Chapter 7: Lance and Ana (1)
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"Miss Flori, miss Flori, can I have one of those?" Ana pointed at a small wooden doll in the form of a cat. The shopkeeper smiled gently at the girl and urged Rose to get closer. While she could not deny the cuteness of the crafted animal, the price tag on it took a lot of its attractiveness away. Rose had quite a bit of money, which she had anonymously received not long after the letter, so she could easily buy it if she wanted to. However, it was still way too expensive for its worth, so Rose decided to distract Ana with something else.

"Hey, look at that over there, didn't mister Sam promise you one of those?" A bit further down the street, an ice cream stand stood out from the rest. She had heard that ice cream was not very common on this side of the continent, and it surprised Rose a little that she had managed to easily find a store out of nowhere. While they were walking towards it, a second one popped out in the distance. "Never trust the words of a drunk adventurer, I guess..." She mumbled to herself. It seemed like people in this city loved ice cream as much as everyone else in the continent.

Because winter had just begun, there were not many people in line to get one. She and Ana were quickly standing in front of the merchant.

"Which ice would you like, young girl?" He asked politely.

"I uh... Want strawberry! And raspberry! And another strawberry!" 

"Oh my, you have a big appetite!" He turned towards me. "Is that okay?"

Rose nodded. After such a journey, it's the least she deserved. The merchant scooped the ice on a horn and gave it to the little girl. She looked pleased at the big tower of sweetness, then slowly started to gobble it down. 

After she had paid, Rose took the free hand of the girl and continued down the road. She was blindly following Ana's instructions towards her home. The little girl seemed to be familiar with the town, so Rose had no reason to doubt her. Moreover, she would probably get lost on her own even if she knew where the destination was. She already had a lot of trouble in the little town before, so in an actual city her non-existent sense of direction would prove a disaster...

They passed by a lot of different stores, displaying a variety of unique items: little sculptures, artwork, floor tiling patterns,... One shop even sold complete architectural concepts for buildings. Most of them were in one way or another related to handicraft, mostly with earthly materials. She'd heard that the majority of the population in this region was proficient in using the earth element, and that clearly showed in the products. All the crafts were extremely detailed, up to the point that it would be nearly impossible for a human without earth prana to be able to make something even remotely close.

As they went further down the road, the frequency of the shops dropped. The air became heavier and Rose felt it had gotten harder to breathe. They had come close to a few factories, which pumped out tons of dirty gasses into the air, polluting the area around it. A lot of normal houses were positioned in between them, indicating that there were a lot of normal people living in this area as well. Rose couldn't imagine how unhealthy it must be for these people to live here...

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't encountered many people on her way here. While it was already late in the morning, she had assumed to see a lot more in the streets. But it seemed they were either all at home, or all at work. It probably was a lucky coincidence for Rose, considering she was still walking around with those ripped clothes. She had already felt the gazes even with the little amount of people. If there had been many more, her embarrassment might've taken over her mind and she might've ended up getting lost while escaping the masses... She hadn't encountered a clothing shop and the spares she had, got destroyed when their carriage got blown up. The first thing she was going to do after she'd delivered Ana to this sir Lance, was going out on a shopping trip before it became more crowded.

Ana guided her through the labyrinth of roads, until they finally stopped before a big building. It was positioned in front of the wall Rose had seen before, at the far left edge of the city. Other than most of the common building around the area, this one seemed to have a more majestic feel to it. Not as grand as the ones on the other side of the city, yet clearly a sign that this was no ordinary building. There were two guards in front of the door, who immediately let them through as soon as they saw Ana. The inside of the building was even more majestic than the outside.

They had entered a big hall, decorated with plenty of elegant sculptures, paintings and even a small fountain. A couple of people, dressed in maid-like attires, were running around from one room to another. At the end of the room, there was a big stair, splitting in two at the end. It all looked like an out-of-position noble's house.

One of the maids came towards the two and guided them further down the hall. She told them to wait and went upstairs. While Rose was staring at her surroundings, Ana didn't seem particularly impressed. She had probably been here plenty of times before.

