Chapter 41

The cold air grew evermore unwelcoming, causing the crowd to inevitably shrink. As the two walked further down the road, Anya noticed the shift in atmosphere. No longer were they amidst the busied merchants of the vibrant marketplace but the quieter company of the still plenty, introverted bypassers. The bright lights ceased to shine an opulent white, instead, they became a menacing and seductive red. Scantily clad women idled at various intervals throughout the streets. Every once in a while, eager men approached them; some obtained the ladies’ company through veiled exchanges while others scurried off after a brief barter.

The child stared at them with curious eyes, to which Emma quickly oppressed by turning the girl’s head back toward the center. Anya tried to browse shops with the strange neon-colored signs, however, Emma quickly pulled the girl away. Although the city was one of the same, it felt completely different. Before, the exotic scents mixed erratically within the marketplace. As one approached a stand, the respective scent grew exponentially, signaling the product before one even had the chance to lay eyes upon it. In this district, however, the smell was fairly consistent: a mixture of bitter smoke and liquor that, to Anya at least, displeased the nose.

“Where are we…?” Anya asked. Her head swayed side to side as her eyes took in the sight.

With her hand atop of the child’s head, Emma forcefully faced Anya forward once again. “Somewhere you really shouldn’t be.”

Frustrated, the girl puffed her cheeks. “Then why are we here?!”

Emma sighed, her voice laced with a tone of defeat. “Because we’re going to be staying here.”

“Is… there something wrong with this place…?”

“Yes- well… you’ll understand once you get older.”

A light bulb suddenly blinked in Anya’s head. “Wait!” she said, as she stopped and turned around to face Emma. “Is this…” the girl’s eyes began to squint. “Is this one of those secret adult things?”

Surprised, Emma was briefly taken aback before regaining composure. “Secret adult things… yeah… I guess you can put it that way.”

Hmph! Huffed Anya, chest puffed pompously with satisfaction. “I’m not a kid anymore, I’ve read about these things before in my mom’s journal.”

“Your mom’s journal?”

“Yep! She had all sorts of things in there! Although… Daddy did scratch a bunch of them out when he saw them…”

“All sort of things… Dare I ask what?”

“Well, I’m not sure what they all meant, but Daddy did get really flustered when I showed him the part … What was it…? Something about doing the dirty.”

“Alright, you can stop right there, I don’t need to hear any more.” Emma ushered the child to continue moving as they stood in the middle of the road. After a short while, the woman muttered to herself, “What kind of woman writes that stuff down?”

“My mom!” the girl responded suddenly, eyes filled with resolve. “My mom does!”

“Right…” A moment of awkward silence forewarned of what was to come. Emma knew that the child was curious, so it was only a matter of time before…

“May I ask a question?” Anya voiced, with the tips of her fingers pointed together.

“Is it about the stuff in the journal?”

The child answered with a slight nod.

“No.”

“Eh?! Why?”

“We’re not going to have this talk right now.” The woman quickened her pace for a short moment before drawing the girl’s attention to a massive construct to the right. Anya wowed upon spotting the scene, her sparkling eyes shined with amazement.

It was a tall and colossal structure that rose up and pierced the void-ridden skies. A large, well-kept sign hung proudly in front of the grand entrance, bolted with large formations of steel to the building. Instead of obnoxious neon lights, the establishment opted for a classier form of illumination such as refurbished street lights and less potent spotlights. Its surface was not walls of concrete but of deep blue glass. Although some of the panels were cracked or shattered and others were missing, the display was impressive nonetheless.

Once inside, the atmosphere completely changed. The red hue that hovered the streets was absent, replaced by a comforting yellow-white. Toward the center was a large and well-decorated counter made of shining marble, staffed by a single man in a suit. As the two approached the reception, Anya noticed the rest of the residents of this luxury lounge. Separated into small groups, they seemed to be lost in their own bubble of conversation. They were not loud, thus the child could not make out the subjects of their conversations.

Everyone was adorned in fancy clothing. If there were any patches in the sewing, they were hidden well enough to be essentially unnoticeable. Some wore strange masks that covered only their eyes, a quick headcount of the masked ones showed that they were mostly women.

The two neared the desk and the sound of their steps reached the receptionist’s ears. He looked up from his record book and twisted his expression to a subtle, disapproving frown.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, “but if you wish to work in this establishment, you must conform to the hotel’s dress code.” The man glanced briefly at the little girl and his hand pressed tightly against the stack of masks situated on the table. “And we only allow for girls of ages sixteen and up, please try with another establishment.”

While Anya was lost in confusion upon hearing the man’s words, Emma seemed unamused. She tossed the sapphire card from under her cloak onto the counter, to which the man stared blankly for a brief moment before realizing the situation.

