Though it took till mid-evening for Ceryll to finish cleansing herself of the dirt that caked her body, it proved to be well worth the time as she finally resembled the noble elf she once was. By using the oil from the leaves of a nearby silt tree, she polish her beautiful dark skin so that it shimmered like rich silk, perfectly contrasting with her long white hair which now brushed against the lower back of the dress Amere had brought for her. From the bright smile on her face, Amere could tell she was happy with the look and excitedly leaped from behind a bush with some black shoes and a shimmery lace mouth veil in his mouth.
"Here, " he placed them before her, "put these on." She did as told, feeling a little confused at the mouth veil. Having noticed this, he explained. "We have to keep your identity a bit of a secret until we go to court for your position."
"My position? Amere, you know I can't get that back. I ran away and they probably know that I did it to marry a human." Her smile fell at the absurdity of such an idea.
"And that's why we're going to court instead of just going back to the mansion. To start, you didn't abandon your position so no one can fill it, and we could say that you were manipulated into loving Reid. With that claim, we'll be home in no time." His tone was blunt and cold. He had no intentions of compromising here.
"But what I had for him was real."
"Yes, but denying him is the only way to reclaim your title and all its benefits." Ceryll stood from the rock on which she sat with her arms crossed over her chest, her nose slightly scrunched in disgust.
"If that's the case, then I guess I'll have to start from the bottom again."
"Ceryll, that's silly. It took you fifty years to get there. And it'll be much harder to get back there since you're nearly a century now. Hell, you may never get there again."
"So? I don't plan to love again and in elven time, I'm quite young. I've barely broken 20."
"What does that have to do with anything?" He scoffed.
" Well, for one, I won't have to worry about kids or a husband in the future so I can go back to living in the slums."
"That is not okay." She didn't reply and walked past him proudly. It was clear from her scent that she would not allow any form of compromise, however that didn't mean he wouldn't ask again later on. She was probably still hurt over Ried's death, but he couldn't shake the idea that there was something else going on.
"Amere!" He jolted from his thoughts and looked at the woman to see that she was pointing to her side. His head hung low as he followed the silent order. These moments were never his favorite. They served as a reminder that he was her familiar and not simply a cub that she picked up out of the good of her heart. He had a job and it had nothing about being a companion in the description. 'I guess I got a bit too cocky.' He thought with a sigh while they began their search for shelter.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Their walk was silent. Neither of them dared speak on the murmuring elves who oggled over Ceryll's beauty nor did they communicate on where they'd sleep that night. Their silence polluted the air, forcing them to listen to the sound of each other's steps colliding with the white cobblestone roads for nearly an hour until they happened upon an inn that was magnificent in every way.
The stone white walls were tall and long, stretching to meet the roof which was an emerald green triangular structure with a coating that resembled the skin of some massive reptilian creature. Since night had fallen and they'd arrived in the less metropolitan area of Bastia, the lights that shined from both the street lanterns and the many windows of the inn gave the building an almost ethereal feel. Ceryll gave a nod of approval and knocked on the ornate piece of mahogany that acted as the inn's front door; moments later she and Amere were met with an odd-looking elf. He had black sclera that greatly contrasted with his gold irises and long white hair that almost reminded the woman of her own, but his pale skin almost glittered in the lamp light, leaving the two shelter seekers a bit perturbed.
"Yes?" he hummed, taking a puff of his long brown pipe.
"I want a room."
"What kind? We have many rooms, you need to be more specific." She rolled her eyes and pushed him out of her way to enter the almost magnificent inn.
"I want a regular room." Amere followed after her as the man grabbed a key from his hip.
"Feisty much." Muttered the man under his breath but Ceryll heard it.
"Don't take it too personally." Her reply was cold as she picked out a room from the booking list that sat on the long reception desk. While she waited for him to give her the key she took in the beauty of the interior design which was themed emerald green, and black with wooden accents. This paired with the romantic flickering of the candles made her heart flutter in admiration. On the other hand, the innkeeper who had no plans of giving her a key, ruined her gawking with a mocking laugh and pulled her into him by the waist.
"You're so rude Ms. I think I might have to ask you to leave unless you give me something worth my while." His hand lowered to slip through the slit of her skirt but she pulled out an odd device. It reminded him of a dart gun with a handle but the cold metal barrel staring back at him gave him the idea that this was much worse than that.
"I made this a few days back when I was experimenting with mechanics. Would you like to assist me in figuring out if it will effectively blow your brains out?" His hands were quick to fall from her body. "Good boy, now give me a key. Don't worry, I'll pay half the price of whatever you give me." He kissed his teeth and threw her a suite key. Amere was the one to catch it. "Now take me to my room."
"Isn't that a bit too much?" He raised one of his perfectly shaped brows at her. It made her want to gag. he was so much better kept than she was right now.
"If I had given you my body, I'm certain you would have no protests."
"But you didn't."
"Exactly, instead I'm giving you the right to live. Now walk." He groaned and begrudgingly began to walk up the first flight of stairs. The pair behind him laughed a bit.
"You two are cruel." He muttered causing Amere to stop laughing to look at the irritated elven man.
"Excuse me? I didn't even do anything. I even made sure not to speak because I didn't want to scare you. Ceryll is the cruel one here."
"You're affiliated with her so I don't exactly care too much."
"Ungrateful much?"
"It's hard to be grateful when you have an unfamiliar weapon pointed at the back of your head." The innkeeper was pissed, it was clear from the sarcasm in his tone but he knew he couldn't do anything about this. So he led them to their room and even opened the door for her to reveal a pristine green-themed room that had floors of stained black wood and a king-sized bed that was decorated with a matching quilt.
Ceryll replied with a satisfied nod and put away her weapon. "Thank you, my good sir." He groaned in response, slamming the door upon his exit.