"Let's head back to the main street where the merchants are," he told Miranda.

As they walked through the street, the sky could be seen getting cloudy and dark clouds soon followed after, with a strong cross breeze blowing, it was going to rain soon.

They quickly made their way back to the main street and approached an elder female merchant who could be seen to have 2 carts on the road, one with her dresses on display and the other a huge pile of clothing all mixed up.

"Hi, good day, can you set her up with some clothes?" he asked the woman pointing at Miranda.

"Yes of course, so what would she like?" the woman asked.

"Miranda tell her whatever you want," the boy told her.

Miranda could be seen staring at the sun dresses and the A-line dresses the woman had to offer.

"Uhhh, can I see the colors you have to offer in those?" Miranda asked.

"Sure," the woman said as she began to dig into a pile of clothes she had mounted onto a cart and began pulling out different colors of both dresses, blue, red, white, green, yellow and orange.

Sooo pretty........but I should limit myself to not waste any money

"You like them Miranda?" he asked her as he could see her staring at them all.

"They're all very pretty but I'll just limit myself to 3," she told him.

"I'll take them all," the boy told the merchant.

"A-All, do we really have that kind of money to waste?" she asked.

"Money is money, it comes and goes, don't worry about it," he told her.

The female merchant could be seen to be extremely happy at hearing the boy's words.

"How much is it?" he asked the woman.

"For those 12 dresses, the total will be 120 drachma but since you're buying it in bulk I'll give you a discount to 100 drachma" the woman responded.

"Not a problem, just get her size," he told the woman.

"Excuse miss, would you mind taking off the coat so I could make an estimate of which size would fit you best?" the woman asked Miranda smiling.

Miranda was embarrassed to take off the coat, the dress she was wearing beneath it was torn up and in tatters and it could be seen on her face.

"Don't worry about it Miranda, no-one's gonna do you anything" he told her reassuring her.

She took off the coat and passed it to the boy hiding the money bag inside and the woman was unfazed by the dress Miranda was wearing despite the state it was in and walked up to her with a measuring tape and began to take some measurements, after which she began to dig into the clothes pile once again and pulled out the clothes which met her requirements.

"These clothes should fit fine, but if you should have a problem with it, come find me and I'll change them," the woman told Miranda.

The boy quickly took out 100 drachma from the money bag and passed it to the woman then he quickly hid the bag back inside of the coat and passed it back to Miranda which she quickly put back on.

The woman understood why the boy hid the money bag quickly, this was Mephisto after all and she quickly checked the money making sure all was there and placed the all the dresses into 2 bags made of cloth and passed it to him.

"Thank you very much," she told the boy with a look of gratitude on her face.

"No thank you" he responded slightly nodding his head.

"Miranda, you hold one of the bags, I can't hold both with my left hand like this" he told her passing a bag to her.

"Thanks alot" she told him slightly blushing taking a bag.

He began to look at the clouds in the sky and noticed rain should begin to fall soon.

"Is your hand okay, we have to clean it so it won't get infected" she told him showing a look of concern on her face.

"It's not that bad, I'll deal with it soon," he told her

It pains a bit, I'll clean it and wrap it up when we get to a place to stay..........

Not that bad, your hand has been shaking nonstop since you reopened that wound............

"We should go find a place to stay and drop these things off and get some food," he told Miranda.

"Wait, you aren't going to buy any clothes for yourself?" she asked him.

"Maybe I should............ eh it doesn't really matter to me that much, I can just wash it over and reuse it" he told her, in all honesty, he couldn't care less about how he looked at the moment.

"But that shirt is torn up," she told him.

"And?" he asked

"But it's torn...............we're definitely getting you some new clothes," she told him trying to assert some dominance.

"Ok I guess" he responded not caring.

Miranda walked back over to the female merchant.

"Where can I get clothes for him?" she asked

"If its clothes like what he's wearing right now, you'll have to check in a clothing store a little further down the road by the city square, most you'll get selling on this street is tunics for men" she responded pointing down the street.

"Let's go" Miranda commanded the boy leading him down the street.

After around 10 minutes of walking down the road in a straight line, they came upon a town square with a road on the 3 sides of the square being visible going through to unknown places. Multiple buildings for various things could be seen present, these buildings did not follow the typical Mephisto building design.

Directly to the right side of them was a one storey building made of bricks with a window with shirts, pants, and shoes on display. The sign at the top of the building said: "Samael's Clothing Shop" with a black boot drawn at the side.

