Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Shadewind

The Hero Became a Mousegirl
Chapter 17: Shadewind

Thankfully, Syene didn’t intend to have us ride non-stop to Shadewind and our journey included stays at two separate roadside inns. Even then, we still made it to Shadewind in only six days, less than even Myra’s more optimistic estimate. 

Shadewind it turned out was a former elven city. It’d been captured by the Otorian Kingdom around two centuries ago, and many of its former residents had fled. As such, despite being a city full of elven architecture, it had a significant lack of actual elves. In place of the original inhabitants, Shadewind was host to a wide variety of races, many of whom were apparently sick of the human majority common to other Otorian settlements. 

“We’re here Eyrina, please wake up.” 

After six days of silence, I was beginning to fear that Eyrina had left me, which made me wonder if our contract had ever been real. Surely being away from one another this long would put a strain on her as long as the contract was in place. Not to mention, if Eyrina had broken it, I was certain I’d have felt something. 

“Still worried about Eyrina?” Myra asked, gazing at me in concern. 

“Yeah.” 

“She’ll turn up, I’m certain. For now, just try to focus on having a good time okay?” 

“I’ll do my best,” I said forcing a smile. “Now that we’re here, do you think you could tell me how a captured elven city is going to help me?” 

“It’s not the city itself that will help,” Myra smirked. “Rather it’s what is inside the city.” 

“And what is inside the city?” 

“My family’s manor,” Syene answered in Myra’s place. “It’s been abandoned for some time, but friends of mine have been tending to it, so it should still be comfortable.” 

“The manor has its own private hot springs,” Myra noted. “They’re perfect for rejuvenating body and soul, you’ll never want to leave once you’ve experienced them.” 

“You’ve been here before?” 

“Syene brought me as an apology for attacking me in the woods, we’ve not been back since then.”

“You told her about what happened when I found you?” Syene asked, gazing forlornly at Myra. 

“I did, but don’t worry, I made sure to explain it in a way that doesn’t give you a negative impression. You saved me after all, what’s a little pain and suffering compared to all the positive things you’d done for me. I’d have been killed by a random adventurer if you hadn’t found me, and now I’m the random adventurer.” 

“Still…” 

“Why do you not live here anymore?” I asked, attempting to change the topic. “The city is beautiful and the people look pleasant.” 

“My parents took part in a rebellion to reclaim Shadewind for the elves. They’d sent me off to study at the College of Artifice and said nothing about their intentions. I didn’t know there was a rebellion until news of their deaths reached me. The manor feels empty without them, I can’t stay for long without somber feelings taking root.” 

“If the manor makes you unhappy, we shouldn’t go. Let’s find a nice inn, explore the city, and stay away from the manor.” 

Syene smiled at me. “You’re kind Caelan, but it’s alright. A short stay isn’t going to affect me, and Myra is right, some private time in the hot springs will be good for you right now.”

“Shadewind is famous for its hot springs inns, if we booked a room at one we’d probably be sharing the bath with a couple dozen other people at a time.” Myra hummed. “This is a rare treat, normally you’d have to be the daughter of a count to get this lucky.” 

“Are you nobility Syene?” 

“Not in Otor.” 

Syene’s manor was a massive three-story building made out of what appeared to be still living wood. It looked as if a half dozen trees had woven their branches together to form the walls. The roof tiles appeared to be hardened sheets of bark and each of the trees still had full canopies shading the manor from the rays of the sun. 

“You made it!” A ginger-haired woman with cat ears cheered as we exited the carriage. As soon as Syene’s feet hit the ground she charged forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. 

“Ronna,” Syene wheezed. “Too tight, let go.” 

“But it’s been so long!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Ronna,” I said attempting my best curtsy. “I am Caelan, may I ask that you free my mother from your hug of death?” 

“Mother?” Ronna looked at me in confusion before releasing Syene. “You adopted another one?!” 

“Yeah,” Syene replied sheepishly. 

“You’ve never had a date and you’ve already got two daughters, you’re doing this backward, Cee.” 

“I’m too busy with work for romance.” 

“But not too busy for motherhood?” Ronna chucked with a raised eyebrow. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Caelan, and I’m delighted to see you again too Myra. Auriel is inside sweeping the foyer, I’m sure she’ll be excited to know you’re already here.” 

“Who’s Auriel?” 

“Ronna’s daughter,” Myra smiled and grabbed my hand. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

“Hasn’t it been like nine years since you were last here?”

“Ronna and Auriel have come to visit us in Belstow a few times, it’s only been about three years since I last saw her.” 

I allowed Myra to drag me into the manor where we found a young catkin woman sleeping on the staircase. While her hair was a much lighter shade of copper, to the point she was nearly blonde, she resembled Ronna enough that I was certain she must be Auriel. Though unless there were other catkin in the manor, it wasn’t that hard to deduce. 

“Aurii!” Myra shouted causing Auriel to leap into the air. 

“M-M-Myra,” Auriel pouted as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. “Why?” 

“You were sleeping on the job, lazy kitty.” 

“I finished early,” Auriel sniffled. She was nearly a head and a half taller than Myra and me, however with the way she shrank in on herself it felt as if we were looming over her. 

“She’s a rather timid girl isn’t she?” I muttered to Myra, worried that we were just picking on poor Auriel. 

“Yeah,” Myra nodded before stepping forward and taking Auriel by the hand. “You okay Aurii?” 

“Y-Yes, I’m fine. Sorry Myra, I’ll go start some tea.” 

“We don’t need tea, I wanted to introduce you to my new sister, Caelan.” 

