UnNatural

Ch 3: Not a bad place to stay

"Excuse me miss. Would we be able to rent a place to stay?" Lorelei asked the blonde lady at the counter of Serenity Inn. It had a clean warm feel to it, flowers laced along their walls. It seemed strangely nice, compared to the cold outside. Rather than an Inn it was more like an apartment block, to be honest.

The young lady's teal eyes glanced over the four of them. Why would a group of children in this city suddenly need a place to stay? Where were their parents? Why were they on their own?

"We have the money if that's what you're worried about," Mathias added quickly, stepping in front of Lorelai, "We just need a place to stay."

The lady chuckled, leaning forward, "Love, don't worry about that. If you're asking for something obviously you must have the money." She then whispered, "Where are your parents? Do you have nowhere to stay? You know it's not safe to be on your own."

They nodded. They did, but they didn't really. Of course it wasn't safe, but why, they didn't know why.

"They're… gone", Lucien answered, his hand on Lorelei's shoulder. There was no other way to explain it. They would be gone, the actual people they had been, if what their mother said was true.

The silence after this stretched on, until the lady whispered, "Already? They must've been Healers. They don't get to live long unfortunately," she sighed, placing a hand on her chest, "Thank God I didn't marry a Healer…" 

Healers didn't live long? Mathias couldn't help feeling concerned. He was the only Healer in their group - The twins were Harming and Destructive and Ember was Harming - so would the same happen to him? But he had a baby sister to look after. He couldn't go dying on her now, she still needed him. She couldn't survive on her own.

But they weren't on their own now. They were four now, not two.

The lady paused, glancing behind her quickly. "I'll be back," she gestured to the tables behind them, "Take a seat." Then she disappeared through a door behind the counter, leaving the children alone.

They stood silently for a second, before Lucien began walking towards a table, pulling chairs out for the others. "Might as well," he said, then continued whispering, "Getting here wasn't exactly a breeze."

The others nodded. Though getting off had been much easier surprisingly than getting on, it had done quite a number on their nerves. As the wave of passengers streamed off the train, the children merged into them, blending in with the crowd, eventually making their way into the city and this building.

It had been the first that they had seen - hopefully the last that they would have to go to look for a place to stay.

It wasn't much, but the scent of the flowers as they sat was quite calming as they waited. Relaxing after the stressful escape.

A few minutes later she returned, followed closely by a black haired man holding an elaborate silver mask in his hand, as though he had just taken it off.

It was one of THOSE masks. The Enforcers masks.

A sense of panic overtaking, Mathias clenched his fist under the table, his eyes flitting over his sister and companions. This wasn't good. Had they already been caught?

They could - they could end up back where they had run from. Back home where they couldn't be.

Sensing the sudden tension in the atmosphere after his arrival, the man pocketed his mask. "I mean no harm," he smiled nervously raising his hands as though defending himself from their unspoken accusations.

As he spoke, his green eyes studied the group in front of him. They looked… lost. Out of place.

"My wife asked me to come help her out so…" he gestured shyly to the blonde woman next to him, discreetly taking her hand in his own.