"Let's go in there," Miranda told him.

"Ah okay" he told her as he opened the door leading inside.

*Ring

A bell was located at the top of the door which rang as it was opened.

Multiple racks could be seen in 5 rows made of wood holding different kinds of clothes and on the wall shelves could be seen holding shoes of different kinds male and female.

A counter could be seen with a wooden door leading to somewhere across the opposite end of the room.

No one could be seen on the inside of the place.

"EXCUSEEEEEE" Miranda shouted.

*Creakkkk

The down slowly opened and a short old man with long white hair tied in a ponytail wearing glasses entered behind the counter and walked fastly towards them.

"Ah, customers," the man said.

"Hello good day, I need some clothes similar to what I'm wearing," the boy told the man.

The man looked at the boy assessing what he was wearing.

"I have clothes similar to this, come with me," the man said.

They both followed the man and he took them to the 3rd row with shirts and pants on the racks.

"As you can see, I have different colors in the shirts but I only have brown leather pants" the man informed the boy.

"Doesn't really matter to me, white shirts are okay and the pants aren't an issue" the boy responded.

"Rest the bags on the counter and let me take a measurement" the man instructed them.

They both placed the bags on the counter and the man took out a white long sleeved shirt from the wooden rack and pushed it against the boys back to check the shoulder width and length.

"This should fit nicely, go try on the pants in the back room, I think these should fit you," the man said pulling out a pair of pants passing it to the boy.

"Wait, is your hand bleeding?" the man asked, now noticing it.

"Sorry, but I can't give you the merchandise to wear until you clean that up, if you want I have some water in a basin and some cloth behind the counter, clean it and wrap it up then we'll continue" the man instructed the boy.

"Alright," the boy said walking towards the counter.

"You want me to clean it and wrap it for you?" Miranda asked looking at his hand.

"No thanks.......I can handle it myself" he muttered walking away from her.

He quickly submerged his hand into the basin of water and began to wipe it with one-half of the piece of cloth.

It hurts..........

As he was finished wiping it, Miranda walked up to him.

"I'll wrap it," she told him reaching her hand for the piece of cloth.

"No thanks, I got this" he responded

"I told you, I'm wrapping it," she told him seriously.

Is it just me or has she gotten more assertive since I met her

She tore off the clean half of the piece of cloth and began to wrap his hand quickly and she did it pretty neatly.

Then the man walked over with the pair of pants and passed it to the boy and pointed at the door behind the counter.

As he went inside, the room was relatively small like that of a box with just a mirror being on the wall.

He quickly changed into the pants and they fit awfully well and then he took them off and carried them back outside.

"They fit well, I'll take them, also do you think that she can try on the clothes she bought earlier to see if they fit well so we'll know if we have to change them?" he asked the man staring at Miranda.

He's right.......

"Sure, it doesn't really affect me, of course, that's once you're purchasing something" the man responded smiling.

Miranda took the 2 bags of clothes and went into the change room.

"So Mr. Samael I presume, but chance do you have any long sleeved tunics?" the boy asked the man.

"Ah yes, I am Samael and yes I do have tunics in stock, any particular color?" Samael asked the boy.

"Gray, black or white preferably" the boy responded

"You'll get gray and white, sorry but I don't have black in stock" the man replied.

"It doesn't matter too much, I'll take 3 in each," the boy told the man.

Samael quickly picked out the tunics and measure them against the boy.

"Is that all then sir?" Samael asked.

He began to think about it.

Miranda's shoes were torn up, she should probably get something new.......

"I'm unsure, I think the girl will need some shoes" he responded.

After around 20 minutes Miranda emerged from the change room.

"They fit perfectly," she told the boy smiling.

"That's good to know, Miranda get some shoes whilst you're here one time" he told her looking down at her feet.

Samael directed Miranda to the shelves where the shoes were lined up, and Miranda could be seen looking around.

Then she finally decided on a pair, a pair of flat black leather slip on shoes.

She quickly tried them on and they seemed to fit well.

"And you sir?" Samael asked the boy pointing at shoes and boots.

"No thanks, I got these, they'll be enough" he responded.

Samael directed them to the counter and began to calculate the cost of all the goods.

"That'll be 85 drachma," the man said putting the goods into a bag he had lying on the ground.

Miranda quickly took out the money and paid the man.

"Thank you very much," the man said with a smile on his face passing the bag to the boy.

"I'll hold it for you, leave that hand alone," Miranda told the boy taking the bag from him.

