Sequoia sat on her bed, looking out of the window as the sun shone brightly down onto the street below. The ruckus from outside could be faintly heard from beyond the walls. All the stalls that were packed with people the day prior were now desolate, hiding their goods under a tightly bound blanket that was imbued with protective magic. Sequoia watched on in her daze as people rushed past each other, nodding to acknowledge those they know or in apology for bumping into another. There were people who weren’t paying attention and nearly bumped into the stalls and those who actually did. Those were the moments that made sequoia chuckle. She took note of the different styles of clothes, the different mannerisms of those who caught her eyes, she noticed the young children that confidently and carelessly ran around the street, bumping into others. However, the things that caught her attention was the way some people carried themselves. The ones who held their head high and kept their backs straight, the ones with a cane even though they didn’t seem to need one, the ones with a hat that seemed to try to reach the sky. The dresses that went from the top of the woman’s neck to touching the ground, dresses that seemed incredibly inconvenient with many bows and enough lace to be able to make an entire dress, hair done up with more bows than on the dress itself, their chests puffed out as they walk so straight that even just watching them made Sequoia’s back ache. As Sequoia sat there, contemplating everything that had happened and that is happening, she felt the baby worm around in her arms, when she looked down she saw the baby’s bright green eyes reflecting back at her, although she had seen green eyes all her life, in her mum, in her twin, aunty and even herself, she could never dare to compare their eyes to the pure innocent and warm eyes of her baby brother. He greeted her with a wide grin, the opposite of his usual grumpy self when he normally wakes up. She smiled back at him and made some cooing noises. As he giggled at the faces she pulled she couldn’t help but laugh along, a sense of peace finally came back to her. 

As she played with her brother, the handle of the door started to turn. Sequoia looked towards the door, her previously quiet laughter now disappeared as she held onto the baby protectively. “It’s ti-” Acanthus started to speak as he entered the room but stopped as he noticed the position Sequoia was in. “Oh, it’s just you.” Sequoia relaxed seeing her brother. “You scared me there for a second.” Acanthus looked at his sister, he wanted to ask her what got her so scared but the words got caught in his throat, he didn’t know how to approach her after their last conversation so instead of just asking he decided to finish what he was originally saying. “It’s time to switch, I’ll take the baby you go and see Hyssop. Sequoia felt awkward, normally her brother would have some kind of quip or comeback, some kind of banter, but for whatever reason he only said what he needed. She decided to push back those feelings of awkwardness and confusion, opting to simply trade places with him. 

As she walked down the stairs she could hear people chatting, eating and laughing amongst themselves. The sounds mixed together created a shockwave through Sequoia’s body. She took a step forward than another, the noise getting louder and louder, her ears feeling like they were about to burst. As she stepped down the last step her other senses started to catch up. Her eyes adjusted to the brighter room that was filled with dozens of people, all smiling and laughing, she could smell the delicious looking food Chestnut and the innkeeper were making and the smells all collected together on her tongue, allowing her to taste the combinations of the different meals. She took in a deep breath, allowing the heavily scented air to fill her lungs. She moved forward, avoiding the people who were sloppily moving around and pushed her way to the busy counter where Bougainvillea was busily placing orders. “Um, where’s all the cleaning stuff?” Sequoia whispered, however Bougainvillea was busy taking an order from a man who seemed like he wanted the entire menu. She walked away, heading to the kitchen. She knocked on the door before entering. “Where’s the cleaning stuff?” She spoke it louder this time but still wasn’t heard over the loud clinks and clanks of the plates and pots as well as the calling between the innkeeper and Chestnut. She once again abandoned her questioning, resorting to hovering around the inn, taking a few plates in her hands, trying to keep them balanced while she stumbled back over to the kitchen. As she went between tables she could overhear different conversations, some about what the customers were planning to do that day, others about recent events in the city and some about the end of month festival. She tried to ignore the ongoing conversations but she couldn’t help but eavesdrop. She kept listening in on others as she worked, hoping to hear something interesting, however nothing seemed to capture her attention.

As the hours passed, the twins switched between each other, very few words passed between their lips. When the sky started to get tinted with black and white, Hyssop called them down to the common room. “You all did good today.” As he spoke he handed out two Keyartha to each person. “It’s not much but this is as much as I can give between the lot of you, I’ll pay you for the rest of the days you’re here as well.” The group smiled wide at the man, especially the adults, shocked that the innkeeper would give money to people he was already giving rooms to for free. They all thanked the old man before he shooed them away. The children clutched onto the money, almost like they never felt the copper discs before. “You two go to bed, it’s been a long day for the both of you.” Balm said, rubbing their hair. They looked up and smiled at the man standing over them, returning back to their room, coins clutched to their chests.”  

When they got back to their room Sequoia placed her coins on the bottom shelf of the cupboard whilst Acanthus placed his coins under his pillow. Acanthus smiled softly, finally breaking the awkward silence between the two “If we save up for the week then we can buy something to thank everyone.” Sequoia looked over towards her twin, who was now holding the baby that they left to rest by himself. “Yeah, I suppose we could.” She muttered under her breath, a small smile crept across her face. They sat in silence together as the moon rose higher, however it wasn’t the awkward silence that had persisted throughout the day but a comfortable silence that spoke more words than a barrage of apologies could ever do. The moon rose higher in the sky, hiding behind the clouds, Acanthus’s eyes drew to a close whereas Sequoia kept hers open, fearing what she would see once she shut her eyes.