Emily peered against the midday sun.

The square outside the guild looked much like it had earlier in the day; filled with people and every stall busy with customers. Smells she hadn’t notice before now made their presence known as people stopped to eat lunch at one of the many stalls that served everything from meat pies, to a newfangled invention of fried fish and potatoes. Emily couldn’t say she cared much for either, but from the looks on the twins’ faces, they sure did.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Famished,” they said as one.

“Let’s get something to eat first, then find a bath. Have you been to the bathhouse?”

“We have,” Ann confirmed.

“Only the smallest one, though,” Yu added. “Of the three.”

“Its usually cramped. But it’s the cheapest.”

Emily weighed her new pouch of gold in her hand. “Let’s not go there then,” she said. “I would prefer some calm with my bath, and something to drink. Come, let’s get some food, then clean of all this dust.”

***

Three pies, a few skewers, a watered down bottle of mulled wine, and a quick detour into a clothing shop later, Emily and the twins found themselves outside Vigilfell’s finest bathhouse. They’d arrived at another square filled with stalls and people, though sparser than before the guild. For they found themselves in the older part of the town, where houses were tall, built from stone, and covered in plaster in every color of the rainbow. Where plants were chosen for their beauty as they hung over narrow alleys and burst forward from window planters, and where trees stood along the edges, their mighty crowns swaying slowly in the faint breeze. Where fearless doves picked for crumbs between the cobblestones, and crows, ravens, and seagulls lined the roofs, filling their air with their shrieks and laughter.

Emily wanted nothing more than to go back out to the plain; to the silence and the calm, and couldn’t help but scowl as they passed another stall and another overenthusiastic merchant. When the heavy door of the bathhouse closed behind Yu, Emily could finally relax. For beyond them another world greeted her, one of multicolored sandstone and polished marble. One where sunlight streamed through windows of colored glass, painting the lobby in clutter of colors.

She swiftly ordered a bath for three at the counter occupying the far wall, paying for Ann and Yu whilst repeatedly telling them it was fine, and that they would not be in debt to her for the rest of their lives. They were then showed into the atrium, and then to the undressing room, where they were left to their own devices. Emily untied her makeshift hairband and let the tousles of auburn hair down with a shake of her head. Then she undressed, handing her old clothes to a girl dressed in a simple dress of gray linen, for washing, and put the ones she had bought new into one of many small alcoves that lined the wall. The twins fell a little behind, and she went in to the baths proper before them, telling them to take their time.

The hall beyond was as grand as the lobby, lined with polished marble and granite and lit by large windows in the tall vaulted ceiling. The left wall opened up to a secluded garden of vividly green grass, white gravel, and mottled flowerbeds. A great willow stood in its center, its long branches creating a dome, a second seclusion within the garden. The bath itself, though not as colorful as the flowers, was still a sight to behold, and the softly scented water called to her as, despite the warm weather, a translucent cloud of steam rose from the pool, vanishing into the tall ceiling.

Emily lowered herself into the water and let the heat wash over her tired body, sweeping away her worries with its soothing embrace. When she finally sat down on the tiles that lined the bath she let her head fall back against the edge and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply, as if meditating, she let her thoughts float away with the steam that rose from the bath, silencing her mind. The complete silence lasted for not more than a few minutes, but she already felt quite refreshed when the twins entered the baths. She heard them patter across the smooth floor on naked feet, before mumbling something too soft to hear, and entering the water. Emily allowed herself to look up when they did, if only to sate her curiosity.

The twins had untied their braids, and their black hair hung free across their shoulders, but there was another thing Emily wondered about, and she only needed a quick peek to confirm. The twins had only one pair of nipples each, like a human. Satisfied her companions were more human than cat, she leaned her head back again, and closed her eyes. For a few more minutes nothing but the occasional satisfied moan from across the pool disturbed the silence. Then at least one of the twins grew bored, and moved across.

Emily felt the water shift as they approached, stirring up tiny currents and whirls in the pool’s still water. They stayed a bit away, perhaps not daring to come too close. There they stayed as stillness again fell over the pool. Though Emily could feel their hesitation and their eagerness. Like kittens wanting to play with their mother’s tail they were watching, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

“Was there a something you wanted to ask?” Emily said, forestalling their questions by breaking the silence on her own. She looked up as the twins dodged away from her gaze, their eyes falling to the water. “Well? Out with it, no good will come from letting such things fester.”

They looked at each other, speaking quietly as only twins could. Then Yu spoke up, “Who are you, really?”

