Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

The one day walk to Lannistown turned into three due to a wildfire along the road that ripped through the land and forced the travelers to backtrack and take a longer route. They arrived tired, dirty, and reeking of smoke.

When they had finally made it to the outskirts of the city, Ivy stopped and untied the ribbon from her neck. “Cloak,” she chanted, and it turned into her black cloak that she wrapped snugly around herself, pulling the hood over her head.

Zero looked at the girl, discontent at her concealed form after having quickly grown accustomed to the way she glided along the path exuberantly, her skirt and amethyst waves swishing with the melodies that spilled from her lips. “Why do you wear that?” he asked.

Ivy’s violet eyes focused on the toes of her boots as she hesitantly chewed her bottom lip, her body swaying lightly. She cast them up at the boy and forced a small smile. “It’s… um… it’s just easier this way.”

“I don’t like it.” The meek complaint faintly jumped from his tongue before he even had the chance to think it.

“Me either,” the girl sighed miserably, her smile vanishing. “Especially when it’s so nice out.”

The boy thought to say something more, but silence was easier when you didn’t have the right words.

Ren and Sakura had been walking a short distance behind. The couple, however, were never lost for words as they had been bickering for the last two days about every tiny, insignificant thing possible. The demon was on the brink of tearing her hair out while the angel was reveling in every moment of it.

“It’ll be fine,” the woman snapped, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, nearing the end of the rope of her already short patience with the angel. “We’ll sleep a ways out of town. Rooms are expensive and I’m not exactly rolling around in coin here.” She had made a bit from the extermination of the pest, but it wouldn’t go far, especially with two more mouths to feed. They were going to have to conserve, and a stay in an inn, no matter how tempting, would quickly cut what she had by at least half.

“I’m tired of sleeping on the ground, breathing in smoke all night,” the man complained as he circled around the girl, placing his hands on her shoulders as she looked up at him and him down on her with a manipulative grin. If he was going to get what he wanted, then he was going to need help. “Besides, I hear that Lannistown has plumbing.” He shook her gently. “Plumbing, Little One, plumbing! Actual running water on the inside! Can you believe it?!”

Ivy gasped and her eyes lit up, “Plumbing? I want to see it! Please Sakura! Please can we please get a room?!” The girl had read about how some areas in certain cities had begun piping water into residences and businesses, and it all seemed simply superb. The closest she had ever come to plumbing was taking a bath in a basin that Sakura had hauled and boiled the water for. However, most of their bathing was in rivers or streams, and that could vary between enjoyable or miserable depending on the weather and temperature of water.

“Yeah, Sakura! Please!” Ren pleaded in a higher pitch voice, emulating the girl. “Please! Magical plumbing! Come on!”

Sakura looked to Zero for his opinion. Though Ivy seemed to enjoy his company and had a way of drawing out responses from the devil, the demon had hardly managed to exchange more than a few words with him. It hadn’t been for lack of trying on her part, rather the boy was just quiet and his replies were concise and left little to build an actual conversation off of. Regardless, he was apart of the group and should have a say.

The devil glanced at Ivy, her excitement enough reason for him to agree. “It’s water that moves on the inside,” he stated seriously.

The vixen closed her eyes, exhausted, and unwilling to fight any longer. “Alright. Whatever. Plumbing. Let’s get a room.”

Lannistown had once been a small village, but due to being the halfway point to several cities and ports, it had grown exponentially in the last few decades. The crowded streets were lively and buzzing with beings from all walks of life. It was an interesting mixture of wood, stone, and even, more recently, steel built buildings. It boasted countless shops, restaurants, and cafe’s, a few museums, and a three story library at its center. Some businesses held signs in their windows boasting about the plumbing that awaited inside for customers. The travelers entered the first inn they found with such sign.

“Welcome!” the slight man behind the counter warmly greeted. He pushed his round glasses up his straight nose and grabbed some paperwork. “What can I do for you?”

“How much is a room?” Sakura asked with a sigh. She knew she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“It’s thirty silver a night.”

“Thirty silver!” the woman almost choked; the answer so much worse than she had imagined.

