Fortunately for me, the wall to the town wasn’t that high. So scaling it was reasonably straightforward. Plus, if someone spotted me, I just had to make it far enough away. No way they’d think a bruised-up girl scaled a wall. Getting back inside was the easy part. As much as I wanted to return to the shelter, it would be kind of dumb to do that now.

  It was bound to be locked for the night, and they likely knew I wasn’t there. Oh, wait. Yeah, that would probably work. I was thinking I would stumble back to the shelter at first light. Nancy would be awake by then, but I realized an even better plan would be to sleep next to the shelter. Yeah. Good plan.

  So that’s what I did. I went slowly and staggered my steps in case anyone noticed me. A guard was a real possibility, but it was the middle of the night. As long as I was quiet, it seemed fair to assume I would be left alone.

  I slept beside the shelter door for a few hours and woke up when Nancy opened it.

  “Oh my. Alexis!” she shouted as she shook me awake.

  “Morning,” I said. I yawned and feigned pain as I reached towards my ribs.

  “What in the name of heaven happened to you!”

  “I got jumped. Three guys beat me up,” I said.

  She tried to help lift me up. I staggered as I got on my feet, and she guided me to a single room with a large bed in the middle. I noticed some boards and big water buckets in here. I wondered what it was commonly used for. She helped me down onto the soft and fluffy bedding. Oh, that was nice, I thought.

  She touched my cheek gently, and I flinched.

  “They sure did a number on you. Do you remember anything about them?” she asked.

  “They were all average, with brown hair,” I said in a way that described about every non-married man in the city. I knew one was named Edgar, but had no desire to get them caught. Actually, since they placed me with Bethany, getting them caught for what they did to me was a sort of worst-case scenario.

  “I see,” Nancy said as she unbuttoned my corset and slid my arms through my dress sleeves to pull it down. She wanted to see my injuries more closely. My ribs probably looked like a cow, except my spots were blue and black.

  “Oh my,” she said. “Let me prepare some healing magic.”

  “No,” I said. “Father told me, never heal a bruise; they remind you what you need to learn. Plus, your magic power should be saved for other things.”

  She placed her hand on her forehead. “I… why are you so difficult about your own health? Okay, fine, but don’t leave the shelter today. And you eat dinner with everyone. Then, I will consider it a deal. Okay?”

  “Deal,” I said.

  She picked up a big blanket from a cupboard and laid it over me. “You get some rest. Unfortunately, we are still missing a few people today.”

  “Oh?” I asked. It was safe to assume she was talking about Bethany, but I couldn’t be sure, and either way, it was beneficial for me to ask and publicly gain information.

  “Bethany and her son went missing last night,” Nancy said as her face turned to a frown. “No class today, I am going to file reports. About you and them. Did you see either of them last night?”

  “No,” I lied. “Though, how old is her son?” I asked.

  “Ten, he has dark brown hair just like her,” she added.

  “I didn’t see them,” I said, lying again.

  “Oh well. Get some rest, okay?”

  I nodded as I brought the covers up and closed my eyes. I really was tired. I was up half the night. I smiled. Sleep found me pretty quickly.

  The next time I opened my eyes, I realized it was well into the afternoon, given the sun in the window. I noticed chatter in the corner but didn’t immediately recognize the voices. I had the most pleasant dream, too. My mother and I were in a castle, celebrating with a glass of wine. Not that I knew what wine tasted like. The only alcohol I had ever had the pleasure to sample was ale or mead.

  “Shhh, be quiet, you don’t wanna wake her up,” one of the voices said.

  I giggled at the idea. I sat up. “No worries. I’m awake.”

  “Alexis!” Emily said as she hugged me. “I was so worried. Nancy said you were hurt pretty bad.”

  “Nah, I have been way more hurt than this,” I said, rubbing the side of my head.

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better!” she shouted.

  “Sorry, though, are you guys studying? I would love to join,” I said as I leaned out of bed.

  “Can you handle it?” Cecilia asked.

  I nodded. What else was I gonna do, just sit in bed doing nothing? I’d rather accomplish something. Emily ran over to grab her slip book before handing it to me.

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  “I’m still struggling with this word. Do you recognize it?” she asked.

  Crap. I didn’t. Nancy was brutal with her slip books. I can’t believe I used to think I was good at reading. And most Drachenlict citizens learn at this kind of level? Was Rumora a dumb nation? I guess that would explain why the guild seemed to have high standards.

  I grabbed a slate to mark down the word. “Another one to ask Nancy tomorrow.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “So you didn’t know,” Cecilia said. “I was beginning to think you were as educated as Nancy.”

  I laughed at the absurdity; I was but a little girl by comparison.

  We studied well into the evening, only stopping when Nancy herself came to fetch us for dinner. Cecilia and Emily were quite insistent that I eat with them. Nancy also did not appear to be backing down from the notion of watching me eat. I wasn’t used to concern like this, but it was a nice change.

  My first meal in the shelter was just a grilled fish with lemon, and I think mashed potatoes on the side. I took a bite, and the saltiness hit a spot I didn’t realize I needed. Maybe I had been lacking in my own nutritional needs lately. Nancy looked at me with a big grin, but my sense of self-preservation lit up like this smile was a threat.

  “I have a guard coming tomorrow morning to interview you about the attack, so please prepare yourself for that,” Nancy said.

  I shuddered at the presence she was exuding. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Cecilia and Emily giggled. This bears investigation, if I can manage it. But, probably better to wait until Nancy isn’t in front of me.

