'Oh? You do have a sense of humour,' he giggled.
I raised my brow. 'What gave you the idea I wouldn't?'
'I wonder,' he said, putting down his cup and turning his head up, then rubbing his chin as if he was in deep contemplation, but it was quite clear that his actions were exaggerated, perhaps even meant to be a mockery. 'A hasty judgement, perhaps?' he finally said, 'You did not strike me as someone who would have one.'
I clicked my tongue. Zoras didn't have a sense of humour, that was true, but I wasn't Zoras, and I would be lying if I said that statement didn't feel insulting. Did I really look like someone who wouldn't have a sense of humour?
Perhaps Finn had the ability to read minds, or perhaps my discontent was vivid on my face, but he picked up on it, and immediately apologised before I could even retaliate with a remark coated with heavy sarcasm.
'I didn't mean to offend you, Sir Embers!' he said, leaning away from me and waving his hands in disapproval. 'Say, as an apology, might I interest you with something?'
'Hm?'
'It will take a while for us to reach there, but there is a place at the edge of the city, near the ruins, where the view is wonderful, especially as the sun sets. You see, I was on my way there before taking a little break here in this lovely cafe. Would you like to join?'
I was already going to spend the rest of the day exploring the city anyways, and though a bit reluctant since I had only just met this person, I agreed.
He paid for both of us, which…sure, I guess, I wasn't against free food, but I did find it somewhat weird, and a little suspicious, for someone to pay for a person they had only just met.
'Aren't you generous,' I said, not bothering to hide my suspicions.
'I wouldn't want to be on bad terms with a noble,' he replied.
'A fallen noble,' I corrected him. 'And I have been one for a while. You do realise that some people might find this insulting?'
I could already name a few people Zoras used to know who would find someone beneath them paying for their meals to be humiliating. "Used to" because two of them were already dead, and one of them had been missing for the past three months now. I couldn't help but feel saddened by their deaths. Some might say that they deserved it. Arrogance and excessive pride ran in the veins of those spoiled children of noble blood, but they were only children, misguided by their upbringing. Death was not the solution.
'Please, why must a person of nobility waste their time and money on something this trivial?' he said, putting the change in his wallet before tucking it away.
'Don't you have your way with words?'
On someone blinded by their ego and pride, a sentence like that would do wonders.
'You flatter me, my Lord. When the sun sets, words are all I have.'
The two of us left the cafe, chatting away while he took the lead. I was skeptical still, more now than ever, as he led us right into the back alleys. This part of Viellenne was different. The farther away we were from the main streets, the more dangerous it would be for us.
'Are you sure this is the right way?' I asked him, fear slowly creeping in, but strangely, I felt safe, that as long as Finn was here, I wouldn't find myself in much trouble.
'It's a shortcut,' he said. 'Don't worry, Sir Embers. I know the way, and it's a lot safer here than you might think.'
For some reason, I felt compelled to believe him. It wasn't uncommon, at least in our world, for the news to often exaggerate issues in order to push certain ideals, or for even pettier reasons, such as getting more clicks on the internet, perhaps it was the same here? I was never the kind to blindly trust whatever article I read on the web, and would often read multiple articles from different news outlets to get the full picture. That wasn't really an option here though. There was only one news outlet in all of Viellenne, The Current Times.
He navigated the alleys like the back of his hand, as if he had already been here countless times before. I wondered if it was somewhere here that he lived. Zoras wouldn't be able to fathom living somewhere this dangerous, but strangely enough, even though we were quite deep in, I was yet to see a single unfriendly face. In fact, I was yet to find even a single soul in these dark alleys, and dark they were! The sun's rays barely reached here. I couldn't begin to imagine how much of a pain it would be navigating this place in the dead of night.
I need to return home before it gets dark.
Finn charged forward, moving quicker and quicker with each step he took. Turn after turn, the road seemed unending, and I was scared to lose sight of him for even a moment. I no longer knew the road behind me; I could only rely on him to be my guide through these unfamiliar alleys.
The sun was still in the sky, but it wouldn't be for long, yet I was far from being remotely anxious about that, even though I should have been. Something about him being here made me at ease.
