It got quieter as they walked up the stairs, fewer guests on the higher levels. The barmaid led the way to his chambers, struggling a bit from the weight of the bag. The tall, beautiful man was delicate, yet he had carried the bag with so much ease.
"Those are your acquaintances' rooms," She said as she gave the travel bag back to him, gesturing to the doors on either side of his room. "You may have dinner in the tavern below or request to have it brought up to your room."
"Could it be brought up to my room, please?" Dulce asked, he would prefer to avoid large gatherings, there was no telling who would recognize him.
"Of course, I'll bring it up myself." The barmaid said with eager eyes.
"Did my acquaintances request meals?" Dulce lowered his voice to ask.
The barmaid thought it over, she hadn't paid attention to either of them. Now that she thought about them, she couldn't even remember their faces. "They did not."
"Could you have meals brought up to their rooms as well?"
"C-Certainly," The barmaid agreed with less enthusiasm.
"Thank you," Dulce gave her an absent smile, slipping into his room.
The bar maid stood in front of his door for a few moments, starstruck. She shook herself out of it eventually and hurried down to attend to her duties.
Dulce's inn room was very pleasant, far nicer than his cottage. He had spent a full day and night on the road, so the steaming bath was very welcome.
He left his hair down to dry after the bath, putting on his old clothes from a lack of options. Warmth and light emanated from the fireplace, the room lit up by candles and lanterns.
There was a knock on his door shortly after he left the bath, the barmaid who had attended to him standing outside with a covered tray in hand.
"Thank you," He said graciously, taking the tray from her and stepping back into his room.
He had been desperate for company, but the company he had gotten wasn't exactly the best, he could still feel the constricting pain around his neck from how many times his neck had been wrung.
He might have gladly eaten at the tavern, but the tensions around Vampire hunting were still running high. There were even bounties that could be claimed for turning in a Vampire, so crowds were extremely dangerous.
Dulce sat down to the well-made meal, eating heartily. The Queen of Alderth couldn't live forever, and when he got his Hellhound, it would be a pleasant wait.
After eating, he wandered around the room, tinkering with the furniture and decorations, right before getting into bed to read through the night.
In the rooms next to his, both Demons had also been brought trays of food.
Kath'tan's brows lowered, already knowing who was behind it before the human woman explained her presence. He let her walk in to place the food on a low table, purple eyes distant.
Being taken from the battleground meant that he had very few things of value on him, he hadn't even gotten to change out of his clothes, which were speckled with blood.
Hands tied, he had lowered himself to clean up in the bath. Unable to fit in the small tub, he had resorted to wiping down the best he could with the clean, scented water.
Kath'tan glanced at the tray of food, once, twice, and then sat down to eat. There was no telling what next would come his way, he needed to preserve his strength.
He got on the bed and scowled, the wood of the bed loudly creaked like it was mere moments from snapping. His legs hung over the foot of the bed, as uncomfortable as the carriage ride had been.
It would suffice regardless because he had no intentions of sleeping. Falling asleep was a measure of vulnerability he couldn't afford anymore, not while on Earth with an assassin next door, or back home in Threnval, where the person who sent the assassin awaited him.
He had taken off his wide belt to clean up, keeping the poisoned dagger close to the bed for easy access. Lying in a bed made for fledgling Demons, he picked up the dagger to study it by candlelight, the black blade reflecting the yellow light.
Asael, on the other hand, was completely relaxed. He polished off the tray of food and asked for seconds, getting as comfortable as he could on the bed provided.
Sleeping was out of the question, not because he was wary or afraid but because he was incapable of doing so. Shadow Demons lived in constant danger, so they trained themselves to go months without sleeping. Noctyrn was the only safe haven they had.
Asael occasionally returned to his home every handful of months for a week or less, and most of the time in the underground castle was spent sleeping. So he simply laid down and closed his eyes, breathing deeply but very much awake.
He knew that Lord Kath'tan wouldn't dare strike in the cover of night, the disparity in their strengths was far too large for such a reckless move... He paused, remembering the journey here.
But then again, the Fiend was impulsive and endlessly proud, he might very well attempt it.
Asael was half propped up against the headboard, pillows stacked behind him to cushion the hardwood. He would welcome a sneak attack, with the Fiend attacking first, he wouldn't be going back on his word by returning in kind.
Then he could leave, he could leave this strange situation he found himself in, and the even stranger Vampire who quietly pulled Demons in.
Perhaps he would return to his castle in Noctyrn and sleep for a month. It would be well deserved after this odd journey.