I'm starting to wake up, and it's morning, or I think it's morning. I look at my clock, and it does say that it's around eleven. So, yeah, it's morning, not that I hate it, but everyone likes to sleep, as far as I know. Then, I notice something on my right shoulder and I look to my side. I see Sally sleeping, her body pressed into me, with her head on my shoulder, her arm and leg draped over me. I see that my arm is wrapped around her shoulder, and it makes me wonder how we got like this. Oh wait, yeah, I remember, we did it last night, and many times. Well, it's kind of late, and I need to eat some breakfast, so I need to get out of bed without waking her up. I was going to try that, but I see her stirring, and she starts to open her eyes. She looks at me through half-open eyes, and smiles.
"Morning," says Sally.
"Good morning," I say, and she nuzzles up to me. "I assume you had pleasant dreams."
"Why do I need dreams when you're right here?"
"That's sweet of you," I kiss her on the forehead, "but I'm getting hungry."
"Are you that hungry?"
"Unfortunately, how about you?"
"Depends on what kind." Oh, I know which one is sated.
"This one." I touch my stomach.
"I could use a bite."
"All right, I'll get it ready." Sally pulls her limbs off me, and I get up from the bed. Then, I go to my dresser, and put new clothes on. After that, I use one of my buckets to wash my hands, and go to my kitchen.
"By the way, I'm curious about something," says Sally, which I assume is from the bed.
"And what's that?" I ask.
"How did you and Emily met?"
"I met her in Brakmar, where she was some homeless Sram."
"How long ago was that?"
"Just a few days ago." There's a silence, but I don't pay it too much attention.
"And she's traveling with you now?"
"She's not exactly traveling with me, she's just following me around." I hear her walking to my bucket.
"Why?"
"I don't know, I've told her to leave, but she doesn't listen."
"She probably likes you."
"Well, I did cleaned and fed her, but that was to get her to leave." After I say that, I hear one of my chairs moving, so I assume she's taking a seat.
"I'm sure you could chase her away." I wanted to say that yes, I could, but I don't say it. I just continue on cooking breakfast, and it makes me notice that I'm cooking for three. I think she noticed something about my silence because she doesn't say anything else for a moment. "Do you want her to accompany you now?" What an interesting question. I do have to admit that Emily proved herself reliable and skillful enough to handle dangerous situations. I don't want to say it out loud, but I do like her company. I'm pretty much done with breakfast, and put it on the table.
"Hey, Sally," I say.
"Yes?" she asks.
"I have a favor to ask of you." I tell her what it is, and she agrees to help me with it. With that done, I leave the bag to check on Emily.
I come out of my bag, and see that Emily is still asleep, which I guess is because of the bamboo milk. Oh man, she's going to wake up with a hangover, but she didn't drink much, so it might be a small one. I walk up next to her bed, and start to shake her.
"Hey, Emily, wake up," I say. She groans, and I think is out of annoyance. "Come on, wake up, it's almost midday."
"Five more minutes," she says, and I have to admit, it's such a classic line.
"I have breakfast ready." She sits up, yawns, and stretches. Then, she gets up, and goes into my bag. I would have stop her, but Sally was already dressed. I follow behind her, and enter into my bag.
Once inside my bag, Sally starts to eat, and Emily quickly took a seat. She was about to eat, but there was no way I was going to let her eat without washing her hands.
"Stop it right there, Emily," I say.
"Why?" she asks.
"Go wash you hands first." I point to a bucket with water.
"Okay." She gets up, and goes to my bucket, while I take a seat on the table.
"So, how long are you staying?" asks Sally, and it's a question that I kind of fear.
"I'm planning to leave soon," I say.
"How soon?"
"After I get enough supplies to reach the next town." Oh my goddess, here it comes.
"Sounds easy, we can give you as much as you need." Okay, that's not the response I expected.
"Really?"
"Yeah, we got a lot of food back, we can spare a lot for our heroes."
"No, I mean, really? You don't mind with, you know, me? Leaving?" After I ask that, she thinks for a moment, and then, she giggles for a moment.
