As they headed into the inn, Jeremy made sure to keep the innkeeper and arm's length away from him and Lael. His actions visibly disgruntled the man who decided to shift his attention to Arilla, ultimately ignoring the others.
"Now what do we have here? A slum rat?" his eyes shifted to the gun in her hands, surprise flickered across his face. Landers placed his hand on the man's shoulder and whispered something. Stepping back, he then patted it firmly and marched off.
The innkeeper eyes narrowed as he turned to look at Arilla, then he headed back inside. "Shut the door when you come in."
Deciding to think about the exchange later, she scurried inside and with a little effort, shut the door. She turned back and stared dazed at the difference between outside and inside.
It looked like a modern bed and breakfast, there was a huge dining table in the center of the room. Multiple people were seated around the table. The room was filled with lively chatter as they amicably passed food between each other.
Along the walls were couches, and there was a bar at the corner of the room. Arilla took note of the more intimidating and quiet individuals that were seated there, observing the room.
Realizing that she was being left behind, she glanced around. Catching a glimpse of Zara's red hair, she hurried towards it, wondering if she was part of the group because of her distinctive hair color.
Heading up the stairs, she soon caught up to them, panting with exhaustion. Lael turned to her, and nodded his head toward the innkeeper who was standing below. She stared at him, then turned back to Lael who mouthed to her, 'Come to Jeremy's room later tonight.'
He continued walking, as she stood there, still confused. An employee walked up to her and ushered her round the corner to one of the rooms farthest from the main lobby. She handed her a hunk of dry bread and a broken cup filled with water, "This is the best we can offer. You'd better ration it well."
Arilla stared after her fading back with interest. Although the bread seemed small, hidden in the middle were dried pieces of meat. 'It seems like something's going on tonight…The question is if Lael is trying to trap me or help me.'
Deciding to worry about that when it came to it, she looked down at her still bandaged feet. The cloth had been ironed into her flesh by the heat of the gate. Wincing internally, she tried to weigh the pro's and the cons of removing the wrappings.
She finally slumped back onto the bare floor of the empty room. It was cold and barely lit up by the light from the hallway. 'If I was scared of ghosts, I'd probably get a heart attack here.' She mused as she listened to the sounds of the wind whistling across the chimney.
'What time do I go there anyway?' she sighed at Lael's vague instructions. Lifting the gun, she removed the magazine and put her pinky in. Feeling the bullet, she sighed again, 'He really did give me a loaded gun.'
Closing her weary eyes, she listened to the faint chatter of people and clinking of plates. Gradually, the sounds faded away until she could hear nothing. Taking in the stillness of the night, she sat up and carefully pushed the door close, relieved that it wasn't creaky.
The lights all went off, and loud footsteps echoed in the halls, as someone went around making sure that all doors were closed before leaving. 'Why are they checking on their guests?' she waited until she could hear nothing before opening her door a crack and slipping out. She left her gun and bread tucked in a corner of the room, only taking her pike with her.
Silently crawling with her body as close to the wall as possible, Arilla traced back the path that took her to her bedroom until she got to the room Lael had gone into. 'Wait a second…Where's Jeremy staying?'
Swallowing down her growing frustration, she carefully looked under the doors near Leal's room until she finally found one with the lights on. She lay her head on the ground and listened to the quiet conversation.
"Lael it's you or the child, pick one." It was Zara, and she sounded incredibly smug as she spoke. "Or do you think we'd get to stay here for free? This is not the old world you know?"
There was a scoff and a growl, "And would you happen to know anything about the old world?" Lael replied, his tone casual.
"Do you? Anyway, all the girl did was slow us down… We might as well make some profit instead of losses."
Another scoff, "And how do you suggest we make a profit off her?"
"This Is why you're an Idiot…" replied Zara disdainfully, "didn't I just say that the Innkeeper wants either you or the child?"
Arilla gritted her teeth, 'This woman…I knew she was bad news!', forcing herself to stay put, she pulled out her pike, tightening her grip on it. "Fine then…We'll give her to him." Jeremy growled out angrily.
There was a giggle, then someone moved toward the door. Startled, Arilla started to crawl away quickly, accidentally dropping her pike. She quickly grabbed onto the tip and hobbled back to her room.
'Thank goodness I didn't take the gun…This could've been a disaster.' Her heart thudded desperately as she closed the door to her room.
She closed her eyes as she lay down on the floor exhausted. Trying to gather the will to move as her eyes burned with tears once more. 'I'm so tired…It hurts.' Her shallow breaths were hot against her arm as she tried to push herself up.
'I have to move... I have to leave tonight!' She dragged herself to her weapon and rations, her limbs heavy and trembling with the effort. Propping herself against the wall, she pulled out the dried meat from the bread and tore another piece of her shirt. She folded the meat inside and tied it tightly to her belt loop so as not to lose the precious food.
With fumbling fingers, she tucked the cool metal of the gun into the band of her trousers. "I have to leave tonight..." she muttered as she finished preparing, relief trickling through her at the thought of escaping this place. Her vision blurred, the darkness pulling her out of consciousness despite her struggle.