Ester, the bartender's sister, was scooping rice from a large sack and putting it into small sacks.
Lilith stacked them one after another. Ester's calloused hands moved rhythmically—one scoop, a twist, a handful. The rice fell like a white cascade.
The silence stretched on.
Ester broke it.
"So where are you from?"
Lilith didn't stop stacking.
"From Elionor."
"Elionor?" Ester paused her hands for a moment. "That's very far. And dangerous. I'm surprised there are people there."
"It's very isolated. You hardly ever see anyone. Between species, I mean."
"I see." Ester went back to work. The rice kept falling. "What was your home like?"
"Families in the forest. Nothing more."
"So why did you leave?"
Lilith placed another sack on the pile.
"I wanted to come. It was very boring. Sleep, eat, and work."
Ester laughed.
"It's the same here."
They loaded the small sacks onto a cart. Ester sat in front, took the reins.
"I'm going to deliver them. Do you want to come?"
"No. I want to see if I can help your brother with anything else."
"Good luck, then."
Ester snapped the reins. The cart began to move, wheels creaking on the earth.
Lilith stood thinking before going back inside.
---
She entered the tavern again.
She stopped dead.
The bartender was talking with two men. The two gatekeepers. The one from the entrance. The one from the stable. The short, stubborn one. The big, burly one.
The short one saw her first.
"You!" His face twisted in a snarl of hatred. "Miserable bitch!"
He lunged.
He shoved Lilith against the wall. The impact shook her back. The wooden planks creaked behind her. The man grabbed her by the shoulders, his face inches from hers.
"Do you know what my boss will do if he lost that horse?" he spat. "You're going to pay for it!"
He struck her in the face.
It was like hitting a sack of sand.
Lilith didn't move. Her head tilted slightly. The man looked at his fist, confused.
The bartender spoke from the bar.
"Hey. I don't want any trouble in here."
The other gatekeeper, the big one, chimed in.
"Yeah. Let's take her to the guard."
They took her by the arm. She did not resist.
---
At the guardhouse, a man in a worn uniform received them with a bored look. They gave him a couple of coins to hurry up and lock her away.
And so it was.
Lilith ended up behind bars.
They mocked her before leaving. Then they left.
The guard sat in a chair, put his feet up on a table, and settled in to sleep.
All was silent for a while.
Lilith spoke.
"It hasn't been a good first day."
The guard replied.
"You were too obvious."
Lilith lifted her head.
"They were going to follow you," the guard continued, without opening his eyes. "You left the horse in plain sight."
"You weren't there."
"But I heard about it. One of them said you pulled a snake out of your stomach."
"How exaggerated. I just had it in a bag."
The guard scratched his head.
"You could have used that cunning to hide the horse properly."
"Yes." Lilith leaned on the bars. "Now, what will they do with me?"
"I'll send a request to the capital for them to judge you."
"You even have to ask permission for that?"
The guard pressed his lips together.
"It's better this way. Though most likely they'll flog you and send you to the king's forced labor camps."
"Is that in the capital?"
"It depends. If they're short on people. Or if you have some special trait."
Lilith leaned against the stone wall.
"I'll wait for the result."
---
A few days passed.
Staring at the same wall for days was something she had already done in her own castle during winter. She remembered her servants trying to invent activities to entertain her. Games. Performances. Songs. She only watched them do it without joining in.
Now there were no servants. Only stone. Only silence.
The sound of someone entering snapped her out of her thoughts.
A messenger. Young. In light clothes with a bag over his shoulder.
"Good day," he said.
The guard got up from his chair, stretching.
"What brings you here? The sentence for this woman?"
The messenger looked at Lilith. Then shook his head.
"No. It's an alert."
He took a scroll from his bag. Unrolled it.
"A demon has been spotted in the region. They're asking everyone to be on alert in case they see it."
The guard took the letter. Read it quickly.
"What does it look like?"
"They didn't give details of its appearance."
"How strange." The guard folded the parchment. "Well. I'll keep watch."
The messenger nodded and left.
Lilith stood up, leaning on the bars.
"How could it have gotten here?" she asked.
The guard looked at her.
"It must be far away. They usually hide in mountains."
"Do you know demons?"
"I studied a bit in my training."
Lilith held his gaze.
"How much longer must I wait for the letter?"
The guard approached the bars.
"Do you really want to go to the capital that badly?"
"Yes.