A Devious Exchange

Shirts are Off

Nicholas came to retrieve me not long after, Reginani making me promise to sit and talk with him again in the future, especially if I gathered any new details. I reassured him repeatedly before walking out into the cool night alongside Nicholas. As promised, he led me to one of the last huts with a lantern flickering on its porch, a dozen moths batting their brown wings in the lone light. He wished me a fair night's rest before bidding me a farewell, receding back up the trail to the castle.

The wood squealed under my boots as I shrugged off the layers of fabric, dropping them to the floor before scooping them back up. Like Nicholas said, two bunks housed four beds on adjacent sides of the room. I laid my clothes on one of the bottom bunks before harshly tugging off the bonnet with hundreds of pins flying loose.

"What I would do for some food right now." I sighed to myself, running my fingers through my freed hair to shake out the stiffness. I sat on the bed to tug off the remaining hosiery on my legs, feeling the cool, rough wood under my feet. Once I laid bare in only a thin nightwear, I ensured myself several times that the door was shut, and the single curtain was closed. Nobody would come in hopefully, but I did wonder briefly where Nicholas was staying since I kicked him out.

I spared one more glance at the door but nearly jumped out of my skin when I met a familiar face leaning against a front wall.

My reflection didn't meet my eyes till now, a woman staring back at me in the mirror. Worry lines prominently highlighted my growing forehead creases, my frown deepening at the visible dullness in my skin. I forced a smile in return, watching my lip's part against my slightly crooked teeth, which I didn't really pay much attention to. I sighed loudly, smoothing my hands over my forehead and hair. Oh, how I missed the glow of my youth.

Knock, knock.

I sucked in a sharp breath, whipping my head to the door. I scrambled to get up, grasping the thin, off-white spread on the bed to wrap around myself. The only people who had ever seen me undressed like this was my own mother and father, and that was only when I was a little girl. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment, hesitantly prowling to the door to lean an ear to.

"Who is it?" I croaked out, cursing myself for not clearing my voice.

A familiar, muffled voice spoke through the thick wood, "It's Nicholas. I brought you food since I wasn't sure if you had supper."

At the thought of food, I felt the ache in the pit of my stomach. It had been a while since breakfast, but I internally debated if it was worth the hassle of redressing.

"Just leave it outside, I'll retrieve it in just a moment." I called out, sluggishly maneuvering over to my folded clothes, tossing the blanket back down.

"It'll be covered with the night flies if I do. Are you decent?"

Before I could think about what he meant by that, Nicholas slowly twisted the door handle, opening the door slightly. "Wait!" I yelled, lurching forward to shut the offending wood, more forceful than I intended.

He yelped at the swift slam of the door, and I could hear a loud clatter of miscellaneous metals clinging together. A thud followed soon after with more clattering, and a low, painful hiss.

My heart was beating so fast, my hand not leaving the wood. I know it was rude to slam it in his face, but he didn't give me enough time to respond!

Hesitantly, I cracked the door slightly open to see what happened, only to find Nicholas laying down on the ground with food splattered all over him. A brown soup splattered all over the stone path, various mushrooms and other vegetables casted beside the turned bowl. He lied on his side with his eyes closed tightly, a pained look on his face as he grasped his chest.