( LATER THAT NIGHT )
Nectar casually strolled into the bar dressed in black leather pants and a black long sleeved shirt with white fur on the collar and end of the sleeves.
Her short white hair was lose behind her back as her red eyes glowed. A few newcomers gazes were torn between fear and lust when they saw her...but mostly fear.
The bar's regulars would greet her with a smile or a head nod when she passed by. She made her way to the counter and sat opposite Wheat who was cleaning some glasses " Nice to see you Red, You have no idea how good business is ".
Nectar laughed, making an imaginary circle with her finger " Then business is gonna be great tonight ". Nectar liked the smell of many things - fresh laundry, roses, peppermint - and wine was one of it.
She'd taken an interest to red wine even after overcoming her addiction in her second life. She could never get the sweet smell out of her head so she'd been learning basic requirements from Wheat since his smelt delightful.
" Anything important I should know Wheat "? Wheat shrugged " Everything's pretty cold right now, except for a red eyed demon whose attracting a lot of attention, even making the nobles stop by ".
Nectar rested her chin on her hands and laughed " Really, she sounds like someone I'd love to know ". Wheat rolled his eyes as he went off to attend to other customers.
Nectar felt at home among these brash men in this room filled with the smell of rum and sweat. She made small talk with the many she was already acquitted with and made a few more out of the new comers, silently squeezing out information from them.
~~~
Miles away from the castle, even further than the DRUNKARD'S PALACE, a young girl was running blindly through the woods.
She'd managed to escape THE FIELDS but that didn't mean she was free. Just like many of the other children she'd met there, she'd lost everything.
She covered her mouth, trying to muffle her own cries and raspy breath from all the running. She was in nothing but a tattered brown dress.
She rubbed her eyes with her free hand , wiping away her tears, not even minding the stones and sticks piercing her bare feet.
[ Keep running. You can't let them find you ] She was too afraid to look behind her just in case the scary black smoke people were after her.
She knew what would happen if she was caught - She'd die - but it was better than going back to THE FIELDS, the experiments, the pain, the screams, it would drive anyone insane and it usually did.
So she ran as quickly as her seven year old legs could take her, - from a life worse than death - when she heard a rustling and screamed. She fell over, the pain in her back so intense.
The girl looked up at the man dressed in black who was holding a bow and probably shot her, standing next to him, one of the scientists she'd seen in the fields. Too scared and weak to beg for her life, she laid flat on the cold ground.
" We should take her back. Subject 0486, She takes well to the chemicals ". The man with the bow shook is head as he raised the bow at her " By the emperor's command, silence to the unworthy ".
The frightened girl was between screaming and crying when the arrow drove into her temple. She dug her nails into the ground as she lost consciousness [ I was almost there. Almost free ].