Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

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Chapter 3

Since nature magic was suppose to come naturally to an elf I decided to try controlling plants while we head towards the town. I plucked a flower and held it in my hand. I had to make sure my pace didn't slow since Aria would probably fly out of sight if I fell behind. I focused on the flower trying to will it to move. Nothing happened. We were getting close to the town and I was growing impatient.

Becket:"Just move already!"

The flower suddenly twitched.

Becket:"Oh. Do I need to say it out loud? Move!"

It twitched again.

Becket:"Yes!"

I threw my hands up in the air out of joy.

Becket:"I guess I'm a plant whisperer."

Aria suddenly stopped in front of me and turned around then flew into my chest. She crawled inside my curtain robe and pokes her little head out.

Aria:"We've reached the town, but I can't get seen so I'll hide here."

She tucked her head back in to hide.

Becket:"....ok."

I pulled the dagger out and hid it inside my clothes with Aria. I didn't want to take the chance that the dagger was recognized. I continued to walk forward until I found a wall which I climbed over. I knew that if I tried to go through the main gate my curtain robe would look suspicious. There were plenty of places to hold on to since the wall wasn't constructed with a smooth surface. I could only assume it was meant for killing. The rocks were jagged so if anyone or anything rammed into it they would likely suffer a lot of injuries.

I made my way up the wall and found a walkway on top of it. There was a building close by so I jumped to it which was surprisingly easy.

*This body is so light. It's still so hard to believe.*

I climbed down the side of the building and landed in an alley. I had successfully made it into the city.

Aria:"Are we there yet?"

Becket:"Yeah. No ones around so you can look if you want."

Aria poked her little head out and looked around. She wasn't met with a very good site. We were in a dirty back ally with trash in it. The odor made me regret my new heightened sense of smell. Aria pulled her head back in immediately.

Aria:"This isn't what I thought it'd be like."

Becket:"I'm sure the whole town isn't like this."

Aria:"I hope so. These fucking humans need to learn how to clean up."

I quickly left the alley and was greeted by a more bearable odor. I could tell this was a poor part of the town. People dressed in low quality clothes and the smell of sweat floated in the air. I felt a little annoyed when a drunk man started laughing at me for wearing a curtain, but he stopped and walked over to me. He reached out and touched the curtain which made me step back.

Drunk:"Thash shome fine materal."

He seemed to be telling me that my curtain robe was made of fine material. I put some distance between us since his drunk rambling annoyed me and made my way to a better part of town. I figured out which direction to go based on the quality of the buildings and people. Things and people started to look more expensive the farther into town I went. I drew a lot of attention, but I wasn't sure if it was because of what I was wearing or the fact that I'm an attractive elven man. I got some lewd stares from guys who obviously thought I was a female elf.

One man approached me.

Man:"You're a pretty little elf aren't ya."

Becket:"Leave me alone."

Man:"Hey I just want to help ya. Looking at that outfit I'd say you probably need a little money right now. How about you spend a few hours with me and earn a few coins."

Becket:"No."

I passed by him and walked away.

Man:"Hey wait!"

He put his hand on my shoulder to stop me so I reached back and snapped his wrist.

Man:"Aaaahhhhh!!!"

The man grabbed his hand as he yelled out. He was cradling it while hunched over.

Becket:"Touch me again and I'll kill you."

I tried to sound as threatening as I could, but to me the voice sounded to girly. The man obviously didn't think the same thing since I could see the fear on his face. He probably didn't expect a reaction like that from an elf. People had started to gather so I walked way.

*I stand out to much.*

I started pickpocketing people as I walked along the streets. I realized the coins were types of gems and I knew there value in my world, but wasn't sure if it would be the same here. I was good at sleight of hand. In my old world I practiced all sorts of things to increase my skills when handling a knife. Anything that could increase the dexterity of my fingers and wrist along with hand eye coordination. After I gathered up a fairly large amount of coins I found a store that sells clothes. The door was held open by a wedge so I walked right in.

Becket:"I'd like some new clothes."

Standing at the register was an elderly woman with long gray hair. She seemed a little thin, but her eyes still seemed healthy.