“Caelan?” Auriel’s eyes widened for a moment and she gazed at me only to frown as if she was disappointed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Caelan.” 

“The pleasure is mine Auriel.”

“I was thinking about giving Caelan a tour of the place,” Myra noted. “You wanna tag along Aurii? As long as you’re with us, your mother probably won’t give you any more work to do.” 

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“S-sure.” 

“Yay,” Myra smiled and then turned to face me. “Well as you can see Caelan, this is the foyer. If you turn to my left you’ll find the dining room, and to my right is the study. There is a library beyond the study, and the kitchen is through a servant’s door in the dining room. They’re all very nice but if you’ll follow me behind the staircase I’ll take you to the main attraction.”

 Behind the staircase was an ornate set of double doors that opened into a large dressing room. On the opposite end of the room was a set of glass doors that opened up into a cavernous grotto. The grotto’s heart was occupied by a massive natural pool, its air full of steam from warm waters. 

“This is our hot spring,” Myra smiled. “Getting excited yet?” 

“It’s… outside?” 

“Sort of, the cavern runs right up to the side of the house and nobody can see in through those tiny entrances. Not unless they’re standing on the manor grounds already.”

“Or they’re flying overhead,” I said pointing up to a large hole above us. 

“It takes a true master of wind magic to achieve sustained flight, no random peeping tom is going to have those skills. So how about it Caelan, ready to jump in?” 

“Umm… shouldn’t we make sure there isn’t anything Syene wants us to do first? Maybe she’d like to have a meal or something.” 

“No way, Ronna is going to keep her occupied for a while. Now then, you ready?” 

“Er, but what about Auriel? Or the rest of the house tour?” 

“Auriel can bathe with us, hot springs are shared baths, they’re not the private moments you’re used to. As for the house tour, I mean I told you where all the big stuff is, you can find everything else later. It’ll be an adventure.” 

“Myra.” 

“Come on Caelan, let’s get these clothes off of you,” Myra said dragging me back into the changing room and beginning to undress me. 

“Umm… I-I’ll wait outside,” Auriel said sheepishly covering her eyes. She’d barely taken two steps towards the door before Myra grabbed her. 

“What’s up Aurii? We’ve bathed in the hot springs together before.”

“We bathed together when I was nine!” Auriel hissed yanking her arm away from Myra. “Things are different now.” 

“Hot springs are common in Shadewind, I don’t… I understood Caelan being uncomfortable for her first time, but you too?” 

“Just because they’re common doesn’t mean I have to enjoy them,” Auriel grumbled. “Enjoy your time Myra, I’m going back. It was nice meeting you Caelan.” 

“People change, Myra.”

“I just can’t… why? She was a cheerful klutz last time we saw one another. Auriel was never the type to overthink things, or really think at all. She just dove headfirst into everything and came out laughing on the other side.” 

“I can see why you were friends now.” 

“Could she be a reincarnation too?” 

“If the scepter only brought back people I knew, then no. Nobody I knew was ever quite so… skittish.” 

“What if she isn’t skittish because of the memories, but because her old and new selves don’t mix?”

“Like a more extreme version of your own feelings?” 

“Yeah… I don’t want to be Elise’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean having her memories is exceptionally bothersome. What if Auriel is bothered by her memories though?” 

“How could we find out?” 

Myra gazed pensively at me, sighing in resignation. “You’ll have to get close to her. We are assuming at this point that all reincarnations are people who you cared for. If she spends time with you, her own feelings about you should bubble up to the surface. It’ll force her to say something.” 

“Caelan isn’t exactly that rare of a name is it? There’s no way she’ll ever equate me with my old self.” 

“We can drop hints, and see if she takes the bait. Or have Kaphis corner her, they haven't changed, physically at least.” 

“Guess this trip isn’t going to turn out as relaxing as you’d hoped huh?” 

“Not if we don’t solve this problem quickly.” 

“Well she’s upset with you right now, and I’m a stranger. Let’s leave her be and jump in the hot spring.” 

“Oh?” Myra grinned. “So you are excited?” 

“Yeah,” I smiled at Myra. The truth was, I just didn’t want to see her gazing unhappily at the door for a moment longer, but she didn’t need to know that. All she needed to do was enjoy herself, we’d worry about Auriel later. 

After Myra quickly disrobed the two of us got into the hot spring. At first it was warm to the point of discomfort, but after allowing myself a moment to adjust I breathed a sigh of content. The naturally heated water gently flowing around my body relaxed my every muscle, it was heavenly. 

“Look’s like the girls couldn’t wait for us,” Ronna snickered drawing my attention to the entrance where Syene and Ronna stood. “Wait, where is Auriel?” 

“She refused to bathe with us and ran off,” Myra replied in a sour tone. “How long has she been like this?”  

“She’s been moody for about three months now. I was hoping she’d loosen up once she got to see you again Myra, but I guess we’ll have no such luck.”

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Syene asked as she dipped into the water. 

“No,” Ronna grinned. “I’m certain she’s just getting over her first crush. Probably asked somebody out and they turned her down. Young hearts take everything so seriously when love is involved.” 

“Old hearts do too,” Myra countered with a pointed look at Syene. 

“The longer-lived a race is, the slower they mature,” Ronna chuckled. “Syene’s heart is still quite young.” 

“Ronna,” Syene groaned as her cheeks flushed red. 

“Be kind to Auriel, girls. I’m certain having friends her age around will help her get over whatever’s plaguing her heart.”

“We will,” I replied confidently. “I’m looking forward to being great friends with Auriel, Miss Ronna.” 

“Oh, your daughters are both so delightful, can I keep them?” 

“Of course not.”