"Take a little walk to the edge of town
Go across the tracks
Where the viaduct looms
Like a bird of doom."~ Nick Cave et al.
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KYLA'S reflection shimmered in the stream, dancing in synch to the ripples of the clear water. She dipped her hands in it and rinsed her face as the  thought of leaving her home started running through her mind. She inhaled heavily, dipping her hands into the stream again and allowing it to rest there for a while. She stared into the flowing water, imaging the face of her mother and her beautiful smile. She smiled back, wanting to at least touch it but she ended up moving her hands disrupting her own imagination.

The last two days didn't give her much room to think about her home and all that she left behind. With Mia by her side, they'd spent most of their time exchanging stories and talking about the different places they'd been to. Kyla didn't have much to say, which wasn't surprising. Her parents... her father never took her anywhere, the only places she went were the market and the Temple of the Hallows and also her own personal adventures in the woods. 

Mia on the other hand had loads to share, she had seen so much that Kyla didn't remember half of the things she said. She was from Argona a little town south of Illeria and at the very border of Egrimorth. It marked the boundary between Egrimorth and the Carlyps forest; the forest that was said to conceal Arckadania. She explained that the people of Argona respected the elves and that their cultures were mostly influenced by the way they perceived the elves, hence why she was given an elven name. The elves have never left Arckadania since the era of King Fhilnara, and that was around ninety seasons ago. Most people were starting to think they were myths or that they all died out. Kyla knew better than most people, since most people didn't read and she on the other hand enjoyed reading a lot. A trait she found in Mia too, and it was one of the reasons why Kyla easily warmed up to her.

"So you are just going to stare at the water all day?" Mia's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, she jumped on her feet, spraying water at the brown haired girl. "Come on, let's go. We still have a long way to Alkhamas, we need to get there before sunset."

Kyla glanced up at the clouds, the morning sun was fighting it's way out of the multiple sheet of clouds that were intent on shielding it's hopeful rays. She raised a finger at Mia, which literally meant; give me a moment. She wiped her face with a piece of towel and lifted herself up from the stream. After repacking her bag, she lumped it on her shoulders and joined Mia as they continued their journey.

For the fist time since their travelling, Kyla was silent and so was Mia. She didn't know the reason for the merchant's absurd silence, but she was thankful for it. She had a lot to reminisce about. What would her mother be doing now? Probably stuffing Harlene's throat with bitter herbs under the pretence that it would help the baby. She giggled unconsciously, wiping the tears of her face. Her father on the other hand would just sit in the corner, his palm on his face, murmuring something about how girls were troublesome. It was one of those times she would see her dad for who he really was, a nice quiet man who loves easily, not the grumbling mean man he made himself out to be. And all of it was her fault, just coming to life and she was already ruining other people's lives. She imagined what it would have been like for them if she had never been born. Jada would be around her fortieth year, probably married and already with grown up children and...

"Okay, moody girl. What's wrong?" Mia asked, peering her grey eyes into the redhead's face.

Kyla shuddered, she was a talkative and never once did she have to put a leash on what she said, but now that she was with a girl she's known for just two days, it didn't feel right to just open her heart and pour out all the contents. Thankfully, Mia seemed to be a mind reader. "You don't need to say anything," she said, putting her arm around her adding to the weight of the bag. "I miss home too," she informed, and her voice contained a trace of bitterness, like she'd left home for decades.

Kyla smiled and ordered them to stop, changing the subject completely. They sat down, and as usual Mia grabbed her water skin and began to drink like she swallowed a reservoir. In three gulps, the first skin was done for, and before Kyla could say Avaerius, two more were down. Kyla blinked in disbelief, like how she did every time Mia showed her latent camel biology. "Are you part camel?" the words were out before she could stop them.

Mia raised her eyes in confusion, then slowly let her eyes wander back to the empty skins. Then she made a weird half smiling half surprised face. "It's huh... I get thirsty." she explained.

Kyla nodded. "You do." Kyla replied, smiling and easing the tension. "Pray there is a river nearby, cause I am definitely not sharing." she replied stuffing her skin into her backpack. "Camel!" she added, bursting into laughter and Mia joined.

After a few moments of rest, they continued their journey. She eased up on her nostalgia and put it at the back of her mind to write to her mother as soon as she reached Alkhamas. The rest of their journey was just as fun as the past two days. Today she ended up pointing at loads of animals, and loads of plants which the Argonan girl answered offhandedly like she had put them all there. Kyla didn't believe every traveller will know all these, Mia was just smart. Even though she didn't remember half the plants she'd asked about, the animals stuck easily. Mia was like that big sister she never had. She was kind, attentive, and fun.

The sun had already began to set by the time they reached the gates of Alkhamas. Kyla stood there for seconds, oblivious of the loads of people pushing past her to get their goods checked by the four different guards stationed at the two corners of the gate. Mia didn't rush her either, she let her stare at the magnificent mass of iron in front of her. The gates were painted in a mix of white and gold, with four different animal heads carved out of it. It was attached to the large walls that surrounded the city and it extended above them, designed like an arrowhead but with a larger base and also more bent in towards the middle giving it a concave appearance. It's tip was shaped like one finger pointing to the sky. The animals; the Walthorn, a dragon head, the eagle and the Seqert, an extra large scorpion, the size of a full grown man. Why the gate of a commercial city had these kinds of animals carved into them was beyond Kyla, how they carved them out of the iron gate was a more disturbing question.

