The soft jingle of a bell is heard as Vert and Cynthia hurriedly make their way into the warm building. Vert managed to sneak their way into the nearest city but it had begun raining fairly heavily and the temperature outside dropped several degrees rapidly. Not wanting Cynthia to become sick, Vert pulled her into the nearest building and their heads turn back and forth to soak in the beautiful surroundings around them.

Little did Vert know, he had snuck into the richest district in the city of Rante, known as the Royal Garden. It is revered as one of the richest and most breath taking places in the world and it obviously shows as Cynthia's eyes light up with a sense of excitement and wonder. Vert's mouth was slightly agape and he let out an audible 'huh' as he is stunned by the interior of the building.

The building is fairly large with its walls be made of pure marble that lets off a slick white shine. The walls are adorned with several patterns of trim that shine a bright gold color. In the middle of the room, about 20 feet into the air, is a large blue crystal that gleams brilliantly. It seems to be the light source of the room.

The furniture are all bright white with gold trim so it can match the walls and at the other side of the room there is a large counter with a smiling lady standing behind it. The smile on the woman's face is painfully forced but Vert decides that is for a reason.

Vert grabs Cynthia's arm and pulls her towards the counter so they can ask what this place is and maybe find some directions to the places Vert has in mind. As they approach the woman, the woman tilts her head to the side skeptically as she has never seen these two before and they most likely don't have enough money for the services provided here.

"Welcome to the Maiden Palace! My I ask what services you are looking for?" the woman asks in a sweet voice she has rehearsed and said a million times over. Vert strokes his chin slightly and as he is thinking of a response, he can feel the sharp stubble of a beard that he has never felt before. Vert is confused by this sudden growth of stubble but decides to ignore it for now.

"What services do you provide exactly?" Vert asks deciding that this is the best form of action. The name Maiden's Palace doesn't offer any hints as to what this place is nor does Vert surrounds tell him this place is specialized in anything in particular. Even though he might seem like an outsider, Vert figures it is fine as long as he gets some information in return.

"Well, we offer many services in the Maiden's Palace. We are mainly known as an exquisite Inn for royalty. We also offer a Spa to residents or people who book an appointment. Our staff is trained to please every one of your needs in any way shape or form. Our women our also known as some of the most skilled and pleasurable masseuses in this country. They even offer happy endings to special people." the woman says with confidence.

Vert face recoils a little as the end of her statement had caught him by surprise. He doesn't exactly know what a 'Happy Ending' is but it won't hurt to ask right.

"What exactly is a happy ending and how do I get on-." Vert's question is cut off as the wind is knocked out of him unexpectedly. Cynthia sent her elbow directly into Vert's rib cage to prevent him from talking about that topic any further and her face is visibly twitching in anger.

"That's enough about that," Cynthia says in an agitated voice, "how much is a room a night?"

"Well that depends on how much money you have. If you show me how much you are willing to pay I can narrow down a room appropriate for you." the woman says with a skeptical voice. She highly doubts they even have a piece of gold to their name, let alone be able to afford a room here so the woman mentally readies her 'sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave' sentence.

Cynthia gestures for Vert to show woman the money he had and Vert grabs the pouch attached to his waist. He turns the bag upside down and the clinking sound of metal coins hitting marble echo throughout the huge lobby. As the last of the 47 coins hits the counter, the woman's eyes open so wide and her jaw drops so far that she is rendered speechless for a few seconds.

The woman instantly bows her head to the two and the woman searches her mind for when she went wrong.

'No one simply carries 10 platinum coins and 37 gold coins around! These people must be foreign royalty that has come to visit the Maiden's Palace. Maybe them asking about this place was a test to see how are staff is trained to meet different types of people... If they think I have disrespected them... My head will surely be cut of by the end of the day I can feel it!' the woman screams in her head.

"I-I-I am sorry for being rude towards you! Please forgive me!" the woman yells as tears begin to form in her eyes. Cynthia is dumbfounded and Vert simply shrugs his shoulders.

"I mean, it's alright young lady. Oh geez, you are crying. Uhhhhhh,I didn't feel as if your behavior was rude so please pick your head up. "

Vert tries to think about anything he had done to upset the lady so much but even though he searches through his brain and goes through every sentence that was said, he can't think of how he managed to make this woman cry. Ever since Vert told the woman to pick her head up, she seemed to calm herself down quite rapidly.

"If you say so... If you are looking for a room that will most likely fit your tastes, I would suggest the most expensive room we have to offer called the Maiden's Paradise. It comes accompanied with a bed fit for a king and it's own miniature Spa equipped with several Maiden's trained for pleasing the most hardened men in anyway imaginably possible. It will cost 1 gold a night." the woman says with a shaky but informative voice. Vert goes to say something but is cut off by Cynthia.

