Chapter 21:
Waldina - Journey as a ninja in another world
The first rays of the sun lit up the inn room gently and sweetly woken up the ninja still laying on the bed. Kiandra didn’t seem to be bothered by the light and instead continued sleeping peacefully. Waldina smiled at the view and stood up from the bed careful as to not wake the fairy up. She scanned the room. Although it wasn’t by any means part of a luxurious hotel (in Waldina’s homeworld’s standards) this inn was more stylish than the one she’d stayed at Inizio. Claudia had been adamant about them all staying in this exact inn, which was deemed to be the best in Twande. Waldina had been too tired to resist so they ended up staying here.
The room was adorned with curtains, carpet and beautifully upholstered furniture. Other than the bed the room had a partition which formed another space at the end of the room, opposite to the bed. At the other side of the partition there was a tub meant for bathing. Unlike at the inn at Inizio, here the inn workers brought bathing water to each guest. Waldina found it ironic that now that she didn’t have to go out of her way carrying the water to her room, she could use water magic, but had no need for it. Though at least now she didn’t have to figure out how to warm up the water.
Waldina sneaked behind the partition where she left her clothes in the evening before going to bed. She stretched her joints for a bit before getting dressed. She put on her dark shorts and then her black ninja dress. The dress had small sleeves which were perfect for the warm weather surrounding Twande. For once her luck was on-point, giving her a short-sleeved dress instead of long-sleeved, warm dress.
After getting the dress nicely on she took her shoes and put them on. Finally she took her thigh belts donning them. As the inn was relatively safe, she didn’t sleep with her gear on.
There was a mirror hanging at the partition wall and Waldina checked to see what she looked like. Her purple hair flowed beautifully on to her shoulders and from there down to her waist. As much as she liked them flowing freely, it would be more trouble than it was worth at the end of the day. With a sigh she tied her hair on to a ponytail. After all, she didn’t want her hair to get in the way during fights.
“Hmm? Waldina?” Kiandra’s drowsy voice sounded from somewhere within the fluffy bed. Waldina stepped behind the partition so that the little fairy could see her.
“Morning,” Waldina replied with a gentle voice. Kiandra always had some sort of calming aura around her. It welcomed Waldina right in and helped her calm her ever running thoughts. Kiandra’s being made her feel a tiny bit more like she belonged here.
“Morning. Has Claudia been by yet?” Kiandra asked as she stretched her small arms and legs.
“Not yet. Perhaps she’s still asleep. Who knows how long viscount’s daughters usually sleep,” Waldina grinned cheerfully. Yesterday Claudia had suggested she’d come get the ninja and the fairy once she was ready to head to the town. Together they’d get breakfast and stuff. Waldina had a strong feeling she wouldn’t recognize Claudia in her disguise - whatever it was - so doing things this way worked quite well for her.
*knock knock*
The knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Waldina headed towards the door while Kiandra was straightening her short blue dress. The fairy wore the same dress all-day all-night. She reasoned it was because as a water fairy she didn’t get dirty that often, and even if she got dirty she could just clean up right away. Waldina hadn’t pressed the issue once she first heard of it, though she had made a mental note of looking for new clothes for the little fairy in the future. She had no idea where she would find clothes for fairies but their journey had just begun so she supposed she’d have plenty of time in the future. And Waldina wasn’t about to give up the search before trying.
Waldina opened the door just an inch to check who the visitor was. She was confronted by a young man who was considerably taller than her. The man’s hair was dark brown and eyes were clear blue. He was wearing farming styled clothing, looking like he’d come straight from the countryside. The view was so unfamiliar that Waldina couldn’t help but flinch. She had expected the visitor to resemble Claudia at least somewhat, but one’s height wasn’t easily changeable. The only part similar to Claudia was those clear blue eyes.
“Excuse me sir, I suppose you may have the wrong room?” Waldina voiced, smiling carefully. With each passing word the man began smiling wider, and more charmingly. Waldina frowned, slightly pissed and suspicious.
“I take my disguise artifact is working,” the corners of the man’s eyes twitched with amusement and Waldina was overcome with confusion. Kiandra flew to them, confused and surprised as well. The fairy whispered quietly: “Claudia?”
