The deep sleep that had taken over me throughout the night slowly began to fade away as the first signs of morning arrived. The room inside the inn was incredibly quiet, a massive contrast to the loud and busy streets we had walked through yesterday. The thick curtains that covered the window managed to block out most of the sunlight, but a few thin rays of bright morning light still found their way into the room, drawing straight lines of gold across the wooden floorboards. The air in the room was warm and heavy, carrying the faint, lingering smell of the comfortable bed sheets and the wood from the furniture. I felt completely rested, the kind of deep rest that only comes after spending an entire day doing absolutely nothing but eating an endless amount of food. My muscles were relaxed, and the stress of our long journey felt very far away in this quiet, peaceful moment.
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking a few times to let them adjust to the dim light of the room. The bed was incredibly soft, and the thick blankets provided a perfect shield against the slight morning chill that hung in the air. I let out a long, quiet breath, just enjoying the simple feeling of waking up in a comfortable place instead of the moving carriage. It took me a few moments to fully wake up and remember exactly where I was and what had happened the day before. The memories of Euphyne eating everything in sight and Elphyete clinging to me like an anchor came rushing back.
Speaking of Elphyete, I turned my head to the side to see how she was doing. The next day I woke up besides Elphyete and she looked like a mess. I actually had to blink a few more times just to make sure I was seeing clearly. Yesterday, she had been so composed, so put together, completely determined to stay as close to me as physically possible while maintaining her usual serious expression. Now, she looked entirely different. During the night, she had somehow managed to completely tangle her beautiful silver hair. It was sticking up in all sorts of random directions, resembling a wild bird's nest rather than the smooth, shining hair she usually had. A large piece of it was plastered across her face, completely covering one of her eyes.
She was also sleeping in a very strange position. One of her arms was thrown over her head, resting on the wooden headboard, while the other arm was draped across my chest. One of her legs was completely hanging off the side of the bed, almost touching the floor, while her other leg was tangled up in the thick blankets. She had somehow managed to steal almost the entire blanket for herself during the night, leaving me with just a small corner of it. Her mouth was slightly open, and a tiny string of drool was escaping from the corner of her lips, pooling slightly on the white pillowcase beneath her cheek. She was snoring softly, a quiet, rhythmic sound that completely ruined her usual elegant image.
I just chuckled. It was a very soft, quiet chuckle because I did not want to wake her up, but I found it incredibly funny to see her like this. She was always so careful about how she looked and how she acted, especially around the rest of the group. Seeing her entirely defenseless and looking like a chaotic disaster made her seem much more normal and human. I lay there for another minute, just watching her sleep and smiling at the absolute mess she had become during the night.
Eventually, I decided it was time to get up. I knew that if I stayed in the bed any longer, I would probably fall right back to sleep, and we still had things we needed to do in this town, even if we had completely ignored them yesterday. I had to be very careful. Elphyete was still holding onto my chest, and I knew from experience that she could be very stubborn about letting go, even in her sleep. I slowly and gently reached over and lifted her arm, moving it off my chest millimeter by millimeter. She let out a small, quiet groan and shifted her weight, rolling over onto her side and pulling the giant pile of stolen blankets closer to her chest. She buried her face into the pillow, completely oblivious to the fact that I was leaving the bed.
Once I was free, I sat up on the edge of the mattress and stretched my arms high above my head, feeling my joints pop slightly after the long sleep. The wooden floor was cold against my bare feet as I stood up. I walked over to the wooden chair by the window where I had left my clothes the night before. I dressed quietly, making sure not to make any loud noises. I put on my shirt and my trousers, and then I sat back down on the chair to put on my boots. I tied the thick leather laces securely, pulling them tight. I grabbed my coat and slipped it on, feeling ready to face the day.
I took one last look at Elphyete, who was now snoring a little bit louder and drooling on a different part of the pillow, and then I quietly walked over to the heavy wooden door. I turned the metal handle as slowly as I could, making sure the lock did not make a loud clicking sound. I pulled the door open, stepped out into the hallway, and then closed it behind me with a very soft, gentle push. The hallway was completely empty and silent. The thick patterned carpet swallowed the sound of my boots as I walked toward the stairs.