  “Fortunately, the fishermen got a good catch today, so we each can do lots of protein,” Nancy said as she took a bite of her fish.

  “Wait, do you only eat once a day as well?” I asked.

  “Of course. It would not do well for me to waste food while we are on rations,” she replied.

  Crap, now I felt even worse about eating. At the end of the day, it would be pretty easy for me to sneak out of the city and forage for myself if I needed to. Taking from their limited stock was just… well, I guess it can’t be helped at the moment. I needed to ensure that the food I consumed was used well.

  After dinner, I was feeling even better than normal. I decided to try hanging out with Cecilia and Emily a bit before bed, hoping to find out if my feelings about Nancy’s smile were reasonable.

  They were hanging out in Cecilia’s room. Actually, Emily’s room was the next one over, with the room Bethany was using being one further on, which explained why they were hanging out so much. I, on the other hand, was a few corridors down.

  “So, just me or did Nancy seem pissed?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Emily said.

  “Yeah, Nancy has a strong poker face. When she starts holding an extra-tight face, it means she is really annoyed,” Cecilia added.

  “I’m surprised you noticed so fast,” Emily said. “I’m guessing the guild and guards didn’t give her nice answers about Bethany.”

  The two girls looked over to the empty room. I looked with them, but I was just hoping my facial expression wasn’t wrong. I mean, I wasn’t worried about Bethany for obvious reasons, but I couldn’t explain that if asked, so the best move was to pretend to be worried.

  “Do girls go missing often?” I asked.

  Emily nodded. “Occassionally, but this is different. Her son vanished the same night. That is not how it usually goes.”

  “How does it usually go?” I asked.

  They just looked down. “Not sure what to say, just a girl goes outside for a walk, and we never see her again.”

  “I see,” I said. It wasn’t shocking. Even in the past, when I had lived in this village for a year, I had never visited the shelter, so I wouldn’t have known how many women were here or what happened to them. But that wasn’t me anymore. I was going to make a difference. “I have faith, she will be alright.”

  “I hope you're right,” Cecilia said.

  It was getting late, so I excused myself to my own room. Did I make a mistake? Maybe, but my mother didn’t seem mad at what happened, so I would have to roll with it. I smiled as I rolled into bed.

  ***

  I didn’t really need much sleep, so I was up pretty early. I was eager to continue my studies. I grabbed my slate and slip books and went to Nancy’s room.

  “Oh, you are up early,” Nancy said with a smile. “Good. We should go down to the guard station to file a report today about your attack.”

  “Is that really necessary?” I asked. “I am fine! Really!”

  “What are you talking about? These men need to be held accountable!” Nancy said, practically spitting.

  “Okay, okay, I will go,” I said.

  I’d much rather be studying. Oh well. I guess this was still experience in terms of how this kind of stuff went.

  It didn’t take us long to reach some kind of office building. Really, the only experience I had with the guards was at the gate, so I didn’t know they had a main office, but I supposed it made sense. Once inside, I noticed a bunch of guards rolling their eyes. Heh, I guess Nancy had a reputation here.

  “We told you we’d let you know if we found something,” a guy said.

  “And how would you even know what to look for before my girl here made a report! Seriously, can you pretend to do your job!” Nancy shouted.

  “Alexis!” Jackson said. “You're the girl that got hurt!” He jumped over the counter.

  The guy Nancy was talking to just placed his head in his hands. “Jackson, since you care, you go with them to listen to the report.”

  “Yes sir!” he said.

  Nancy eyed him carefully; she seemed cautious of a man more eager than usual. “You know each other?”

  “He was the guard that checked me in when I came to town, he also bought me dinner a few times,” I said.

  That didn’t change Nancy’s narrow eyes. “You try anything improper buster, and I will castrate you.”

  “Yikes,” he said. “Why, why would I do anything improper?”

  “Then why are you nervous?” she asked.

  “Enough,” I said. “Let’s go to the report.”

  “Yes,” Jackson said. “Take me to the place you got attacked.”

  Frick. I really didn’t wanna reveal too much about what actually happened. But if I took him to a fake location, someone may say I wasn’t there. Hmm. I guess I should go to the real location. Or reasonably close to it.

  I found the alleyway. “Around here, or maybe over there,” I said, pointing in the wrong direction. “I can’t quite remember. It all happened so fast.”

  “How many were there?” Jackson asked.

  “Four,” I said. “All about the same height, brown hair. I didn’t see their eye colors.”

  “Hmm, okay,” he said. “I’ll do my best to find them.”

  I smiled, pretending to be happy. In reality, I hoped he failed. “Thank you.”

  “You think you will be in good enough condition for the entrance exam tomorrow?” Jackson asked.

  “Hmm?”

  “The guild only does interviews for hiring once a month. Tomorrow is this month’s test,” Nancy added.

  “What! I didn’t know that!” I said. “Another month! That would be forty-five days away! Definitely going tomorrow.”

  “Alexis, you were just hurt, and you are barely ready, you don’t need-”

  “Yes I do! I am definitely going. Either you can help me study or not,” I said. The absolute last thing I wanted was to be delayed by that many days, especially for essentially nothing.

  “I think I got everything I need. I will interview people in the area,” Jackson said. “Do your best, Alexis! I am rooting for you!”

  I smiled as I grabbed Nancy’s arm. “Please!”

  “Fine,” she said with a laugh.