"Thanks, I guess" the boy replied.

"Mr. Samael, is there anywhere we can stay for the night nearby and also is there a place that sells food to eat nearby too?" the boy asked Samael.

"Well...........there should be a tavern and guesthouse across from here, its the big 2 storey wooden building, they have some good food and decent rates for the night" Samael responded pointing through the window.

"Thank you" the boy replied shaking his head towards the door signaling to Miranda it was time to leave.

As they left the building, only two buildings on the opposite end caught the boy's attention, one was the tavern and guesthouse and the other was a painted red, long 1 storey building made of what looked to be rock cladding, with 3 hung windows to the front with a brown wooden door and a flat roof. Black smoke could be seen coming from the chimney in the far back of the roof.

As he carefully looked at the building, a small white sign could be seen posted on the far right of the building, it stated "Weapons and Magic Items Shop" with a sword and a staff side by side as its logo.

I'll have to come here after we go in after we get some rooms.........

They walked straight across the road and headed to the guesthouse and tavern.

There was no sign at the top, it was just a building made of wood, which extended about 2 storeys high with 2 casement windows on each side of the building and a mansard roof at the top.

As he opened the door, a nasty scent permeated the room........it was that of ale.

The scent may not have affected Miranda as she seemed unfazed but that stench made him a bit nauseous.

He stood there for around 10 seconds looking down at the wooden floor getting accustomed to the scent.

As he raised his head, the room could be seen divided into 3 areas, to the left were tables and chair with cotton furnishing and people could be seen eating food, to the right were plain wooden table and chairs and men in large groups could be seen being seated drinking ale and beer and finally straight ahead was the owner behind the large wood counter with barrels filled with the products he sold and 2 wooden doors on each end were seen leading to unknown areas in the back.

As he they walked through the corridor leading to the counter where the man sat behind on a wooden stool. Men to the sides began to watch Miranda and began shouting at her.

"Come her girl"

"Daddy's got a big cock waiting for ya"

"I wanna fuck you tonight"

She began to feel extremely insecure.

"Miranda go to the counter, don't get frightened, I'll be there in one sec, " he told her pointing at the counter.

"Ah okay," she replied and began to walk with haste worried about those men.

The men who were watching her turned their eyes to the boy.

"You lookin for a fight boy"

"I dare you"

"You wouldn't last a second"

He turned and looked at Miranda ensuring she wasn't looking at him and then he began to watch the men.

Beginning to grin and staring them dead in the eyes, his bloodlust could be felt, although he was not as big as they were in terms of muscular size and he had no weapon in his hands, what he reeked off was confidence.

This was the look of someone who knew he wasn't going to lose to these people and he began to watch the jars and mugs filled with ale which they were drinking from grinning at it.

They understood what he was saying, "It doesn't matter to me, I'll kill you with that if push comes to shove".

They immediately got quiet, the one thing that shatters confidence is someone that's even more confident than you in a particular situation such as a fight where a victor and loser is determined.

Doubt began to rise in their mind as if they could take him in a fight and then they asked themselves the question "Is it really worth it to die in a place like this?".

The boy could see that they shut up and he lost his smile immediately.

"It's a shame" he told them, taunting them with a condescending look on his face.

They got up and walked out of the tavern and the other men and women began to look at him, the room went quiet for a second before everything resumed as normal.

They fell for the bluff.......that should keep them shut though

In a fight right now, there was no doubt in the boy's mind that he would lose. His body was already malnourished, he hadn't trained in months and his technique most likely dropped in quality and he had been fighting off the fatigue and exhaustion from the sleepless nights paired with the blood loss from his hand.

Intimidation is a frightful thing, even if you are unable to fight, your sheer presence in the room can stop almost anyone from approaching you if you know how to exert that aura directed in the form of bloodlust.

The feeling he got in Kólasi never left him, it always remained there in the back of his head slowly festering.

As he turned, he could see Miranda talking to the man at the counter and he approached them.

"You done doing whatever it is you were doing?" she asked him.

"Ah yes, you found out about the rooms?" he asked her.

"Yes, this man here is named Jaime, he owns the inn here and said he'll accommodate us for however long it be, I already paid for the night, sorry I didn't tell you before I paid, it is your money afterall," Miranda told the boy sadly.

"It isn't a problem Miranda," he told her trying to cheer her up

Jaime seemed relatively young, probably mid 30's, a little bit on the chubby side and was dressed formally in a brown waistcoat, pants, and a white shirt with a mug of ale next to him.

