It had been a few days since she left had left Jerik's village. She would always remember the fond memories and friendships she had built during her time there. They even sent her off with food and a spare set of clothes. There were plenty of tears on both sides.
Now, those memories seemed so far away as she ran through the gates of a large city, soaked with rain. It started coming hard and heavy a mere half hour from town, forcing her to run for what felt like her life. She could handle cold and even a little rain. But when it came down in buckets, she felt disgusting.
She look to the patrolmen on either side of the gate. "Bathhouse please."
One of them pointed down the road. "Go down fifteen buildings, then turn left. It's eight buildings down that road, on the left."
She thanked him and made her way there. It was right where he said it would be. She couldn't wait to get out of the rain, out of those wet clothes, and into a warm bath. She bolted in quickly.
There stood a smiling greeter just on the other side of the door. Bowing, she asked, "Enjoying sunshine today?"
Xiang half-laughed to hide the fact that she wasn't really in a joking mood. "Very much so," she said, playing along to keep up appearances. "Anyway, what are your rates?"
After some talking with the staff, she was able to get in the bath. She was alone completely alone. It was relaxing.
She spent an hour in the bath before heading to the locker room. Her regular clothes were still quite wet. She'd have to take them to a cloth washer to make them wearable again. This was a great opportunity for her to see the outfit Gwen gave her. She reached into her bag and pulled out another bag which contained the clothes. It would be her first time laying eyes on it. With that in mind, she reached in grabbed some cloth, and carefully pulled it out. Then, she unfolded it.
It was a white pair of pants with a dark blue dragon design stitched into the right leg. The design wrapped around the leg like a snake and rose from the ankle all the way to the hip. "It must have taken forever to make this." It almost brought her to tears thinking about the effort Gwen must have put in.
It felt like there was still more. It must have been a shirt to go with the pants. Reaching in and pulling it out, she saw it was, in fact, a shirt. Like the pants, it was white with a dragon motif. This time it was a pair of dragons, starting at the back of the hip on each side and wrapping around, stopping at the top of the shoulder. Gwen really was talented with a sewing needle.
When she finally put the outfit on, she was even more impressed. It was a perfect fit. She didn't remember being measured at any point during her stay in the village. Had Gwen been able to tailor her an outfit using only her eyes? She should open her own business.
After looking herself over in the mirror, she packed up her usual outfit, stepped into her boots, and headed out. The rain had let up a great deal, but it was still falling at a steady clip. "No. Gwen's outfit could get dirty." She whipped out the bag the outfit came in, ripped out some holes for her head and arms, and put it on. Then, she rolled up her pant legs to just below the knees. Now she was ready to head out.
She walked a few blocked before she came across a man in tatters sitting in front of a shop. He was holding out a cup, possibly begging for change without actually begging. She couldn't look away from him, but not because she felt sympathy. It was because she couldn't shake the fact that he looked familiar. Where had she seen him before?
Then, he looked up at her and squinted, almost as if he knew her, too. He stood and leaned in, giving her a closer look. A look of anger gradually came across his face as he reared back the arm with the cup. "You! You ruined my life!" He flung the cup at her.
She dodged the cup with a side step. She then blocked an incoming punched from the man, grabbed his arm, and flipped him to the ground. She sat on his chest, keeping his arms down by kneeling on them, and threatened to rain down punches. "Explain yourself. What is this madness?"
"Don't pretend like you don't remember me, you piece of crap!" he exclaimed. "I lost everything because of you! Musciani kicked me out of the gang and I had to leave town!"
Musciani? She knew that name. Rosalie's parents kept talking about him when she rescued her. She remembered who he was now. "You're that thug who dragged that girl into the ally. It seems as if you've fallen on hard times. It serves you right. She was just a kid. She didn't deserve the things you were going to do to her."
"Get off me, turd!" he grumbled.
"Not until you give me one good reason I shouldn't punch your face in," she shot back. "I still owe you the thrashing of a lifetime."