She probably have been staring for too long because Mia nudged her gently. "Come on, let's go get our pass." she whispered, half dragging her to the guard with the shortest queue in front of him. After a while on the queue they finally got to the guard. The guard looked at them, and snorted, like he didn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. He was dressed like the others, a plate of silver amour with the kingdom's coat of arms, the ultimate symbol of freedom; a man sitting on the back of a dragon and soaring to the skies. Though Kyla thought they got the impression wrong and the creature was a wyvren, but since arguably, neither of the creatures existed anymore, Kyla didn't give it much thought. These amours were strapped to a normal linen clothing, that had the tip of a chainmail shirt peeking underneath it. The guard in front of them didn't have his helmet on, so his young scrawny, unscarred, and handsome face... Yes, he was handsome. Kyla blinked twice before looking up at the strange countenance those face held.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We are here to buy stuffs obviously." Mia answered. "It's called trading, I am a merchant, what seems to be the problem?" she said, rolling her eyes.

He smiled. "Nothing, you just seem awfully young is all Milady," he replied bowing. That was when Kyla discovered Mia knew him.

"Flynn, will you answer me?" she demanded the pass, and Kyla glared, wasn't he going to search them? The queue had started to murmur, even though they had no idea what was going on.

"Not until you tell me your friends name." Flynn said with a glint of smile at Kyla.
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"Gods, you are annoying. Her name is Kyla. Now, the pass!" she screamed. "Before I lose my mind," the guard snickered, and handed them two wooden slates the size of Kyla's tiny palm. One word was written on them, "Pass." 'How original,' Kyla thought as Mia dragged her through the crowd.

Immediately they passed through the gates, everything felt different. The air, the scent, the buildings. The first few things they first encountered were stalls, series and series of stalls. The traders were more than eager to throw their goods at customers. The city was filled with an unnatural energy, everyone was hyper. Mia had to drag her around like a baby, away from traders that wanted to literally pull her into their stalls. Once or twice, you will hear them scream whatever they were selling over each other's voice. Sometimes they even rhymed. And the way they advertised their goods made Kyla want to giggle.

"Everlasting beauty!!" a man would appear in her face, gesturing his hand so that their focus would be on the round wooden container in his hand. "That my dear is the secret ingredient of this ointment. Do you want the boy of your dreams to faint by your mere presence? Do..." he wouldn't have finished his advertisement before Mia would shove her away from them. Kyla considered it rude. Left to her, she would bow and tell every single one of them why she wouldn't want to buy their products, but when she considered the amount of people she would have to apologize to, she couldn't argue with Mia's methods.

After a series of dodging, pushing, screaming at loads of people, they passed what Mia called the first market into a quieter neighborhood . The environment was serene enough. The buildings, most of them carved from marbles and granites, flexing the already obvious wealthy status of the city.

Few people walked past them, most of them were dressed corporately. The men wore heavy leather,.mostly brown or black over their shirts and tunics. Their pants were made of the same leather, and it ran into their big shoes. Some of them even had scabbards hanging down their waist. They walked past series of buildings and deep dark alleys that contained people who looked at them questioningly. They appeared rough and unkempt, their lips were scaly, and they appeared unnaturally thin. Their looks were gloomy, and they seemed to have lost so much strength they couldn't talk.

She glanced at Mia, her face signalling how she felt as the older girl's grey irises dimmed. "You will get used to it," was all she said as they quickly walked past them.

The scenery changed once more after they went past the temple of the Hallows. The temple was unlike the one in their village that barely had enough space for a hundred people. This one was huge, it was almost the size of her village. The building would have been pure white if not for few littered gems scattered across it's walls. The gems were of different colours! And they seemed to pop out of the walls, just peeping into the world. In front of the temple, two hallows stood there, wearing black robes designed like a smock. A golden symbol of a triple spiral; the sign of the All Mother, Avaerius,  embedded on the chest of their robes. Hanging on both sides of their waists were two daggers. One of them who didn't wear a long sleeved undergarment had series of runes tattooed into his arms. They looked fearsome, face; expressionless, aura; deathlike. Kyla's heart shook against her chest, as Mia touched two fingers to her chest and to her lips. A sign that meant you acknowledged Avaerius as the mother of all. Kyla did the same, and the guards replied them with their deathlike expressions. They passed by them and as soon as they did, they entered into another section of the city.

This section contained series of inns, abbeys, hostels, taverns and even brothels. Kyla wondered why this part of the town was at the end of the town. She couldn't see much of her environment, as the sky had already darkened, and the only thing lighting their way was the series of candles lit on the window pane of most inns. They walked through the buildings, abandoning the main road, navigating through series of inns, before they finally chose to enter a fair looking one, that Kyla was too spent to read. All she wanted was a nice cozy bed.

"Spending the night here won't be a bad idea right?" Mia asked her, and she replied with a yawn that caused Mia to giggle. "That's what happens when you barely sleep for two days."

She was right, she'd been to over exited to sleep in the past two days that she barely slept for three hours before waking up, eyes wide like plates. She let Mia handle the conversation with the innkeeper without bothering to listen, her head was heavy, and her eyes wanted to close up and get some rest. Even her legs and arms were complaining. Once she was done, Mia directed her up the stairs into a room on the right. She didn't even glance at the room number. She entered, took off her boots and bag and fell straight to bed, engulfed into the world of dreams.