her father's death in the Northern territory war and how she had taken over after his death. He told Dara about the many times he had come to visit for food and the excellent company she provided. As he thought back, he realized she was the only one he would talk to when visiting.

Dara seemed to notice it too, "So, the two of you are in love then?" he laughed.

"Shut up and eat your food so we can go to sleep; it's getting late," Alexander said, annoyed.

Dara laughed and took a big gulp from one of the cups before filling it up again. They both finished the platter of food and emptied the flagon. They shared a few more humorous stories before they went to bed, Alexander on the ground and Dara in the bed.