He simply had that air around him that would reassure those who walked beside him and put their hearts at ease.
But that reassurance didn't make me go any quicker, and while he effortlessly charged ahead, I was here struggling to catch my breath.
'Could we…have not…taken a carriage…?' I said as I struggled to keep up with him. Who would have thought he would be so athletic? Though if I look at him more closely now, he was tall and, though his choice of clothing did a good job at hiding it, he seemed to have a lean build. Zoras' body wasn't in a bad shape in any way, in fact it was better than my own body back in my world, but it wasn't enough.
'Please, who but us would be foolish enough to come this deep into the alleys?'
He giggled as he said that, not turning back as he confidently walked forward, though he did slow down a bit.
'You're right about that.'
How long had it been since I left my house? I couldn't tell for sure, but it had been quite a long while. Noon had already passed, and I was starting to get worried. Perhaps I should turn back…but then, where would I even go? I didn't know this place…and even if the news was exaggerated, it didn't mean that it wasn't true. I was a fallen noble. I still had to be extremely careful, lest I risked getting jumped on and losing my life, or worse…
'We'll be fine.'
Once again, as if he read my thoughts, Finn turned to me, his glance filled with warmth, and his lips curled into a reassuring smile.
'And moreover…we're almost there,' he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
'Quick! We can't miss the sun set!'
He rushed through the final few turns, dragging me along, all the while I struggled to stay on my feet. What made it worse is that all this time, we were going uphill. How this person still had so much energy left was beyond my understanding, but at last, as I almost reached my limit (or maybe I already had, for if he wasn't dragging me along right now, I might be lying on the floor somewhere), I could see the light at the very end.
'We're here!' Finn shouted in excitement, letting go of my hand so suddenly that I lost the little balance I had and fell to my knees. I would have said something back, but after all that running, I didn't have any energy left inside me.
'What are you doing?? Look up here!'
I could punch him in the face right about now.
Yet I still lifted my head. This "wonderful view" that he talked about, I was curious what it was, and it better be worth all the running I did to get here.
And it was.
It was one of the most beautiful scenes I had the pleasure of being a witness of.
Broken marble made the floor, reflecting the rays of the orange sun that broke through the cascading clouds above. A hint of an old balcony remained in the broken railings made of stone that was once pure white, but now covered in dust and cracks, withering away as it grew older by the day. Wines climbed the fallen pillars surrounding the place, life trying to grow within their cracks: mosses and perhaps thyme, but I couldn't quite be sure.
I got up and walked towards the remains of the broken balcony, looking down at the rest of the city, and I simply stood there for a while, letting the view sink in as my lips curled into a smile of content and admiration.
'Beautiful,' I uttered under my breath.
Zoras had read about this place before—the Ruins of Cruzx, but he never had the privilege to see them in person. If his consciousness was truly present somewhere deep inside this body, a part of me hoped that he too was bearing witness to this. After all, knowing him, he wouldn't dare come here in a million years. The path through the dark and dangerous alleys was one he would never walk. That was the kind of person he was.
But oftentimes in life, you needed to take risks and go on little adventures—I hoped the part of him inside me would realise that, and just maybe, I could move his heart just a bit. Of course, before that, he needed to first make friends who were adventurous enough, or like me, meet a random guy in the cafe…though I wouldn't exactly recommend going to dangerous places with strangers you've only just met. More than that, these areas were far from safe right now. Perhaps after things calm down a bit…
'Does this make up for my rudeness earlier?' asked Finn as he walked a little closer.
'It's more than enough,' I said, moving back. 'But I should return now, it's getting late.'
'Allow me to be your guide once again, Sir Embers,' he said, bowing with one of his hands on his chest and the other behind his back.
'Of course. I wouldn't dare walk these alleys without you.'
I hadn't left behind any notes about my departure, so if I were to be too late, she would begin to worry, and it would be quite cruel of me to make her worry. I also had my own problems to worry about, that being returning to my own world. This might have been a good change of pace, but I should get back to that now.
'After you,' I said. He smiled at me, before walking back into the alley from which we came. I glanced back at the scenery one final time, the cascading clouds, the broken marble, and the orange hue that reflected off of it, smiling, before turning back and following him.