The man smiled uncomfortably, “Yes, we do get that response sometimes. However, we do have warm, running water in each of the room’s bathrooms and large, lovely tubs for bathing.” The smell of smoke was undeniable in the lobby at this point.

Sakura looked back at Ivy who she knew, even though her face was covered by the cloak’s hood, was looking up at her with big, dewy eyes and a quiver in her lip. The girl had never experienced plumbing, and Ren had wound her up so tight in anticipation that leaving now when it was so close was guaranteed to make her produce her own water works. The woman sighed and pulled out her pathetically light coin bag. If she added up the bronzes they may just have enough to cover a night. She’d have to leave immediately after booking the room in order to find somewhere she could make a few quick coins in order to feed the girl tonight…

As she considered what more they would need and did the math for those necessities, mumbling and counting on her fingers, Ren leaned over her and set six, shiny, gold coins on the counter.

“We’ll take two rooms for five nights. We may need a few more though.” The angel smiled down at the fox who stared back up at him in wide eyed bewilderment.

“Wonderful. I’ll get you set up.” The man took down their names and handed Ren two keys to their rooms on the second floor.

Ivy clapped and squealed, quickly skipping to the staircase as she sang joyfully with Zero calmly following alongside her. The angel waved the keys in the demon’s baffled face with a cocky grin before following the younger two. The fox had to blink several times to force her brain to start working again and motivate herself to chase after them.

“Where did you get that kind of coin?” She slid next to the man and hissed as they climbed up the stairs. It was no small amount, much more than they had ever had growing up. She had never even held close to that much in her hand at one time, and he had acted like it was normal.

“The Guard pays well,” he told her, shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal. “The shittier the job, the better the pay, and I did a lot of shitty jobs.”

The mention of The Guard made the fox’s ears and tail bristle. “Well, I’m glad it was worth the coin,” she said snidely.

“I didn’t do the jobs for the coin.” He cast his eyes down at her, a mournful ocean of blue. “I did them to get back to you.”

The woman looked away, trying to evade his gaze. She knew it was a cruel thing to say, and her shame kept her from doing little more than chewing uncomfortably on her cheek.

“I found them!” Ivy touted in front of the doors to their rooms, her toes tapping fervently as her fingers were itching to get in.

Ren turned towards the ecstatic girl with a smile. “Yeah you did!” He held the key towards Ivy. “This one’s for you and Zero. Sakura and I will take the other…”

The vixen snatched the key from his fingers before he could finish and stuffed it into the lock.

“Hey! Wait!” the angel fumbled as she twisted the key and pushed the door open. “Where do you think you’re going? I got us our own honeymoon suite!”

“Nope.” The woman pushed Ivy into the room and slammed the door on the two men, the door locking with a deafening ‘click’.

Ren looked at Zero in absolute shock and dismay, his unreasonable delusion of how the night would go completely shattered in an instant. “Did you just see that? What just happened here?”

Zero, on the other hand, was not in any semblance of surprise. “Did you really think that would work?”

The man seemed insulted. “Of course! Did you not see how cool and confident I was down there? Like a real man who can provide for his woman.”

“I must have missed it.”

Ren visibly deflated, his plan a total flop. “It was worth a try.”

Zero patted the angel’s head with his left hand, feeling somewhat sorry for the pathetic man, and grabbed the key with his right. “You’re an idiot. Let’s go.”

Ivy had flung off her cloak, relieved to finally be free once more, and was spinning around the well decorated room with a spacious bed and toile wallpaper. She had never been in a room so expensive or lavish, and she had five whole days to enjoy it. She felt like a princess who had just entered the grandest of castles.

“Isn’t this wonderful?” she gushed. “It’s so pretty!”

Sakura leaned against the door and smiled, happy for the girl. “It really is. How about you take your bath first.”

The girl slapped her hands over her mouth and gasped, “Plumbing!” And ran into the bathroom.

As the door slammed closed, the woman slid to the ground, the breath she had been holding quickly expelling from her lungs. She stared up at the ceiling as Ren’s voice repeated in her head.

I did them to get back to you.

Her fingers brushed across the black feather along her collarbone and shoulder, and she closed her eyes as tight as she could. “That’s not fair,” she whispered, his words crushing down on her.