They made their way through the busy hall and took one of the empty tables near the corner to avoid unnecessary attention. While some stares were expected, the other patrons soon lost their interest after the lack of reaction from Priscilla and went back to conversing between themselves.
The knight let out a quiet sigh as she glanced at Rionara—who was shrinking against the wall beside her.
"It's okay, Rio. I'm here."
"Mhm…"
She felt small in her seat. The sounds of wooden tankards clanking, the smell of booze and baked bread in the air, the murmuring of different conversations happening in the hall were all intimidating for someone who only knew the loneliness and indifference of the streets.
But despite her newfound anxiety, just having Priscilla by her side made her feel reassured and as her left hand unconsciously reached for her jacket again—Rionara looked at the knight's eyes.
"Hm? What is it, Rio?"
"Pris, are you going to do what the receptionist woman told you?"
"Bounty hunting?" At that moment some farmers at a nearby table overheard her say that and turned a few glances in her direction—interested in the newcomer's goals. "Yeah, I have no choice if I want to go into the dungeon."
Rionara hesitantly opened her small hand and let go of the knight's jacket.
"T-then, please, be careful."
Priscilla offered her a calm smile while gently patting her head.
"I will. You don't have to worry about me."
On the other table, the three middle aged farmers each looked at each other with suspicion and started to whisper amongst themselves.
"Isn't she the one who caused trouble at that famous inn?"
The oldest looking one asked.
"Yeah, I heard she was taking care of a kid and they didn't want to let her in."
The middle one said and the last one nodded with his arms crossed.
"Those idiots don't even let kids in nowadays. They rather have gold coins from those noble bastards than dignity."
The oldest one raised an eyebrow and lifted his tankard to him with a smirk on his face.
"You say that, but if you had those coins you wouldn't be mixing cow shite now would ya?"
"Hahaha!"
"Oh, shut it."
Hearing the inn being lively with laughter took some weight off Priscilla's shoulders. Not having to worry about food or shelter was also another relief that made her whole body feel lighter.
The knight leaned against her chair and let out a quiet relaxed sigh before she noticed Karla approaching with a wooden tray through the corner of her eyes. Instinctively, she straightened her back and adjusted her jacket.
"Here you go." The innkeeper started by placing two empty wooden bowls and spoons on the table before putting down a large iron pot of meat stew with a wooden ladle, another plate with more bread than what they could eat and two tankards full of water. "I have beer as well if you prefer it."
"Oh, no need." Priscilla shook both hands slightly. "I'd rather drink water."
"I see. If you two need anything else just ask. Though any more than this will cost you extra."
"I don't think we'll need more than this…"
Karla nodded once before turning around and raising her hand in a short farewell.
"Enjoy your meal."
"Thank you." Priscilla turned to look at Rionara—but the girl was clearly at loss with so much food in front of her. Her azure eyes were sparkling, a heartwarming moment for the knight. "Rio, let's eat."
She turned with widened eyes to Priscilla as if asking, 'Can I?'. But instead of answering, the knight took the ladle and scooped out a generous portion for her bowl before placing the same in front of the girl.
"Here, feel free to get more when you finish." She proceeded to serve some to herself and after filling a bowl of the red broth stew, she grabbed the plate of bread and placed it in between them. "Let's eat."
Before Rionara could pick up the spoon, she looked up at Priscilla—who was devouring her meal. She wasn't wolfing down her food, but there was a sense of speed that seemed unlikely for a knight of her stature. As if trying to follow suit, Rionara grabbed the bread and took a bite out of it.
The crunchy outside of the freshly baked good contrasted with the soft fluffy inside, it was warm but not enough to burn.
She grabbed the spoon and scooped a chunk of meat floating in the herb rich red broth—the savory smell of meat and acidic scent of the broth made her mouth water. Her lips felt a slight sting as the piping hot liquid touched them but seeing how Priscilla voraciously ate her meal, she took a mouthful of the broth which mixed with the half eaten crunchy bread—resulting in what could only be described as a culinary delight for the girl who had only known stale, hard bread and raw vegetables.
