“Do you honestly believe that their friendship was sealed by that promise ring?” It made the man think for a while. “Of course not, I do not believe that it would be easily sealed with just a ring on her 21st birthday. Their friendship must have been sealed since when they were little kids, am I right?” Amara nodded in agreement with his statement. “I honestly do wonder where you picked up this scroll, it’s spreading misinformation. I am sure the Goddess Sicilian ould not like it.” She scoffed which made the man more amused. “I forgot to catch your name, could you tell me what it is?” He asked her with another smile. “should I lie? Or should I not…” The man saw her troubled face. “If you would like I could tell you my name first.” He suggested it to her and she glanced over towards him and agreed. “My name is Kayden but you may call me kai.” He happily told her. “Kayden it is then, my name is not something I should give out so easily to strangers. Have you not heard about Amara’s tale?” She said, smiling back at him. “You know about the name of the Sicilian Goddess, are your parents or yourself believers?” He asked her with curiosity hanging in his voice. Amara looked quite stunned back by this question. “Yes you are right, my family and I are followers of the Goddess.” She didn’t expect that question to come, she thought he would skip that part. She started to examine him a little more and noticed he was wearing clothes only the rich would wear outside, is he perhaps running away? If he was then he is making a poor attempt in hiding especially with those clothing. “My lady?” He asked her to get her attention. “Kayden, I’ve been wondering about something.” She admits to him. “Please do ask me.” He told her. “I have been wondering about your status.. Since you wear such expensive clothes you must be of high society.” She tells him in the most straightforward manner she could possibly imagine. Which surprises him a bit. “That’s what you’re wondering about? I am just a run away Marquees.” Amara looked at him with disbelief because what did he mean with just a run away Marquees??? “Why are you going all the way to Zaïre?” She is slowly starting to question him completely. “I have got nothing better to do and I wanna waste my time on something fun.” He tells her with a shrug which makes her worry about him a bit more due to the man eating spirit being around. “Did the town people not tell you about the dangers of Zaïre?” She asked him in a worried voice. “Should I not be the one worried here?” He inquired and put his hand out for the scroll. Amara noticed it and gave it back. “Why would you be?” She’s completely confused by what he meant. “Seeing a beautiful woman like you alone with no one to protect you at this hour is quite dangerous don’t you think?” Amara laughed at that comment. “Aren’t you a flirt, however I can protect myself just fine.” She told him with a strong wave of confidence and Kayden smiled at her without realisation, he could only stare at her with amazed eyes. Although he wasn’t sure if he should let her go so easily and explore around the town itself which made him get a little bit more silent and take a glance at her from up and down. He does not want her to regret her own decisions in the end. “Then I hope you wouldn’t mind me following you for a bit so you could protect me in the town.” He asked her hoping she wouldn't turn down his offer. “I’m delighted to protect you but don’t get in my way.” She confidently sneered at him, making him laugh again. They were slowly arriving at the Zaïre town and the trees had a bright orange colour and leaves falling down making one land in Amara’s hair without her noticing it. Kayden had noticed it and wanted to put his hand out and take the leaf out of her hair but he wasn’t sure if that would have been an improper move to make and started to doubt himself and twitched his arm a bit. Amara mistook it as a sign of him being cold so she sincerely offered him another piece of a cloak hoping he would warm up a bit. He was quite stunned back at the action that she made, making him wonder if she really is a kind soul. Without words escaping from each other's mouths they could still have a conversation with just silence and actions. He took the cloak and put it around himself so she didn’t have to worry about him a lot as she already must have by him coming here. The silence between them became a comfortable one for the both of them and they didn’t want the silence to break until they heard the driver yell out: “We have arrived in Zaïre, please get into a house before night approaches.” When the carriage finally stopped Kayden decided to step out of it first and give out his hand towards Amara and help her get down from the steps and made a small bow for her. Which amused her a bit and gave him a bow as well. “Shall we search for an Inn to stay at for the night before continuing our trip together?” Amara asked politely which made him frown a bit. She noticed it and decided to observe around quickly and choose a random Inn that was close by. “If you would like we could go to that one behind you because it is the closest to us and we do not have to walk far for it.” Kayden just nodded in response to her not wanting to say anything. And so they started their way to the Inn that looked quite expensive in a way from the outside so she wasn’t sure if it was cheap but the moment they stepped into it she was shocked by the luxurious look from the inside. She thought it would make her seem like she’s using him or even worse… A Spoiled brat! She looked at her wallet that was empty, way too empty to go into this Inn. She quickly took a glance at Kayden to see his reaction to this place but he seemed more rather relaxed than she expected which confuses her more. She thought he would want to get in a more shabby Inn to not make it look like he got a bunch of coins at hand. “You have an interesting taste when it comes to Inns.” He playfully teased her which made her sigh out of embarrassment and groan. “Do not worry.” Kayden reassured. “I’ll cover our costs, it's not something you should worry about and pay for.” He gently patted her on the shoulder making her stare at him with disbelief and feel frustrated for some reason. “I will make the registration, you should wait on me right here so do not move.” Kayden said, waving at her and walking towards the Innkeeper which gave Amara time to look around for a bit in this too deluxe Inn. It seemed like only people of high status were able to get rooms for a couple of days, she started to panic about how much she has to pay Kayden back after the night they will spend here. Before she could continue the thought of herself being penny-less and how to repay the poor guy, she felt someone staring at her intensely but could not figure out from which direction it came from. It had confused her because the only people in the room currently are Kayden, the Innkeeper and herself. She slowly began to worry about the safety of this place and hoped she would be able to sleep peacefully and soundly tonight. Amara softly puts her hands in different places like on her waist or head to not focus on the feeling. After some time Kayden had finally returned, it took longer than expected of him to book just two rooms. Just two rooms… Kayden and Amara just stare at each other for a few