Chapter 3:

He awoke in the morning and felt even more tired than he had when sleep had finally claimed him the night prior. His dreams had been unpleasant ones, images of his past that his waking mind tried to repress since he was forced to leave his home were dragged up by his subconscious to torment him once more. Flashes of his life, his failures, his insecurities and regrets.
So he decided to stay in bed a little while longer just to feel the comforting weight and heat of the blanket desperately trying to soak in as much of the feeling as possible to combat the glacial emptiness that still raged within him.

And so a light sleep claimed him once more only to be disturbed by the housekeeping that knocked on his door. "Not now!", was all he could grumble but whoever was on the other side of the door seemingly heard him and the soft rattle of the cleaning trolley told him that he had his peace and quiet again.

A quick glance at the clock on top of this bedside table told him that it was close to midday, which prompted him to leave the bed and brave the still largely unknown outside world again.
He swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and griped the plain cane firmly with one hand to help himself get up.

It seemed to be a good day for his leg since it didn't hurt as much as it had the last few days. Maybe the rest did him some good? However, he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth so you would not hear him complain about a day without the crippling pain.

His wardrobe on the other hand proved to be completely unsatisfactory. And with wardrobe he meant his one suit, shirt and underwear. He regretted sending the cleaning personal away, he could have asked if the hotel offered a clothes cleaning service but as it was one of the more well of establishments it would be only logical. "Great" he grumbled again and his mood began to sour a bit.

Now he would need to interact with the staff at the reception and while they had been more than willing to house him after he had shown them the bundle of cash they still were weary of the homeless looking man in his rumpled suit and stained dresspants. As if it was his fault that one of the persons he hitched a ride with was to incompetent to properly secure their coffee…
The young man would be one of the few he had no intention to compensate beyond the gas money that he had given to him.

But alas these were the clothes that he had so they would need to suffice for the rest of the day or at least until he could find a decent clothing store. Maybe he could even dress a bit more casual?

He had to stifle a laugh at that foolish notion as soon as it entered his head. His suits, like his dragonhide coat in the Enchanted Forest, were his armor. His personal way to protect himself form the world while conveying his status and the danger that he represented. And by the gods did he love the feeling that it gave him to see those people he so despised grovel in front of him just not to incur his wrath.

His wrath and might had once been glorious! Kings quaked in the boots and mythical creatures with the potential to raze entire realms to the ground bowed their heads to him. Ah the good old days…

Nevertheless, to wallow in memories would do him no good in his current situation, so he took action.

He tried to dress as immaculate as was possible and squared his shoulders ready to embark on his journey down to the reception.

The floors of the hotel were lined with a soft carpet that muffled his near silent steps even more and he found himself admiring the interior design. Last night he had spared it no thought being too preoccupied with his theories about magic and his swirling thoughts.
He passed a few people who he gave a cordial nod of the head and a small smile. It didn't hurt to make a somewhat decent impression even if he didn't plan on staying longer than necessary here but the other guests complaining about his behavior toward them would be disadvantageous because even as powerless as he was right now a deal could always be struck.

On his way down, he encountered a few more guest who seemed to return from lunch so most were minding their own business obviously intent to return to their rooms to get some rest or to change.
In the elevator, he engaged in a bit of small talk, which they all seemed to be fond of.

"Strange people" he thought but how was he to judge these people, it wasn't as if he had never popped in somewhere uninvited only to start monologuing.

Stepping out of the elevator and into the lobby during daytime was a whole other experience than it was during the late hours of the evening. It was tastefully furnished with soft carpets, hardwood furniture and chandeliers, that sadly, were operated with electrical lighting.
But since this modern world, in his opinion, had a poor grasp on what a real lighting fixture was this small sin could easily be forgiven. Despite that, he liked his chosen place of residence and congratulated himself on his decision. He pointedly ignored the fact that his decision had been influenced by his desperation to have a somewhat clean place to stay and the hotel had been the first that he came across when one of the officers allowed him to use his computer to find a place. But that was neither here nor there.

To his relief he didn't even need to interact with the staff to get an answer to his question since a sign told him all about their cleaning service and how to call upon it.

So with the information he needed in mind he quickly made his way through the entrance hall and out into the streets of New York. His destination was one of the banks were he kept a large part of his money where he had made an appointment yesterday, the memory of the address was somewhat muddled but he was sure on of the chatty people in this city could point him toward it should he get lost.

He was ready to make his money work for him and as he had Miss Swan once, "he was intuitive where he was invested". He hoped that this intuition, a vestige of his foresight that lay dormant without magic, would carry over to the stock market.

Once bevor he had risen out of despicable circumstances and poverty and he would be damned if he couldn't do it again!