Displaced

Chapter 109

's group generated as large a crowd this time as it had the last, only this time, the soldiers there to greet them looked far less on edge.

Without much ceremony, Sofie, Gabriela, and Arlette were ushered to what appeared to be some sort of guest house near the main administrative quarter and told them to wait there. Gabriela had carefully placed Pari's casket upon a nearby table, set down a large metal box beside it, and they'd settled down to wait while ignoring the dozen or so guards outside.

"Ugh, I can't believe we have to wear these lame outfits," Sofie griped, tugging at the thick collar of her traditional Otharian formal clothing. "They're way too hot for this place. It's not even summer yet and it's already sweltering here."

"Though we're here on personal business, we are still representatives of Otharia," Gabriela replied, begrudgingly tugging on a ruffled sleeve with similar distaste. "We have an image to maintain."

Arlette watched the other two fuss with their ornate dresses with smug amusement. The ostentatious garments practically overflowed with unnecessary frills, ribbons, and other ornaments of current Otharian high fashion. Were she, Arlette, here with the others, she would have had to wear one as well, but she didn't. That was because 'Arlette' was not in the room with them, 'Khiran' was.

A disguise that Arlette had donned before leaving the airship, Khiran had long orange hair, pale, freckled skin, and soft blue eyes. Like the others, Khiran wore a thick Otharian dress, but hers was entirely an illusion. That meant she could wear a much more temperature-appropriate outfit underneath. Her true clothes were thin, tight, and short to allow for the largest variety of fake clothes to be layered on top.

"We didn't when we came here the last time," Sofie argued.

"That's because Leo didn't find out in time to have outfits made for us the last time," Gabriela pointed out. "You wouldn't want to throw away all his hard work, would you?"

"Hmph," Sofie pouted. "I guess. I wouldn't want to Leo upset. Poor guy has enough on his plate without us making things more difficult. Still, the sooner I can get out of this, the better. How long do you think they'll make us wait?"

"How long do you think they'll make us wait?" Sofie wondered after an hour.

"Probably for a good while," Arlette replied, her illusory voice lower and huskier than her usual one. She ran a hand through her long, dark orange hair, feeling it transition from the solid of her short real hair to the longer fake locks that covered them. "I bet this is the Chos expressing her displeasure with Lord Ferros over the delay and his... later requests."

Sofie snorted. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. I wonder how he's doing right now."

"Probably dead," Arlette surmised.

Gabriela shook her head. "No, that..." She looked around at her surroundings, seeming to realize that they were likely not alone. While nobody was in the room, that did not mean that nobody was listening. "...that person wouldn't risk it, probably. He cared about Pari too much."

Arlette leaned back on a pile of cushions, letting the soft fur lining caress the back of her neck. "I still can't believe you willingly went and just talked to... to one of them."

"I don't know," Sofie wondered. "It's hard to believe, but supposedly he did raise Pari."

"Even if true, that means nothing," Arlette countered. "They are not beings that can be just talked to like that. They are avatars of rage and destruction, not conversation partners. Sofie, surely you have not forgotten what happened the day we met?"