I needed a wage.

Even a massive one wouldn't be enough to repay everything I'd had to put up with ever since coming into this body.

Upon exiting the café, I claimed a headache and slunk away to the darkened alleyways. Of course, neither Calix nor Calista asked if I was okay as they were too engrossed in each others' eyes. I felt like I was intruding on something important, and every good third-wheel knew that was when one should make themselves scarce.

But I couldn't fully disappear– who knows what the system would do in my absence?– so I pressed myself against a wall that reeked of dirty feet and urine. Inhaling through my mouth, I glanced around to ensure I was relatively alone. My only company were the rats, and a young beggar who was lazing against the opposite side, completely wiped out from his inebriation.

"Oh, system?" I whispered, extending my arms. "I'd like to use the Cloak of Secrets, please." I'd won this item after completing the second incident– which had involved the arduous task of befriending Calista and worming my way into a position of trust.

Ding!

Access granted!

Item procured: 1x 'Cloak of Secrets'

Information: Tailored in the dark by seventeen sinners, this cloak will render the user invisible to people who are not 'Story Travellers' or 'Dreamers'

Seventeen sinners, huh? I thought as a sudden weight dropped in my hands. Briefly, I reminisced about the love potion I'd won three- or was it four?- stories ago would have been extremely useful here, if only rewards carried through storylines.

No matter how many times I'd seen it before, the cloak always took my breath away. Darker than the deadliest of nights with a soft, gossamer feel that rippled between my fingers like water. I pulled it around my shoulders and a gasp pushed past my lips as a chill shot through me. My back arched and a sense of hopelessness swept through me for the briefest of moments before passing over me like a dying tide.

There was a silver buckle by my sternum and I clasped it securely. The cloak stopped just above my waist, and it was important to ensure every part of the cloth was touching me for the invisibility to work. I pulled up the hood, wincing for a second as despair clawed through my brain, and took a deep, steadying breath. You've got this.

Ding!

Characters 'Calista' and 'Calix' are taking a stroll along the 'Couples Path' on their way to the market!

If you run, you might be able to catch them :)

I scowled and swiped my hand through the hovering screen, annoyance bubbling in my stomach like a pressure cooker about to burst. Couples Path. Really?

Forcing away the cynical thoughts, I ploughed onwards.

The market square was crowded, but sluggish on the sultry day. I pushed past the compact bodies that drifted from store to store with merchants promising a sweet relief from the heat with their products. Men with their starched shirts and tight-fitting jackets wiped away the sweat with already damp napkins, maintaining the stiff upper lip of idiotic resilience that had been drilled into them from a young age. They were usually accompanied by women whose dresses clung onto them like a second skin as they futilely tried to bat away the heat with paper fans, their lilting voices cutting through the din as they complained about the weather.

I even spotted a few sticky-fingered thieves, whose feather-light touch gained them more than a few treasures. As far as I could see, any store that sold even the smallest bit of ice was packed, and I longed to join them. But I was on a mission, and there was no time to waste on frivolity.

Spices hung in the air and I inhaled, closing my eyes and allowing the crowd to push me ahead. Sometimes, if I thought hard and long, I could remember coloured glimpses of my life. My real life. Before I got reincarnated into my first, favourite story. Before I forgot my own parents' faces. Before I stopped thinking about my family. Before I couldn't even remember my friends' names.

Several people bumped into me and cast back confused glances, but their eyes always glazed over and they carried on. I was invisible; this time, it was intentional.

Where are they? I thought, standing on my tiptoes as I tried to peer over the crowd for a familiar splotch of dark or blonde hair. I can't have lost them already!

Ding!

WARNING

Challenge 'Quality Time' is about to be interrupted!

Stop this now or face the penalty!

A cold prickling of dread trickled down from the base of my neck as I abandoned all sense of rationality, shoving past couples too engrossed in each other to notice. The world blurred into a smudge of colours. Noise accosted me from all sides and merged to form the rush of blood roaring in my ears. My breath quickened, but my chest constricted and I couldn't breathe. Couldn't see. Couldn't hear anything above the constant pinging of notifications, the sound rattling around in my brain. Bile rose to the base of my throat as I spun round and round and round—

There!

The air whooshed out of my lungs and I nearly sobbed in relief. I'm okay. I'm alive.