"Good day, I don't know how long we'll be staying here but thanks for having us" the boy greeted the man.

"Oh, he has manners, that's a good trait, you don't see that kind of thing around here" the man responded

Now that I notice it........huh

She began to look at him.

"Well I'll escort both of you to your rooms," the man told them both as he walked to the door on the left opening it waving his hands at it signaling them to go in.

As they entered, the room was a long narrow wooden corridor with a dead end but there was a staircase at the side leading upstairs.

As they walked up the staircase multiple rooms could be seen in a linear fashion.

Jaime pointed at the 1st and 2nd room directly infront of the staircase they had ascended.

"You guys sort yourself out, doesn't matter who goes in which afterall you're both here together" the man said pointing at the rooms.

"Are there wooden tubs in there filled with water?" the boy asked

"Ah yes and there's also a tap located directly above to provide you with water if you need any more" the man informed the boy.

"A tap?" the boy asked

"You don't know what a tap is? Where did you come from?" the man said laughing.

"Kólasi" the boy responded

"Ahhhhh you came from that backwatered city, I should inform you now so I guess it won't be a surprise to you, there are large water sources running beneath the earth in hollow places and some people ran pipes leading down there and added a pumping mechanism to supply the entire city with water in their homes, also we don't use things like candles in the nighttime for a supply of light, there are bulbs and lights located throughout the city at nighttime which run on magic illuminating everything so nightlife is quite active, majority of the world follows this trend now" the man apprised the boy.

Things are so different here.....................

"Thank you for telling me" the boy responded with a confused look on his face.

"So pretty lady, handle yourself well, I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Jaime told Miranda as he walked down the stairs.

"So Miranda, what room you wanna go in?" the boy asked.

"I'll go in the first one if you don't mind" she responded

"Okay," the boy responded as he swapped bags with Miranda, acquiring his clothes and opened the room going into room 2 and shutting the door.

The room was large in size with black curtains over windows showing the town square and had a large mattress mounted on a large wooden frame, a chester drawer could be seen on the far left and the wooden tub with the shower could be seen on the far right with a mirror on the wall. Scented oils could be seen next to the tub along with salt and peppermint ground up mixed into a paste next to a new wooden toothbrush.

He didn't even tell me goodbye..

*Thump

A loud noise could be heard, as if something fell.

Darkness?.............................................Where am I?

It felt cold, oh so cold to the point where he was borderline on the verge of trembling.

He moved his arms but as he looked down his body could not be seen.

The darkness covered it all.

His body slowly began to manifest and looking at the positioning of his legs, he was sitting.

Something wet and mushy could be felt below his feet.

As he looked down...........................

*HUFF HUFF

He got up from the bed gasping for breath hyperventilating and cold sweating.

Grabbing half of his face with his left arm with a distraught expression on his face.

What was that.........

A hand could be felt touching his hand.

"You're awake...........I thought something bad had happened to you but Jaime said that you were famished and lacked rest" Miranda said as she began to hug him and cry.

Miranda?

"How long was I asleep?" he asked her calmly

"I don't know.............. around 6 hours, it's nighttime, when I was finished bathing and changing I came to look for you but you weren't answering when I called for you and when I opened the door I found you there lying on the ground" she replied.

My body pains...........................it feels as if I've been stabbed repeatedly

"Ah okay, thanks Miranda" he said putting on a facade, hiding the pain he was experiencing.

"When was the last time you ate and slept?" she asked him worried for his health.

"I don't know, 2 days........probably" he responded hesitantly.

"2 DAYS" she shouted in his ear.

He was with me all this time and I hadn't even realized.......

"Wait for me outside, I'll bathe and get ready and we can get something to eat" he told her.

She stopped hugging him and smiled at him wiping the tears off her face and exited the room.

As he slowly got up the bed and took off his clothes and approached the wooden tub.

He couldn't hold it in anymore, his insides felt as if they were being destroyed and his lungs began to hurt.

He ran over and picked up the shirt he had just taken off.

*COUGH COUGH COUGH

He began to cough into the shirt to muffle the sound to not alert Miranda. After he was done coughing the pain soon subsided and he threw the shirt aside and he entered the wooden tub.

The tub was directly connected to the floor, with a plug being seen at the bottom to drain the water outside.

He stared at the tap not knowing what to do.

It had handles so he made a guess and turned it.

Water began to pour out landing into the tub with him in it.

The water was cold but it was soothing.

