Yellow and orange hues illuminated the sky as the sun started to set. Sequoia, Acanthus and the rest of their group kept walking through the maze of the city, the children’s legs were weakening and their footsteps started to shorten, causing them to lag behind. Their temporary guardians noticed their exhaustion, Bougainvillea proposing to take a break at the next bench they came across, in the meantime Chestnut and Balm picked up the children, holding them close to keep them warm from the evening breeze. 

After a few turns they reached a wooden bench, as the children were set down, chills ran down their spines, the bench’s cold seeped through their clothes, jolting them back to reality from their comfortable doze. As they sat on the bench, minds still foggy from their light rest, they heard the men talking. “We need to find somewhere, even though they won’t come this far, I’d rather not risk it.” The children couldn’t quite figure out who was speaking in hushed whispers.  Another voice reached their ears. “I understand that but there isn’t anywhere we can go, we have no money and we don’t know anyone who lives here.” There was a moment of reflection between the men before the baby’s cries disrupted the silence. The twins jumped at the wailing, fully awake from the cries. Sequoia ran to Bougainvillea, grabbing the swaddled baby. As she held her baby brother, a strong, unpleasant smell hit her nose. “We need to find somewhere to change him.” She said with a fake smile plastered on her face. The men snickered, thinking about the terrible timing. Balm, after gathering himself, spoke. “With how late it is, I doubt any shops are open, maybe a pub or inn is open nearby.” They traced the paths, keeping an eye on the buildings around them. There were a few shops that had lights on, but after a closer inspection it was clear that they were closed and were just cleaning up. After a few twists and turns the group found themselves back on the main streets, the previously buzzing road filled with stalls was now like a ghost town, not a single soul could be spotted. They walked up the road, the same way they walked to get to the doctors. Once again they saw dozens of shops with lights on but none were allowing customers, it wasn’t until they walked down the main road, towards the main gate, that they finally found an inn.

It was small, and would have gone unnoticed if not for the clear sign that hung above the door, a small light illuminated the inside. Balm walked towards the door, pushing it open slowly, planting one foot through the threshold. “Welcome, come in.” A man, above average in height, hunched over a desk in the corner of the room greeted them. The man had bags dragging his face down, his face was full of wrinkles, his glasses started to fall down his nose. As the others filed through the door the man spoke, yawning mid sentence. “What can I do for you?” Bougainvillea walked towards the desk. “Sorry for coming so late, we just wanted to know if it would be possible to change the baby, we don’t have money so we won’t be able to stay the night.” Sequoia followed behind, hiding behind Bougainvillea. The innkeeper's unusual height intimidated her, she wanted to speak to him first, wanted to greet him but his height forced her back and shy away. The old man readjusted his glasses, placing them firmly onto his nose. “Go through that door, you can change it there.” The man lazily lifted his finger, pointing to the door next to the desk. Sequoia shuffled towards the door, clenching the baby close to her. As she left the stranger opened his mouth once again. “I take it you don’t have anywhere to stay? The group nodded, looking puzzled at his question. “Well, we have one room, it’s small, you can stay for a night or two.” The group looked at the man, more confused than before. “Don’t look so confused, it’s dangerous at night and you have three children with you. If something happens, I’d rather not have it on my conscience.” “What do you want in return?” Balm questioned, hesitant to agree. The innkeeper pushed himself off of the desk, even though he was hunched over now that he was in his golden years, the man still towered over his guests. He turned around, moving towards the door behind him, placing a hand on the handle. “Can any of you cook?” Bougainvillea and Balm stood back, knowing that they had no skills cooking proper meals, Chestnut on the other hand, proudly walked over to the innkeeper following him into the kitchen. 

The remaining adults started to talk among themselves, discussing how they would report the situation to their captain, on the other hand Acanthus, feeling his eyes get heavier, found a stool to sit on. As his eyes started to shut, images of his sister starting to leave, him trying to stop her and Sequoia returning injured flashed through his mind. It replayed over and over almost as if he was stuck in a loop. It wasn’t until he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder that he woke up. “You ok?” A calming voice asked, he rubbed his eyes, realising it was Sequoia. He forced the corners of his mouth to curve and rubbed his left arm. “Yup.” Sequoia noticed him rubbing his arm, it was always a telltale sign of Acanthus lying. Just as she was about to speak up they heard a creak, when they turned around Chestnut and the innkeeper came out from the kitchen. The stranger switched his attention to the other two men.  “You two will serve the tables and work the counter," he then looked over to the children. “You two can take turns cleaning, while one cleans the other can look after the baby.” The group nodded simultaneously. “I’ll show you where you can sleep for now, tomorrow you can start working.” He led the group up the stairs. He showed them two bedrooms, each the same size with the same decorations. They had wooden walls, a darker wooden floor, two single beds, a cupboard and paintings of different plants hung up on the walls. “I know it’s not very suitable for such a young baby but this is the best I can offer. As for the bed issue, I suppose you’ll have to figure it out for yourselves, any questions come find me back downstairs.” Before the innkeeper could leave Sequoia spoke up “What’s your name?” The old man yawned as he spoke “Hyssop” The innkeeper quickly left his new employees, climbing back down the stairs. Bougainvillea looked down at the children who were now fighting to stay awake. “You children can share a room, go and get some sleep.” The children sleepily nodded, Acanthus taking the baby back from Bougainvillea. They entered the closest room, Sequoia shutting the door behind them. They slugged their way over to the beds, Acanthus placing their brother down onto the bed, rocking him back and forth, the baby falling into a deep sleep within second. Both the children flopped onto the beds, faces buried in the pillows. Just like the baby, they were asleep within seconds.