“I-I apologize,” he said while bowing, “forgive my rudeness, since lately, there have been a lot of-”

“I didn’t ask,” Emma disrupted in a stern and commanding voice.

“O-Of course, I didn’t mean to… um…” The man was at a loss for words, he bowed once more before he could gather his thoughts. He looked through his notebook and returned the sapphire card. “Your room is on the fourteenth floor, number 1438. Do you require any assistance with your belongings?…”

Before he finished, Emma had already passed the counter with the child following closely behind.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Of-of course. Please notify us if you require anything. Please enjoy your stay.”

Ignoring the man, Emma and Anya delved deeper into Decadence.

Before long the child began to speak.

“Are we really going to climb fourteen floors?” questioned the disheartened girl.

The question prompted a slightly confused stare from the woman.

“No.”

They arrived at a set of metal doors. A brief moment after pressing a button, a door opened, revealing a small room on the other side. Anya followed Emma inside the cramped chamber, all the while wondering what they were doing. The shaking and soft screeching frightened the child, but soon, the doors opened again, revealing a completely different scenery.

Anya stood, bewildered, curiously glaring at her surroundings as they exited the small compartment.

“Are you alright, Anya?”

“Where…” the child whispered, “where are we?”

“What… what do you mean?” Realizing that this may have been Anya’s first time riding the elevator, she quickly approached to reassure the girl. “We’re on the fourteenth floor of the same building.”

“That quickly?! How?!”

“The small room we came out of is called an ‘elevator’, and it allows for quick vertical travel.”

Anya furrowed her brow and positioned her hand on her chin, as if in deep thought.

“So this is what the rich people use…” she whispered to herself.

It took a few twists and turns to arrive at the actual room. The walk was not enough to rouse any real complaints, but just enough for Anya to ask whether they could just use a horizontal elevator instead.

Once at the door that matched their number, a simple wave of the keycard opened the lock. The room was initially dark, but a flick of a switch immediately turned on all of the lights.

“This is…” muttered Anya, “this is amazing!” The child ran around the room, checking its various furnishings, intrigued by the many contraptions she had never seen before.

Being on the fourteenth floor, it was expected that the room would be chilly, however, the air conditioning quickly addressed the issue.

After some exploration, Anya stood still, staring at the lofty, white, king-sized bed.

“Why don’t you try it?” Emma asked, having noticed the child’s gaze. She then began to undress, tossing her cloak aside onto the nearby sofa before removing her plated armor, piece by piece.

“I’m dirty right now…” muttered the girl.

“...” Emma continued to remove her clothing until only her white undergarments remained. Then, she entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. “Let’s get you cleaned then, come in here!”

Anya quickly walked toward the bathroom, removing her cloak along the way. When she arrived at the door, the child was only wearing her black-bowed dress. A tiny dark red stain displayed itself at the hem of the dress. An expression of fear and worry revealed itself as the girl slowly passed the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“My… “ the child said reluctantly.

“Your tail?” The woman turned off the water and removed the rest of her clothing before entering the curtained bathtub. “I’ve seen it once already anyway, just get in here.”

Anya did as she was told but tightly gripped onto her tail to avoid any accidents. Emma was curious about the texture of the scaly black tail but refrained from making the girl uncomfortable. Once the shower knob was twisted, water immediately sprayed out. At first, the girl stood silently with her head tilted toward the ground, but after a short spray of the shower, the child began to shake and sniffle.

“Anya… What’s wrong…?”

The girl’s soft cries became more audible, mixing in with the sound of water splashing against the bathtub’s smooth surface. Anya shook her head and responded with a fractured voice.

“N...Nothing…”

“Then…?”

“...”

“Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“It’s… it’s just that… th… the water… the water’s soo warm…” Quickly, the girl rubbed her eyes. Although she held back the best she could, her delicate cries still interlaced with the calming tunes of the streaming water.

Emma turned off the water and motioned the girl to sit down. She kneeled down behind Anya before massaging foaming shampoo into Anya’s hair. As the dirt was scrubbed from the whimpering girl’s hair, the woman felt a subtle pain that grew in her chest with each huff. It took a while before she became comfortable enough to speak normally.

“Hey… Anya…”

“Y-yeah…?”

“Your hair, it’s beautiful.”

Surprised by the sudden compliment, Anya accidentally allowed the residual soap to flow into her eyes.

Gak! The child shouted, “Soap! My eyes! It burns!”

Emma ran the faucet, allowing Anya to wash her face before cutting the water flow.

The girl heard soft giggles behind her and thus found herself to smiling as well. Once her eyes were cleared, she found herself to no longer be crying. That, or she just could not distinguish between the water or tears that dripped from her face.

“Emma…”

“Yes, Anya?”

