The Night was no longer young, when Risha and the others left the restaurant, their appetites fully sated.
Despite the late hour, the streets were far from empty and it happened that a passerby collided with one of the actors and either apologized, muttered something under their breath, or told the actor to watch where they were going, all depending on mood and the amount of alcohol in their bloodstream.
Eventually they came to a building with a sign reading 'Hotel', hanging above its entrance.
"This is my stop" Risha said. She turned to Eramus. "Thank you, for inviting me, I had a great time and the food was excellent."
"Think nothing of it" the faun replied, bowing elegantly. "It was my pleasure, I assure you."
Risha bid them all good-night and was just about to head inside, when her brother stepped forward:
"Sis, wait!" He called out. "I would like to talk to you, between four eyes."
"Can't it wait?" Risha wondered.
Leorin shook his head.
"Very well", she sighed. "Let's go inside."
"A single person should not walk the streets by night" Rufus observed. "Me and someone else will wait out here for you."
"I'll wait" said Sara. "Just don't take too long, okay?"
Leorin promised and the siblings entered the hotel, stepping into a foyer whose wooden floor had not been cleaned for some time. A cockroach scuttled nervously across it, disappearing into a crevice and above the heads of the siblings, a bluebottle buzzed listlessly.
"I know" Risha whispered to Leorin. "Its not much, but I have stayed in worse places. Believe it or not."
"So have I" Leorin whispered back.
Risha retrieved her keys from the sleepy-eyed pangolin on duty and she and Leorin headed upstairs.
The Room which was Risha's current residence was small and sparsely furnished, containing a bed, a chair and a table, with a pitcher of water and a bowl on it. Having offered her brother the chair, Risha sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Well, Leo" She said, while unlacing her boots. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Leorin leaned forward, placing his paws on his knees.
"The Person who made it possible for the Vinolian army to take Guanaca... it was you, right?"
"What makes you think that?" His sister asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure" Leorin replied, scratching the back of his ear. "Just a hunch, I suppose."
"Our long years of separation almost made me forget how perceptive you can be at times, little brother. Your hunch is correct, I am the one responsible for Guanaca's fall. I guess my place in history is ensured. Unless I'm remembered for something else; such as being the older sister of a famous playwright."
She smiled and although Leorin was flattered by the thought, he did not smile back. Risha was beginning to wonder if he reproached her for what she had done? No, surely not.
"Risha?"
"Yeah?"
"What was it like? Being a slave, I mean."
Risha stared at her brother. She had not been prepared for the question and now she was not sure how to answer it. How could she possibly explain in words the feeling of waking up every morning, knowing that your life was not your own; that you were no longer a person with rights, but property that your owner could do with as he wished and that your only reason for survival was to make sure that whoever held your leash had no reason to be dissatisfied with you?
"Imagine having a knife at your throat, every day" she said. "That's kind of what it's like."
To Risha's own ears, the answer sounded insufficient, but Leorin seemed to accept it.
"That sounds horrible" he said, shaking his head in sympathy and sucking in air through his teeth."I figured it was bad, but I had no idea..."
You still don't, Risha thought. Not really and I hope you never will.
"Anyway" she said. "That's all in the past, let us speak no more about it."
Her eyelids suddenly decided to make their existence known. Before she could stifle it, her mouth had opened wide, letting out a yawn.
Leorin, who could take a hint, got out of the chair.
"Well" he said. "I'll leave you to your beauty sleep. You look like you can use it" he teased, grinning mischievously.
Risha responded by smacking him with her pillow.
"Go away, kid" she said, though there was laughter in her voice. "You're bothering me."
Leorin walked up to the door and opened it. In the doorway, he turned around.
"I'll talk to Eramus about the guy with six fingers" he said. "Sleep well, Sis."
"You too. Oh, and say good-night to Sara from me, will you?
Once she was alone, Risha went up to the door and locked it. She also placed the chair against door-handle, as an extra precaution. Having undressed and folded her clothes in a neat pile, she slipped into bed, holding her short-sword in its sheath, close to her, as if it were a teddy bear. She closed her eyes and soon was fast asleep, dreaming.
In her dream, Risha was climbing a winding spiral staircase. She knew not how long she had been engaged in this endeavor; the staircase seemed to stretch on forever, but she knew she had to reach the top. As she climbed, shadowy figures fluttered around her, taunting her in the voices of those she hated: Argath, Bashar, Cerewan and the person with six fingers.
Suddenly, one of the shades lounged at her, causing Risha to lose her footing and with a scream tumble into the darkness below.
*****
The Moment her body made contact with the hard floor, Risha woke up.
Uttering an expletive, the lynx picked herself up and began to massage her aching shoulder and backside. As she did this, her face was hit by a ray of light seeping through a gap in the frayed curtains. Was it morning already?
Pulling aside the curtains revealed that this was indeed the case. Though judging from the sun's position in the sky, it was still quite early. Risha briefly considered climbing back into bed and go back to sleep for another hour. Or, until someone came and wake her up. Perhaps she would have a nice dream this time around?
Then again, she thought. With my luck, it would probably be another nightmare.
Thus, having dressed and washed her face, the lynx left her room and headed out on the streets. Her wanderings soon took her to the town square, where the vendors were already busy setting up their stalls.
One vendor was selling warm pretzels, the aroma from his stall tickled Risha's nostrils and stimulated her appetite. With determined steps she headed for the stall and soon held the desired pastry in her paws. She was just about to sink her teeth into it when a nasally voice, asked for her attention:
"Excuse me, Miss. Your name wouldn't be Risha, would it?"
Surprised, Risha looked down. Standing next to her was a white canine; pudgy and so short that he barely reached to her waist. On his head was a tuft of red hair and he had a disinterested, some might even say gloomy, expression on his face.
Risha eyed the little fellow cautiously. She did not think he looked dangerous. Then again, appearances can be deceiving.
"Who wants to know?" She asked.
"Yes" the dog said, nodding to himself. "You fit the description I was given."
From his coat-pocket, he produced a piece of paper.
"Here" he said, handing the paper to the lynx. "This will explain everything."
Risha unfolded the paper and read it. This is what it said:
Risha
I send this person to look for you. He is a servant of the person who may be our next employer. He will take you to his master's home, where I am waiting. I'll see you there.
-Kyros.
Risha looked at the message. It was written in Kyros' hand, no doubt about that.
"Very well" she said. "Give me a few seconds to finish my breakfast and I'm all yours."
