"Miss Gene." Gary calls again. Siv opens her eyes wide, surprised.
'When the hell did I fall asleep?'
"We are leaving." He adds before opening the door. Siv pushes to her feet and follows him.
"I have prepared the things you have requested." Gustaf hands Gary a small sac.
"Thank you, Gustaf."
"Are you sure about this?" The shop owner glances at his friend with worried eyes.
"No, but if I survived the first time, I will survive this time too."
"You barely did." Siv eyes Gary for a moment, but she can't read the expression on his face.
"I will do better this time." Gary smiles sheepishly.
"I am sending Asger with you." Gustaf announces.
"Gustaf, that is not necessary. He should stay here in case things… go wrong."
"You need him more than I do, you stubborn mule." Gary bursts out laughing, Siv smiles at the familiarity of the two.
"Alright, then."
"You should go now, the gate's guards switch in twenty minutes. You have to be there before they do."
Gary hugs his friend and whispers something in his ear that Siv can't decipher. The man pats his shoulder a few times and nods.
"I will see you when you get back."
"I leave you in charge of the weekly aid, my friends."
"Don't worry about that, I will take care of it."
Gary and Siv leave from the back door, the one they used last time they were both here. They find a teenage boy waiting for them at the corner of the alley.
'Is this the Asger they were talking about? I thought he would be some kind of muscled beast. The teenager looks like he could be blown away by strong winds.'
"We should hurry." The boy says before guiding them through the dark alleys of the sleeping city.
They make it to the South Gates about ten minutes later. The three of them hide in the distance and watch as two guards walk to the ones already standing. They greet each other and exchange a few words before the two men walk away bidding goodnight and are replaced by the new ones.
"Let's go." Asger starts walking toward the two guards. Siv's eyes widen.
"What is this kid doing?"
"It's alright, Miss Gene. They are with us." Gary follows the boy and greets the two men.
One of the guards bows to Gary then proceeds to unlocking a small door to the right side of the big gate.
"Thank you, Canute." Gary smiles at the old man."May the Blue Fire guide you in your journey." He nods at the man, then the three of them leave the capital, protected by the darkness.
They walk in silence for a while. Siv is still surprised by all the planning Gary and his men had done in such a short time.
'How many people work for this guy?'
She glances at his back, curious. She was also surprised when she heard that old man mention the Blue Fire. She wants to ask Gary but she feels that it is too early for him to answer her truthfully. He has shown his suspicion of her on a few occasions. She needs to gain his trust first.
"We will stop at the next town over, to rest. We have horses waiting for us there." Asger informs them.
"Is it just going to be the three of us?" Siv asks.
"For now, yes." Gary answers. "It is suspicious to travel in a big group when you are a fugitive."
"Right, right." Siv agrees before silence envelops them again.
They walk for about two hours before finally reaching the town of Leiden. Siv's feet hurt from walking, in fact, her whole body aches. Not sleeping properly for the previous couple of nights only makes her fatigue double.
"You can get some rest over there." The boy points to an inn, probably the only inn around.
"What about you?" Siv asks when Asger starts heading the opposite way.
"You don't have to worry about me, I will meet you in the morning." He walks away, leaving Siv standing there dumbfounded.
'What a strange boy.'
"Shall we?" Gary asks.
"Yes, sorry." She glances one last time at Asger before following Gary into the rundown inn.
The place stinks and time has left its mark on every corner in the form of cracks, discoloration, and dust. There is an old woman sitting at a desk, half awake.
'The receptionist? Ha.'
"Good evening." Gary greets, but the woman does not react.
It seems like she hasn't used her smiling muscles in years, causing them to sag and lose all function. She also looks so old that one might mistake her as part of the inn's antique furniture. Her immobility might also be a reason for that.
"We'll take two rooms, please." Gary utters. The woman finally moves to read through a notebook in front of her.
"I only have one room available tonight."
'Of course she does.'
Gary looks at Siv then back at the woman.
"How is that even possible?"
"We have six rooms." The woman answers with a shrug.
"It's fine." Siv says. She is too tired to even argue.
"Miss Gene, it is not fine-"
"Honestly, I would sleep in stables if I have to right now." Gary eyes her for a moment, then turns back to the receptionist.
"We'll take it then." He pays for the room and gets the key.
They both make it upstairs as instructed by the woman, the last room to the right. Gary unlocks the old door and they both enter the decaying room. He turns the light on and they are faced with a small twin bed in the middle of the tiny room.
"Oh?" Siv utters. For some reason, she thought that the room would at least have two beds.
'Idiot, you think you're back in Hungary?'
She sighs.
"Alright, then." Gary breaks the silence, making Siv jump. "I'll take the chair." Siv glances at what he is referring to and grimaces. It looks like a tool specially made for causing Torticollis. "Try to sleep, we only have a few hours." He walks to the rigid chair and sits on it, throwing his legs on the table in front of him. Siv stares at him as he folds his arms and closes his eyes as if it were the most comfortable of beds.
'I swear, he's so weird.'