He quickly threw in some rose scented oil and washed his body thoroughly using a piece of soap made from mutton fat he saw near the scented oils.

He pulled the plug and drained the water then changed into the new pair of pants he bought and a long sleeved gray tunic and his black boots.

Brushing his teeth quickly using the peppermint and salt paste and spitting the water into a bowl, he left the room.

As he exited the room, Miranda could be seen waiting outside, wearing a white A-line dress. She looked pretty.

He wasn't one to read the mood but he had common sense.

"You look nice Miranda," he said throwing a compliment at her.

"T-Thank you" she responded blushing.

He looks so different........

"Let's head downstairs and get something to eat," he told her as he began to walk in front of her.

"Yes, I haven't eaten for the day" she responded.

"You didn't eat anything while I was asleep?" he asked.

"N-No, I stayed with you the entire time to make sure you were alright" she said looking up at him then looking away.

Huh........

Hes pretty tall now that I notice it....

"Thanks, Miranda, let's go," he said turning and looking at her.

As they headed downstairs, Jaime could be seen at the counter and it was extremely lively with people dancing and loud music being played by some people. People shouting and laughing could be heard.

"Goodnight Jaime, we're here to get some food," the boy told Jaime.

"AHHH you're awake, I thought you would've slept longer...........come with me," Jaime said as he escorted them to a table on the left-hand side of the room where people could be seen eating.

"Sit here, my wife will be with you shortly," he told the boy.

"You're married?" the boy asked.

"Ah yes, my wife and I both run this place but she doesn't like some of the people that come to drink here so she tends to do the cooking and stays in the kitchen or our room to avoid them" he responded.

They began to sit at a round table covered with white cloth face to face on cotton padded chairs.

"So how did you let your body get this way?" she asked out of curiosity.

"...................One thing led to another" he responded hesitantly choosing his words carefully.

"You know you can't let something like this happen again right," she told him out of concern.

"Ah...yes" he responded with a delay.

A woman approached them dressed in a white dress with long wavy light brown hair, she seemed to be in her mid 30s.

"Hi goodnight, I'm Jaime's wife Margaret, so what would you like to have?" she asked smiling.

"Goodnight, nice to meet you, I don't know, what does it have?" the boy asked.

"We have a chicken stew with rice and soup tonight" she responded.

"Miranda, what do you want?" the boy asked.

"I'll take the soup," she told the woman.

"I'll have the stew with rice, thanks" he responded.

"And to drink?" the woman asked.

"Anything but alcohol" the boy responded.

"I have some oranges in the back, so you can get some orange juice" she replied.

"That'll be fine," he told her.

"And you?" he asked Miranda.

"I don't know" she responded.

She could be seen getting confused.

"You should try the mead, it's a type of wine we make over here" the woman responded.

"I'll try it then," Miranda told the woman.

"I'll be back in a little," the woman said as she began to walk away.

A strange feeling began to run through his body.

What the fuck is this..................nausea..........I shouldn't eat...........

"You look a little pale, you alright?" she asked

"A-Ah yes" he responded.

The woman returned with 2 plates in her hand and Jaime followed with the two drinks.

"Enjoy the meal," they said simultaneously and began to giggle at it happening and they walked off.

Looking down at the stew, it looked appetizing but the nausea made it uncomfortable.

This was the first time he was eating something since the incident.

"You're not eating?" Miranda asked as she swallowed a spoonful of soup.

Might as well try...............

He took a spoonful of rice and stew and put it into his mouth.

A gag reflex was about to happen but he suppressed it.

Forcing the food down his throat and drinking the juice quickly to wash it down, making it look as if he was eating naturally to Miranda.

"How is it?" she asked.

"Its........good and yours?" he replied looking away from her.

"It's pretty good and your stew looks good too" she replied smiling.

She took a sip of the mead.

"This thing is pretty sweet and it has a slight taste of alcohol, it tastes good," she told him.

"Glad to hear that," he told her.

After a while, they were finished eating and the urge to vomit was so strong but he kept it in.

The music began to intensify and the people dancing grew louder and louder,

Miranda and the boy couldn't help but look and she began to laugh and giggle at the sight.

Then someone entered the bar and as Miranda looked at the person her face went cold.

She immediately turned around and began to look at the boy.

"Whats wrong Miranda?" he asked

"The man that just came in...........he's one of the guards that came with the man and killed the people of the tribe along with my parents," she said with her voice getting faint.

"Oh...........is that so," the boy told Miranda with a hint of aggression staring at the man.