CHAPTER 29: LEAVING THE INN

Fate was awake but he was not completely awake. He felt a little compressed like something was wrapped around him. He stretched out to try to free himself and he felt skin that was when he realized he was completely wrapped in V's arms. His skin was directly against hers.

He heard the ear-piercing scream before it left his mouth but thankfully, he was able to stop himself from screaming.

"You are awake," her voice cut through his thoughts.

"Yes," he said without moving. He was afraid to because he would rub against her if he did.

The bed was too small to hold them both so she was folded slightly while he laid in the semi-circle her body created. Fate hugged himself trying to cling closer to the wall. 

When he was still awake she was seated on the chair, he had dozed off at some point but before then she had rested her head on the table and he had assumed she was going to sleep in that manner. What was she doing on the bed?

She threw her legs off the bed and sat on the edge. "Good. You might want to get up, we have less than an hour to get ready."

He nodded but did not move. He cleared his throat, "what were you doing on the bed?" He asked softly.

V stood and turned to look at him with a frown on her face. "You were screaming in your sleep. A nightmare perhaps. When I touched you, you stopped so I assumed staying in bed with you would help and it did but if it did not, at least you were not cold."

Fate sighed, he would have been better off assuming. "Ah, I see." he slowly sat upright.

"Hmm," V mumbled and walked towards the chair, she started to put on her boots while he remained on the bed staring at her.

Suddenly, he heard a knock and V muttered, "Come in". 

The bolt was still in place and Fate wondered how the other person by the door was going to get into the room. He did not have to think about it too long because the bolt pulled back by itself and the handle turned just as the door was pushed open to reveal Zek.

Zek glared at Fate as he walked into the room and Fate could feel the menace behind them, he dropped his eyes down as he could not return the stare. "Good morning, V."

"Hmm," she said without sparing him a glance as she wore her shoes.

"Good morning, Zek." Fate said, breaking from the trance.

"Get dressed!" The man scolded and tossed clothes on the bed. "We leave in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!" Fate yelled and jumped out of the bed. "V said less than an hour, that's at least thirty minutes."

"No, it is not. Less than an hour could mean anything. We leave the port in an hour. However, it will take a while to get there."

"Using less than an hour for ten minutes is too broad, don't you think so?"

"Whatever, just get dressed. I still have a lot to do."

"Fine!" Fate muttered and carefully jumped off the bed. He had more strength now, he noticed from the moment he woke up, that he did not feel as weak as he usually did. He picked up the pants and pulled them up his waist. It was easy to get dressed as he was still wearing the robe.

"V," Zek called. His tone was softer. She jerked her head to look at him, her expression was bland. "I brought fresh clothes for you too."

Unlike Fate, he did not toss the bag of clothes to her even though it was pretty obvious she would catch it without any problems rather he used magic to make the bag float, so it landed carefully on the table.

V picked up the bag, unsealed it, and pulled out the contents. She turned to look at Zek with a frown on her face.

"Um, it is colder here, and since there won't be any reason to fight I figured regular clothes would be better." He scratched his head awkwardly as he laughed.

"It's a dress, Zek!" She glared at him. 

Fate raised his head to look at the dress as he struggled to put on the pants. The angle he was in was not very good so he could only see half of the dress and a huge part of him knew he wanted to see what she would look like in it.

The pants were a little too loose on him. Well, a little was an understatement but thankfully there was a rope around the waist that he could tie to prevent it from falling off.

"Yeah, but it is regular clothing," Zek replied looking everywhere but V's face.

Her frown deepened. "How do you expect me to walk in this?" She held the cloth higher with one hand and tried to stretch it out with the other hand but it did not stretch.

"It is a perfect fit, I made sure."

She looked at him, not hiding her disgust then turned her attention back to the dress. She eyed it and then dropped it on the table. "We will meet you in the diner in a couple of minutes."

"Okay," Zek said and started heading for the door.

Fate was done wearing his shoes, it was a set of old boots. It looked like it belonged to a child but he could not complain because it was the perfect fit. He took off his robe and carefully placed it on the bed as he made to wear the last piece of clothing.

He heard the bolt lock in place just as he put the cloth over his head. He pulled it down and still keeping his head bent, he checked that he had worn it properly. However, compared to the pants, the top was at least two times bigger than he was and it sagged around the sides but not in an uncomfortable manner and he was sure he could walk around in the clothes without any problems. The only issue would be if he could walk on his own.

Fate raised his head to see V right in the middle of undressing. Her hands were raised as she pulled her top off. He could clearly see the sides. Fate immediately closed him and bent his head. V was really getting dressed in front of him.

He kept his head in that position as a huge part of him wanted to enjoy the show. He squeezed his eyes tighter as he tried to keep his thoughts clean, his head bent and his eyes closed.

Suddenly, he heard the ripping of fabric and his eyes flew open of their own accord. V still had her back to him but she was completely dressed. She was also leaning forward and fiddling with her dress as Fate realized the fabric rip was not an accident.

"What was that?" he asked and poked his head forward.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Are you ready?" She asked, she still had her back to him. 

Fate vigorously nodded before remembering she could not see him. "Yes," he said after clearing his throat.

"Okay, I will be done in a minute."

She picked a set of gloves and wore it, the gloves rested just below her wrist. She then picked up the cloak and tied it around her neck, she adjusted it around her shoulders but did not use the hood.

She turned around and Fate's lower jaw nearly dislodged from his face. The dress was plain color but even that did not shimmer down how it looked on her. When Zek said he got the perfect fit, he was not lying.

The dress clung to her body in a comforting way even though it looked tight. Fate was certain, it was comfortable. Her swords belt was around her waist and was quite visible but the swords weren't as they were hidden in the cloak.

The slit she had made stopped on her mid-thigh. The dress itself was not too long and it stopped just below her knees. It was also loose around her legs but apparently, it was not loose enough for her.

As he stared, she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to brush it but she did not put too much effort into it. she stopped and walked to the corner of her room where her armor was stacked.

"Do you think you can walk?" She asked him.

"Yes," he answered a little too quickly even though he had not made any attempt to move.

She gathered the armor around her arms and then dropped them on the table. Then she dumped it in the bag along with her old clothes and sealed it before putting it over one hand.

She walked closer to him, "Then walk," she ordered.

Fate took a step forward and suddenly thought the ground looked like it was closer to his face than when he was standing. He was without a doubt falling, face first for that matter.