“Did… Did you really mean that…?”

“Yes, and your skin… it’s like porcelain. To be honest, it makes me kind of jealous.”

Anya immediately turned around, both hands still vehemently grasping her tail.

“Your hair is beautiful too! And your skin-” The child’s eyes unintentionally focused themselves onto a faded bullet wound around Emma’s abdomen. Then they shifted to the dirty, drenched bandages on the woman’s arm. “Your skin… it’s pretty too.”

Letting out a smile after a quick sigh, Emma ruffled the child’s hair and handed her a bar of soap.

“Wash your own body, I’ll help you with the places you can’t reach.”

It did not take long before Anya was cleaned and kicked out of the bathroom. Draped in the complementary soft towels, she glanced at her pile of dirty clothing.

“Hmmm…”

Anya did not want to wear her dirty clothes right after she had been cleaned, however, she disliked being naked just as much. Thus, she decided to snuggle herself underneath the bed sheets as a compromise. The bed was incredibly soft, the child felt like she was laying in between two separate but equally comfortable clouds. She grabbed the cool, puffy pillow and laid her face in it, experiencing a bliss she had never felt before. She retracted her head back under the blanket and rolled around until she was satisfied, careful that her tail did not slice into anything. The girl stuck her head out and laid it atop the pillow, pieces of her still wet hair stuck onto her face. It was then that the sudden sleepiness struck her. Unable to resist the temptations of a long overdue slumber, her heavy eyelids slowly closed and shortly after, her consciousness was wisped away by the artificial breeze.

***

With a turn of the knob, the stream of warm water ceased. Using one of the many provided towels, Emma dried her body before attempting to dry her hair. A blow dryer sat around the sink, but it was noisy and unpleasant to use, so she decided against it. Before leaving, she made sure to turn off all unnecessary light and appliances, as they were being charged for the power usage. Afterward, the woman left the bathroom wearing only the towel on her head to check up on the unusual quietness.

“Anya, at least pile your clothing off to the side-”

The girl laid passed out on the bed, half covered by the sheets.

“Not much for modesty, are you?” Emma adjusted the coverings over the child first before picking up the scattered articles left behind. Everything was placed in the provided laundry bag, then it was left outside the suite with a tag containing the room number attached.

From under the bed, a large metal suitcase was extracted. Its locks clicked open once the proper passcodes were inputted. Inside was extra ammunition for her weapon along with a pouch filled with coins and an encrypted communicator. She placed the earpiece on her ear and extended the microphone. As the communicator booted up, Emma moved into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Placing her finger on the earpiece, she waited until the confirmation beep sounded before she spoke.

“This is Paladin Emma, checking in.”

“...”

“This is Paladin Emma, checking in.”

“Ah! Yes!” Noises of toppling electronics could be heard over the radio. “Sorry! This is Scout Lia, I’m reading you loud and clear.” More strange shuffling noises followed. “Wai- sto- I’m- one whose … report.”

“What’s going on there? Report in.”

“...” Sounds of static and scuffling continued for a few seconds longer.

“What’s the situation?! Report in!”

“He-hello? This is Knight Henrick.”

Upon hearing his voice, Emma placed her palm on her forehead as she had a rough idea of what went on from the other side.

“Paladin Emma! How is everything? Did you get everything you-”

“If there is nothing more, then I am going to get some rest.”

“Wait! Wait! There is an urgent order from command!”

Emma stopped short of disconnecting the comm-link.

“Urgent orders? What do you mean?”

“Well, we didn’t have the clearance, so command didn’t give us the details. But they told us that they need to speak with you as soon as possible. You are required back at the outpost immediately!”

“...” Emma could not mutter an answer, for her heart dropped. A feeling of solemn despair encompassed her, and her mind was in shambles.

“Paladin…? Do you read me? Paladin Em-”

“Understood, I will be there soon.” Emma disconnected the comm-link and removed the earpiece. Her body felt numb as she pressed her head against the mirror in front of her. She knew that this day would come, but she did not imagine that it would arrive so soon.

“Damnit…” she muttered.

As the towel loosened and fell to the floor, she was met with the image of a woman soaked in anguish, an image she had forgotten. Emma pushed herself away from the sink and picked up the towel.

She was a Paladin of the Order, the weight she bared on her shoulders was heavy, but it was still hers. Her only lament, the fact that she did not prepare for this sooner. She knew what she needed to do. Though Emma hoped that her absence would be brief, she understood that it was not likely. Gently, she sat on the bed where Anya joyously slept. The child had spread out her limbs across the bed, ensuring that there was little space for anyone else to utilize. With her hand, Emma stroked Anya’s hair and parted it away from her face. The soft breathing calmed the women's distressed heart and in its place surfaced a somber smile.