Flames of Freedom

Tailor

By sunrise the next day, they had made it to the neighboring town located twenty kilometers to the west of Alistair's village. 

They were in the busy market place when a friendly, fair skinned woman in a flowing dress came up to them. "Good day, travelers!" She greeted before bowing low, hands and arms seemingly inviting them to the inn behind her. The sign above her head read "Crimson Barrel". Her short hair bounced as she rose, arms now resting at her sides. "Are you simply passing through?" She asked in a soft voice, eyes shining with mirth. "Staying the night, perhaps?"

"We would like to eat and rest, please." He told the lady as he watched Arlene adjust the cloak on her shoulders. "And some blessed water, if that's alright." He added, knowing that some of his companion's wounds would need to be checked and redressed. Arlene shook her head. "That won't be needed." She told him before addressing the woman. "We would also like a room with a lock, if we could have one." Arlene spoke in a voice that gave no room for argument. "Sure thing! Right this way!" The woman lead them inside.

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The inn was simple on the outside with pearl white stone walls and oak doors. However, the interior seemed ever so regal. The walls were covered in alternating shades of dark red and the tables and chairs were made of mahogany wood. There were quite a few people eating, drinking, relaxing and exchanging stories with each other. The woman lead them to the counter where the bartender served them with two glasses of water.

The bartender was tan skinned and rather muscular. He simply glared at them. "Just came here?" The man asked with a grouchy expression. His had a rough sounding voice. "What do you want?"

"Oh, don't be like that, hon!" The woman lightly reprimanded him, combing her fingers through his hair. "They want a room for themselves."

Arlene felt like she was being watched. Her eyes scanned the room for any kind of threat, and she relaxed upon learning it was just a drunken man looking at her. She told herself that the people she had escaped from were not in the inn. That they would not have known she was here, unless someone tipped them off.

She was startled from her thoughts when Alistair handed her a piece of scone. "Have you ever had it before?" He asked her in a quiet voice, not wanting to draw any attention to them. "Once or twice." She answered before taking the treat and eating slowly.

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"Oh! Here is your room number and here is the key~" The woman told them before walking back outside. 

"What is it?" Alistair asked, worried by Arlene's sudden tense composure. She shook her head, quietly telling him that she would be just fine. Alistair nodded before deciding to lead Arlene up to their temporary lodgings.

The room was relatively large, compared to his own room in his cottage. He lead her to the soft cotton bed by the window of the room before placing his bag on the desk beside the bed. "Sit. Might I check your wounds, my lady?" He asked with a soft voice, aware that she may still be suffering from her previous circumstances. "Go ahead. My flames will not harm you." She told him, wings gently stretched out on the bed.

"These have healed pretty quickly!" He spoke with shock and amazement. "We pheonixes heal swiftly so long as we have a source of magic. Especially flames, or anything to do with them." She explained. Alistair could only nod, still unable to look away from the now healed wounds. "We'll have to find you new clothes." He told her, frowning at the ripped dress she was still wearing.

He still could not believe there were people who would take pleasure in seeing beings like her suffer. It wasn't right... Shaking those thoughts away, he pulled the warm cotton blanket over her shoulders, careful of her wings. "Let's go see what this town has to offer after breakfast?"

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Arlene nodded at his question, pulling a few coins from her small pouch. He had wanted to give her a slightly larger bag much like his own, but she refused. She stated that the large pack would make her uncomfortable, even though it had nothing to carry, as it would go over her wings.

Which he understood completely. He had scratched his head and sent her an apologetic look before they left his former home.

"Let's go get breakfast, then." She said, reaching for the cloak. "Rest first. We've been travelling all night and well into the morning." Alistair turned to the chair by the door. "You take the bed." She told him. "I am used to sleeping on the floor or on the chair." It took a lot for Alistair not to growl at the idea of forcing anyone to sleep on the floor or chair. He turned to her with a soft expression on his face.

"It is quite alright." He said, lips forming a smile. "I'm used to sleeping on a chair, myself." He fell asleep only after he was sure that Arlene herself was asleep.

When they woke, it was early in the afternoon. Arlene placed the cloak over her shoulders once more before they ventured to the bar for their late breakfast. The bartender only grumbled at them as they ordered their meals. Once finished with breakfast, they left the inn to see what the market place had to offer.

"Let's go check the dressmaker's store over there." Alistair suggested, pointing to the store on the far south end from the inn. "I hear they make good clothing for low prices." He added. He did not have much gold or silver coins with him as he refused to accept payment from anything to do with his father and The Trade.

"Very well. Keep your eyes and ears open for anything." She told him as they made their way to the store. The building was elegantly simple. The doors of oak were of a light shade and at the top was a sign. It read Bastien's in elegant writing, the vertical line of the 't' was an image of a needle connected to a thread, which acted as a curved underline for the name. The walls were of a light blue shade and the waiting area was full of women, children and even a few men.

"Bastien...? That name sounds familiar..." Alistair whispered to himself as they walked into the store. The inside was just as lovely as the outside. Although there were many people, the lobby seemed to be large enough to accommodate them. The counter was at the right side of the room and at the center was a stand with a curtain that went around it. To the left were around four people creating lovely clothes.

They were gaining a lot of stares, or rather, Arlene was gaining a lot of stares. It was, after all, quite odd for anyone to be wearing a hood over their heads inside a building. Alistair pushed her behind him so she would not be stared at so much. Yet, people kept whispering about her appearance. Arlene just sighed before removing the hood. "Why must people insist on everyone and everything thinking and behaving alike?"

Before Alistair could answer her question, a pair of hands grab his shoulders and turned him around.

"Alis~" A playful voice called out before he was pulled into a rather tight hug. "You've finally come to visit me! I'm so happy!" Arlene blinked at them as Alistair began pushing the would be attacker away from him. "What the-" a young and lithe blond man stood before him. The man wore a deep blue dress shirt which accented his sapphire blue eyes. A pair of black pants were highlighted by a light red sash which acted as a belt.

"Oh... Now, who is this cutie?" The man asked, cooing at Arlene. There was an underlying foreign accent in his speech, but she could not place her finger on it. "Did you come here to introduce her to yours truly?" Alistair felt his eyebrow twitch as the fair skinned man hugged Arlene and kissed her cheek before making cooing sounds. "Bastien... Of course... How could I have forgotten..." he whispered to himself.

"Oh, Alis! She's so cute!"

"You do recall that I have an aversion to that nickname, yes?" He asked, almost pouting at the man. Arlene was sending the blond glares and the temperature of the room may have started to rise a little. "Bastien, please let go of my companion." The man blinked at his choice of words. "Oh, is that how you call them these days?" He asked with a teasing smile. "Don't worry, Alis! You're secret's safe with me~"

Arlene simply watched the feminine man with a rather curious expression.