"No thank you, we would like something not to luxurious but nice enough to be eye pleasing. Also, no Maiden's of any kind! Is that ok with you?" Cynthia says with a cold smile on her face pointed at Vert. Vert doesn't know what it is but anytime the woman mentions something about woman being trained to please men, Cynthia tends to get angry and tries to avoid it at all costs. Not wanting to upset the person closest to him at the moment, Vert does not dare to go against Cynthia.

"Fine by me, are there any rooms that fit my lady's wishes?" Vert says in a slightly posh voice to show he is of higher standard since he now understands what this place is. It is an Inn for the extremely rich and by the way the woman acted towards him, Vert assumes the woman think they are royalty.

As soon as the words "my lady" hit Cynthia's ears, they began to blush a bright red, followed by her facing flushing the same bright red color her ears are. Vert had said 'my lady' to show that they were together in company but Cynthia took it as Vert implying that they were together, as in romantically.

"Then you would like a Red Rose Room. They are not very big but the eye catching furniture and view of the city sets this room above the other rooms. It also comes with its own bath made for 2. The cost is 20 silver a night." the woman says. Cynthia looks up at Vert, still blushing, to see if he was ok with this, for he is her God and his decision was final.

"Sure, let's go with that for 5 nights. That should be one gold piece correct?" Vert asks. The woman nods her head up and down to show that Vert is correct.

The woman takes a shining gold piece away from the rest of the pile and then grabs the empty bag he had placed on the counter when he showed all of his wealth. The woman first puts all of the gold back into the bag and then all that is left is the platinum pieces. The worried woman slowly picks up each piece with extreme caution and gently places them into the bag. The reason for this is because platinum pieces of currency were so rare that if the woman had even put a dent or scratch onto one, the owner of it might make the woman pay of the damages of the valuable coin that mainly royalty possessed

Now, you may be wondering, "How did Vert obtain such pieces of currency when the currency came from a Bandit's Den?" and to that, the answer is that the bandit's had looted the burnt down village of M.A.A.D. City. In M.A.A.D. City, Vert had stored the ten platinum pieces he had gotten from his milestone when Vert first came to Zeneva. The bandit's had come home to their den to gather their stuff and make away with the money but were greeted by Astral and they were all swiftly taken care of and the money returned to Vert.

With all of the money back into the pouch and returned to Vert's side, the woman went through a door that is behind the counter and vanished for a few seconds. Upon returning, the woman handed a key to Vert that read the number "31" on it. Vert thanked the woman and she showed the two the way to their room. Finally at the room, the woman deeply bows to Vert.

"Lunch is getting ready to be served in about 30 minutes. If you are not here or wish to eat somewhere else, then dinner will be served in about 7 hours. Of course it will be brought to you. Thank you for choosing the Maiden's Palace." the woman says and she finally leaves the two alone. Vert lets out a sigh of relief as he doesn't prefer to be treated as if he is royalty, even though he is a God to these people. Vert would rather have a casual atmosphere with everyone rather than be revered.

Cynthia also sighs a breath of relief as the topic of 'Maidens' and 'pleasing men' will most likely not come up for a while. One thing is bugging her though.

"Hey, why did you buy this room for 5 nights?" Cynthia asks with her voice full of curiosity.

"Since we are here, might as well enjoy it right? I have Astral making sure nothing happens back at the village and if anything does happen, I can easily make my way back, right?" Vert says as it had only took him a minute to travel the long distance to Rante.

"I guess you are right. Now unlock the door! I want to get this wet cloak off of me!" Cynthia demands. Vert laughs as he sticks the key in the door and unlocks it. Their eyes are met with an elegant room thats windows is being pelted by heavy rain. Inside the room, the two can see the woman at the front counter wasn't kidding as every piece of furniture in the room has something gold embedded into it.

There are a few cushioned seats that were placed near a warm campfire and there was a table with a few chairs accompanying it. Other than there was a large bed, a door which Vert assumes leads to the bathroom and bath and finally a large balcony is placed outside.

Unfortunately, the balcony is unusable due to the weather conditions. Cynthia is all 'Oooh's and 'Ahhh's as she looks at everything in the room and Vert unwraps the wet cloak from his body. He sets the cloak on a coat rack and makes his way to the bed. Vert sits down on the bed and is amazed by the softness of it. Vert falls backwards and his back is filled with the heavenly feeling of the beds cushioning. Vert sighs a breath of pleasure and closes his eyes.

Vert had told Cynthia that he came her to shop around and enjoy the city, but there is something bigger than that to his plan. Information is what he needs to become stronger in his current situation, and he plans on getting it.