The man nodded grinning widely. Then he signed for permission to step into the room. Waldina nodded and stepped to the side, letting Claudia-disguised-as-a-man walk past her. Claudia closed the door behind her and stepped further into the room. Then she turned around showing her charming smile to Waldina and Kiandra.
“What do you think?”
Waldina wondered for a moment, searching for the right words: “You look amazing. Not at all recognizable.”
“Thanks. Before I esca- I mean began my journey, I bought this artifact with which I can change my appearance,” Claudia explained her trick whilst biting her lip as if to scold herself for the words she nearly said outloud, blowing her cover.
“I understand. And what might this gentleman’s name be?” Waldina inquired while straightening her ninja dress.
“You may call me Diaz,” Claudia had a shy smile on, “that’s what my knights call me.”
Waldina nodded with understanding: “In that case, Diaz, shall we head to the town and get some breakfast?”
“Lidia will join us in a bit. She’s my female knight,” Claudia rushed to explain, putting a stop to Waldina’s and Kiandra’s rush to leave. Kiandra couldn’t wait to enjoy great food again. Finally she’d get something else than food meant for camping. Oh, how she dreamt of freshly baked bread and other exquisites.
“Oh but then you’ll look like a womanizer,” Kiandra yelped as her thought got back to this moment. She made a carefree somersault at the air, not caring a bit for her fluttering dress.
“Perhaps,” Claudia grinned, “but would it be that bad?”
The nonchalant reply confused Kiandra. She’d always thought being a womanizer was a bad thing and not respectable. Who would want to be known as such a being. But Claudia’s reaction made it sound like it was a compliment.
“No need to panic, Kiandra, it’s a description used by jealous people when they see someone popular,” Waldina joked as she noticed the pinch her little friend was in. “I’ll just get my purse and I’ll be ready then,” she added. She glanced at Kiandra meaningfully. The blue fairy nodded barely visible and flew towards Claudia, in order to distract her. Soon she was showing off her water spells to the lady looking like a man.
Waldina smiled shortly before crouching to a small drawer next to the bed. She pretended to look for her purse from somewhere within the drawer, when in reality she was drawing coins from her bracelet’s inventory. She put them in a purse - which was actually more like a small leather pouch and she just used it as a purse. She had used a similar one back in Inizio. From time to time she glanced at Kiandra’s and Claudia’s direction. As they were still busy she decided to check the information in her bracelet.
She went through different pieces of information before she stopped to read the details for her third stage-exam. The location pointed somewhere outside from Twande, but she didn’t dwell too much on other related details. Mainly she had wanted to make sure she wouldn’t encounter any nasty surprises in the middle of strolling around Twande. Though she was still worried about Slehtkubi and possible stage-exams that could harm others. Knowing Twande was outside the next exam’s range eased her mind a bit. She’d really enjoy a small breather.
*knock knock*
Another knock came from the door and Waldina hid her bracelet swiftly under a scarf-like cloth. She managed to stand up and return to the center of the room before Claudia managed to open the door.
Behind the door was standing a brown-haired Lidia, who was dressed in cute countryside-like clothes. She looked so different compared to her knight form that Waldina couldn’t help but admire. Unlike Claudia, Lidia hadn’t used any magic nor artefacts for her disguise. She was simply naturally gifted in disguising herself.
“Are you ready to leave for the town now?” Lidia inquired in a polite manner, yet somewhat casually. Perhaps she had already managed to take on her role as a companion for an adventurer, countryside boy and a fairy. Waldina giggled at the thought and could feel her enthusiasm grow within her.
She was actually looking forward to exploring the town of Twande. Not to mention enjoying fresh food and shopping. And chatting with her temporary companions. Claudia was after all the first human in this world whom Waldina was hanging out with. It was deeper than just some occasional conversation with shopkeepers or such. Waldina enjoyed the thought quite a bit. Although she shouldn’t forget she’d always have Kiandra, who was close to the best companion she could ever ask for. But perhaps they both needed other companions to spend time with from time to time.
Besides, Waldina was quite excited about having a companion who actually knew the streets and customs of Twande. A local companion could help her - who came from the modern world - and Kiandra - who was trapped for who knows how long in the grimoire - help adapt to this new environment. Help them belong here.
Or so Waldina had thought.
Please sign in to leave a comment.