Emily smiled as she leaned her head back on the tiles, her eyes tracking the intricate designs laid into the vaulted ceiling. “I’m Emily Blackwood,” she said. “I am… no, I was a knight of the Empire of the Seven Stars, the finest knight, even. And before that I was Elizabeth of the ancient family Vertone, daughter of the chancellor of Gra’Tinit. But that’s not really what you are asking, is it?”

They shook their heads.

Emily chuckled. “No, thought not. I’m the daughter of a goddess and a man. Don’t give me that look when I’m telling you the truth. Look, my mother—if you can call her that—gifted me to my father like a hastily thrown together present. Why she did it… well, I still don’t know for sure, she never bothered telling me. But I believe she knew what fate had in store, and that what she and the other old gods had been doing would bring ruin if they did not stop. Alex is much the same, though his birth was different from mine—more natural, if you will. His father had a penchant for mortal women, though I doubt he ever expected to sire a child…” She trailed off, noticing the look on the twins faces.

“You’re a demigoddess?” Ann blurted, the disbelief on her voice palpable.

“You saw my magic didn’t you,” Emily said with a slight smirk, “in the dungeon?”

“The white magic?”

“It was holy magic, wasn’t it?”

Emily shook her head. “That wasn’t holy, but divine magic. Holy can’t heal wounds, or be used for something as utilitarian as a light. Its only use is for smiting unbelievers.”

The twins looked at her with their massive eyes, their pupils growing from slits as the sun hid behind a cloud, throwing the hall into shadow.

“You don’t believe me,” Emily smiled. “Don’t worry, I understand. But for the sake of brevity, pretend I’m telling the truth, and if you can’t stomach that much,” she said with a wry smile. “Let’s just say I’m both the most powerful magician and the strongest knight you’ll ever meet.”

Yu looked at her sister for a moment, then back at Emily. “If you really are a demigoddess… then what are you doing here?”

“That’s the big question, isn’t it?” Emily sighed. “I’ve said it a few times, you might not have believed me then either, but I really am bound by fate. The path I walk is not one I get to choose myself, but one that is chosen for me. I don’t know why I am here, why this world is where I ended up, but I’m sure there is a reason, and that that reason will show itself eventually.” Then she raised her head and fixated the twins with an emerald glare. “Though it seems to have something to do with the two of you.”

They squirmed under her intense gaze.

“Why us?”

“We aren’t special.”

“Don’t sell yourselves short, everyone is special, and you are no exception. But no, I don’t know why its you, I don’t even know if it’s actually you, or if it just seems like it. All I know is fate forced me to become an adventurer, but for what purpose is still a mystery.” She rolled her neck, relishing in the soft pops. “Either way, I’m not sure who is stuck with who, but I’ll be traveling with the two of you for a bit, and see where it leads.”

“You mean you’ll be adventuring with us?” Ann asked, leaning forward a little.

“Mm,” Emily said. “I think that’s my best bet of figuring out what fate wants of me. And eventually finding my way back to Alex.”

“Couldn’t you just go find him now?”

“Were you not listening? I’m bound by fate, if it does not will it, I can’t do it.”

“But—”

“Look,” Emily said, cutting off Ann. “Do you not think I want to go looking for him? We’ve been married for half a century; he’s the light of my life, the star that always guides me home. What I want to do, is drop everything and scour this star till I find him, just so I can hug him and hear him say my name.” Emily took a shaky breath and shifted where she sat, as the twins held their breaths. “But I can’t… I can’t… If I went out looking for him now I would probably not even make it out of the town, and even if I did, we could be standing two feet apart and not recognize each other, because it’s not our time to meet, because fate dictates our lives, our futures.”

The silence that followed was only broken by the soft trill of a greenfinch, singing an ode to summer in the flowering garden. Then Emily took a shaky breath and forced a smile. “Crap,” she sniffled and ran her fingers beneath her eyes, replacing the few tears with perfumed water from the bath. “It’s barely been half a week and I already miss him.” The twins said nothing in the pause that followed, then Emily took another deep breath and said,. “Sorry, that wasn’t very kind of me. You shouldn’t have to worry about my existential problems.”

The twins glanced at each other, then they looked down and their ears flattened against the skulls, beneath the water their tails intertwined. “We get it,” Yu said, wringing her hands. “We do, sort of. One time, Ann got lost during a hunt, we can’t have been more than five—”

“Six.”

“—or six. But I was so scared I’d never see her again. I couldn’t sleep at all for those two nights and I’m pretty sure I cried enough to water a flock of moas. In the end I fell asleep of exhaustion right before she came home.”

