Having cleaned up the mess, Arlett nabs a small platter of food. A cut of steak, slowly cooked by an open flame, with potatoes and carrots on the side. A lovely meal, made by the best elvish chef she knows. She takes it up to her room, waving to her boss as she makes her way upstairs. The chatter of the tavern has finally started to quiet down as the night went on, now nothing but a low murmur every now and then. Upstairs, the rooms are fairly quiet. Arlett's magical vision doesn't catch anything in any of the rooms, and the green glow from the kitchen hasn't returned. That's something to ask Lailo about another time, when they don't need to work.
Closing the door behind her, she lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. It's so nice to have two working arms again. She sits down on her bed, placing the tray on her nightstand, as she pulls up her left sleeve. Her bandage, soaked in blood from the morning, but thanks to Lailo's magic, she feels as though the wound healed over. Carefully, anxiously, she starts to unwind the bandage, feeling the pressure vanish as she does. She braces for the worst, but is greeted by a fully recovered arm, with only a few spots of dried blood scattered along her forearm. The magic worked.
As she draws up some magic to clean the spots of dirt or dried blood, she starts to consider the implications of having someone so close who can heal her with magic. Thinking back to it, her friend looked exhausted after healing them both. She's never felt any issues after expending magic, but that might be because it isn't her own. Lailo seems to be able to draw out magic from their own being, which reasonably sounds exhausting. 'It's probably best I don't ask that much of them,' she thinks to herself, 'I should still avoid getting injured.'
"Good choice, darling." A strong feminine voice announces from out of the warlock's vision, "It seems like you had a busy day. Care to tell me about it?" Arlett tenses and jumps at once, startled by what turns out to be the familiar sight of her master, floating in place in her room. The magical eyes show the magic which surrounds the demon. Both green and orange, shifting and enveloping her. The warlock relaxes, letting out the breath she was holding, and letting the magic vision slip. "Welcome back, Master," she starts, composing herself, "It's been a long day, I have so much to tell you about." The demon hovers to the foot of the bed, crossing her legs and taking a seat near her servant, a foot of space between them.
Arlett starts from the beginning of the day, with the early rise she had thanks to her master's magic. "With my commissions almost done, I could focus on my job with the tavern, and really have an easier day. Thank you for getting me up when you did." the artist explains, excited to tell Miki everything that went on. The demon smirks a more curious smirk than usual, "I don't think I've ever seen you paint. You seem so talented, I want to watch some time." Arlett nods with a smile, caught slightly off guard, "Of course, if you'd really be interested."
The artist continues recalling the day, "This morning, a group of four adventurers came back for the piece they ordered, which they took happily." Miki perks up at this, "What did they look like? Did any of them fit my description?" Arlett thinks the question over, 'Your description?' The demon sighs, explaining, "The enemy. The one who's hunting you down?" Arlett's eyes widen as she jumps a bit, remembering the circumstances her master explained to her the night prior. "Oh! Right, that, I suppose I wasn't looking for them either.." she starts, "But in this group, there weren't any matches. Two male, one short with daggers, one without any weapons." Miki pouts a hint, glaring at Arlett, "You need to be more careful, darling. You're lucky I didn't give away any of your details to my rival." The warlock hangs her head, nodding in acknowledgement.
"So what happened next?" Miki wonders aloud, leaning on her hand as she stretches, "Continue the story." Arlett sits up, nods, then speaks, "The day started to ease up, I managed to finish up all the art I needed to. But when I was starting to suspect another simple, normal day..." The warlock pauses, trying to figure out how to phrase the event. "So the elvish boy I work with is a friend of mine. They've worked here a bit longer than me, and they're incredibly talented. They're the best cook I know, and an aspiring musician." Miki tilts her head, gaze drifting to the side table, "Did they make that?" She points, Arlett looks, and sees the tray of food, no longer steaming.
YOU ARE READING
Be My Champion
Fantasy"For weeks, you have been hunted. Since our meeting, you have been seen by them as nothing but my pawn. All of this anxiety, and in exchange I've given you power and purpose. Even to me, that deal sounds so.. skewed. So how about this, Arlett?" The...
