After Princess Alexis disappeared behind the palace’s large white doors, the crowd simply dispersed and fanned out. My companions and I did the same, leaving the plaza and heading back into town. Only a few people stayed to chat in the now setting sun or purchase a few goods from the stalls at the edge of the square plaza.

“You know, I might have been able to go sign up at the recruitment station if we hadn’t gone all the way to the palace,” Ari complained as we walked down a bustling street.

“Don’t you know how long a test there takes?” Abby told him. “And you’re planning on applying to one of the highest-ranking positions, so an examination could take a day or two.”

“Hey, are your expectations of me that low? Once they see my skills, they won’t even need to give me an exam to accept me in!”

“More like you’re the one that has such high expectations of yourself. Don’t come crying after the proctor tells you to come back the next day.”

I finally found the perfect place to cut in. “So, once we all get what we came here for, does that mean we’ll go our separate ways?”

And just like that, the conversation was killed. The other three thought in silence as we strolled through the brick sidewalk. We passed a loud tavern where a large group talked and cheered as a bard played a harmonious tune. When the music faded out behind us, Em broke the silence.

“So… what type of hotel are we going to?”

The tension broke, and I swear I saw everybody exhale a sigh of relief. Abby answered Em’s question. “I found a pretty good place to sleep for the night. Aaah, I can’t wait to finally have good rest on a comfy bed in a warm room! Those sleeping bags I have are engineered for warmth and comfort, but it was unnerving to have to sleep outside all the time!”

“Yeah, same. Those cushions of yours are seriously not well designed for my body!” Ari said as he rotated his arm and bent his neck as if his joints were strained.

“Then what’s this inn like?” Em asked again with interest.

“Well, have a look for yourself!”

Just as Abby answered, we turned a corner, and sure enough, we were heading straight to a building with its doors wide open, revealing a large lobby with a hotel reception desk. A large wooden sign above the doors read “Fire Palace Inn,” painted in bright blue. The sun was almost about to fall below the horizon, and warm lights inside the inn had already been turned on, welcoming us in.

“Fire Palace Inn,” Abby read the sign, “one of the four inns in the small Elemental Palace Inn chain, though it’s got promising reviews. It has nice, large rooms and a good breakfast. It’s quite close to the palace, so the price is a bit high, but we’ve got tons of money to spare now!”

Yeah, Abby was still holding onto that pouch of coins Irnoma had handed me. When was she going to give that back? She couldn’t hold onto it forever, right? Once the group is disbanded, she would surely have to return it, hopefully. In the meantime, another fear of her spending the money for the team recklessly came to my mind.

The building, just like the rest, had a wooden frame with a large, steep straw roof that gave off a historical vibe. As we walked inside, though, we stepped over a smooth, polished plank floor and gazed across the dark wooden walls that made the room feel warm. At one side of the lobby, a fire in a stone chimney rumbled, which created a cozy atmosphere with a couple of soft couches.

I looked at the many picture frames hanged on the walls. There were pictures of towering mountains, rapid rivers, and blooming flowers. No, this wasn’t a scene from some time in history. Instead, it felt more like a renovated medieval building or a reconstruction of a historical village at a theme park.

“Welcome!” A lady greeted us from behind the reception desk. She had a soft smile on her lips and a cheerful glow to her eyes, telling me that she must be experienced in the business.

Abby led us up to the reception desk, and she held out a hand, where one of my gold coins appeared. “five hundred for a double room each night, right? We’ll be getting two rooms for just one night. Preferably near each other.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, let’s add some breakfast to that,” she continued, and another coin appeared in her hand. “I’ve been wanting to try out something new, and this seems like the perfect place,” Abby said to the lady with a smile.

The reception person smiled back. “Aww, thanks. I’m sure our chef would love to hear that. So that will bring the total up to twelve hundred Krons. And in cash, I see.”

“Well, I was planning on transferring them to our cards at the guild, but for now we’ll have to stick with coins,” Abby said as she placed the two coins onto the desk, along with the three ID cards she had taken out back at that border checkpoint.

The lady admired the shining gold and placed a few other silver coins beside them as change. “I see you’re quite well in managing your money. But you know… it’s mighty odd to be carrying such expensive coins so casually. Especially since you look so… young.” She immediately waved that last statement off. “Well, it’s hard to tell anybody’s age nowadays. I’m just saying you should stay safe. That’s all.”

“Hmm. Well, if that’s the case, then could we exchange a few coins for change? It feels awkward to pay with these coins.” Abby proceeded to take out two more gold coins and traded them for an entire handful of silver coins with the receptionist.

After the short exchange, the lady took the three cards and handed them back moments later. “Okay, your room keys have been uploaded.” She turned to me. “And I take it you don’t have a card yet?” I nodded silently, so she continued. “Well, that’s it for registration. Rooms 513 and 515. Have a good night.”

Abby and Em started walking away, so I was forced to stay behind with Ari, who waited for the girls to leave before turning to the receptionist lady. “By the way, I’m Ari,” he said, introducing himself. He raised his hand out and over the counter.

The lady smiled and shook his hand. “Natalie. Nice to meet you.” Then she lowered her voice and whispered so quietly I almost wasn’t able to hear, “I just turned eighty a month ago, by the way.”

Ari jumped back in shock. “Ah! Um… Nice to meet you too! And uh… congrats! Yeah. Have a nice rest of your day.” He forced a smile and turned back to me, mouthing a “did you just hear that??” as he walked over.

I was as shocked as Ari was, and I simply looked at the lady in astonishment. Eighty years old? She looked more like she was in her mid-twenties. Was she an elf or something? No, she didn’t have pointy ears. I continued to think about it as I followed my friends into the elevator at the end of the room.

“By the way, what was that?” I asked Ari as the elevator’s doors closed.

“Uh… what do you mean?” Ari looked to the side, trying to act innocent. The doors opened again on the fifth floor, and Ari was the first to head out.

“Age freeze,” Abby answered instead, sounding mildly irritated. “Some people think it’s a good idea to put their own age on time freeze to live forever young.”

Hearing that Abby knew, Ari turned his head around with a horrified look on his face, to which Abby simply frowned. “You know I can hear pretty much anything, right?” She said.

“I— uh…”

“Seriously, what’s so wrong about her being so old? Just go and hit on her, for all I care.” She handed Ari his card as we neared our rooms.

Ari shrugged at Abby’s comment, then took his card, walked up to the door to our room, room 513, and upon hearing a quiet beep, he opened the door. We walked into our bedroom together as the girls went into theirs. Unlike the lobby, the walls here were painted in a pale creamy color, and a few more pictures hanged from the walls.

But my eyes immediately went to the two beds. I quickly chose one of them and laid down. When was the last time I had slept in a bed again? It was over a year ago, right? Ever since that first day at Irnoma’s world, I had been forced to sleep in the wild. It was hard to believe that I was lying on top of a bed again.

As I laid there, I gave no thought about this new city, about the farms of the outskirts and the skyscrapers of the center, about the crowd and the princess. Ari tried to initiate a few conversations, but I just laid there, thinking of nothing, quickly fell asleep that night.

In the morning, we woke up early again, and after grouping back with the other two, we had breakfast and left the inn just as the sun rose up from behind the castle walls.

Today was Ari’s day.