6 first night

The staircase in the Guild was located to the very left of the reception desk. It was made of sturdy, coffee-colour wood that was in line with most of the Guild's interior. The stairs went in a diagonal manner to the right, and the walls were lined with shelves of weapons such as metal axes and shields. [This is so fucking cool]. Beside them were brightly-lit candles and more lights that hung from the ceiling. With every step Sophie took, the feeling of "coolness" intensified. At the top of the stairs, there was a long hallway (located left-to-right), also lined with weaponry and other memorabilia. Part of the hallway had rails which could oversee the entire Guild to Sophie's. [Woah...this is epic. I can see the entire Guild and anyone who comes in!]. This was located to her right-hand side, where at the end of the hallway there was a large arched window and many doors. On her left was a shorter hallway but had another staircase and several doors.

Sophie looked at the gold key. The numbers 106 were neatly engraved at the top.

"Room number 106 it is. Just where is it...?" Sophie mumbled.

Lucy suddenly pointed her hand straight ahead.

"There's a sign there, dummy."

As Lucy said, straight in front of her, was a large plague sign which had the room numbers and arrows marked.

Staircase 104-110

100-103

<--------- --------->

Mentally, Sophie had a deadpanned look. [I really...am blind sigh].

"Aight, it's on the right side then. Let's go, Lucy!"

Sophie locked her arms with Lucy's and they excitedly walked to their room, giggling.

"Number 104, 105, 106! That's it! Our room!" Sophie slightly squealed, not being too loud just in case they drew attention.

The doors like most of the interior were also made of wood. The numbers 106 were on black metal illuminated by lights that were beside every room's door.

"Lucy, let's open the door together!"

Putting Lucy's hands on hers, they held the gold key towards the keyhole below the knob. Turning clockwise, the key made a clicking noise. The two girls turned to each other making a knowing look, grinning.

Sophie opened the door. Inside revealed a cozy room.

"You go first, Lucy. Do a room tour like those Youtubers!"

Sophie took out the key and closed the door behind them. Inside, there were two twin-sized beds wrapped in red quilts. In the middle was a two-piece window with metal glazing bars, shaped in diamonds. Underneath was a wooden treasure chest, sitting on the classic Arabian rug. [It's good there's some carpet. At least our feet will be warm]. There were a desk and chair near the entrance and a closet beside the beds. To the right of the entrance, was another door, most likely to the bathroom.

As Sophie took everything in, Lucy suddenly jumped onto one of the beds.

"Jesus Christ, Lucy!" Sophie laughed.

Lucy laughed as well.

"Hey, at least the beds are okay. This quilt is nice. The room's pretty decent actually. Why don't we check out the bathroom?" Lucy asked.

"Oh my god, yes, let's! Wait, we should take off our shoes first, or else the room will get dirty."

They both took off their shoes and neatly placed them beside the entrance. Sophie realised there were a coat hanger and several empty shelves near the door. [Those are probably to place weapons and equipment!]. Facing the bathroom door, Lucy opened it.

The bathroom was half the size of their room. In the middle was a large circular wooden tub, one looked similar to wine barrels. There was a large square mirror, with a table that had large jugs and different coloured glass bottles. Towels placed on that table. On the left was another table with an ivory stone sink and more towels. The toilet was placed beside the sink. The bathroom flooring unlike most of the Guild was made of large square tiles, a similar colour to the stone sink.

"Woah...this is so pretty. Look at all these cute bottles!" Sophie said.

Touching one of the bottles, she opened the lid, smelling it. It smelt of fresh lemons. [Must be the soap!]. She picked another, identifying it as lavender. [Two soaps! Nice].

"But there's no shower..." Lucy pouted.

"That's okay, Luce. I'm just glad the bathroom is similar to back on Earth. Like at least we got sinks and a toilet."

Sophie walked up to the sink and turned on the tap. Fortunately, running water came out. [Yes! That means we can have warm baths].

"We should put our bags down. I'm not sure what time it is, but I think the sun will come down soon. We should sort everything out before dinner."

The two girls went back into the room and quietly chose a bed, Lucy on the left, Sophie on the right. Lucy joined Sophie on her bed and placed their bags out, unloading everything. Sorting everything similar together, Sophie was surprised to see they both had so many things. Getting out her journal and pen, Sophie began to record everything down. Including her journal and pen, Lucy also had a pair. There were two thick books with strange writing and symbols, five (heavy) money bags, one heart locket split into two, day clothes and pyjamas.

