Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 83 – Unexpected Company

Thankfully, as Elenia had told us, it was much easier to leave the building than it was to enter it. We didn’t even need to go and look for Tybalt when we got back to the lobby, as he was already standing at the bottom of the staircase as if he was waiting. As soon as he noticed us, he gave Ava a small map, explaining that he had sent someone ahead of us to a restaurant and that he could guarantee the quality of the food from his own personal experience.

Ava didn’t waste any time before thanking him and following the map to the restaurant. It wasn’t very far from the Volpe Rossa branch, being only two streets over from where we were.

Once we got there, there was already a worker waiting at the door. They seemed to recognise us immediately, guiding us straight into the restaurant without saying anything. They took us right to the back of the building, where there were a few booths with high walls in a row. Each booth had a curtain hanging over the entrance; however, from what I could see, none of the booths had anyone in them.

“Please take a seat,” The worker said as they gestured towards one of the booths, “We don’t have any other reservations for our executive booths for the next few hours, so please take your time.”

“Well, come on then,” Ava quickly sat on one of the benches and beckoned me over, “I can’t wait to get some food in me.”

“Mm,” I followed close behind her, sitting on the same bench instead of the one on the opposite side of the table.

“I hope the two of you will enjoy your time here,” The person who guided us then set down two menus in front of us, “I will be back soon to take your order. If you decide before then, please don’t hesitate to call for me.”

They then closed the curtain at the front of the booth before leaving.

“This is a fancier place than I was expecting,” Ava said as she picked up one of the menus, “I’ve never even been to a place like this… It’s very different to the taverns and pubs Mom and I used to frequent.”

It is…

But the booth is nice.

I glanced over at the other menu that was left on the table but was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of items it listed. I could tell that they had been carefully organised and designed, but all the effort that must have been put into designing the menu had been lost on me.

…

“Well done, Kierra,” Ava suddenly said, pulling me away from the menu.

“What I-”

“Was I the first one?” She interrupted me with a smirk showing proudly on her face, “I really wanted to be the first one to congratulate you for today. I know it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for you, but you did well.”

“… Thank you… and…,” I felt myself blush just slightly, but it probably wasn’t enough for Ava to notice, “… you were the first.”

Right after I said that, I could have sworn I heard a quiet whine in my head, but by the time I noticed it, it was already gone.

‘I guess that’s my cue to step in,’ Aria spoke through the pendant, ‘You did well, little kitsune. But I’m probably not the person you wanted to hear this from. Fortunately, we’ve saved the best for last.’

‘Yes!’ Ovia shouted, ‘Kierra! Congratulations! I… I knew you could do it. I just wish I could hold you in a tight hug right now.’

‘Thank you… both of you,’ I replied.

‘But now there is something else you need to do,’ Ovia immediately continued, the excitement clear in her voice, ‘Since you finished the task I gave you… you get a reward… your wish!’

Throughout everything that had happened, I had completely forgotten about the reward that Ovia had promised me. The opportunity to ask for one wish from her… To ask for anything I wanted… Something… I didn’t deserve.

‘S-So… is there anything you want to ask for?’ She asked, ‘It can be anything. I-I’ll try my best to make it happen.’

…

…

What am I supposed to say?

I… I did what she asked me to… but…

…

There’s still that lie…

I know what she really wanted from me… and I didn’t do it…

…

‘Can I… s-save it for later?’ I eventually asked, not wanting to turn her down.

That way, I can just… not use it…

So I don’t hurt her.

There was a brief pause before she spoke to me again.

‘Yes, of course. That’s okay… That’s more than okay. It’s your wish! I’ll just… I’ll note it down so I remember! I don’t want to forget!”

“I guess those two Goddesses were also scrambling to congratulate you,” Ava chuckled before patting my head over my hood, “But unlike the two of them, I can do this.”

I couldn’t help myself and chuckled a little as well.

“But y’know, Elenia really wasn’t all that bad, don’t you think?” Ava said, “I mean, sure, we had a bit of difficulty on our way in with Tybalt, but as soon as we sat down in front of Elenia, she was nothing but nice.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Yeah…” I responded quietly, not able to argue with what Ava had said.

“She even gave you free rein to come and go from that fancy building as you please. And y’know, even if you don’t take her up on her offer to take you to that village, I think it would still be nice to go and visit again.”

