BETA READ
Date 15th October 3852 A.C.E.
“Good, you two are back!” said Al. “What did you find out from Annette?”
“She didn’t have any new information about Shadow or the Trinity,” said Nessa as she picked up a tankard of ale from the bar. “But she did mention that Victor is planning to make a play for your territory soon.”
“So, he’s following through with his threat.”
“Was that why he stormed in here the other day?” asked Myst.
“It was. I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or just heated like he usually is whenever he smells an opportunity. Looks like he’s finally acting on his threats.”
“What are you going to do to stop him?” Myst took a small sip from his tankard.
“We’re going to talk to him tomorrow. He came storming in here unannounced, so time to repay the favour.”
“How many others do you want to take with us?” asked Nessa.
“Just us three should do the trick,” said Al. “He’s all roar but is useless in a fight. He’s too used to having his gang do all the fighting for him.”
“O-Only us three?” asked Myst.
“Don’t worry, kid. There are usually only a couple of other guys with him in their den. And catching him by surprise will mean he doesn’t have time to call his guys around the city back in.”
“Okay…”
“I’ve got you covered, Myst,” said Nessa. “If anything happens in there, I’ll have your back.”
“You two better go rest up. It’s going to be an exciting day tomorrow. I’ve been waiting a long time for a reason to shut Victor up.”
Date 16th October 3852 A.C.E.
Myst heard a knock on his room’s door. “Come in!”
Nessa strolled in carrying a large box, complete with a ribbon that tied it together. “I have something for you.”
“Is that from Annette?”
“It is! I picked it up from her this morning.”
“That was quick!”
“She doesn’t mess around when it comes to clothes. And it should be useful for today. Go ahead, open it.” Nessa placed the box down on the table.
Myst opened the box and pulled out a pair of black boots followed by dark chocolate pants. A leather belt that had holsters on each side. These look like they’d fit the handles for a pair of axes, thought Myst. He pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt and ran his fingers across the rope stitching that ran down the arms. Lastly, he pulled out a large black trench coat. The coat felt light in his hands despite its size.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” said Nessa. “Go put it on. No point in you wearing those old clothes of yours from now on.”
“What if they get ruined though? These are the nicest clothes I’ve ever owned.”
“Annette’s clothing can take a beating and a half before getting damaged. It’ll be okay. Now go try it on. I want to see how it looks on you.” Nessa threw the clothes into Myst’s arms and gave him a push towards the divider in the corner of the room.
“It feels very… tight,” said Myst. He stepped out from behind the divider while still pulling the shirt over his head.
“That’s how they’re meant to feel,” said Nessa. “You’ll get used to wearing clothes that fit soon enough. Since you’re no longer in Middroania after all.” She picked up the coat and helped Myst slide it on.
Myst instinctively reached for the hood and pulled it up to see how it felt. He expected it to be small like the rest of the clothes, but to his surprise, the hood felt similar to the one on his old cloak. “How does it look?” he asked, removing the hood and pulling at the sides of the coat.
“You clean up well. Stop pulling at it though.” Nessa swatted at Myst’s hand. “Move around a bit. Does it restrict any of your movement?”
Myst twisted, turned, and stretched. “I can move. Even though it feels tight, it doesn’t restrict me at all.”
“Good! Annette will be pleased.”
“How did Annette get all the sizes right?”
“She has a special eye for that sort of thing. That’s why people from far and wide make the trip into Dartrin just to get her clothes.”
Myst caught Nessa’s eyes scanning him up and down. “Are you sure it all fits properly? I-it feels very different.”
“Yes, yes. And you look great in it! I just never imagined you in anything but those patchy clothes that were barely holding together. I-I do have one last thing for you.” She pulled out a small pouch from her pocket and offered it to Myst.
“More from Annette? She really went all out.” Myst took the pouch.
“Not from Annette,” said Nessa, avoiding Myst’s eyes.
“F-from you? What is it?”
“Open it and see.”
Myst opened the pouch and pulled out a pendant on a long silver chain. He turned it over in his hand. It was in the shape of a cherry blossom flower. Myst looked up at Nessa and noticed the colour of the pendant matched her eyes exactly.
“I-I hope you like it,” said Nessa, breaking the silence. Her voice was softer than Myst had ever heard her speak before.
“I do. I’ve never been given anything like it before… thank you.”
Nessa stepped forward and gently took the necklace from Myst’s hand and draped it over his head, her hands lingering across his shoulders as she placed it.
“Is that uncomfortable like everything else?” she asked.
“N-no,” said Myst. “It feels… comforting.”
Nessa smiled and slowly leaned in close.
Myst felt her soft lips against his cheek.
A loud knock at the door broke the tension. Myst felt Nessa quickly pull back and step away from him just as Al walked in.
“You’re both here. Good! Time to go.”
“Yes, sir. Myst should be all sorted now. Just need to grab him some weapons,” said Nessa, creating some extra space between her and Myst.
“Good to hear. Myst, I did the liberty of sharpening up a couple of axes for you. We don’t want to go walking into the lion’s den without them as sharp as possible.”
Myst grabbed the axes from Al as they walked out the door and slide them into the holsters on his belt. The handles fit perfectly, and his new coat freely fell over the axes, masking them from sight. I hope these only need to be for show.
