Loving the Shadow

Perla

Perla watched Lyss gather odd things here and there from the cave in doing so, she recalled the night before. The way Lyss' hands traveled her body, how tight to their body they held her, how their kisses on her neck felt. Her body almost ached and she couldn't understand why. She looked away from them as her cheeks went red. She was confused by these new feelings and what it even meant with Lyss, who they were dreaming about, why were they touching her, why did it feel so good?

She sighed and looked around the cave one more time. Looking at the entrance she dispersed her spell, energy came rushing back to her and she felt more energized. She readied herself and stepped out of the cave, the sun was shining and a warm breeze passed by, Lyss stepped out next to her, they looked a little different, their face was rounder, and they had more curves. She smiled at them feeling a little more comfortable with them showing her how they were feeling.

"Are you ready?" Perla smiled at them deciding to forget what had happened for now, they needed to be focused and ready for anything.

"Almost." They said as they pulled something out of the bag, it was a pair of slippers. They held them out to Perla. She gently received the slippers and slipped them onto her feet. They fit almost perfectly, just a little big. She felt grateful as the rocks and twigs really hurt to walk on for long periods of time. When she was ready they continued on, they walked for hours, stopping occasionally to drink water, or eat.

Perla sighed as the sixth hour of walking loomed above them. Her legs, feet, and hips hurt from all the walking. She wondered how much longer they would have to go. She looked around the forest not sure where they were as she never ventured past the river. Lyss seemed to know where they were heading, they walked the trail with ease almost as if the path was ingrained in their head. She admired the way they walked with complete confidence. Like nothing could scare them, They carried themselves like they owned the place. She felt like a newborn deer in comparison, shy, timid, and stumbling around. They eventually reached a town, it was very small, a couple thatched roof houses lined the dirt road. There was an Inn that was falling apart. Lyss looked at the pink sky and sighed.

"We should rest for the night."

"Here?" Perla looked over at the Inn, She felt a little odd about it but decided to trust in Lyss and followed them in. As they approached she noticed it was not falling apart as much as she thought it was. There were different colored tiles on the roof, some were black which gave the impression that it had holes since it contrasted with the red. The walls were boarded up in places. They entered a red door to the inside. Perla's eyes laid on a desk that was pushed against the wall, The wall behind it was littered in holes with numbers painted on them, she counted forty one, there were forty one rooms in the Inn. A small woman sat behind the desk, she was hunched over a piece of paper.

"We'd like a room for the night." Lyss leaned against the desk and slid something across the table, the woman looked up at them her eyes held a twinge of boredom but also had curiosity.

"I've got one room. It only has one bed." The woman turned around grabbing a key out of a cubby.

"That's fine, we'll take it." Lyss held their hand out to the lady and received the key. The lady looked down at a book and gestured for Lyss to write in it. Lyss quickly scribbled on it and then grabbed Perla's arm, the lady's gaze followed Perla for a while as she disappeared down the hallway. She knew she was well known in the elf territory. Her pictures were almost everywhere, she hoped the lady wouldn't remember. Perla looked around, hesitantly as they entered the room. It was small, a twin sized bed was pushed into the corner, a table and chairs sat in the middle of the room and pushed against the wall next to the bed was a dresser. A closed door was off to her left, she assumed it led to a bathroom. Perla walked to the table and Lyss followed, closing the door. It let out a loud scraping sound as it slid over the wood. Perla sighed and sat down on one of the chairs, The journey was long to get here and she just wanted to sleep.

Her bones ached as she sat. They complained against the travel, never had she walked this far before. The only time she traveled was for a yearly ball in the middle of the elven territory, And that was by horse and carriage. Lyss sat down across from her and stared at her pensively.

"We need something to cover your face. I feel like people will recognize you easily." Perla nodded with a sigh.

"I don't have anything that's not a fancy cloak."

"It'll have to do for now." Lyss pulled out the small satchel and held it out to Perla, "The spell is simple. Think of what you want and what it looks like." Perla nodded and thought of her cloak. It was a deep purple, intricate swirls and shapes were sewn into the cloak, Small amethyst crystals dangled from the hood. She reached into the satchel and imagined how soft the material was in her hand, after a little bit her hand brushed something soft, she grabbed onto it and pulled it out. Purple fabric billowed out of the satchel. 

Perla shook it out and looked at Lyss, "Will this be okay?" Lyss only nodded. Perla hooked the cloak around the chair she was sitting on. "How long do you want to rest here?"
"Not long, we don't know when the guards will catch on or if someone will tattle." Perla's mind went to the woman that checked them in.
"I think the front desk attendant knows who I am." Perla whispered Lyss' eye's narrowed at that and began to look outside.

"We need to be careful." Lyss turned around to face Perla.  Perla's heart quickened, she felt a little alarmed at the fact that it was over. Lyss looking at her, she tried to push it aside and focus, there might be people already on the way, they would have to be vigilant.

"Should we take turns to sleep?" Lyss nodded silently as they heard a noise from outside the room. They crossed the room in no time and pressed against the door, Perla looked to the door with worry. Was it the guards? Her breath grew labored as worry struck her heart. Lyss' posture relaxed and they stepped away from the door with a sigh of relief.

"It's just the housekeepers." They gestured to the bed. "You should sleep first. I'll guard." Perla nodded and went to lay down, the bed was hard and springs dug into her side but it was softer than the ground. Within moments she was asleep, exhaustion from the trip consumed her in a second.