June 20th - Evening - Sleeping Arrangements

The sun was painting the sky an ombre of fiery hues when Kane, Lord Glade, and I rode into the village of Tresanto. The person who'd posted our quest, a Mrs. Martin, lived in this village.

The village itself was sturdy. There could be no more fitting a word to describe it. There were a handful of building lined streets. All the buildings had solidly built, stone first-floors. Above those, in the nicer buildings was more stone floors. In the cheaper buildings, the additional floors were made of thick wood. Rather than a quaint white, the buildings were left their natural colors. I suspected that this was to allow for easier cleaning in the aftermath of monster attacks.

Although Tresanto was small, it was located on a main thoroughfare, so it still boasted of an inn. There would have been more than one inn to choose from but there was a mining town a half a days' ride further along the road and that town was much larger. Most people chose to stop there to rest.

The three of us headed for the inn to book rooms for the night. The sign above the inn read 'The Laughing Cat Inn'. Painted on the sign in the foreground sat a striped orange tabby with a smug smile. In the background was a bonfire. I exchanged a meaningful glance with Kane. Lord Glade was too busy grimacing at the size of the inn to notice.

I shrugged and pushed the door open. The scent of hearty beef stew reached my nose and my stomach growled.

I heard a low chuckle from behind me. My ears became hot as my empty stomach flipflopped.

"Hungry Kylara? Whoever you mate will be will have to prepare a well-stocked pantry to keep you satisfied." Kane said into my right ear. I skittered away like a nervous horse.

"Watch how familiar you are with her, your Grace." Lord Glade growled, stepping into the room behind us. Kane turned and flashed him a smug smirk. I frowned at Kane. He seemed different today.

"I'll check us in, if you guys want to grab a table?" I offered. Kane nodded as Lord Glade walked off.

I walked up to the counter and pressed the little bell. It gave off a clear ding and a plump, cute female with honey brown eyes appeared. She gazed at me dismissively for a moment then turned her gaze to my left and her smile broadened.

"How may I assist you, Sir?" She purred. I looked to my left with another frown. Kane stood beside me, quite close. With how high his body temperature is, I am surprised I didn't notice.

He smiled at me before turning to the female, "We need three rooms." He said.

The female pouted prettily, "Sorry Sir, but we've just got two."

Kane's smiled deepened, "Even better. Right, Dear?" He asked. His arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into his side. I gasped as I looked up at him.

"Like Hell you're sharing. You can sleep in the stables." Lord Glade shouted from behind us. I turned a startled gaze on him.

"We can put a cot in one of the rooms. That way you two can share." The female said to Lord Glade and Kane. I blinked at her in surprise. She had a dazed faraway look on her face, but her expression was blissful. "Two handsome males in one room. Who knows what would happen?" She giggled.

"I'm sleeping in the stables." Kane announced.

"No, I will sleep in the stables." I said firmly. "You need to be in peak condition for tomorrow."

"Absolutely not!" Lord Glade protested. I elbowed Kane in the ribs and turned to Lord Glade with my hands on my hips.

The three of us went around in circles, with occasional help from the receptionist, before we finally took her advice. Kane and Lord Glade were to share a room and I'd get my own.

We took the keys and put our belongings down in our rooms upstairs. Then we returned to the dining room for dinner. The beef stew was delicious.

After dinner, we went for a walk around the village. Our original plan had been to talk to Mrs. Martin this afternoon and find out where the cat was last seen. However, because of the goblins, we had arrived two hours later than we intended, and it would be inappropriate to call so late. We would have to talk to her tomorrow.

As we walked, I jokingly told Kane and Lord Glade that they were officially like an old mated couple, with their near incessant bickering and them now sharing a room. Lord Glade glared at me, but Kane simply looked thoughtful.

We returned to the inn and listened to the live musicians in the dining room for a bit, before retiring for the night.