"Does miss Flori like this place?" She asked Rose, after noticing her astonishment.

"It's... amazing! Do you live here, Ana?"

"No, but mister Lance does. He often lets me come and play."

"I see! Your parents must be really good friends with mister Lance, then!"

"..." Ana's face darkened. Rose immediately realized she had pushed upon a touchy subject. It seemed Ana's relationship with her parents wasn't as great as she had subconsciously assumed. Luckily, just at that moment, an elegant young man appeared on the stairs and addressed them.

"Ana, my sweet! I cannot believe you came back so soon! I know mister Lance is beautiful and irresistible, but you can't just come here on your own. You know how dangerous this city is..."

Ana's face darkened even further, probably aware he was speaking the truth. Lance cheered her back up in no time.

"But it does not matter anymore. I'm glad you're here safe. Your clothes look dirty, miss Talina will give you a bath and a proper new attire. Also, she has just finished her duties today, so she can play with you if you want!" He turned his head towards the maid waiting behind him. Rose could see a small wink, after which the maid graciously bowed, walked towards the enthusiastic Ana and took her upstairs. 

After they were gone, Lance approached Rose. 

"Beautiful lady, I assume you are the one who brought her here?" He walked graciously towards her and kissed her on the hand. Rose felt her heart race. This guy did not only have good looks and elegance, he also seemed very caring and polite. She was sure there wasn't a single girl in this world who wouldn't be swayed by this men's charms.

"I-I-I... You're too close..." Out of all the possible moments, this was the one her mind decided to break down. She was completely moving on auto-pilot now.

"My apologies for my rudeness, my lady. I did not want to surprise you. What is your name?"

"R-R... I mean, Flori" She almost slipped her real name.

"It's a pleasure, lady Flori. My name is Lance vi Allonia. I am the head of the third district and protector of the weak. Please, call me Lance."

Rose nodded absently, but didn't find the energy to answer. She feared her rudeness would get her kicked out, but luckily Lance seemed to have noticed her mental condition.

"Your garments are in an even worse condition than Ana's and you seem fatigued as well. I can assume it has not been an easy trip. As a reward for bringing Ana here, my maids will take care of you. We can talk as soon as you are awake. Then, my lady, if you would excuse me..."

He directed a few maids in the hall towards her, then went upstairs. Rose was left alone in the middle of a huge building, surrounded by about five maids. They guided her through a series of rooms and hallways, until she finally ended up in a bathroom. They took off her clothes one by one, ignoring the weak struggles Rose managed to put through. They then forced her into a warm bath filled with rose leaves and a lavender fragrance. The maids slowly cleaned her body from tip to toe, not missing a single spot. Rose had never felt so clean before when she left the room, dressed with a linen bath robe and a pair of slippers.

After that, one maid guided her from the bathroom to a chamber. In the center of it, a princess-like bed took a big part of the available space. Around the bed, there were some elegant drawers, desks and closets. A pastel pink color turned the whole room into an assembly of cuteness and comfort. The maid guided her through the door, towards the bed. She told her to lie down, and Rose followed her command without a single shred of doubt. She was way too tired to think straight about her absurd situation. The maid finally took a thick blanket and put it over her, after which she left the room.

It was silent and dark. Rose had been up for about thirty hours which, combined with the fight she'd put up against the wolves and the prana she'd continuously used to drive the carriage, had drained every single cell in her body. The warm bed embraced her with his arms, telling her to let her worries rest for now. The image of her sister crossed her mind once in some kind of protest, but she did not have any energy left to expand that thought. Finally, Rose conceded under the softness of the blanket, which guided her to the land of dreams and memories.

Aaaaaah, I wanna be there too, if only I could jump into Lance's/Rose's body... This chapter and the next ones will be a bit slower, drawing a better image of the city and some characterization of the main/side characters. In return, they might also be a bit shorter than the previous ones since the breakpoints are easier to set. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy the chapters!

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