“I’d just gotten lost,” Ann explained, “and they found me hiding under a bush after a day or so. But I hadn’t gotten a lick of sleep, cowering under that bush, and fell asleep as they carried me home.”

“We woke up together, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.”

“Ma says we wouldn’t stop holding hands for a week after.”

They looked at each other and smiled at the memory. Then they looked back at Emily and they smiles faltered. “What we are trying to say,” Yu began, but Emily held up a hand and smiled.

“I understand,” she said. “I was an only child so have never known what a sibling’s love is like, but I suppose it can be very alike that of a soul mate, especially for twins.” Then she took a deep breath, and without warning, dunked her head beneath the surface. Water filled her ears with a hollow echoing, dulling the wordless shouts of the twins. She stayed beneath till till her lungs screamed for air, and with a bursts of boubbles she rose again, throwing her head back and running both her hands through her hair.

“That’s gotten the gloom out of me, I think,” she said and wiped the water from her eyes, finding the twins looking at her; half horrified and half surprised. “It’s time to stop worrying so much about the past and start planning for the future. Fate has a task for me, and there is no reason to dawdle on getting it started. Quite the opposite, the quicker I get to it, the sooner I’ll get my fated reunion.” She pushed herself up on the edge of the bath, water dripping from her hair and pooling beneath her.

The twins blinked in unison, surprised by her sudden change in tone.

“Are we leaving already?” Yu asked, her ears drooping.

“But we just got here!” Ann exclaimed.

Emily looked at them for a moment; at their disheveled hair, dull fur, and large pleading eyes; and she felt the warmth in the air, and the water still around her calves and feet. “No, you’re right,” she said, “it can wait a little longer. But now that I’m already up here…” She laid down, shivering as the cold tiles pressed against her skin, reaching one of many small baskets of soaps and perfumes that had been placed around the bath. Then she sat up and patted the edge of the bath. “Come, I’ll wash your hair.”

***

They left the bathhouse with shining hair and fur, smelling faintly of chamomile and with content smiles playing on their lips. The bath had not just washed the dirt of their skin and the grease from their hairs, but also the worries on their minds. They found their way back through the town, towards the guild, as it sat right on the edge of the artisans’ quarters, and the square before sold the many things they would need.

“I’ll be paying for our needs moving forwards,” Emily said as they strolled down the street, dodging the crowds of civilians and adventurers alike. “Since I already have more money than I know what to do with.”

“That’s… that’s too nice,” Yu stammered and stepped around a ragged dog sleeping in a gutter.

“We can’t accept that,” Ann added.

“That’s too bad,” Emily said and spun on her heel to walk backwards. “Because I’ll be your patron demigoddess.” She added a theatrical wink for good measure, eliciting a soft groan from the twins.

“Weren’t you over eighty?”

“I act the age I look,” Emily said and spun again to face forward, her hands locked behind her back. “Besides, I’m still young at heart. But enough about me, we need to find new weapons for the two of you… and a sword for me, I guess. What sort of weapons do you prefer?”

“I prefer the bow,” Yu said.

“And I like spears,” Ann added.

“But we can both use either.”

“And daggers too.”

Emily hummed and glanced through an open door as she passed it by. Darkness and a faint smell of herbs greeted her. “I’m going to rule out spears for the moment,” she said, ignoring the sounds of betrayal from Ann. “Did you learn to use a spear whilst hunting with your tribe?”

“How did you know?”

“An educated guess,” Emily said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But like I told Rory, spears aren’t good for what we’ll be doing. Spears are great in groups larger than perhaps ten, and if you equip an army with spears they’ll conquer half a world. But for us, three people in tight corridors, spears are not the weapons to use.” She looked back, catching the twins’ eyes. “I’ll be teaching you how to fight with a sword before we leave on another tour to the plain, and I don’t want to hear any complaining about it—”

Emily turned a corner and spun into a pirouette, catching the girl that had stumbled into her before she touched the ground. But she couldn’t save the basket of vegetables the girl had been carrying, and it fell to the ground, scattering its contents across the cobblestones.

“Whoa there,” Emily breathed and helped the girl regain her footing, arms wrapped around her waist. “You all right?”

The girl wondered at her, a doe-eyed expression clothing her round, freckled face. Then she remembered herself, and as a reddish hue spread across her ears and cheeks she took a swift step out of Emily’s arms, tripping over her simple, yet practical gray dress. “I-I’m very sorry, ma’am—miss,” she stammered and bowed, deeply and hastily, almost hitting Emily with her head. The bun—into which she had tied her straw colored hair—bounced and threatened to come lose. “I-I wasn’t looking where I was going, I’m very very sorry, I don’t know how I can compensate you—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emily said and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, gently guiding her out of her bow. “It was an accident, these things happen.”

