"Welcome to Pallet town little doe."-Said Sara enthusiastically.
"I am so glad we are finally here, I haven't been able to take a bath for 4 days and my feet hurt."
"Yes I know how you feel, I haven't slept for almost a week."
"What? is that even possible?"- Rosalind replied in shock.
"For us mana users it is, also, as a tamer I have really high stamina."
"At this point, I should stop feeling impressed by you."
The two young ladies continued walking through the town's main street, It was already around 9 pm and most of the businesses were already closed, so they both headed to the local Inn. Sara and Rosalind entered the Inn and checked in at the counter.
"I need a room for two please, just for tonight, I also need two portions of warm water."
"Understood, you can use the last room on the second floor."- Said the manager handing her a key, in return Sara gave him 2 silver coins.
Sara and Rosalind went up to the second floor and entered the room, behind them was Splyce releasing his camouflage skill as he entered the room. Sara opened the room's window and faintly whistled, soon after Murder entered trough the window.
"Well, this room looks decent enough, the owner should be here soon with the bath water."
The room was fairly simple, two beds, a desk, and a small area with a stool used for bathing separated by a wooden panel.
"Are you sure there is no one else chasing us?"- Asked Rosalind, still not able to let her guard down.
"Yes little doe, I promise, you are safe now, we will spend the night here and tomorrow in the afternoon we will arrive at Ginger town, I promised your Dad I would return you to him, so relax okay?"
"Don't worry little girl, we are already far enough, by the time news of the hounds failure reaches the Baron we will be long gone."- Said Murder trying to reassure Rosalind.
"Graaawwr"-Splyce growled while nodding with his head, as if joining Murder's statement.
"Well, if you say so, I trust you."- Rosalind decided to put her faith in their words, and finally tried to relax.
"Toc, toc, your water is here."- It was the manager, he delivered two large buckets with warm water, and some clean cloths and towels.
"Thank you."- Sara received the buckets and placed them in the bathing area.
"You should go first little doe."
"Thank you Miss Sara."
Rosalind removed her clothes and sat on the stool, she submerged one of the cloths in the water bucket and cleansed her body with it, the warm water softened the dirt and rinsed her skin, Rosalind's fatigued body felt as if the stress acumulated over the past few days was finally washing away.
"Uhmm, Miss Sara, I just noticed but my clothes are too dirty to wear them again."
In reality, Rosalind's clothes were not just dirty, they were already torn in some places due to all the constant traveling through the woods, those were not clothes meant for traveling anyways.
"Yes, I thought this would happen, don't worry, I am always prepared."- Sara handed Rosalind a set of underwear; panties and a top similar to a sports bra.
"Thank you."- Rosalind accepted it gladly.
"I was actually hoping to arrive to town earlier to buy you new clothes, but we got delayed by those idiots, so we will have to wait until tomorrow morning."
"This is more than enough, but, I think there is a little problem."- Said Rosalind in a timid voice.
"What's wrong little doe?"
Rosalind came out of the bathing area wearing the borrowed underwear, her body finally came into view, Sara was mesmerized for a brief moment.
"Uhmm, you see, these clothes fit me a little bit, tight."- Rosalind's face reddended, she was obviously embarrased.
Even though Sara and Rosalind were both 15 years old, there was a clear difference in how their bodies were developing, one could say Rosalind was an early bloomer, her chest area was more developed as well as her hips, while Sara's complexion was more athletic due to her training, Rosalind's body had a more plump and soft appearance.
"It's okay little doe, there's no need to be embarrased; you should be proud, you are so beautiful you know that?"
"Ahmm, thank you."- Rosalind got even more flustered, to avoid being exposed any longer, she jumped into the bed and covered herself with the sheets.
"Well it's my turn now"- Sara entered the bathing area and did the same as Rosalind, after a few minutes, she came out also wearing only her underwear.
"Miss Sara, are you okay? weren't you injured before?"