A couple of patrolmen wandered over. "Okay, what's the problem here?"
"This maggot ruined my life!" the thug shouted.
She wasn't going to take responsibility for that. "When you do bad things, these are the results you get. You made the decision to get involved with that shady character. You also made the decision to take advantage of that little girl. You deserve at least this much, scum."
The patrolmen looked at each other, confused. "Okay, young lady, get off him," one of them said. "We're going to settle this with facts, logic, intellect, and common sense."
She grumbled, but complied.
Once the thug got to his feet he started for her, but calmed down when one of the patrolmen stood between them.
"Are there any witnesses to this dispute?" one of the patrolmen asked out loud to no one in particular.
A person came forward. "I don't know what led up to it, but that man stood up, shouted at that young lady, and threw a cup at her. Then she turn the tables on him and took him to the ground. That's all I know." Other people corroborated the story.
"So what's all this about ruining someone's life," a patrolmen asked, looking at the thug. Then, looking at Xiang, he asked, "And what a little girl and a shady character have to do with it?"
"It's quite simple, Xiang said. "I was in another city when I caught him abusing a little girl, so I did what any sane person would and made him stop. Apparently his boss didn't like it and chased him out of town."
The thug grumbled but couldn't come up with a good rebuttal. Eventually, he decided to say, "You and your lies! Shut up!"
"No," she retorted. "You shut up."
Suddenly, a soothing female voice said, "Silence, everyone."
The patrolmen turn to where the voice came from and stood at attention. "Milady," the both said.
Xiang looked to see who it was. Sauntering toward them was a woman wearing a cloak with a hood covering her head. Aside from that cloak, the woman was almost stark naked, with an outfit that amounted to little more than a bra, panties, and knee-high boots, all made of leather. Despite her near-nudity, she had an air of dignity about her, like royalty.
Her most striking feature, however, was her light purple skin. It didn't appear to be paint or some other trick. It was alluring. Xiang couldn't take her eyes off of her.
It wasn't just her. Everyone was entranced by her.
The woman met her eyes with a smile. "Do you see something you like?"
Was she talking to her? Xiang shook her head to pull herself out of whatever came over her. "No..."
The woman turned to the patrolmen. "I take it there is a dispute of some kind."
"Yes, milady," they said.
"I figured as much," she said. Then she sniffed the air. "The foul stench of lies is in the air." She looked at the thug. "It's coming from you. The odor is so foul...what atrocities are you trying to hide to generate such a smell?"
Xiang raised her hand. "He's an idiot who tried to abuse a little girl."
"That's crud!" the thug barked.
"Ugh..." the woman moaned, dropping to her knees. "The stench is so strong. Please, stop lying. Try as you might, you can't fool my nose. And my nose does not lie."
He raised his fist and walked toward the lady. "This is a load of-"
The patrolmen blocked his path with their spears. "If you think you're going to get away with that, you're sorely mistake, insect," one of them said.
"Take him away," the woman said with a dismissive wave, not looking at him.
"Yes, milady," the patrolmen said.
After a short scuffle, they dragged him away and disappeared into an alley as he swore the whole time. Cursing turned to screams of pain and pleas for mercy as Xiang could only assume he was taking a thrashing. She didn't feel sorry for him. Judging from what she knew of him, he had it coming.
The woman shook her head as if recovering from a devastating blow. Then she stood and looked at Xiang. "You there, young lady."
She didn't know what to expect. "Yes?"
"You interest me. I'd like you to join me for a meal."
This probably wasn't the time for a joke, but she couldn't resist. "I'm not going to get dragged into an alley and beaten if I refuse, am I?"
The woman laughed. "Of course not. I suppose it would put you at ease if I introduced myself." She bowed. "My name is Chika Tsukihara, daughter of this city's mayor. And you are?"
Xiang decided to bow as well. "Xiang Wenling of Shao Village."
"Now that introductions are over, shall we go enjoy that meal?"
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