"I've jotted everything done. Now let's count how much money we have."

After a few minutes of silent counting, Lucy spoke up.

"I have 100 gold coins."

"Okay, I have 98 gold coins and 86 silvers. I'm not sure how our currency translates, but gold, as I thought, is valuable. For now, let's just use my silver bag when we go out. We don't wanna be robbed. The rest, we'll keep in the room."

"That means we have 284 coins in total, 198 gold and 86 silver. Hopefully, that means we're filthy rich or something." Lucy said.

"Me too." Sophie sighed.

The two girls put everything away, in their bags except for the clothing, placing it in the wooden chest. Afterwards, they both stood outside peering out the window. Seeing a lever, Sophie pushed it, opening the windows outwards.

"Wow...Lucy look at this. You can see almost everything!"

Outside the window, Sophie could see the sparkling river that flowed into the town. There were people bustling around doing their day-to-day jobs, and the buildings were filled with colours. In the distant were soft hills and grassy fields. The sky was a soft honey colour with small clouds. It seemed like the sun was setting. Sophie took a deep breath, feeling her entire body relax.

"The sun's setting. We should buy a watch since we can't tell the time tomorrow. We can go on an exploring date." Lucy said.

"Yes...you're right. It's going to be absolutely amazing tomorrow."

*

The two girls left their room and went to the reception area to look at the large clock. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and were about to turn to ask Alise, a tall man suddenly approached them.

He was well-built, with short brown wavy hair, hazel eyes and stubble. He was wearing a dark brown leather vest, with a belt slung over his shoulders and spikes. His pants were a similar brown colour, with red boots. As Sophie looked closer, he had a black piercing in his left ear.

"Well hello there, young ladies. Care for a date with me?" He flirtingly said.

"Uhh...." Sophie turned to look at Lucy.

"No." Lucy straightforwardly rejected.

Before the man could say anything, they heard Alise's voice.

"Kaine! I told you for the last time! Clean the lounge and stop messing about!"

The two girls saw this as a chance to escape the awkward situation, walking around him they saw Alise, looking red-faced again.

"Hello, Alise. Is it time for dinner, yet?" Sophie asked.

"Oh, hun, you're just in time for dinner! It's a few minutes past seven now. Wait, Kaine? Were you flirting with these nice young girls?!" Alise put her hands on her hips, looking like she had just found her child's hand in the cookie jar.

"Noo....maybe? I'm sorry, darling." He sheepishly said, brushing his hair.

"For the last time, you are the guild master, not a young man! You have responsibilities. And stop flirting with Sophie and Lucy, they're nice girls who don't need an old man like yourself."

"I am Not an old man! Darling, you know I take my duties as a guild master very seriously." His voice purred like a cat. Sophie and Lucy silently cringed. Alise, on the other hand, looked redder if that was even possible.

"Alise, he's the Guild master?" Sophie interjected.

"Yes, hun. Unfortunately, he is the Guild Master of Fairy Meadow." Alise sighed, hand on her forehead.

"The name is Kaine, Guild Master and most good-looking man of Fairy Meadow. It's a pleasure to meet you, two lovely ladies." With every word said, his voice purred even more.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here at my Guild".

Kaine took the hands of both Sophie and Lucy, kneeling and giving a feathery kiss. Both girls were frozen, unable to react to Kaine's cringe factor.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Sophie." Sophie awkwardly gave a small smile, hiding the hand that Kaine kissed, behind her back and wiping it furiously. [He's kinda creepy].

"Lucy."

"That's too bad you ladies can't join me for a date...how about dinner?" Kaine said.

"KAINE!" Alise yelled.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop darling. I'll get to work." Kaine sighed, making a childish pout towards Alise.

"I'll join you, girls, later." Kaine gave a wink to Sophie and Lucy, ducking when Alise threw a rag at his head.

The two girls stared at each other. [That....was...so...fucking...weird].

"I'm so sorry about him, girls. Kaine's always been a flirtatious one. A real troublemaker, but he's good at his job. One of these days, he'll be the death of me." Alise sighed.

"No, it's fine, Alise. It's not your fault. He's umm...a character." Sophie said.

The trio laughed.

"Will you be joining us for dinner, Alise?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, it would be lovely if you joined," Lucy added.

"No, hun. I'd love to join you two, but unfortunately, I need to head home to make Arthur's favourite tonight! He'll be waiting for me." Alise chuckled.

