Chapter 19

Jemza had been uncharacteristically silent during the walk towards the same inn they had stayed at last night. Something was clearly on her mind which Jayce interpreted as concern surrounding the very real possibility that another player tried to kill them. Considering how badly he had handled being trapped in the game he was amazed that he wasn't overcome with the urge to run and hide. Something about this type of problem was easier to handle. It felt almost familiar in many ways and it was something he understood.

He held the door open for her as they entered the inn and she continued walking more like an NPC than an actual player. She had to be more worried than he originally thought. Inside towns like Urbus they were safe. Even if hundreds of players fell upon them right now they would not incur a single point of damage due to the Safe Zone status all towns had. This fact seemed to be doing little to calm Jemza who every so often would glance his way and then look away quickly.

"Good evening, what can I get for you?" The NPC innkeeper in this particular establishment was an older grizzled man holding a mug in one hand and a washcloth in the other. He ran the cloth around the inside of the mug repeatedly before setting it aside and placing his hands on the counter between them.

"Two rooms for the night."

"Ah!" The sound from Jemza nearly made Jayce jump in surprise. She had been so quiet during the walk that he assumed she wanted to be left to her own thoughts, but now she looked strange. Whatever was going on in her mind right now was causing severe indecisiveness and it looked like it was tearing her apart.

"It's fine, just rest tonight I'll pay for it. Been a long day for us both so just try to relax." Jayce mentally patted himself on the back after that. Not that he didn't mean what he said, but there was a certain selfish pride to be had in being a gentleman.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" The mental patting stopped and Jayce had to blink repeatedly trying to discern if he had misheard the girl beside him. Even the innkeeper looked between the two a bit confused as to what service he should provide.

"Uh…wha…um…?" Goodbye intelligent thoughts and rationality. Jayce's brain entered full panic mode as Jemza shifted back and forth on her feet nervously. He hadn't misheard her so for him the only response he could make was to stand, staring at her stupidly with his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"P…please." Now it sounded like she was begging him. What had she been thinking about during the entire walk here? None of this made sense. Why was she asking for something as shocking as this? Worst of all, Jayce didn't know what to do. Should he do what she asked and share a room with her? Didn't that mean they would be sleeping in the same room? Maybe even the same bed?

He reached up to pull the hood of his cloak tighter to hide his face and only then remembered she was still wearing his cloak. Instead he now stood with his hand awkwardly situated near the side of his face. The innkeeper took a deep breath and cleared his throat still waiting for either of the two to decide what exactly was happening. Jemza still looked like she was about to burst from a myriad of emotions running through her.

"Hurry." Her voice was barely a whisper and if Jayce's head wasn't already spinning, now it kicked into overdrive. She was a grown woman and he was a grown man wasn't it natural for these type of things to happen? They had only spent a few days together, but it had been many hours and it's not like they didn't get along. Did she have feelings for him and now they were overflowing waiting to be released?

"Just one." Jayce finally managed to say trying to conceal his own emotions. The innkeeper took his money and produced a key which Jayce took. With a glance at Jemza he headed for the stairs with her following close behind. As if on instinct he quickly looked around the inn trying to make sure no one was watching. Or, to be more precise, to make sure a certain brown hooded rat wasn't around.

After feeling confident that they weren't being watched he led them to the room assigned to them and opened the door letting Jemza walk in first. He followed behind her taking one last look down either end of the hallway before shutting the door. Jemza fell onto the couch in the room and took a deep breath. A profound look of relief came over her and she looked up at him smiling slightly.

"Sorry, ever since you brought up that the kid we met today may have tried to kill us I've been a bit scared. Every person we passed I kept thinking would pull a knife or something. I can handle mobs no problem, but players killing each other really got to me." She leaned back and closed her eyes looking almost completely back to her normal self.

"Yeah, but we're safe in town." Things were starting to fall apart for him and he was starting to feel very, very stupid.

"I know, but it's still scary that someone could be watching our every move. I'm sure that kid thinks we're dead, but if he found out we're not what would he do? Will he try again? Follow us and ambush us when we least expect it? In a room like this no one can hear or see us so it's the safest possible place. Thanks for being so nice and understanding." The final fragment shattered apart as Jayce realized the girl on the couch wasn't asking to stay with him because of some desire for him. It was because she was scared and looking to feel safe.

"I see." Jayce walked past her mentally punching himself in the stomach instead of the pat on the back. A pretty girl asked to stay in a room with him and his first thought was that she was interested in him. He couldn't help but feel like a stereotypical man jumping to conclusions. It physically hurt just thinking about it.

"Oh…I get it. You thought I wanted to share a room for other reasons?" His eyes shot open and his head snapped towards the white haired girl who was on the verge of tears from laughter. In his stupor he had forgotten one very important part of Jemza. Her uncanny ability to read exactly what was on his mind.

"I did not!" He sounded like he was in grade school arguing about something. It was pathetic and probably one of the most blatant lies he could tell. It only caused her to howl louder. She even went so far as to fall off the couch clutching at her stomach the whole time.