Would it?

Why would I go back if I didn’t accept her offer?

…

I know she said she was in debt to me… but she was probably just being nice…

…

“Kierra, I’m not saying you need to go pop in every day or anything like that. I just think it’s nice to have a place where you can relax a little.”

“Relax?”

“Ever since we got into this town, the only place you’ve taken your hood off was in Elenia’s office just now and in our room back at the inn. It’s not good for you to always be on edge, hiding from people. But now you know that in that building, you don’t need to worry about all that, well… at least in Elenia’s office if you really want to be careful, but at least that’s one more place and one more person you can be comfortable with.”

…

“Don’t look at me like that; it’s a good thing,” She said.

“Do I really need to?…” I asked as I played with the corner of the menu in front of me.

“Hmm… Maybe an example would be the best way to explain this,” Ava turned herself on the bench so she was facing me, “Let’s say that you want to go and buy something. For now, it doesn’t matter what this something is; all that matters is that I’m not around. This is all Kierra. You could go to a store, you could look around at what they have, and you could even bring something you like to the front counter, but that’s as far as you’ll get if you lock up all the time. And that’s the best-case scenario. What if you wanted to order something custom? What if you can’t find what you’re looking for? What if you need to shout at someone for trying to rip you off? People like Ana and the old man from Casgolau are rare. Most people wouldn’t even try to understand you. They would just point you to the door so they can get money from someone else.”

…

That…

…

That would be a problem…

But why would I not be with you?

I…

…

…

I… do need to buy outfits for Ovia… at some point…

…

“… I’ll try,” I eventually gave in.

“And that’s enough for right now. You already did a lot today, so it’s okay to take a break,” She then picked her menu back up, “Now for the arguably more important question… What do you want to order? I’m actually having a hard time deciding.”

…

I picked my menu back up and started reading through it again, but before I was able to come to any sort of a decision, the curtain to the booth opened.

I expected it to just be the worker who had shown us in, but instead, it was a cloaked figure about the same height as Ava. They sat down on the bench opposite us before closing the curtain.

“Hey!” Ava shouted immediately as she put her arm out in front of me, “Who are-”

“I know who you are,” It was a woman’s voice.

What do you mean?!

The thumping in my chest quickly grew louder as my breathing got shallower. This wasn’t helped as I quickly realised that I recognised this person’s presence. It was the same feeling of being watched that had followed me through Haelmor, but now it was all that much more intense.

Suddenly, the person sitting in front of us threw her hood off. She looked over at me and then at Ava before freezing.

She had blonde hair neatly styled into a bob that went ever so slightly green near the tips. While it was unusual, it wasn’t what my eyes were drawn to. It was her bright blue eyes.

I couldn’t forget them, not after seeing them peering back at me from deep in the forest that unfortunate night.

“You…” I accidentally said, unable to contain my surprise.

The woman then coughed awkwardly, “S-So you already know about me…. Of course you do! It’s only natural that someone like you would have heard about someone like me. If you didn’t, I would be worried for my own sake.”

What?

I don’t know who you are!

“That makes things much easier,” She quickly recomposed herself, “I need to ask you about the… ‘work’ you are currently doing. It is of great interest to me. More than you could ever imagine.”

What work?! Who do you think I am?!

“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ava said with a serious expression that I’d rarely seen from her.

The woman just stared at Ava for a moment before awkwardly coughing again and stuttering out a few words, “I-I k-know you need to be covert… B-but I’m sincerely interested in your success… I-I just-”

“Just slow down,” Ava rubbed her forehead, “Who are we talking to? Can you at least give us a name?”

“But don’t you-” The woman then stared at me as if expecting something.

I just stayed quiet, trying not to move an inch so she would move on.

“Oh, I understand! I know what this is!” She suddenly shouted, “Yes, of course! You’re just verifying that I’m the right person. You would have to do that for someone like me after all. You never know when you might be talking to an impersonator.”

She fumbled under her cloak before slamming a brooch down on the table in front of us. In the centre was a large silver gemstone surrounded by many intricately crafted crimson petals resembling a flower, although not a flower that I had ever seen.

“I am Cattleya Astrantia, daughter of Amaryllis Astrantia,” She proclaimed, “And I need to talk to you.”