Elderly Woman:"Have a look around. Everything I've got is hanging up. If you've come to place a custom order forget it. I don't have the energy to make them anymore."

Becket:"I don't need anything custom."

I walked around and looked at all the clothes until I found one outfit I liked. I wore a lot of black during missions so at some point I started only wearing black even when I wasn't working. The outfit I found wasn't entirely black, but it matched the dagger so I picked it.

Becket:"Can I try this one on?"

Elderly Woman:"Sure. You can change in there."

She pointed to a door next to her so I entered wit the outfit. Once inside I realized it was a closet. There weren't any clothes inside besides what I brought in, but it was a little small.

Aria:"I want new clothes!*

Becket:"Quiet."

Aria flew out and landed next to me.

Aria:"You have to get me some new clothes too."

Becket:"I'll make you some later."

Aria:"You're gonna make them?"

Becket:"Yeah."

When I was young I had some anger problems and I was sent to a counselor who made me take up knitting as a hobby. I ended up enjoying it so I continued doing it even after I stopped seeing the counselor. I mostly just did it to get my nerves to calm down, but I enjoyed making clothes. It was also good practice with my hands. This was my most closely guarded secret in the other world since who wants a mercenary that knits. I put the outfit on and Aria hid under the curtain robe I was holding. I tucked the dagger into the back of my pants and tried to hide it with the coat then stepped out.

Elderly Woman:"Oh! You look great. A little masculine though."

I sighed. I decided not to tell her I'm a guy since I probably will never see her again. The clothes cost 2 amethyst and 25 garnet which I started to think was a rip off since she had a devious smile on her face as I passed the coins over to her. I was wearing black pants and boots with a tight red shirt and a black and red coat with a hood.

I decided to buy a piece of armor to protect my heart. It was a cheap one so it only cover my chest and left my stomach unguarded. I wore it under my coat, but was a little annoyed when I realized I looked even more like a girl since the chest plate made it look like I had a small pair of breasts.

(Here's what I want the coat to look like.)

Spoiler :

I also bought a red ribbon to tie my hair back with and a black satchel to put the money and curtain robe in along with Aria. I left the store in my new clothes and felt pretty good. I kept getting ogled, but I just ignored it and put on the hood. I bought some dried meat from a stall for Aria and I to eat later. I wrapped it up and put it in my satchel. We needed a place to stay so I searched for an inn with few guests. Normally I would find an inn with many people and try to blend in, but my appearance stood out to much. It would be easier to hide were less people might see me.

The inn we found was called Morning Bliss. I kept my hood on when I entered and the familiar scent of body odor greeted me. The inn wasn't in great shape, but it would work. The only person inside was a middle aged man with brown hair and a goatee standing behind a counter. He furrowed his brows when I came through the door. I walked up to him to get a room.

Becket:"I'd like a room."

Goatee Guy:"For how long?"

Becket:"A week."

Goatee Guy:"A week huh. That'll be 14 amethyst."

I reached into my satchel and pulled out 14 amethyst coins.

Becket:"Here."

I passed them over to him and he began inspecting them as if he thought they were counterfeit. After a while of silence he finally handed me a key.

Goatee Guy:"Be sure to lock the door. It can get dangerous around here. The rooms upstairs at the end of the hall."

Becket:"Thanks."

I took the key and made my way to the room. It had a single bed with a chair and a window that was about the size of my head. It reminded me of a prison cell. I sat down on the bed which was quite uncomfortable, but I've slept on worse. Aria jumped out of the satchel and flew up in front of me.

Aria:"This place fucking stinks."

Becket:"Deal with it."

I laid back onto the bed and just stared at the ceiling. It was starting to get dark outside so I decided to go to sleep.

Becket:"I'm going to sleep."

Aria:"Me too!"

She landed on my stomach and laid down. I leaned my head up to look at her.

Becket:"What are you doing?"

Aria:"Going to sleep. I refuse to sleep on this nasty ass bed and your scent helps cover up the smell of this room."

Becket:"Whatever."

