They neared the large stone walls of the city, it had been just a few hours of walking, and the morning light of the sun could be seen peaking over the horizon. Morning would come in an hour or less, but despite all this time alone, Veridia had not made any more than necessary communication with her traveling companion. She seemed to only then realize that she was trapped by a collar of a beast, whom she had tried to kill, and the only reason she was still alive was probably because she had failed, and just managed to come off as intriguing to him. Despite this slight fear that sat in her chest, she still seemed glad to have him along, and she felt very curious about him, she didn't even know his name.
As they reached the huge gates of the towering city walls, she took a moment to whisper down her neck,
"try not to talk too loudly, it would look dangerously strange if a woman in strange clothing were talking to her jewelry, and it talked back."
'I will try to keep my thoughts to myself, I don't want to see you into trouble, before you give me a tour that is.'
A slight smirking feeling came off the wood amulet as Veridia's annoyance mounted, this was serious. The things that could happen to someone accused of unnatural capabilities, especially a woman. She tightened her fists as she came closer to a line of guards in front of the gates. Naturally, one of the older men stepped forth as if it was his right to annoy any who passed by, knowing they had to listen or be thrown in jail. He looked slightly ridiculous in his very light, and very shiny armor as he held a hand up to stop her, like she was an army marching, really she was much worse.
"STOP!"
The bellow did manage to stop Veridia, but more with the suddenness and volume of the simple command, rather than respect for the law that she of course did not possess. The man clanked his metal boots together, as if the added affect would make him seem more serious, then he continued,
"This is the great capital city of Venra, I demand you state your business, quickly now!"
Trying to keep her shaking hands from moving to one of her many lethal weapons, Veridia took a deep breath, then put on her game face, she looked at the guards, changing her expression to that of an innocent young woman who had traveled a great distance, losing many things, to seek shelter in the grandest city in the country. She threw a wink at the youngest guardsman for added effect, she figured her dirty clothing would add any missed effects.
"I came to live in the capital with my grandfather and brother, but on the road, our wagon was ambushed by monsters and now I'm all alone, with hardly any money, and I don't know what to do and-"
She allowed the words to spill from her mouth in a messy dialogue and as it continued, Veridia had let her voice quaver, and become smaller as she pretended to break down in front of the guards, one of the young ones nearly stepped forward to comfort her, the green, and the captain apparently didn't know how to handle this situation. His commanding voice dropped to a softer tone, as he tried to comfort the sad woman in front of him. As he stepped forward something became painstakingly clear to everyone, Veridia, even acting with hunched shoulders, was taller than the captain, she tried her best not to laugh, but kept the tears for affect.
"There now miss, I'm sorry your travels were so terrible,"
He suddenly turned to one of the young recruits,
"YOU THERE! take this woman to the inn, help her settle in, nicely."
The young man jumped at attention and guided Veridia right into the city, no questions asked. A very quiet vibration on her neck grabbed her attention as she followed the quiet and awkward guard through town.
"What do you want!"
she hissed at him, now was most certainly not the time,
'to watch you fool them so easily fills me with extreme joy, how did you do that?'
Viridia huffed, pretending to wipe away fake tears that had long since dried.
"Not everything is an act, study the truth, then you can lie."
The necklace did not respond.
"Miss? Miss!"
Veridia jerked her attention to the young guard, they had been standing at the inn and the boy looked honestly concerned for her well being, it is after all his job. :The purest of heart, Bravest of souls, and kindest of blah blah blah, the other stuff: these were the chosen recruits of the capital's guard. fools, easy to control, easy to lie to. Veridia pulled a sad smile to her lips and responded to the guard,
"Thank you, you've been so kind, would you mind helping me get used to the city?"
The guard blushed slightly at the suggestion of more time together with the 'beautiful traveling woman who was all alone' but it was necessary, Veridia needed a guide, and the guard had to help any who ask, within reason of course.
"I-I suppose I could help you out miss, it would get me off duty for a bit though."
The guard suddenly began to warm up to the idea of playing tour guide. Veridia gave the most innocent, heartwarming smile she could muster, without cracking up anyway, and grabbed the mans hand, shaking it surprisingly hard, if you could tell by the gasping of the surprised guard as he nearly fell to his knees. She pulled away quickly, acting sorry, she needed to tone her strength down while in town. The guard opened and closed his hand to regain circulation, then he resumed the conversation, albeit a bit more cautiously.
"Just up the road is the town square, it's where all the roads eventually lead to, so don't worry about getting too lost. Also, there is a HUGE board map covering one of the building fronts, so everyone can read it at once."
On the word huge, the guard spread his arms out in a slightly childish way, just to emphasize the true size of the map. Viridia was intrigued about the way the town roads were set up, but stayed quiet. No longer needing the guard, she could just send him away, but that might look suspicious after how clingy she had just acted minutes ago, even to one so naive as him, she decided she would play along for a while, like a (heaven forbid) date, then she would disappear, it was a large city after all.
She looked down at her traveling coat, still stained with clotting mud, making her look more like a poor street beggar than common citizen. She looked to the guard again and began to explain her thoughts,
"Excuse me, what is your name?"
"Oh, I'm sorry miss, my name is Leo Asher Terrowin."
"Three names? Isn't that a bit... excessive? How about I just call you Asher."
The young man looked slightly offended and opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. A slight blush began to paint his face across the nose. He apparently came from either a wealthy or famous family of sorts, and though he had joined the lower guard, probably to satisfy an older family member or even serve as punishment, having a not so bad looking woman of such a lower status openly accept him made his stomach turn. Though it was technically his right, there was a slight hesitation in his voice as he asked her name as well.
"My name? It is Virid--"
She stopped, wondering why she was giving out information of herself to just anyone, she usually kept a tighter lid on these things. Though now she had no choice but to carry on, or else risk suspicion.
"My name is Viridia... just Viridia."
She made the act of embarrassment at her single name seem genuine enough, but then continued with the point of the conversation.
"Anyway, I think that before I go anywhere, I should get a room to rest in, perhaps a meal? Then see if I can't find somewhere to clean myself up."
Asher suddenly noticed that her clothes were in less than perfect condition for the first time since he saw her. He felt like a fool for trying to parade her around town in her current state and immediately began to think about her comfort.
"Well... like I said, we're near the best inn in town, I personally know the owner so I'm sure I could get you a place to stay there, if that's what you want."
Viridia looked to him with eyes that looked like he was the center of the universe, she gave a breathy whisper as if words were about to fail her,
"perfect."
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