Rosalind was expecting to see Sara's body covered with cuts and bruises, but to her surprise Sara's body was immaculate: clear white skin, beautiful blonde hair reaching to her shoulders, a well toned body with muscles clearly defined but still very feminine, and not a single scar on her body.
"Ah that? It's fine, I heal very quickly."- Sara said nonchalantly.
"Is that so? I didn't know dragons could heal that fast."
"It's getting late, I will tell you about it some other time, try to get some sleep."- Said Sara while rolling into her bed.
"Yes, thank you for everyting today."
"You are welcome little doe."
As an end to the conversation, Sara blew off the candle on the night stand and the room went dark, the only light present was coming from the moon outside the window. Splyce was curled up at the feet of Sara's bed, and Murder perched on top of him.
Rosalind stood there for a while laying down on the bed looking at the ceiling, she tried to get some sleep but she was still restless. Too many things had happened recently; she had been abducted, imprisoned and left to starve for three days, a mysterious person came to her rescue like a prince in shining armor and spent another day escaping and being hunted down. This was the first time for Rosalind experiencing so much violence and death, not to mention her first time fighting and hurting other people. In a sense, she was also responsible for some of those deaths even if she wasn't the one to deal the killing blow, with so many emotions and thoughts racing through her mind she could not sleep.
"Still unable to sleep?" -Sara's voice broke the silence in the room.
"No, there are too many things in my mind, and part of me still feels scared"
"If you are scared, why don't you come with me?"- Sara lifted her bed sheets with her arm, making a gesture as if inviting Rosalind to come in.
"Okay"- Rosalind stood up and accepted the invitation, she joined Sara under the bed sheets, the bed was a little small for two people, so they cuddled closely facing each other.
"You will be okay little doe, I will keep you safe, I promise."- Sara said while staring at Rosalind's eyes, her look and tone made her seem so dependable.
"By the way, why do you keep calling me little doe?"
"Because you are the founder of the White deer company, and also because you look so elegant and cute, do you not like it?"
"No, I like it."- Rosalind replied with a smile and closed her eyes.
In her mind, Rosalind kept thinking to herself 'This warmth, this scent, it makes me feel so safe.'- the young lady was finally able to fall asleep, until...
"Aaaaahhhhh"- A sobbing scream forced Rosalind to wake up, it was coming from right next to her, it was Sara.
"Mom, Dad, please don't, please no more, Deditoneum, Deditoneum."
Sara continued to scream while still asleep, the confident and fearless lady was nowhere to be seen.
"Miss Sara, are you okay? please wake up."- Rosalind tried to hold Sara as she was yelling and squirming, for a moment she saw Splyce at the foot of the bed also visibly shaking, whatever this was, It was being shared by their bond. A few moments later, something unexpected happened, Sara's beautiful blonde hair started to turned bright red, even some of her facial features started to change slightly, the only thing that remained unchanged was the strand of white hair over her forehead.
"It's okay little girl, don't try to wake her up, just keep holding her, talk to her."- Murder flew up to the head of the bed giving Rosalind instructions.
"Okay, I will."- Rosalind replied to Murder while holding Sara in her arms, still sobbing.
"Miss Sara, it's okay, I am here with you, please calm down."
Rosalind continued to hold Sara trying to confort her, but nothing seemed to work, until..
"Hmmmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm"- Rosalind started humming her lullaby while holding Sara firnly againts her chest.
Rosalind continued humming into Sara's ear, the vibrations from her chest helped to calm Sara and soon her sobbing finally stopped.
"Thank you so much little girl. This child hasn't been able to sleep this soundly for a long time, Thank you."- Said Murder expressing deep gratitude, then he went back to Splyce who had also stopped shaking.
As confused as she was, Rosalind knew her job wasn't yet done, she continued humming her lullaby and embracing Sara until she herself also fell asleep, and like that, their first night together came to an end.