The village of Dewish appeared at the end of the road like a tired sigh....quiet, dim, and almost sinking into the last stretch of dusk.
Aurelia reached its outskirts with her cloak pulled tightly around her, boots coated in dust after hours of walking. Her legs trembled, her shoulders throbbed, and every breath she took felt as though it had been dragged through a furnace.
The journey had worn her thin.
Her cloak hid most of her silhouette, but the faint shimmer of the gold bracelets on her wrists..remnants of the palace she had fled....still betrayed a hint of wealth. Enough to look like a naïve runaway. Enough to attract exactly the kind of attention she wished she could avoid.
The inn was the first building that didn't look as though it might collapse if someone leaned too hard against it. A wooden sign hung crookedly over the door, the word "ESTWELL INN" etched into it by a hand that didn't seem to care about precision.
Aurelia pushed inside.
