True to the innkeeper's word, our beds are nicer than they look. They’re not large by any stretch of the imagination, but the spring mattresses must be packed with a pretty alright material because they’re very soft to lay in. Thank goodness I haven't had to deal with a fur blanket piled on stone or sheets stuffed with hay or anything crazy like that. Just normal, modern-style beds that make metal squeaking sounds when you bounce on them.

The last thing on our agenda tonight are baths. The faucets that run around the building have hot water runes, so our money was going to be put to good use at least. Gathering the buckets and tubs we will be using goes quick with three people, and in short order we're just about all set.

Deirdre sends me outside first, while Liv is getting her bath ready. The plan was to take turns; as much as we all want to luxuriate, having to take them in shifts meant we should be speedy. With how tired I felt and how Liv and Deirdre likely felt too, it wouldn’t be hard to make them quick and to the point. After the bath, I’d be able to touch that cozy beckoning bed as much as I wanted, and Deirdre wouldn’t even get upset with me for getting it dirty.

We weren’t going to stand in the hallway or anything; the inn had a tavern space downstairs for us to linger in. I doubt any of us would drink. Maybe Liv and that honey mead she likes, but Deirdre and I don't have the tolerance for drinking after a day like today. Still, I am waiting for Deirdre, which is weirdly taking a long time. Is she sharing her soaps with Liv or something? No, Deirdre wouldn't do that, not if it might leave her soapless so far from home.

Finally, the door opens and Deirdre joins me so that Liv can get to bathing. At this rate, we'll actually be asleep before usual. The travel was certainly make the extra rest very much needed. 

“Hey. Ready?” I ask, as soon as Deirdre shuts the door behind her.

Deirdre’s saunter over to me is full of a lot more energy than I gave her credit for. I’m tired as hell, so I don’t know where she is getting it from.

“Mhm, just a second.” She says, before taking my hand with a smirk. “What was it you said to convince me to make the trip to Delcaster, Evelyn?”

"Huh,” I mumble, confused at the line of questioning. “I don’t remember?”

Does she mean when I explained how our project would be best in the long run?

“I believe it was; trust me,” she says, inching closer. Her tone is mischievously which would be worrying if I wasn't so tried. 

“Oh, right.” I reply, waiting for her to help me understand what she's going on about.

“Then will you do something for me, Evelyn?” She says, taking my other hand in hers.

“Uh, what?” I reply, now a bit nervous with her closing in on me like this.

“Trust me.” She says sweetly and very very near.

“O-okay, with what Deirdre, what's going on?"

My unease only grows, confused but hopeful. Like cold water, it helps to wake me up, except that just like cold water I wish it wouldn't

“So you do, you trust me?” She whispers now leaning completely against me, directly against my ear.

"Yes," I say, truthfully, but still nervous where this is going.

“Promise?” She asks, earnestly, dropping some of her sultry teasing. 

“Promise.” I assure her.

“And you know I’d never steer you wrong?” She soothes, turning back on the too sweet and too sensual teasing.

“R-right.” I reply, knowing that she honestly really wouldn't. Maybe to tease me sure, but when the chips are down, I know I can count on Deirdre.

Faster than I have any hope of reacting, I'm spun around back towards the door. With one hand, Deirdre reaches out to turn the knob and push it open; the other wraps around my waist to hold me tight. Quickly like a viper strike, she leans forward and gives my neck a kiss.

“Then go tell her your feelings, Evelyn.” Deirdre whispers hotly into my ear before giving me a shove.

Stumbling forward back into our shared room, I catch myself before falling. I turn around in time to see Deirdre shutting me inside, the bedroom door slamming shut a little too loudly. I rush over to force my way out and give her a piece of my mind, but am unable to. As I try to wrench the doorknob, it’s held fast—not like it’s locked, but like someone way stronger than I am is holding the other side.

“What the hell Deirdre, let me out!” I yell in red-hot frustration.

“Evelyn? This better be good. Deirdre says you wanted to tell me something. And why did I have to blindfold myself to hear it?” Liv calls out from behind me.