seconds which made the atmosphere a bit awkward, Kayden decided to speak up first. “I booked a nice room for us to stay the night.” He said. “I hope you are okay with high service?” He asked her in a worried tone. He mostly wishes not to make her too uncomfortable in the Inn while staying together in different rooms. Amara laughed at him. “High service won’t be an issue so no need to worry.” She told him with honesty. High service used to be a normal thing she had in her previous years. Kayden left a sigh of relief as an immediate response to her answer. It looks like he was worried once again for nothing. “May I guide you to your room then?” He said while smiling and bowing his head as a joke. “Yes, yes you may, dear sir.” She responded back at him with a small smile but no sincerity with it as well. A butler with an unsettling vibe came to them and asked: “I am the butler who will be mainly serving you tonight so please, follow me.” He smiles and bow his body lightly. Amara quickly stood in front of Kayden in a soft sign of a protective stance and gave him a fake smile. “Yes we will, so please show us the way.” She happily said making the butler walk first in front of them both. Kayden was quite shocked at the girl in front of him that he did not know the name of and was taking her bodyguard role so seriously in this way. It was kind of… Funny in a way? Because she looked quite determined. He couldn’t help himself but laugh a bit before following along with Amara and the butler. The rooms on the first floor looked quite well maintained but shabby at the same time, they took some time before reaching their rooms on the third floor. The entire floor looked like it was cleaned every second of the day, there were barely any reserved rooms beside three others with their own. Amara took a quick glance at Kayden but he only avoided hers instead and took a faster pace. “This is the room the both of you will be using while spending the night.” The butter said with care. The both of them thanked him and gave their goodbyes. As they were entering the room and closing the door Amara suddenly began to speak up. “I won’t be sleeping tonight, I'll sleep the next.” Kayden was stunned back and confused by her sudden suggestion. “Would it not be more appropriate for me to sleep the next night?” Amara shook her head with displeasure. “Since you have already bought us a room to stay the night, it is only right for me to stay up.” She told him while crossing her arms. She wasn’t wrong about that part and also does not want to give up the idea of contacting Alijah and go through the storyline one last time. “Have you ever eaten well before taking a long trip?” Kayden asked her and disturbed her thoughts. What is this supposedly runaway marquee who looks like a frog going to do with that information? Make her eat and sleep!? Yes. That is exactly what happened to Amara who had just awoken from her deep slumber and started to look around her surroundings. Noticing she’s the only one in the room she took her time to get ready and find Kayden and just talk to him for a bit. Kayden however is busy outside, punching the air and training for some odd reason but it is whatever. The butler who helped him and Amara was helping the other customers near the scene took a glance over to Kayden and thought: “Did he perhaps drink more than he could handle last night? Is he even feeling well?” But quickly snapped out of this thought and continued helping the other customers and took one more last look at him. Amara finally was done changing her clothes and went downstairs to start her search for Kayden and continue her investigation of Zaïre and find out what had happened the past few years. When Amara saw Kayden already standing ready to go with some stuff she asked: “Why did you let me sleep in the bed while you could have slept in it last night?” A confused look was seen on the girl standing in front of him. “I felt generous that time, I am not sure if it will happen again.” He teased her with no shame. “I will try to not forget your generosity then.” Amara told him and rolled her eyes before walking past him to look around the town Kayden followed her right away, it was quiet, really quiet and if it was possible to look quiet then Zaïre would be the definition of it. It is quite weird how a quite luxurious Inn was able to be in this type of town with such high pricing and good food when there are barely any townspeople around. It either must have been the man-eating spirit who consumed most people or a big handful of the townsfolk had run away after the first couple people started disappearing one by one. However most townspeople do not normally want to leave the village because of their families and connections they would have, it basically means you would give up your own life to build and create a new one somewhere else. There are many hints of mana interferences at places you would need in a daily life to live such as; crops, shops and houses. Multiple houses are empty and the only thing you could see is furniture that is left behind by the people who used to live in the houses. Curious, Amara and Kayden decided to go into one of the houses and inspect them thoroughly before having a basic understanding about what really happened to the village. The house they had gotten into was a shabby house with toys laying around and a lot of documents on the ground. Amara bent down to grab one of the papers but Kayden stopped her and he started getting the documents for her instead. “Please do not dirty your hands for such filth.” Kayden scolded her and gave her his handkerchief, signalling to clean her hands. “I didn’t even touch it.” She laughed. But he looked up at her and now signalled more eagerly for her to use it to just clean her hands and she took the handkerchief to “clean” her hands. They looked through the documents and there were police reports about the people missing. They carefully examined every single piece of information they could get from it. One of the documents mentioned that there was a possibility of a cult doing this in the forest but it was quickly an unsolved case because of the police not being able to bring information back. “I will take a look in the forest when dawn comes.” Amara told him without hesitation which confused Kayden. “It is not safe to go alone. Why do you want to see it?” He tried to reason with her. “I am only curious about what this so-called cult would look like.” She answered. “What if you get into trouble?” He asked her. “…Then my only option is to fight?” She remarked. Not understanding why he is asking these types of questions Kayden however sighed when he heard that response and mumbled something to himself. “Then I will come along with you.” This answer made Amara stunned and nervous of how she would protect him if things would go south. On the other hand Amara also could use him as bait to fish out the man-eating demon. “If you can protect yourself when I cannot protect you myself I will accept your offer.” She said in a stern voice. “Of course I can.” He reassured her. “I will not be a hindrance for you.” This time his answer sounded more believable. They continued their investigation about the cult till dawn arrived, eating and packing the stuff they will need for a small peek at the forest, nothing more and nothing less. Just a peek…