Eight Intertwined

146 - Monsters

After Tressa's breakdown, Primrose helped to tuck her into bed for the night. Tressa had completely exhausted herself through crying, and she fell asleep as soon as she was under the blankets. H'aanit fell asleep soon afterward, the day finally wearing on her enough to take a toll. Ophilia hadn't yet returned to the inn, and Primrose knew she was likely at the cathedral speaking with the bishop, so she didn't worry too much about it. 

Primrose had instead tried to get to sleep for herself, but that effort hadn't gone anywhere near as well as she would have liked. After at least an hour of staring up at the ceiling, she sighed and swung her legs over the side of the mattress. She slipped into her sandals and started toward the door. She needed some air, and she needed time to think. It was a dangerous slope to fall down, but Primrose had embraced danger all day already. What was a little bit more?

Primrose only made it three minutes into her nighttime stroll before she saw figures moving in the night. A few seconds later, Alphas and Flora came into the view of the streetlight, and their faces broke out into smiles. Primrose slipped into a smile of her own with practiced ease before approaching them. "I didn't realize I could expect to run into the two of you tonight," she greeted. Her voice grated on her ears with how fake it felt, but there wasn't anything she could do to change that, so she instead opted to just focus on the conversation at hand. 

"I'm glad we ran into you again," Alphas told her. "We heard there was trouble in town, so we spent most of the afternoon trying to help whoever we could." He smiled over to Flora. "My sweet Flora is perfect when it comes to soothing those who are afraid. She did wonderfully."

Flora's cheeks went pink at that, and she smiled shyly at Alphas. "You did well too," she pointed out. "Everyone feared that brigand could return, and you were there to make sure they felt safe enough to rest tonight. You even helped the guards to investigate the woods after the thief was found."

Primrose's stomach twisted with jealousy. She had wanted to help Alphas however she could so she could think stop thinking about her feelings for H'aanit, but now, she wished she had that same comfort. H'aanit hadn't caught onto the truth of her affection, and Primrose was beginning to fear she never would. She should have just been honest, but she couldn't do that now. H'aanit was struggling to hold herself together after she helped with Miguel's survival. Primrose would just have to sit with her feelings for now, and the idea made her feel nauseous. Why couldn't she just tell the truth for once?

Primrose didn't let that envy show on her face though, and she smiled to Alphas and Flora the same way she had smiled to all of her customers back in Sunshade. "I'm glad you were able to do your part," she told them. "You have nothing to worry about with Miguel now. He... He's been taken care of."

Alphas nodded. "The guards realized it was a matter of self-defense after they heard about the hostage situation. I'm glad the group that went after him was there... The guards wouldn't have had the time to mobilize in time to save that little boy," he said. "The church just wants to put this incident in the past, so they're not even bothering to find the ones who were responsible for his death. It was defense to look after that young boy. What issues could the guards take with that, especially after they tried to stop him?"

Primrose nodded as well, though the motion was stilted and stiff on her end. "I'm glad to hear everything was resolved," she responded, her voice casual in a way that felt practiced and poisonous. After a brief pause, she cast a wave in Alphas and Flora's direction. "I suppose this will be where we leave each other. My party will be departing from Saintsbridge tomorrow." That wasn't entirely true; the group hadn't talked about when they wanted to leave, but Primrose already knew she had to get out of there as soon as possible. She was certain the others would agree too. All they wanted to do was run, and if they were to flee, it would be together.