A look over my shoulder reveals that Liv is sitting on her bed, dressed down to her shorts and tank top, with a cloth tied around her head to block her sight.

"Deirdre, open the door; this isn’t funny!” I yell again, ignoring Liv's questioning. 

Muffled from the other side, Deirdre replies back.

“No.”

“Did she lock you in?” I hear Liv say from behind me and sounding amused.

“Yes! No! Ugh!” I bark over in her direction.

“Alright,” she mutters, holding her hands out in a surrender sign. “Deirdre said it was important?”

“You promised,” I hear Deirdre tell me through the door, “just trust me Evelyn.”

The door doesn’t budge; I literally am not strong enough to force my way outside. After trying several times, I groan in defeat before turning around to take in Liv. All the while, it seems, she has just been sitting there patiently.

This isn’t fair. Internally, I’m constructing all the right things to yell at Deirdre as soon as I get the chance. That won’t help Liv, though; just sitting there, not even knowing she’s been deceived by Deirdre too.

A bit calmer, I pace while working out some plan to escape. Obviously, I’m not going to do what Deirdre wants and talk to Liv about those kinds of feelings. However, if I give a good excuse to Liv, we can both just tell Deirdre to open up, at which point her little plan will fall apart.

“You can take off the blindfold Liv, Deirdre was just kidding.” I remember to add while continuing to brainstorm some reasonable way to get the door open without sounding weird.

“Wow, that's amazing,” says my wolven party mate.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Deirdre told me you’d say exactly that, like to the word and everything.“ Liv laughs from her spot on the edge of the bed. “Are you two doing a bit? I don’t get it.”

While pacing, I add fingers to rub my temples. To block out the frustration, I shut my eyes as tight as they can go, but it doesn’t seem to help.

This is so stupid.

“No we’re not- I mean maybe. Just, hold that thought.” I mumble while I continue my pacing.

“Okay I guess, but it’s getting late, and we should probably take those baths and get some sleep; it might be a long day tomorrow.” Liv muses while articulating with her hands, which is quite a funny picture while blindfolded.

“I know, I know. Just give me a second.”

Could Deirdre at least have had the decency to pull a stunt like this in the morning? I'm too tired to think clearly. The day was a blur, and everything is all muddled trying to keep my head clear to formulate a plan. After more furious pacing and nothing but dead silence and my footsteps in our room, Liv speaks up.

“So what did you want to tell me?” Liv says with an even and calm tone.

“Nothing,” I reply to Liv immediately.

“Sure doesn’t sound like nothing from over here. Also sounds like she locked you in here.” Liv adds, just as calmly.

“Yeah, she did- I mean- damn it.”

This is unbearable. Not only did Deirdre lock me in, but she did it in the most evil way possible. Worse, Liv doesn't even seem bothered by this whole situation. In fact, I have no idea what Liv was told; why the heck did she agree to be blindfolded anyway? It does sort of put me at ease that she can’t see freaking out, but still, what was Deirdre thinking?

“Oh, it must be important then,” Liv says, sporting a grin.

“No- its- ugh.” I try, thoughts scattered and still somewhat upset.

“Take your time,” Liv laughs out, a goofy smile growing under her blindfolded eyes.

“Why are you laughing?” I whisper yell while marching over towards her and flailing my arm wildly, not that she could see them. I settle for placing my hands on my hips and giving a very clear very displeased huff.

“Me? Laughing, no. Wouldn’t dream of it,” she says, sounding pleased with herself and serious at the same time. After a pause, she continues, more sedate, sounding genuine and caring. “If you have something to say, you can say it you know.”

Will Deirdre even let me out if I don’t? Is this just out of my hands? It has been a long day. One of the longest days even. With a defeated sigh, I plop down next to Liv, leaving as much space between us as possible.

“What did she tell you anyways? And why are you blindfolded?” I ask, sighing deeply but being very curious.

“Only that it was imperative I wear this.”

"Well, it’s not.” I grumble, wringing my hands together in my lap for lack of something better to fidget with.

"Oh, so I can take it off then?” She asks.

