Pawn, volume 1 of Different Worlds

27. Wevern

POV: Aisha

I come to with a dull ache enveloping my brain as a harsh shock resonates against my skull. Groaning because of the pain and the light hitting my sensitive eyes, I try standing up only to knock my head again, making a swear escape from me.

-What the...?

A wave of nausea hits me and my breath turns uneven and chocked out as I feel a sour taste at the back of my throat. I vomit painfully a few second after.

-There, there. Don't worry about it.

I try turning to Kalatril's voice but am shook with another wave of discomfort., making me give up.
After what seems to be a few minutes, I finally manage to calm myself and wipe my lips and chin with the back of my hand before facing my friend, a tinge of shame present in my chest.

-It's just the beer acting up, nothing out of the ordinary, he marks a pause and gives the puddle of liquid a distracted glance. Although you did reject the alcohol quite fast.

-My body must have thought it was poison, and in a way, I think back to how I acted before falling asleep, I'm actually convinced it is.

After formulating an explanation about my metabolism to him, I give myself time to acknowledge my surroundings, wooden boxes meeting my eyes wherever I set them. On each one remains of a sigil.

-Where...are we?, I hate admitting my confusion but since it's Kalatril it's easier.

He nods and something tells me he saw the question coming.

-Thought you would ask, he gives me a knowing smile and it takes everything I have to not pout. We are in a merchant's carriage, a wealthy one at that, so we'll blend right in at Wevern once we get dressed with the clothes here.

I don't know if I should feel proud that he's established such quick thinking or upset that my way of reacting to problems might be rubbing off on him. Although, as much as it pains me to say, I know he's better off on guard and prepared.

-The merchant is going to the Center but he has to take a small detour to Wevern to fill paperwork, we'll drop off then.

I agree to his idea but quickly scrunch up my nose when the pungent odor reaching my nostrils makes me self conscious again.

-How long do you think it will take?, a bit of red dusting my cheeks.

He tells me to give him a moment and then peeps through a small crack in the wood before turning back to me:

-From what the guy's map can tell, not to far, a little hope flickers in my chest before disappearing just as fast as it came, about a day at most.

I bite back a sneer and diverge my attention to the merchandise surrounding us, Kalatril performing a illusion spell to disguise the source of my embarrassment. Words can't say how much I am grateful for it. Literally. I'm not going to talk about this ever again.

I try focusing fully on the task at hand and open the boxes one by one to acknowledge their contents, often finding some simple fabric. Thankfully the clothes ranged from elegant to mundane and from womanly to manly, guaranteeing that both Kalatril and I should melt right with the rest once at our destination. We just needed clothing that would make us look like average nobles of the countryside, no one would then question our actions and we would easily get a access to the library.