The rich flavors filled her stomach and the experience of eating a carefully prepared meal filled her heart with joy but also with a hint of sadness as her eyes uncontrollably began to water up.
She chewed her food as tears fell down her face. A heart wrenching sight which made Priscilla stop her meal mid-way.
"Are you okay, Rio?"
The girl swallowed her food but didn't want to look at the knight's eyes as she felt a tinge of embarrassment from crying.
"Y-yeah… I'm just… happy."
Priscilla smiled quietly as she reached for a handkerchief inside her jacket.
"Here, clean your nose."
She quietly grabbed the cloth and was about to blow her nose onto it before she noticed how silky the texture was—she knew just by touching it that it was no mere piece of cloth to be discarded.
"B-but… I'll get it dirty."
"A handkerchief is better if it gets used." She spoke while taking a bite out of a loaf of bread she held. "Besides—you can just clean up later for me, right?"
Her calm demeanor and warm expression made Rionara feel at ease. The girl nodded and discreetly cleaned her nose. After folding the cloth once she tightly held onto both edges while lowering her head. Her thumbs rubbed against the handkerchief slightly.
"Pris… thank you for everything…"
"You're welcome, Rio. But if you want to show me your gratitude, then eat a lot." She spoke softly before taking another healthy bite out of the bread she held. "My mentor always told me that a strong body is made with a lot of food and training in equal measures." She stopped and turned around before giving Rionara a gentle squeeze on her left arm. "And right now what you need to do is put on some weight."
"Mhm." She smiled quietly before returning to her meal with a glint of determination in her eyes. "I'll grow strong to protect you someday too."
"Haha! That is reassuring." She playfully ruffled her black hair. "I'm quite strong, you know. You'll need a lot of effort to catch up to me."
As they were happily conversing between themselves, the other patrons started to look at the duo with satisfied expressions.
"Ow… my head is killing me…"
On the other side of the hall, the previously knocked out bald man was now coming back to, on the other side of the hall.
"Hey boss, are you alright?" One scrawny man worriedly asked. "Wasn't expecting ya missus to knock you out like that."
"He was asking for it." Karla came up to them while holding a tray full of tankards filled to the brim with beer. "Stupid moron, why did you have to go up to her like that?"
The bald man sluggishly lifted his body up and sat against the wall.
"L-look, Lucina is a kind girl, but it's not like we can accept just anybody she invites over."
"Do you really think that girl would invite troublesome people here?"
"It never hurts to be sure… besides, did you warn her? About the other guys hanging around the streets at night."
"Aye, who do you take me for?"
"S-sorry, I just wanted to make sure. She's with a kid and all."
Karla sighed while shaking her head.
"For a man of your stature you're awfully compassionate, did you know that? Gerolt?"
"It runs in the family."
"Now, come on, get your ass up the floor and help me clean the hall."
"You knock out your own man and tell him to clean the floor?"
"Aye, do you want another beating?" She flashed the wooden club tucked inside her belt. "I may have one hand busy but the other can wield this thing just fine."
"N-no, I'll go clean the hall." He wobbly stood up and looked at the other men around him. "You guys heard her, let's clean this place."
"Aye, boss."
After eating their fill, both Priscilla and Rionara climbed the stairs to their room while the men cleaned the floor and empty tables. With the girl behind her, the knight used her key to unlock the door.
Inside, there was a single double sized bed with a clean beige mattress and sheets of the same color. The window overlooking the street below was closed with the sun settling halfway down the horizon.
"About three in the afternoon…" Priscilla muttered to herself as she noticed the light coming from outside. "Rio, I'll head to the guild to check the bounties available, can you stay here for the rest of the afternoon?"
"Yes, I can… but be careful."
She nodded with a firm smile on her face.
"I will." But before she left, she pulled the key out of the lock and knelt to hand it to her. "Keep it with you. You can roam around the inn or stay in this room but don't go outside until I'm back, alright?"