To which I don’t reply. That would make this so much worse, trying to talk through this and get out of Deirdre’s evil setup. I suppose I could just ask Liv to go knock with me; it’s not like she would turn me down. Liv is always supportive and kind like that; she would hardly care about this whole awkward episode for long anyway.

Deirdre’s plan doesn’t work if I give in and ask for Liv’s help to escape, but still, I want to at least pretend Liv doesn’t suspect Deirdre got me in here under false pretenses. Except that’s impossible, Liv has to be on to my predicament even if she doesn’t know why Deirdre tricked me in here. It’s nice of her to not be teasing me about it that much.

The idea of simply doing what Deirdre says comes to mind unbidden. I have to shake my head to try and dispel it, but that fails miserably. Would it be so bad? Then Deirdre would drop it for good. I could admit that I like her; she could gently turn me down, and we could go on with our lives. Heck she'd probably laugh it off and say something ridiculous like 'Oh I know I'm too hot not to like.' Obviously she’d turn me down; Deirdre was certainly wrong about that part. Or maybe, on the minuscule chance Deirdre was right, we could at least get back to normal, seeing as how Deirdre and I were still a thing, and Liv would be scared off by that. Heaven forbid I have a second random polyamorous accepting person I already consider a friend.

Plus, it would be so easy to do. And such a relief to let it all out and be done with it!

Yeah, no way; that's a horrible idea. It's better to try to think up literally anything else to tell Liv.

Beside me, Liv tuts, “So…”

Crumbling immediately I choke out a desperate reply. It is Liv's amazing patience that does me in. Liv will be really sweet about this whole thing, I just know it, and then we can gang up on Deirdre.

“I like you okay!” I whisper yell again, pure relief flooding my veins as soon as the words are out, but terror that I said them quickly following behind.

“Ah.” Liv replies with a smack of her lips. “Figured.”

“What do you mean, figured?” I cry in disbelief turning even more red, entirely and fully because of anger and not at all because of being flustered by Liv’s flippant words. She could have said a lot of things, but not figured. Figured.

Ahhhhhhhhhh

"Well, it was either that, or you were going to proposition me for a threesome. The blindfold was a nice touch, kinky.”

“No! What- How!? Why-”I manage, filling the air with a disaster amalgamation of frantic, embarrassed confusion.

“I can read the room? I have eyes? Ears? Take your pick.”

I’m going to kill Deirdre.

I can't manage more than some verbose stuttering.

“Cool cool cool, anyways, I like you back. Deirdre too, you can tell her that. Can I take off the blindfold now?” Liv asks very nonchalantly, and with a shrug, her big goofy smile grows into an even bigger goofier-looking smile.

I practically fly off the bed before turning and looking at Liv.

She likes me back, really? Deirdre too? What the hell? What the heck do I do now, and why was I left alone to deal with this?

I’m going to kill Deirdre.

"I- Um."

Clueless and needing an escape, I call over my shoulder as I run for the door.

“You-can-take-it-off-I-have-to-go-now-bye!”

I don’t head for the doorknob right away; instead, I just start banging against the thick slab of wood this place calls a door.

“Open the door, Deirdre. Right. Now. Let me out!” I yell, sounding mighty hysterical in the process. Reaching for the handle, it opens so fast that I practically fall backwards as I pull with all my might.

On the other side is... not Deirdre for one, nor around the corner, I notice as I rush outside. Nor anywhere in the hallway, as I can clearly see it all.

Flying down the second story steps towards the tavern section of the inn, I scan the dwindled crowd for a very soon-to-be dead halfling with red hair.

In a corner, she sits serenely, staring through a window toward the outside, lit streets. Rushing, I stop only when I’m directly looming over her, panting to catch my breath.

“Where did you go!” I angrily accuse her through gritted teeth.

“I left?” She says, not sounding guilty at all, which is completely unacceptable.

“After how long!?” I practically scream.

“After a minute? If you really wanted out, I wasn’t going to keep you in. Also, I was listening for your safety word, in case you said that. I know it’s important to you.” Drumming her fingers on the table with a growing smirk, she stares me down and asks. "So, how did it go?”