A Small Glimpse Into Their Lives

Step, Step, Step. The sound of footsteps rings throughout the hall. A woman can be seen heading towards a room down the hallway. The woman opens it once reached, revealing a man lying on his bed sleeping. 

"Rio, are you awake yet?" The woman asks while walking up to him. His eyes open and close a couple of times before he looks over at the woman.

This woman is his maid, "Lily". Lily has already begun her morning routine. She makes breakfast, does the laundry, and cleans around the mansion all by herself. There are no maids or butlers aside from Lily.

"Good morning, Rio," She says. "Now, let's get you ready for today, we have a meeting with the mayor after all.

After dressing him, the woman guides him out of bed and into his wheelchair. "I've already made your breakfast, let's head over there shall we?" 

She places her hands on the handles of his chair as she begins to push him. They travel through the hallways and arrive at the kitchen. Waiting for them was a single plate of food freshly cooled off. The woman brings Rio to the table.

"Time to eat". 

The woman picks up a spoon beside the dish and gathers food. She moves the spoon towards Rio. After several attempts, he opens his mouth allowing her to feed him. "Does it taste good?" She asks. He doesn't answer. She continues to feed him until the bowl is empty.

Getting up from her seat, she picks up their dishes and leaves for the kitchen. After washing the dishes, Lily returns to Rio. "It's time to head out."

"I wonder what she wants to talk about?" Lily ponders. She readies their things and they head to the main door. Once there, she notices something hanging off to the side. "It might get a little cold today so I'll grab your coat."

She puts his coat onto him, then pauses for a second. "Cute", she whispers.

"Alright, let's go." She states. 

Lily and Rio exit the home, making their way to town. They rarely travel to town unless there's a good reason, as it takes about an hour to get there by foot.

They head down a dirt path through the forest, trees surrounding them. Dead leaves coat the ground as the sun peers through the tree branches above, leaving plenty of sunlight. This path is supposed to be safe from threats, but if there were any, Lily would take care of it. 

The chirp of birds can be heard throughout the forest, along with the squeaks of a wheelchair. Lily held a small smile on her face.

"It's a lovely day today isn't it, Rio," Lily says as she continues to push him down the path. "I hope you enjoy these walks as much as I do."

It was a quiet, relaxing, uneventful journey, something she had gotten used to recently. Lily didn't mind a peaceful life; she preferred it.

"There's the town Rio, only a little left."

They had just passed the exit of the forest, and the town was now in view. The buildings were made of wood and the town was surrounded by a tall stone wall. The only two places one could enter were at the gates located on opposite sides.

Two guards are posted at the front entrance, both wearing metal armor. One was standing proudly, clearly taking his job seriously, the other had his helmet off and was slumped over in his chair. 

Lily walks up to them with Rio. "May we be allowed entrance?" 

"Oh, It's you two!" The guard who was standing recognizes them. "You here to see the mayor?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"She wanted me to relay that she would be 2 hours late for your meeting together." 

"Is that so?" 

"Sorry for the inconvenience." The guard lowers his head.

"It's fine." Lily shakes her hand in the air. "We'll just wait for her then."

With a quick farewell, the guard lets them pass the gate. "Let's look around while we pass the time."

Lily and Rio start roaming the streets of the town. Buildings made with a mix of stone and wood line the road, with each having some sort of stand in front of them. Some are merchant stands selling fruits and vegetables, others are selling armor and weapons.

Strings stretched between the buildings holding celebratory marks, confetti lining the floor, and balloons tied up at many different stands.

"Must have been a festival recently," Lily says, scanning her environment. "Maybe they have some sort of discount?"

"Ah, right you are!" A man speaks up from a shop off to the side. "50% off everything we own until tomorrow!"

This shop sells expensive jewelry/ornaments and is located right by an ally. The man is wearing a black coat and has a weird look in his eye. 

This seems suspicious, but the discount peaks Lily's interest. "Rio, would you like something?" Rio remains silent.

They move right up to the stand and Lily starts browsing. There's a vast variety of items, but after a while, three manage to take Lily's interest. The first is a diamond necklace with gold lining. The second is a sapphire ring with a silver band. The third is a two-set of a silver and a gold wristband.

"Having trouble picking? I recommend-." The man was interrupted. 

"I'll take these." Lily picks up the wristbands. 

"Oh! Good choice." He rubs his chin.

Lily pays for the items and leaves with Rio. Hearing a "come again" from the shopkeeper, she glances back for a second, only to see 2 men in the alley dash off into the shadows. It was so quick that Lily questioned whether she even saw anything or not. 

"I'm happy we've got those wristbands. I think it'll be good for us both." Lily says with a smile. 

For the rest of the time left, Lily takes Rio around to different places. Weapon stands, food stands, taverns, they went to whatever caught her eye. One specific place was the "heavenly tavern", where the owner brags about how better his place is than all the others. People who dine at this establishment love the food/drinks but never recommend it because of how smug he is.

Lily heard Rio's stomach growl and decided to stop and get some food. Once they entered, a waiter led them to their table.

"What would you like, Rio?" Lily holds up a menu. "I think we should get the chef's special. What do you think about that?"

After a little while the waiter returns with an "Are you ready to order?" Lily turns to him "Yes, we'll have the chef's special please." 

"Alright, it will be done soon." The waiter says before leaving.

"It's good to have dinners like this now and then," Lily says.

15 minutes later, the waiter returns, this time with their food. "Here you go, I hope you'll enjoy it," he says with a smile on his face. "Thank you," Lily replies.

"Okay, time to eat now." Lily starts to feed him, but in the background, she starts to hear customers gossip. 

"Did you hear about what they did this time?" A man questions his friend.

"What? Did they steal some random guy's stuff" The friend replies sarcastically.

"No, they killed a guy right after he got into town."

"Why?"

"People say he was spotted buying something expensive and was killed right after."

"So, they only go after wealthy people? I'm fine then."

"They're more dangerous than that!" The first guy states.

"Ah, who cares, just let me eat." The second guy dismisses him. 

"Fine, but keep an eye out."

"Are they really that dangerous?" Lily thought, still feeding Rio. While distracted, she accidentally spills some soup on him. "Ah, sorry!"

"Enough time should have passed, let's hurry to the meeting now." After finishing their meals, Lily and Rio head to the city hall.

The two arrive at the city hall in the middle of town. It was a big building that you couldn't miss. Lily walks up to the receptionist.

"We're here to meet the mayor," Lily asks.

"Alright, Ms. Rin's office is on the other side of the building to the top right. The door has a sign so you'll be able to find it." The receptionist responds.

"We know where it is, we've met her before." 

"Oh, sorry I'm new to the job."

"No problem, thanks anyway."

Lily/Rio move through the hallways until they reach the office. Once they enter, they see a woman with blonde hair sitting in a chair behind her desk. She was holding papers but dropped them as soon as she noticed the two.

"You made it," she says with a smile. "I'm sorry I was late I had some business to attend to."

Lily brings Rio up to the desk and then sits down herself.

"That's alright, it lets us have some time to walk around town," Lily says. "On another note, what did you need us for?"

"Well, I'll just get to the point," Rin states. "I found a way to cure Han"

"What...?" Lily's face drops in surprise.

"It's not guaranteed," Rin warns. "But there is a good chance."