"Mhm." The knight stood up and left the room. As she headed down the stairs to the entrance, she heard a thud behind her and turned around to witness Rionara following her. "Stay safe."
Priscilla smiled before ruffling her hair a bit.
"Don't worry. I'll come back later."
Seeing the two back in the main hall made Karla stop by with a tray filled with tankards of beer.
"Leaving so soon?"
"I'll return in the evening at the earliest." The knight answered as she adjusted the jacket. "Could you maybe bring food to Rio if she's in our room?"
"You can leave it to us." Gerolt said from across the room while still sweeping the floor with a wet mop. "We'll take care of your kid."
Priscilla faintly smiled after waving to him.
"Thank you." She glanced at Rionara before turning to the entrance. "I'll be off."
They both waved as she left. The girl felt a bit lonely seeing the knight depart but she clenched both small hands into fists while taking a deep breath—determined to make sure she made some sort of progress until Priscilla returned. After all, if she wanted to truly stand as equals to a royal knight, she couldn't waste any time.
She frowned her brows before turning back toward her room, unaware that both Karla and Gerolt were witnessing the sudden steel in her expression.
Rionara closed the door behind her and locked it with the key given to her.She plopped down on the floor and took a long, deep breath. She knew deep down that Priscilla was taking care of her out of kindness but she couldn't rely on that kindness forever.
It was true that she was physically weak. Even providing simple manual labor such as helping at the stables would be too much for her, but she had something else in mind.
She stared at her own hands. Small, weak, frail, filled with faint scars and old burns. Upon closing her eyes and taking another deep breath she started to ruminate on the past.
In the short span of her lifetime she had learned many things that would be otherwise useless for the current situation she found herself in. Namely, magic.
In her eyes, it was nothing but a tool to inflict pain and suffering. Misery with the snap of one's fingers. Yet that power could serve to protect Priscilla if it came down to it.
Upon closing her eyes she felt a terrible chill go down her spine. Her small hand clenched in reflex from the lingering pulsating pain she felt across her back. The many scars left from whips and blades felt like they were alive again.
Sharp stings of searing pain scarred her mind as she could feel her entire body tremble from fear. The mere act of tapping into the magic that resided within her was enough to make her snap her eyes open as if trying to escape from a nightmare.
Her eyes traced down to her own hands once again and each of her fingers were involuntarily twitching out of fear.
'No… I need this power if I plan to stand by her side or all that I said will be nothing but empty boasting…'
She forcibly clenched her trembling hands into fists while closing her hesitating eyes to meditate. A technique imprinted in her mind, soul and body through violence in order to increase her mana capacity.
The warm room tickled by the settling sunlight suddenly felt cold, but it was a different kind of cold—the type that drains the heat from within the body. The horrifying chill would linger as long as she kept her mana flowing from within the core of her soul to her extremities where her mana gates were.
As her mana seeped out into the room—the whole place started to feel colder. This time it wasn't just within her body, the air started to feel eerily devoid of life as the excess mana settled near the ground like fog before it started to change from its gentle light blue color to a despairing dark purple—almost black-like smoke.
It only lasted a few minutes before Rionara eventually snapped her eyes back open while panting heavily. Beads of sweat covered her brow as she tried to breathe like she came out of water.
"Haaa… haa…"
Her body, both inside and out, felt cold. The room had an eerie aura of death as she looked back at her trembling hands only to see a flash of blood dripping from her scars and once she blinked again, it was gone. She shook her head and took a few quick sharp breaths while glancing up at the window tinted red-orange from the settling sun that gave its place to the impending darkness of the night.
Each beat of her heart made her vision pulse slightly and within one of those pulses lay an image of cold iron bars with barely any light tickling through it. It was as if she never left that cold place devoid of warmth.
She hugged her own trembling body and lowered her head—making herself even smaller in the middle of the room.
"I left that place behind years ago…" Her small fingers dug into her own clothing. "I don't want to do this… not again…"
With shaking hands and clenched teeth, she let tears run down across her face as she tightened the grip around her own body.