I crept forward, keeping a respectable distance away from the couple as they walked down the path beaten by many feet before them. As was customary in these types of novels, the crowd dwindled until it was almost just the two of them– the stage was set, and my only role was to direct it.

Calix ducked his head down and said something to Calista, making her tip her head back and let out a delicate laugh. Calix stared at her with a wide smile, redness coating his cheeks and creeping up to his ears.

I exhaled and closed my eyes; a familiar tingle spread from the front of my head to my ears as I activated my heightened hearing. I opened my eyes and gasped as my hearing tunnelled, narrowing in on the couple. Their footsteps crunching over gravel, their heartbeats thundering in their chest like hail on a tin roof, lungs expanding and deflating as they filled with air, the brush of Calista's fingers against her hair, Calix's breath catching in his throat every time he looked at her. All these noises were amplified and rattled about in my skull. They were so much more bearable in my true form, but I had the feeling a giant dragon appearing from the middle of nowhere would cause some slight alarm.

I filtered out the useless sound and managed to tune in to their words.

"–I confess, I am a bit worried about Jia." Calista sighed. "She looked absolutely awful when we left her earlier!" Gee, thanks.

"She'll be fine." Calix's words were crisp and clear to the point. Now, if only his romance skills were the same.

"But how do you know?" She cast a backward glance and, for the briefest of moments, I panicked, thinking she had seen me. Then, her eyes slid over my form and she turned to her companion. "Should we have waited with her until she got a carriage back to the boarding house?"

I wasn't deluded by her words. Deep down, she did not actually care about me, but was putting up a sweet, innocent and loving facade that was expected of female protagonists. Who wouldn't like the woman who cares about her best friend who came from a foreign land, and is so socially inept that she received no marriage proposals, even though she was well past the marriageable age?

Calix scoffed and stuck his oversized nose in the air. "Well, I'm sure a woman as stubborn as she would have no trouble beguiling some poor fellow into assisting her." I will shove my foot up your–

"Cal, you can't say things like that!" Calista slapped his arm lightly, withdrawing with a giggle that betrayed the good intentions of her words. "She has not had the same exposure to high society as we do. It is unkind to make fun of her."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to think that I'm unkind." He coughed into his hand, possibly to hide the crack in his voice. "But I do not think I can ever grow fond of Lady Jia. Not as fond as I am of you, anyways."

Calista's pulse quickened, and I resisted the urge to gag. They truly deserve each other.

Then, I heard it.

The quiet clink! of a hand slipping into an unsuspecting noble's pocket to retrieve a valuable, footsteps brushing against the stone ground, the beat of a steady heart as they came closer and closer.

I tensed, widening my field of vision to encompass the strangers beside Calista and Calix.

Silence.

I let out a sigh, my shoulders relaxed and I–

A hand grabbed my arm.

A scream tore from my throat, but was swiftly silenced by a palm clamping over my mouth. I thrashed about, panic rising, as I was dragged away. No!

The scent of dirt and smoke assaulted my nose, making my head spin and clashing with a medley of voices clashing around in my brain. I tried digging my heels into the ground, but couldn't find a strong enough foothold. My fingers fumbled for the silky edges of my cloak. If I can just pull it off, someone will notice–

"Ah, ah, ah," a low voice chided. "There'll be none of that." It brushed past my ear with a chill, and the cool edge of a blade pressed against my neck. "Or I'll slit your throat, dragon-shifter."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of a plan. Every idea I turned over in my mind was tossed for another one.

I couldn't think my way out of this one.

I was going to die.

Strangely, the thought didn't frighten me as much as it should have.

If anything, I only felt relief.

Will this all end if I'm killed now?

Will I be able to go back to my home? The home I don't even remember?

I was thrown into an alleyway, my head slammed against the stone wall. Colourful butterflies exploded in my vision, crashing and dancing as I blinked in an attempt to clear them. Groaning, I rolled over on my stomach, digging my nails into the dirt to try and gather my bearings. A familiar churning started to rumble in my chest near my heart.

"Hello, dragon-shifter." A pair of brown boots, peeling at the soles with holes on almost every toe embedded in them, appeared in my vision. The cloak was pulled from my head and dropped onto the ground. "I've been waiting for you."

I couldn't hold back anymore.

I opened my mouth and spewed orange flames into the air. 

********************************

Total word count: 4724

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)