The young knight and the girl riding the horse together stopped before the inn. It was already close to midnight, and the next city could be reached only by the morning. He decided to stop for a night and get the rooms, but the girl was sleeping peacefully, making it difficult to open her eyes.
"Wake up…!" He shook with her gently, but she wouldn't budge. Not knowing what to do, he leaned closer to her earlobe and whispered her name.
"Arianell."
The girl abruptly opened her eyes, after hearing the name of the body she possessed. It must be a mistake, right? She never told the stranger her name, nor did he ask for her identity, so she surely misheard.
"Mister… Where are we?" She looked around confused.
"You wanted to go to the next city… We must get a room now before it's too late," he explained briefly after dismounting the horse. After thinking for a while, he took off his cloak and put it on her. The girl's silver hair was too eye-catching.
"Uhuh…" She was grateful that the man helped her, so she followed him without a doubt.
The older man dozing off behind the counter woke up startled when the bell above the door rang. Two late-night travellers came inside, one man and one woman.
"Two rooms, please," the man asked after putting a pouch of coins on the table.
The inn's worker seized them up and was slightly confused. The man looked like a knight, which wasn't uncommon, but he was accompanied by the young girl hidden under the hood. She was holding onto him tightly like she was afraid of the world.
The noble lady running away with her knight, after their family disapproved of their relationship, wasn't a rare case at all, and the worker has encountered a fair amount of such couples. He chuckled to himself, thinking how long they would stay together before they were either caught and dragged back, or one side gave up due to hardship.
"Bad luck tonight, we only have one room left. Will you take it?"
Arianell's hand trembled slightly. Sharing the room just after their meeting was too much even for an open-minded person like her, who came from the modern world. And she was saying this from the position of someone, who lived almost 30 years in a modern society where apps like LoveFinder were the common way of meeting among her peers.
"I will stay in the stable, then," the knight said without thinking about it much. He left the coins for the room on the table and gestured her to go upstairs, while he was prepared to spend a night outside.
"Wait a moment!" The girl panicked. Staying in the same room was a bad idea, but what if he just disappeared in the morning, leaving her behind? Technically, she only asked for his help to get to the next city, if he abandoned her now, she couldn't even complain.
"Mister, are you planning on leaving by yourself?" She asked while clutching his arm.
His face hadn't changed much, but his blue eyes showed a slight surprise. He simply shook his head, assuring her, they would meet again in the morning.
"I don't… believe you! We must stay together…!"
The man froze momentarily, thinking about her ambiguous words. Was that girl lacking in common sense between men and women? If someone else listened to her, they might get the wrong idea.
The inn's worker stood behind the counter, watching the scene with amusement. His thumb raised as he cheered on her: 'Good job, girl! Hold onto your man!'
The knight sighed inwardly, finally agreeing to join her upstairs, but it was hard to keep a stone face when the tips of his ears burned with crimson colour. Arianell followed him to the room but regretted her brazenness as soon as they opened the door.
The room was small, and the bed was tiny. There is no way two persons not in that kind of relationship can share that space together.
"I'm … sorry," she uttered weakly, as the shame finally hit her.
But the knight strode in like he didn't mind and put his sword on the table. He then sat down on the floor, his back facing the sleeping space.
"Take a bed. I won't move from here, so do not worry and rest," he said in a low voice.
"Uhm, but what about you? Where will you sleep?"
"I will be fine even without any sleep for several days…"
For a brief moment, she saw the corners of his lips moving up slightly like he was amused by her sudden care.
Arianell stood there with her mouth agape. He was handsome with that stoic expression, but when he smiled, it was like a gift sent by gods to bring happiness to mortals.
"By the way, mister… How should I call you?"
His deep blue eyes flickered the unsettled feelings before answering.
"Luan."
The name that means the moon, so fitting to their meeting tonight.
"Oh, mine is…" the girl stopped mid-sentence. Her soul's and the body's name didn't match, so what was she supposed to say? "My name is Nella. Please call me Nella."
She decided to use the shortened version of her new name instead.
"Mmm," Luan nodded in acknowledgement, sitting back down in the place he promised to stay.
Arianell lay down and hugged her pillow tightly, as she watched the man's back. There was only a small candle in the room, so all she could see was a dark, unmoving silhouette.
'Will this be okay?' She wondered.
Despite her look right now, she was almost 30 years old inside. An ordinary office worker named Suin, who was slaving her youth away in one of the major corporate companies back in her world. Just a day before, she was returning home late, because one of her superiors dumped all the left-over work on her because he was rushing out to join the dinner with higher-ups.
She remembered drinking a bit, as she was depressed with her life, but everything was blank after the few shots. The next thing she realized was waking up in a new body.