“But—”

Emily shook her head. “No, there’s no need. Besides,” she said, and motioned for the fruit, “I do believe it’s on me to compensate you.”

The girl followed her hands and gasped. “Oh no,” she moaned, “Master will be furious with me.”

“I’m sure your master will give you some lenience in the matter,” Emily said and opened her pouch. “How much to replace the fruit?”

The girl wondered at her again for a moment, then she realized what Emily was asking. “Oh no,” she said, shaking her head as she took another step back. “I can’t accept any gold.”

“Why not,” Emily asked and gave the girl a second once over, then she glanced around, and put the pieces together. “I see,” she said before the girl had time to answer. “Could you deliver compensation to your master? As an apology for my clumsiness.”

The girl looked at her, her mouth hanging open, then she shut it with a click of teeth, and said, “I-I guess, if it’s okay with you, miss.”

Emily pressed a few coins into the girls palm. “Of course,” she smiled. “It wouldn’t be right to put you on the spot. Hurry now, before you’re late.”

The girl bowed again. “Thank you, miss,” she said, and accepted the basket—filled with what could be saved from the street—from Ann, before hurrying off. Emily tracked her until she was engulfed by the crowds and vanished from sight.

“You didn’t have to compensate her,” Yu said to Emily’s back.

“I know,” Emily said. “But I’d rather not be in debt the same day I arrive. Especially not to one owning slaves.” Then she turned away and continued down the street towards the guild, the twins pattering after. “Is it common around these parts?” she asked after a moment.

“Mhm,” Ann said. “But only in Aelia, and they got it from the continent.”

“Most are sold into it,” Yu added. “To pay off debts. Though some are criminals.”

Emily nodded slowly. “A rather standard affair then,” she said to herself before speaking up, “Anyway. Like I was saying before all that: I’m going to be teaching you how to fight with a sword, and I’ll want to know how well you do with other weapons. But first we need to get some new ones, I believe. Did you break all your weapons in that dungeon?” The twins avoided her gaze as she looked at them in turn, their ears flattening against their skulls.

“We did,” Yu mumbled eventually. “We ran out of arrows for the bows and lost the daggers among the corpses.”

“I liked that bow,” Ann murmured dejectedly. “And now its spider food.”

Emily chuckled and reached out to ruffle their hair. “Don’t worry about it,” she said as they twins yelped and dodged away from her hands. “Weapons break and vanish all the time. They are tools meant to be used, after all.” Then she hummed and looked to the sky. “But it does mean we need to buy quite a few things. Three bows, swords, and daggers. As well as training swords and arrows.”

“We can buy weapons ourselves,” Yu said through a pout, her arms crossed under her breasts. “You don’t have to pay for us.”

Emily smiled. “Save your hard earned money,” she said. “There are better things in life to spend it on than training equipment and lousy swords.”

“But we’ll be in debt to you if we let you buy everything,” Ann said. “Maybe we don’t want that either.”

“Where I come from, people usually don’t demand payment for gifts. But perhaps things are different here.”

“Humph,” the twins said in tune and looked away, but neither stressed the point.

Emily chuckled as she turned round and started down the street. “If you truly can’t stand being in debt to me,” she said as she heard the patter of footsteps catching up, “then pay me back in effort. Show me what you are worth; prove that you are worthy of fighting by my side.” She looked first at Yu on her left, then at Ann on her right. “Deal?”

The twins looked at her then past her, their eyes locking for but a moment, then they nodded to each other and their faces set in lines determination.

“We’ll do it,” Ann said.

Yu nodded. “We’ll prove we’re the best adventurers you could have ever met!”

“That’s the spirit,” Emily smiled and placed her hands on the twins’ shoulders, squeezing as she pulled them together. “If you can keep your conviction I’ll make sure you become the best adventurers to ever walk onto the plain. But first; let us find some weapons. Preferably something that won’t break in its first fight, if such a thing is possible around here. Then, tomorrow we’ll find somewhere to practice.”

“The guild has a training field reserved for adventurers,” Yu said. “It’s to the east, a little ways outside town.”

“Really? We’ll go there tomorrow then, after I’ve had time to dream up a training regime. But for today, I believe we’ve earned ourselves a little rest. Let’s find some weapons, and then we can see what this town has to offer. Come now, there’s still daylight to be spent!”