I walked down the long hall, passing the closed doors of the other rooms where the rest of the group was likely still fast asleep. I highly doubted Euphyne would be waking up early after the massive amount of food he had consumed. I reached the wooden staircase and went downstairs. The stairs creaked slightly under my weight, but the sound was not loud enough to disturb anyone.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I entered the main lobby of the inn. It was very different from the busy, warm place it had been the night before. The large stone fireplace in the corner was completely dark, filled only with cold gray ashes. The innkeeper was awake, standing behind the long wooden counter and organizing some papers by the light of a single small lantern. He looked up as I walked into the room and gave me a polite, tired nod. I nodded back at him without saying a word. The lobby smelled like old wood, dried lavender, and the faint memory of roasted meat from outside. It was incredibly peaceful.
I walked past the leather chairs and the polished tables, heading straight for the main entrance. I reached out, grabbed the large iron handle of the heavy oak door, and pulled it open.
I went outside. The moment I stepped out of the inn, the cool, crisp morning air hit my face. It was incredibly refreshing. The Town of the Culinary was just beginning to wake up. The sky above the tall stone buildings was a pale, clear blue, completely free of clouds. The streets, which had been packed with thousands of shouting people and completely chaotic the day before, were now mostly empty. The cobblestone roads were wet with morning dew, making them look shiny and clean.
The town was much quieter now, but it was not completely silent. The vendors and shop owners were already out, getting ready for another busy day. I could hear the sound of wooden shutters being pushed open and the heavy dragging of wooden carts across the stone streets. The overwhelming smells of roasted meats and heavy spices from yesterday were gone, replaced by the much lighter, simpler smells of the morning. I could smell fresh bread baking in the brick ovens nearby, the scent of yeast and warm flour mixing with the clean, cold air. I could also smell the sharp scent of charcoal being lit in the grills, getting ready for the day's cooking.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the morning air, and walked a bit. I didn't have a specific destination in mind. I just wanted to stretch my legs and enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the town before the massive crowds returned and the chaos started all over again. I kept my hands in the pockets of my coat to keep them warm as I strolled down the wide, paved road. I passed by several closed stalls with their bright awnings tied up. I watched a man sweeping the area in front of his butcher shop with a long wooden broom. A few stray cats were wandering around the alleys, looking for scraps left over from the night before.
I continued walking for a while, completely lost in my own simple thoughts. I was just looking at the architecture of the tall plaster buildings and the detailed carvings on the wooden doors of the restaurants. I wasn't paying full attention to where I was going, just letting my feet carry me down the road. I turned a corner onto a slightly narrower street that was lined with small, high-end bakery windows.
As I turned the corner, I accidentally bumped into someone. It happened very fast. I was looking up at a painted wooden sign above a shop, and the person must have been walking quickly from the opposite direction. Our shoulders collided with a solid, unexpected thud. The impact wasn't incredibly hard, but because neither of us was expecting it, it was enough to completely throw off her balance.
She fell. I watched as she stumbled backward, her feet tangling over each other on the damp cobblestones. She let out a small, surprised gasp as she completely lost her footing and went down. She landed hard on the stone street, sitting down abruptly. She was just a normal-looking person, wearing a simple brown cloak and a gray dress.
However, the worst part was not the fall itself. As she fell backward, her hands flew up into the air in a desperate attempt to catch her balance. When she did that, the box she's holding dropped from her grasp.
Time seemed to slow down for a second as the small wooden box tumbled through the air. It hit the hard cobblestone street corner first, bouncing slightly before landing flat on its side. The moment it hit the ground, I heard something like glass breaking. It was a very distinct, sharp, and terrifying sound. It was the clear, loud crunch of something fragile shattering completely inside the wooden container. The sound echoed slightly in the quiet morning street.
The woman on the ground froze for a fraction of a second. She stared at the wooden box resting on the stones. Then, she suddenly panicked. Her face completely twisted into a look of absolute terror and sheer panic. Her eyes went incredibly wide, and she let out a loud, frantic gasp. She didn't even care that she had fallen or that her dress was dirty from the street.
She scrambled forward on her hands and knees with desperate, frantic speed. She held the box, grabbing it roughly with both of her hands. She didn't try to open it or look inside. Without a single second of hesitation, she pulled her arms back and threw it into the sky. She threw it as hard and as high as she physically could, launching the wooden box straight up into the air above the buildings.
I looked up, following the path of the box as it tumbled high above our heads. And suddenly it exploded.