"You think I was going to get mad at you for leaving, after having fun with me last night?"
"Since you put it like that, yes." Emily comes back to the table, takes a seat, and starts to eat.
"Zoe, you're not the first traveler to pass through here." Okay, that says a lot.
"Was I the most fun?"
"You certainly were." Awesome! Bragging rights go to me!
After breakfast, we leave my bag, leave the tavern, and go to the storehouse. When we get inside, I could see that Sally wasn't kidding. I knew there was a lot of food in the hideout, but this is enough to last the whole town for months. Of course, I only get enough to travel to the next town, or city, whatever comes first. After that, I tell Emily to wait near a tree, while I go into a shop with Sally. The place is full of many items, and as I was told, it's run by an Enutrof. I was also told that it would be expensive to get what I wanted, but after saving money on food, I'm sure I can get it. I walk to the counter, where the Enutrof was.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a certain item," I say.
"Ah, you must be the town's hero, whatever the item is, I'll make sure to have it, for a price," says the Enutrof.
"Of course." I tell him what I need, and he smiles, which I'm sure it's because of how expensive is going to be for me.
"I do have one." He leaves to the back of his store, and comes back a few moments later with the item I need in hand. "Here it is, that would be three thousand kamas," when he says that, I hear Sally clear her throat, and gives him a reprimanding look, "but I'm willing to make a special discount for our hero. I'll give it for two thousand and five hundred kamas."
"One thousand," says Sally.
"Sally, you're killing me here, two thousand and three hundred."
"One thousand and two hundred.
"Two thousand."
"One thousand and five hundred." The Enutrof seems to think about it, and comes to a decision.
"Deal." I give him the kamas, take the item, and leave the store.
Once outside, I see Emily still waiting in place, and playing with one of her knives. We walk up to her, and when we reach her, she puts her knife away. I know she noticed the item in my hand, I saw her eyes look at it. I present the item to her, she takes it, looks at it for a moment, and shakes it for a moment.
"What's in it?" asks Emily.
"Your home," I say, and she looks confused.
"I don't understand." Okay, whether she means it or not, she wants me to make it official. Fine, I'll do that, I put a hand on her shoulder, and start saying.
"Emily, I know I've told you to leave before, and trust me, I wanted you gone." She looks a little hurt by those words, but I wasn't done. "However, after this little adventure of ours, I realized how reliable, and loyal you are." I think she starts to realize where I'm going because she starts to smile, and I can't help it, but to smile as well. "So, what do you say? Do you want to travel with me?" Oh goddess, I think I said too much because I see some tears in her eyes.
"Yes!" she says, and after that, she keeps saying it over, and over. Then, she moves her haven bag around, I guess she's really happy to have her own. "Can I go in?"
"It's yours now, you don't need my permission."
"You're right!" She puts it on the ground, and goes inside.
"I knew she would love it," says Sally.
"I think she loved more the idea of traveling with me," I say, and Emily comes out of her bag.
"It has everything, even it's own kitchen!" says Emily with a big smile.
"And you're not going to use it, until you learn how to cook." The last thing I need is to have her haven bag burn, especially after all the money I spent on it.
"Would you teach me?"
"I'm no master, but I can teach you the basics." She cheers after hearing that.
"All right, you two better hurry up before it gets too late," says Sally.
"You're right," I say, and look at Emily. "Let's go."
"Right behind you," says Emily, and we walk to the edge of town.
When we get there, I turn towards Sally, and start to say my goodbyes.
"Thanks for everything, Sally," I say.
"Thank you for the hospitality," says Emily.
"No, no, thank you for getting rid of those Grambos, and for getting our food back," says Sally.
"It's the least we could do," I say. Then, Sally walks up to me, and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
"Pay me a visit the next time you pass through here," says Sally with a smile. I smile back, and give her a kiss on her forehead.
"I will." Then, Sally turns to Emily.
"And you're also welcome to visit any time that you like."
"Thank you," says Emily. With that done, Emily and I turn around, and leave to our next destination.