"Ahaha! That's priceless!" Her fist hit the floor repeatedly adding more to her over dramatization of the entire situation. Jayce sulked on the other side of the room understanding that he deserved everything he was getting right now.

"It's not funny! You didn't exactly explain yourself, what was I supposed to think?" Jemza wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up.

"No, no, you're right. I'm sorry I was just really scared and knew I'd feel safest with you. The game prevents any sort of inappropriate contact, and even if it didn't I trust you. You had the opportunity to before and did nothing so there was no need to worry." With the laughter gone from her voice she now spoke normally and honestly.

"I wouldn't do that." This time there was no lie behind what he said. Regardless the misunderstanding he would never do anything to hurt Jemza. Not after what he had done in Horunka. She smiled in response and nodded.

"I know, thank you." She reached up and pulled the cloak off before getting to her feet. She approached and held it out towards him. He took the cloth from her hands and placed it into his inventory.

"You're welcome." He pulled one of the blankets off the bed as well as a pillow and dropped it onto the couch before sitting down. Jemza looked at him quizzically as he spread the blanket out.

"What are you doing?" He looked up at her in response shrugging.

"Making a place where I can sleep."

"You don't have to do that; I can sleep on the couch." He shook his head in response opening his inventory once more and removed his boots.

"Take the bed, today seems like it was a lot harder on you than me." She seemed to hesitate for a few moments before reluctantly climbing onto the bed. With a few taps on the inventory panel Jayce removed his sword, armor, and potions. He could hear the sound effects of Jemza doing the same on the bed. She crawled under the blanket, pulling it up over her head. The inventory equipment sound effect occurred once more from underneath making him shake his head and look away respectfully. She was most likely changing into whatever she wore for sleeping which would first require her to remove everything except underwear.

"I shouldn't be here you know?" He looked in the direction of her voice seeing that her head was now visible, the blanket pulled up to her chin.

"I can still get a second room, it's not an issue really."

"No, not that. I mean here in SAO."

"None of us should be here Jemza. You're not alone in that." She laughed and shook her head.

"I'm not talking about being trapped here. I mean I should never have had the ability to get trapped here in the first place." Jayce turned over so he could face her better now interested in what she was talking about.

"How so?" She shifted as well keeping the blanket tight against her body until she was facing him on her side.

"I stole the Nerve Gear. I didn't pay for it or anything. I read about SAO and the beta testing it underwent and knew that no matter what I had to try it. Whatever it took even if I only got to see Aincrad for a few minutes I wanted to be here. So, on the release date I took one and I ran. I went to the furthest internet café I could find and plugged in. I figured I might get a few hours in until they found me and tore the headset off." Jayce stared back into her eyes as she spoke. Why would anyone go to such lengths just for a video game?

"Clearly they didn't. Any forceful removal of the Nerve Gear would trigger the microwave signal. However long it took them to find you was long enough that the world must have found out about everyone being trapped inside. They didn't have a choice but to leave it on you and most likely transport you to a hospital." She nodded and let out a small laugh.

"I guess that's karma for you. First time I ever committed a crime and it lands me in a life or death prison. I don't regret it though, not for a moment." Her facial expressions betrayed what she was saying. She may not have regretted her decisions, but she was ashamed of it.

"Someday this will all be over and when it is, I'm sure they'll consider being trapped here punishment enough." There was still a big part of the story she wasn't telling, but he had no business asking. Ever since he had met her she had almost seemed happy to be here. She was willing to steal just to be here.

"Yeah, you're right. Today was the first time I questioned being here. I like being here in Aincrad. I feel free here, and that I can be whoever I want to be. After today, and what you said with Argo, I was terrified. I've been scared before, but not like this." Jayce sat up making sure he could see her face clearly before speaking.

"Jemza, I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise." They stayed that way for a long while until he felt like he had been staring at her for too long and laid back down. He heard her move a bit on the bed and assumed she was getting comfortable to fall asleep.

"Because…you don't want to lose me?" She was quieter now, but he heard her question. Of course he didn't want to lose her. She was the first and only friend he had here in SAO. Argo hardly counted as a "friend" and these past days together with Jemza had finally made him feel alive. Was that the only reason he didn't want to see her die? Or, was there something deeper?

"No." He said, deciding that for now it was the best answer he could give. She was scared and it didn't matter why he wanted to keep her safe. All that mattered was that he kept doing whatever possible to make her feel secure.

"Jayce?" Her volume hadn't increased, but her tone indicated that she was nervous.

"Yeah?"

"I want to know. When you held onto my hand on the side of the mountain. Who did you lose that would make you go so far for someone like me?"

His heartbeat increased rapidly and the room almost seemed to darken in reaction to her question. His breathing came out in ragged gasps and he had to put a hand on his chest to try and calm the anxiety building. He looked at the white haired girl who was now sitting up in the bed staring back at him. The blanket had fallen to her waist and she wore a thin white t-shirt. He silently pleaded for her to take back the question, but he knew there was no escaping once her eyes locked onto his.