The great city of Velmira rose before them, carved from ancient stone and kissed by golden sun. Its towers stood tall like jagged crowns, walls wrapped in silver ivy, and the distant toll of bells rang through the air. From this distance, Lena could already hear the hum of life — merchants shouting, carts creaking, children laughing, armor clinking.
It should've been overwhelming, but instead, it felt… oddly like the calm before a storm.
Ashikai trotted beside her, tail flicking, eyes narrowed at the looming gates. "So… big city. Full of guards, nobles, power-hungry sorcerers, and about seventy-seven kinds of soup."
Lena gave him a look. "Do you have to be so loud?"
"I *am* a fox spirit. We don't do subtle. Except in dreams. And riddles." He smirked. "Are you nervous?"
"I'm about to walk into a foreign city with a glowing fox at my side. Of course I'm nervous."
Ashikai sighed dramatically. "Yes, yes, I suppose I do scream 'otherworldly magic.'" He turned to her, one paw raised. "So. What's the plan, mysterious stranger?"
Lena's gaze dropped to the wooden basket strapped to her back — empty, large enough to carry fruit… or a very fidgety fox. "You're going in here."
"Excuse me?"
She crouched and opened the flap. "You're small enough. And unless you want to start a riot, you can't be seen."
Ashikai sniffed. "I am not *small*. I'm compact. Elegant. Spiritually condensed."
"Ashikai…"
He groaned but leapt into the basket anyway, curling himself in with a flick of his tail. "Fine. But I'm doing this under protest. If it smells like potatoes in here, I'm haunting your dreams."
She tightened the flap over him and stood. "You're safe. Just try not to glow."
"Try not to attract attention," he mocked in her head. "You're wearing a cloak like a secret royal and smell like two worlds at once. Good luck."
***
The city gates were wide open, and people of all kinds moved in and out — cloaked travelers, tall warriors with foreign blades, robed merchants wheeling wagons of silks and spices. Lena kept her hood low, steps slow and sure, her senses sharp.
Her heart thudded as she passed under the arch. The walls towered above her, covered in old etchings and protective runes that hummed faintly as she walked through them — brushing against her mark beneath her shirt.
It tingled. A soft warning.Ashikai stirred in her mind. *"Don't flinch. The wards are just curious. They don't know what you are."*
*I don't know what I am,* she thought back.
The city embraced her like a whisper — warm, dense, and brimming with magic. The streets were cobbled in slate, banners fluttered from balconies, and every turn echoed with life. Street performers danced beside potion stalls. A dwarf argued over bread with a half-elf baker. Children ran barefoot past floating lanterns.
And still… people stared.
Subtly. Quietly. But their eyes lingered.
A woman in a velvet shawl looked twice.
A merchant paused mid-sale.
A child tugged on her mother's sleeve and whispered, pointing.
The cloak helped little — Lena could feel their curiosity clinging to her like smoke. Maybe it was her strange gait. Or the way the air shimmered around her presence. Or maybe, despite Ashikai being hidden, her arrival had already stirred something awake in the air.
*"You're not from here,"* Ashikai murmured, *"and people can feel that. You're a wrong note in a perfect song."*
*Thanks for the pep talk.*
*"You're welcome."
*She ducked down a quieter side street, heart pounding. She passed an elderly woman sweeping her doorstep who gave her a smile — kind, but searching. A pair of teen boys nudged each other as she passed. Her boots clicked against stone louder than she liked.
Just act like you belong.
At the end of the street was an old fountain carved in the shape of wolves circling a flame. Lena stopped to pretend to admire it and let herself breathe. A group of noblewomen passed nearby, their skirts swishing, and their conversation abruptly died as they neared her.
One of them slowed. "Who's she?"
"I don't know," another murmured. "That cloak… is that a city weave? Looks foreign."
"She walks like she owns the moon," whispered a third. "And did you feel that… pulse when she passed?"
Lena kept her eyes down. The last thing she needed was attention from nobility.
Ashikai grumbled in her mind. *"I told you. We should've smeared some mud on your face. Nothing says invisible like dirt and hay."*
*I'm not smearing mud on my face!*
*"Not with that attitude."*
She turned a corner and finally spotted what she'd been hoping for — a quiet row of inns tucked beside a garden wall. Lanterns flickered gently, casting golden light across their signs.
One in particular stood out: *The Whispering Root*.Lena exhaled. "This will do."
She stepped inside. The scent of herbs, aged wood, and fire greeted her. A short woman behind the counter looked up, blinking at her from behind round glasses. "Welcome, traveler. Looking for a room?"
Lena nodded, her voice low. "Yes. Just for a few days."
The woman smiled. "Coin first."
Lena passed a few of the copper coins she'd gotten from the kind village women earlier. The woman gave her a key, still watching her curiously.
"You new to Velmira?"
"Yes."
"Strange times to visit," the woman murmured. "The winds say something's shifting."
Lena said nothing.
She climbed the stairs to her room, unlocked the door, and finally — finally — let Ashikai out of the basket.
The fox leapt to the floor and shook himself. "Well. I hate cities. Everyone's too polite and suspicious at the same time."
Lena dropped her cloak and stared out the small window.
Below, the city shimmered.
Behind her, the fox yawned and curled up on the bed.
And somewhere deep beneath the city, the king stirred.
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