It wasn't supposed to be a long walk. But Salīa was all too fascinated by how lovely the streets had become.
Stalls stretched into the most cavernous parts of the land, which encircled around Chiro's core, lit by lanterns all around.
Children were still out playing, chanting in sing-song tunes, while milder parents whistled sweetly to call their young closer.
She slid back and forth, then sidestepped a few times as some drunken revelers nearly bumped into her.
Spilling mazers painted the grounds, and plumes of smoke danced up in the air as she swayed through the crowds.
In the far distance, she noticed some taking airy pulls of red smoke and froze. No doubt, it was that poisonous substance known as puffkyll, a drug that induces people to become preta.
As a high-ranking royal of the upper lands, she could certainly march up there and confiscate it. But as a singing commoner of—no place, she could only turn her face and forget it.
I'll have to write a letter once I return to request assistance with this, she silently noted and walked on.
Out of nowhere, she crouched as a tiger, suddenly feeling something hidden watching her.
No matter where her eyes flickered, she couldn't quite trace it, yet felt the heaviness of its awareness. Others curiously stared at her clumsily bent posture, and so she straightened herself and continued forth.
The pull magnified the closer she got to the flower house – all painted in dark with a glaze of shimmer.
Guards were watching over, and she followed the trail of them all the way around and found that the front of it was facing the forest.
The roof was tall and elegant with its slanted eaves, prominent interlocking brackets, and carved wooden columns. The front door was gilded, and above it was its neatly gilded name. Echo.
Above it was a painted red flower. She thought it was the rose meant to symbolize the under the rose promise. But upon looking again, she noticed the petals weren't smooth and soft, but spiked and spindly.
What kind of flower is this?
The big, stern guard gave a short, sweet whistle as he let someone through. Salīa appeared next, only to be blocked.
She thought to give coin, but he only ticked his jaw as if offended. A gaudily dressed man appeared from behind, flashed a jade token, and the guard nodded, then let him pass.
I see. If tokens are needed, only those with status are permitted entry. That means this place is definitely worth entering to learn some things.
But I didn't bring a token showing my status, nor did I keep that temporary Ogglan token. Doing so would've risked revealing myself. Hmm.
"I only wish to be in there for a short while," Salīa murmured, too embarrassed to say so out of earshot for anyone but the guard. "I'm happy to pay to just sit for a drink."
The guard scoffed, looking at her as if she were a rat asking to join him for dinner. She waited while others passed, racking through her thoughts.
A temptation to even pretend to be the partner of one of these men came up, and she could tell from their wandering eyes that it might not be hard to do, but that in itself would welcome many risks. Yet the pull to enter had been yanking so tightly, she felt frenzied with many other bizarre ideas.
Never one to give up, she even thought to run right in when the guard was tending to another. And she was about to, when a pretty, thirty-something woman appeared from inside, peeking out the door.
She was strikingly beautiful.
Her eyes were raised and dark brown, her skin quite fair, and her dark hair was pulled into two high buns on both sides with straight, stray strands highlighted with purple, shaping her forehead.
Matching amethyst-covered hairpins were tucked precisely in both buns, boasting other little jewels around it.
She even wore a purple gown-dress, softly glimmering with flowers that shaped over her quite well. Surprisingly, for such a delicate face, her thighs were quite sturdy and thick, akin to Salīa's.
Even the floral-painted folding fan that the woman lifted to her face boasted of elegance. No doubt, she was the 'mother of the house' that the others looked to.
Salīa thought it'd be pointless to plead to her.
As she turned away, the fan flipped in front of her. With it, she guided Salīa to face her again. Her eyes steadied on Salīa's bosom, and her fan ghosted over it.
With that, she smiled, looking even younger than Salīa's siblings in that moment. The guard grunted in response.
"Welcome to Echo," is what they seemed to say when they whistled to let her through.
X