Speckled Fate

On the other side of the city, the high elf was tracking a group of soldiers heading inside the tower she had noticed a glint of a spyglass the day before. She had her face as well as ears covered by the dark blue cloth of her ninja gear and most of her hair was unrecognizable by using the fluffy fur hat she had looted from the dead bandits. Overall she could be mistaken for a Londrian citizen which was the point of the excessive clothing.

'Hmm… so this place is owned by the kingdom.' She quickly took a look around and most of the people walking around the street didn't seem to bat a look at the soldiers going inside the building. 'I wonder if anyone would know more about this tower.'

After watching from a distance, she noticed one of them was carrying a dark burlap sack against the back, meaning it was heavier than what the soldier could actually carry, which prompted Phoebe to want to head inside the building to discover more about the place, but deep down she knew it was reckless. Since she wasn't allowed to kill, subduing trained soldiers would be too big of a task for one person alone.

'If John was here it would've been different…' She sighed. Since there was barely anything she could about the tower itself, at least she could gather information around it. Without wasting any time, she decided to inquire about the building from people that lived nearby. 'Now… where should I go?'

She looked around and the first thing that caught her eye was the cafe in the corner of the street, it offered chairs and tables out in the open as well as inside the establishment. While it was morning and only a few workers were hanging outside with cups of what could only be coffee, Phoebe decided it would be best to not stand out like a sore thumb and blend in.

After approaching the building she headed inside through the peculiar glass door in the front entrance, she noticed that not many looked at her, mostly because she did look like any other Londrian citizen looking for a morning coffee before work.

Upon entering, she was greeted by the gentle warm breeze from the heated interior, a few customers that were inside glanced towards the soft ring of the chime on the entrance, saw Phoebe and returned to their drinks on the table.

The wooden floor was sparkling with a sheen of wax polish, the smell of baked goods was assaulting her senses along with the calming notes of a piano against the far wall of the establishment, it was a pleasant experience, but distracting all the same. If the high elf wasn't extensively trained, the woman in a white uniform to her right flank would've gone unnoticed, but instead she turned around to face the woman behind her which promptly startled the waitress.

"W-welcome to Sunrise, h-h-how can I help you?"

Her hazel short hair had a bang covering her left eye while the right brown one was a bit erratic, glancing in every direction and her hands were obviously shaking which made Phoebe quickly break the silence.

"I huh… a table for one." She discreetly pointed to the couple sitting across the room. "And I want the same drink that lady is having."

"Ah, so very s-sorry, we are out of coffee powder. C-can I have Miss' permission to suggest another hot drink?" The high elf nodded shortly which made the waitress' face light up. "In that case, a choccy milky would sit well with our fresh out of the oven butter cookies."

Phoebe scratched the side of her hat.

"How much would all of that cost?"

"Just nine coppers Miss."

"Okay, I'll have that then."

"Thank you very much! Feel free to sit anywhere you like, I'll see to your order."

The waitress bowed and smiled before heading off to the back of the counter. Phoebe managed to snag a seat near the glass window adjacent to the doorway, it was morning but there was almost no sunlight, as if it was way past afternoon.She leaned both of her arms on the table while interlocking her fingers.

'Gathering information without looking suspicious will be hard… not knowing how patriotic or nosy these people are. Risky even. Not to mention just how open that tower's entrance is.' Her eyes carefully scanned the surroundings of the building in question and there was no feasible way she could enter it without being spotted by someone from the outside. 'Maybe it's simply a watch tower? But then why would there be a guard looking directly at the inn of all the places?'

"Miss?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the waitress' voice beside her. "Here's your chocolate and butter cookies."

She placed a tall mug filled to the brim with a soft brown smooth and silky looking liquid, while the next plate was fully covered by round thin light beige baked goods, while looking rather simple, the smell was mouth watering.

"Thank you." Phoebe said from beneath the cloth mask just before she pulled part of it down in order for her to taste what she had just ordered. However the waitress seemed to be waiting expectantly beside her. "Uh… is something wrong?"

She brought her tray to cover part of her mouth.

"Ah! No, I'm so sorry. I just couldn't help but notice how Miss is absolutely gorgeous."

Phoebe blinked a few times before she finally processed what she had just heard.

"Oh, huh… thank you."

Unbeknownst to her, most if not all customers were now looking at her because of the scene the waitress just did. However, that didn't stop the high elf from glancing out the window to keep tabs on the tower's entrance.

And just in time, she caught a glimpse of some soldiers exiting the building, from that distance it was impossible to tell if it were the same that had entered first, but none of them carried the previously seen sack on their back.

"Miss, are you perchance alone?" The male voice drifted her immediate attention off the building and made her eyes turn towards the man standing beside her table. "Hi, I work in a tailoring shop right up the street and I'd like to ask you to be a model for our next product line."

Upon meeting his eyes, she noticed he was an elf. Light blue eyes, short silky blonde hair and long ears pointing slightly down. He wore almost the same clothing as her, saving for the coat which instead was a fluffy hoodie instead of a long coat like hers.