Both girls wished Alise a good night before heading to the dining area. It was now getting dark, so the whole place was more illuminated than usual. Many candles dangled from the ceiling. [This reminds me of Harry Potter]. The smell of delicious food wafted through the air and there were more people in the Guild. There were sounds of cheerful laughter as well as the sound of glasses and cutlery clinking. The two girls chose a seat not too far from the staircase.

As they sat down, a young lady came up to them with a jug of water and glasses.

"Hello. My name is Yue. What would you like tonight?"

The young girl looked around 16 years, with snow-white skin. Her long hair was platinum silver, split straight in the middle and she had a distinct red mark on her forehead. Her large eyes were a deep midnight blue which reminded Sophie of an anime character. She was wearing what looked like a traditional Hanfu (Chinese) clothing, with blue long sleeves and a white frilly dress which cut above her knees. The dress had little floral embroidery decorated around the ends and two thin light blue ribbons. [Omg...she looks adorable! This is some straight kawaii shit].

"Umm...we're not exactly sure. What do you offer, Yue?" Sophie asked.

"Our dinner special today is Shepard's Pie and Roasted Goose. We also offer drinks and desserts."

"What do you want, Lucy?"

"We can take the special and share it together. We'll order dessert later if we're hungry." Lucy answered.

"Sure. Yue, we'll have the dinner special." Sophie said.

Yue nodded her head before giving a small bow. While waiting for their food, Sophie and Lucy took the time to catch up, chatting about work and gossiping about random people from high school. [It's been too long since I've talked to Lucy for this long]. Sophie mentally sighed, but happy and content. A little while later, Yue arrived with two plates in hand.

"I'll have the Shepard's Pie, Yue," Sophie told her.

Having a look at the food, Sophie was delighted. The Shepard's Pie was served on a white plate, steaming hot. The mashed potato topping looked absolutely ravishing, and it smelt heavenly. The Roasted Goose in front of Lucy also looked mesmerising. In short, the two girls we're going to be stuffed.

"Let's dig in, Sophie."

"Yes, Lucy! It looks fucking amazing."

After gobbling down both dishes, Sophie and Lucy were sated, with barely any room for dessert or more drinks. Looking outside the window, Sophie saw it was now dark, with only the street light illuminating. She had also noticed had come inside the Guild, wearing clothing that resembled fantasy games or historical times and from all different cultures. [I'm glad we won't be the only poc, or it would have been bad real fast]. Most of them were around Sophie's age range to middle-aged, but there was an occasional old person and also all had weapons of some kind. The atmosphere was lively and warm. Taking one last sip of water, the two girls decided to head off to their room.

*

"I never thought taking the stairs would be so hard." Sophie gasped for air, shutting the door behind them.

"It's cuz we're fat from the food."

They both laughed hard.

"I bags the shower-wait-bath first!" Sophie shouted.

Entering the bathroom, Sophie took her pyjamas and undressed. Filling the wooden bathtub with water, she took the glass bottle that smelt like lavender earlier and poured it in. Soon enough, the whole room smelt of calming lavender. Slipping inside, Sophie washed herself of the stresses of her old life and took several deep breaths. [I hope this isn't a dream. Although I do miss my family, I need to be more independent. It will be alright]. Taking a final deep breath, she grabbed a soft towel before brushing her teeth. Sophie had found a toothbrush, hidden in the cabinet underneath the sink. [Thank god this world has some modern things]. Changing into the pyjamas, Sophie called her friend.

"Lucy, it's your turn now."

Sophie's pyjamas was a frilly nightgown, pale pink in colour which contrasted with her tan skin. As Lucy finished, she saw that their pyjamas were almost identical, but in different colours, with Lucy's in a periwinkle one.

"Shit, I forgot to check the time," Sophie said, swearing to herself.

"It's fine, we'll get a watch tomorrow."

"It's probably late now anyway, let's go to bed."

Climbing onto their respective beds, they turned off the bedside lamps.

"Sweet dreams, Lucy."

"Night, Sof."

Sophie closed her eyes, slowly succumbing to soft dreams and smiles.

**

In a distant land....

"Master...we have found the two chosen ones."

"If this is a false lead again, you shall perish to your death." A voice snarled.

"No, it's right. There's been a sign amongst the higher-ups."

"Good...we're now one step closer to victory against our enemies." The voice grinned, before breaking out into a sickening laugh.