I plopped my head back down and closed my eyes. It took me a few minutes to drift off. I had a dream about the past. When I was young my father was an alcoholic. He would get a little violent sometimes so my mother and I would feel a little fear whenever he drank. I begged my mother to leave him, but she told me that she loved him. They met when they were kids and it was love at first sight. They never even dated anyone else. Mom got pregnant with me when she was 16 and my father was 19 which angered both of their parents. Unfortunately my father had an alcoholic father too who tossed him out.

My dad found a job and an apartment then moved my mother in with him. They were happy for a while and had a wedding after I was born. When I was around seven my dad got fired from his job which made him start drinking. He never broke any of our bones or severely hurt us, but I still hated him. My mother still only felt love for him so no matter what I said she refused to leave him. I tried to stay away from home as much as possible and started hanging out with some bad people. I developed some anger issues and almost beat a man to death once for spilling his coffee on my new sneakers. I was only 14 and the man didn't want to ruin my life so I ended up with community service and required anger management counseling.

I couldn't believe the fact that I almost killed a man and he was worried about my future. I started to get my anger under control and stopped spending time with the kids I thought were bad. I found out the man I attacked had just gotten home after a tour of duty over seas. I wanted to know why a trained soldier didn't fight back against me so I went to visit him. He told me that he wouldn't let himself hurt a kid.

When I got home that day my dad surprisingly wasn't drunk. I could see the joy in my mothers face. He really wasn't a bad person and he had never been unfaithful. He wasn't very nice when drunk, but I knew he really loved my mom just as much as she loved him. The two of them talked and laughed that entire day for the first time in a long time, but I couldn't shake this eerie feeling I was getting. I felt like maybe we could become a happy family. I hate that I remember it, but they even had a lot of fun after going to bed. The walls were just too thin for me to get any sleep.

I woke up and saw that the sun was just now coming up through the small hole in the wall they call a window. Aria wasn't lying on my stomach, but instead had her ear pushed up against the wall.

Becket:"What are you doing?"

She put her finger up to her mouth.

Aria:"Sssshhhhh. Someone just entered the room next to us."

I decided to stay quiet and listen.

Female voice:"We have to hurry up. He'll be back in an hour or two."

Male voice:"Just leave him. That limp dick husband of yours ain't worth being with."

Female voice:"He's going to be getting a lot of money soon. Once you get your hands on it then we can run away together."

Male voice:"All I care about is getting my hands on you."

I could hear the girl giggling.

Female voice:"We'll need the money to get away from here."

Male voice:"Sure. You tell me when and I'll cut that old mans throat before he even realizes what happened."

Female voice:"That's why I love you."

They started to make other noises which included moaning and all I could do was listen since Aria wouldn't let me say anything. They eventually finished and left the room.

Aria:"What was that?"

Becket:"Sounded like that woman's planning on killing her husband and running away with her lover."

Aria:"No I mean those noises they made after that."

Becket:You mean the moaning?"

Aria:"Yeah. What was that?"

Becket:"I didn't think you would be this innocent."

Aria:"Huh?"

Aria tilted her head in confusion at what I said. I couldn't help but laugh a little. I was going to need more money so I had to go out today. Aria and I ate the dried meat I bought yesterday which tasted terrible then decided to leave the inn to collect some money. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw a man and a woman that I didn't recognize talking behind the counter. Before I could cross the room to leave its door came open and the goatee guy walked in with a cloak on.

When he saw me he shifted the bag he was holding to behind his back then walked over to the counter.

Goatee guy:"Fran have you finished cleaning all the rooms?"

Male voice:"Not yet."

I recognized that the man behind the counter was the voice I heard in the other room.

Goatee guy:"Then stop fucking around and get to work."

Male voice:"Sure thing boss."

The man hurriedly made his way upstairs.

Female voice:"Welcome back darling."

She was the female voice from before.

Female voice:"How'd it go?"

Goatee guy:"Great. I've finished my job and they paid me a little extra."

Female voice:"That's great news!"

I usually don't like hitting girls, but I had an urge to strike her. Something about someone that can lie that easily to the person they're suppose to love just gets under my skin. I hadn't done any sewing to calm my nerves in a while so I might start getting a little temperamental. I wasn't really sure what to do since I was in a complicated situation.