4

~Akara

It feels strange, returning here.

The Blue Glass Inn, where it first started. I met Marek here, and part of me hopes we can be reunited here, also. It's unlikely, but it's a place to start, even if the memories are stained with the thought of Jessa. At least she won't have the courage to come back here and try to find me.

And this weather helps keep anyone tracking us far in the distance...

Nakoa seems reluctant to step out into the snow once we reached the Inn, eyeing it as I jump into it, reaching out my hand for her to follow. It's evening, like the first night I arrived. The lights from the village below help lure her out, pulling her coat closer against her body.

Kicking out boots at the door, we wander inside the inn, which only a few temperatures warmer than outside.

"Akara...This is a surprise," Ms Grier exclaims as she appears from around a corner.

"It's good to see you, Ms Grier," I admit honestly. A peace of my past that doesn't haunt me...Even though she wasn't always the nicest, she never lied to me, never betrayed me. "Would we be able to book a room?"

Ms Grier's curious gaze shifts to Nakoa. Here, the flaming red hair and pretty face isn't all that common. Despite the fact that her life as a Noble has been torn down around her, she still looks has that air about her. It's graceful, sophisticated in a way I'm still intimidated by. Ms Grier is likely wondering how I came across someone like Nakoa.

"Of course," she says, leading us into her office. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay. My friend and I have decided to return to the Azure Province for a break," I tell her, shrugging off my thick fur coat, draping it on one of the hooks. Nakoa follows suit, daintily brushing the snow off the expensive fabric of her jacket.

Ms Grier fidgets with the hem of her blouse. "You disappeared."

"I apologise about that-"

"She was kidnapped, by one of your visitors," Nakoa cuts in, destroying any chance for me to make up an excuse about how I had to leave early, or maybe I fell in love with Marek over night, and we ran away together. Anything to not come off like a burden. "Have you seen him around, he's apparently returned here."

"Oh...Marek, isn't it? The Hunter?" She asks it like she doesn't know. I know that she knows.

A girl doesn't just randomly disappear the same night as a notoriously dangerous hunter does. Even though I feel no resentment toward her anymore, it's obvious she knew what happened to me, and instead of calling attention to it, swept it under the rug to not lose business.

"Yes, that's the one." I swallow tightly, glancing at Nakoa, who looks far from impressed.

"I've heard rumours that he has returned, but he is not here. If you wish to find him, I recommend asking around. Maybe it will come back to him that people are asking for his whereabouts," she offers. She speaks so much kinder to me, now that I'm a client and not a staff member.

I smile, tense. "Thank you, Ms Grier."

"Your room is down the hall," she steps around the corner, motioning to one of the three rooms here. And of course, it's Marek's old one. Where we first met.

Nakoa meets my gaze, her own icy, but says nothing, as we settle in for the night.

***

Nakoa wasn't so impressed when I woke her at the crack of dawn the next morning.

Not only did I have no interest in remaining in that sad room for any longer than I needed to, I'm itching to see Marek. I mean, what if I turn into a Tani before I get to tell him I'm alive. I can only imagine what his reaction would be.

Now, fully dressed and in slightly better spirits, Nakoa lets me lead her toward the old bar, which I'm planning to spend the entire day in, asking about Marek and spreading the word to hopefully not drunk patrons.

If he even hears my name, I am certain he will come.

"This place looks horrid," Nakoa mutters, her face taking on a permanent grimace. There aren't many places like this in the Jade Province that Nakoa would find herself in. And it seems everyone can tell, as we sit at the bar, pretending figures in the shadows of the room don't exist.

Most are here from last night, who haven't yet left. I'm convinced at least half are based out over their table.

"I agree, but hopefully he is in here." I'm not even sure he came in here for any other reason than to talk to me about my Tani all those months ago...So maybe this isn't the kind of place Marek visits on a whim.

But I'm hopeful.

For awhile, Nakoa and I just sit, refusing to order anything from the grouchy barman. Nakoa stares down at the surface of the bar, blinking slowly, while I look across the room, looking for anyone conscious enough to speak to.

And then I see him.

It's just his back, dressed in a dark coat, as he appears briefly from the hallway, before he goes out the back door, not glancing my way at all. I'm up in a second, snagging Nakoa's sleeve as I point dramatically toward where he has gone.

"I see him. You stay here, I'll go grab him," I tell her excitedly. Despite everything, I can't wait to see him.

I push out the back door, ignoring the sting of cold as I examine the space. The snow is nothing more than sludge, stained with mud. A track leads into the small cluster of trees that back the village, the shadows suggesting I have no chance of seeing if Marek went that way. When I look to the right and left, there is almost nothing, aside from a group of people huddled together, talking.

And Marek isn't one of them. Although Fran is.

She turns at the sound of the door opening, eyes widening when she sees me. "Oh...Akara?"

"Fran..."

"What are you doing here?" she questions, pulling away from her group to approach me. She works here, it's obvious, considering her stained coat and mussed hair. What drew her away from the Inn?

"I'm trying to get to that man that went through here, but he's gone,” I tell her, pointing out to where I hope she noticed Marek passing by.

"I think I know where he is going, and you don't want to follow him,” she admits anxiously. At the mention of this subject, those who she was conversing with all seem to shift on their feet, watching me with a wary gaze.

So they do know who Marek is. Or at least, they know he’s an infamous hunter.

"Why not?"

"I've heard rumours, from what people say in this place, that he is going to slay the Snow Demon, and revenge...Some family member, I'm not sure on the whole legend,” she exclaims, shivering. Even she doesn’t bring up the night he stayed at the inn; the night I vanished…

"Legend?" I frown.

I know the story. Marek’s sister is was murdered, he told me himself. It broke my heart to hear, and gave his reasoning for hating Tani’s so much weight. It makes perfect sense that after my death, Marek is wanting to fall back into his old habits.

"About the ancient hunter?"  She questions, looking at me I’ve lost it. "Don't you know him? He's the one who came to the Inn that night, who you apparently ran away-"

"I was kidnapped," I wave my hand. "But that doesn't matter...What do you mean by ancient? Can you tell me the whole story?"

"Everyone here says that Marek is hundred's of years old, that his father was the first ever Summoner when the river was forged through the lands," she explains, breath fogging in front of her face. I frown, taken aback. Marek can't be hundreds of years old...I mean, there are many ancient Tani's who have lived since they first drank from the river, such as the Beast, but that can't be Marek, right.

He would have told me...I think.

"How is that possible?" I question. It's not like I expect Fran to know anything intimate about Marek, but being that she has seemingly lived in this small village her entire life, she would know about legends and rumours that run deep here.

"I don't know, but apparently all the villagers who have grown up here say their parents and grandparents knew of him, that he's immortal," she exclaims, looking out into the forest as if he may emerge suddenly and kill her. "You best bet everyone is far to scared to get close to him to ask."

"Do you know how I can get up the mountain?" I ask. It looms over this village, casting it in shadow for most of the day.

"You're going to need horses and a map. I know someone who can get it for you," she responds. I nearly melt with relief. Marek could be up that mountain for months, and I doubt Nakoa will want to wait down here with me until he returns.

"Thank you," I murmur, stepping forward to clasp her shoulders. "I'm going to go up the mountain, and I'm going to find Marek."