Phoebe took a sip of the hot chocolate before putting it back on the ceramic coaster, her deep blue eyes glared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, I'm so very sorry, where are my manners?" He elegantly bowed with his right arm in front of him and the left behind his back. "My name is Jean Fawkes. Master tailor at Moondrop Fabrics at your service my lady. If possible I'd like to hear your answer as soon as you can give me one."

Looking closely, he seemed to be the kind of person who would let an information or two slip up in a casual conversation so she decided to make her move.

"If you agree with a few conditions I can help with a pose or two."

She grabbed one of the butter cookies and broke part of it between her front teeth while holding her chin with the other and leaning back somewhat provocatively, she dealt the finishing blow with that mild alluring technique.

"But of course, whatever I can do for my lady to use my fabrics. Shall we strike ourselves a deal?"

"Well you see, I'm new in the capital and I'd like some pointers as well as some extra coins for my stay."

While the monetary gain was merely an excuse to acquire more information, the fact that she spent so little time in Londria before was true. Most of her missions involved the central portion of the Arcadian continent which made her stay mostly around Akrapocalis and Windia so it left her little choice to research about the frost northern kingdom.

"That is easily arranged. Shall we head to my shop then?" Phoebe finished her half empty mug of chocolate and butter cookies but before she could settle the coin to pay for her expenses, Jean was kind enough to do it on her behalf. "Consider this a token of my appreciation."

Phoebe smiled before covering her face with the dark blue mask of her ninja uniform. They exited the cafe a little after and walked the street in the direction of the tower, which the high elf kept tabs on it at all times.

"So where do you live, Miss?"

"Akrapocalis, I'm here on my friend's behalf to help with a project."

"Ah I see. I heard most foreigners are from Akrapocalis due to the partnership some families have, I guess that is true after all. I've always lived here so I'm ignorant towards matters of other kingdoms so if anything I say sounds rude please forgive in advance."

"Duly noted."

He stopped in front of a store with glass panels in front, there were mannequins donning luxurious handmade fur coats that seemed more like dresses than actual clothing for the winter. While the interior was dark due to not being open to the public, Phoebe could see clearly inside, there were coat racks on each side of the walls with the middle section of the store filled with wooden boxes of some sort holding what seemed to be folded shirts, mufflers and gloves.

"Sorry, give me a moment to unlock the door." He fumbled with the keychain, almost dropping it on the ground before getting the right key to unlock it. "There we go."

Once opened Phoebe felt a warm gust of air coming through the door along a sweet fragrance of flowers. After Jean cleaned his shoes from the snow, he headed inside and flicked the switch near the counter to turn on the lights. The dim warm light gave the small shop a cozy atmosphere almost like the inn.

"I didn't have time to open the store beforehand so I apologize for the lack of hospitality."

He pulled a fancy looking bottle from behind the counter and began to spray the store with it. Phoebe's first reaction was to hold her breath as her left hand discreetly made its way to the dagger hidden beneath her coat.

"How exactly did you achieve this aroma?"

She tried to keep her inquiry to a minimum so as to not waste precious breath.

"Ah, is this your first time experiencing it? It's called a perfume, a rather recent invention from my friend's wife." He took a deep breath and with a smile on his face, continued speaking. "Nothing settles the mood better than a fragrant aroma of flowers as you enter the store, don't you think?"

"Flowers huh?" She subtly exhaled from her nose before taking another short breath, seemingly tasting the air. "It really has a pleasant scent."

"I knew Miss would like it."

It was just another excuse to buy her time since she was familiar with a myriad of poisons, she would be able to recognize if it was some sort of toxin, but as she half expected, it was merely perfume.

'Can never be too careful.'

She thought for herself as she discreetly moved her left hand away from the inner side of her coat.

After perfuming the interior of the shop, Jean walked behind the front counter through a door before peeking back to call Phoebe with a motion of his hand. She discreetly sighed and went through the doorway, inside the next room was a very well lit interior with various lights focusing on the center of the chamber where there was a higher platform as if to stand upon.

It was an impressive sight for Phoebe who had never witnessed such a dedicated individual to his own craft.

"Let me get the attire, I believe it was left in the wardrobe…" He walked to the far side of the room where there was a wall sized cabinet holding an innumerable amount of different clothing. It ranged from coats, dresses, one piece suits, jackets, anything seemed fair game to the tailor as long as it was fashionable. "Ah there it is."

He pulled out an oddly familiar coat, much like what Athena wore, but without all the golden accessories or fancy white cloth near the neck.

"Albeit I was told that this would be used by the military, I couldn't help but want to look for a suitable lady to wear this personal masterpiece. If Miss would grace me with your beauty, I shall do the ultmost in my capabilities to help you."

She was troubled, if it was another coat, she could probably remain using the hat even indoors, but with that uniform she was sure he would insist on her taking off the headwear, but even so it was worth a shot.

"Do I have to remove the-"

"The hat? Yes, please. Otherwise I cannot envision beauty in my own craft if not for the person wearing my creations."

She sighed silently.

"Very well. But I require both information and payment upfront before I remove anything."

"Ah, most certainly Miss..."

"Stephanie."

He smiled.

"Miss Stephanie."