The room was filled with the scent of sex and alcohol.
Her own clothes were barely disturbed, but her hands and mouth still carried the taste of what she had just done.
Fuck … I probably shouldn't have let myself get carried away, Mara thought, as a faint sense of guilt briefly crossed her mind.
Although a faint sense of guilt settled in Mara's chest for having taken advantage of Beckie's vulnerable state, it wasn't strong enough to spark any genuine remorse.
It had been a reflex—just another impulse carried along by the strange current of events that seemed to have become her new normal.
She had simply let herself go, just as she had done ever since she opened her eyes in this world.
I think it's better to let her sleep in Alice's bed, Mara thought, recalling the considerable weight of the drunken woman and how little she felt like carrying her. That effort, she decided, simply wasn't worth it.
Mara sat down on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath as she stared at the cracks in the wooden floor.
The muddled ecstasy of what had happened still echoed through her veins—a mix of adrenaline, clumsy pleasure, and a strange sense of empathy for the woman now softly snoring behind her.
She let her racing heartbeat settle, let the cool air of the room dissipate the smell of alcohol and sweat, and once she felt steady again, Mara rose from the mattress and headed toward where Alice would be.
When she reached the first floor, the atmosphere had changed.
The chaos of the lobby had faded, leaving behind only the inn's pleasant silence.
Mara made her way to the kitchen, where she knew she would find Alice.
She wasn't cooking, but standing in front of the kitchen utensils, arms crossed and head slightly tilted.
Even with her eyes hidden behind the blindfold, her posture conveyed a thoughtful, almost distant mood.
When she heard Mara's footsteps, Alice slowly turned toward her.
"Did you make Beckie comfortable, dear?" she asked, but her voice sounded distant, as if her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Yes, but she fell asleep in your bed. I couldn't move her to Reiko's," Mara lied, omitting the fact that she hadn't truly tried.
"That's fine, as long as she's comfortable… I just didn't want her sleeping on the floor," Alice said, nodding slowly. There was a note of worried tenderness in her tone, a sentimentality that hinted at a more complicated history than it appeared.
Listening to her, Mara could sense that the relationship between the two was complicated—but not devoid of affection.
Still, what caught her attention the most was Alice's lingering distraction.
"Is something wrong?" Mara chose the simplest route and addressed it directly.
Alice remained silent for a moment longer, as if weighing her answer.
"Mmmmm… it seems we're running low on ingredients, so I think we should go get more," she finally said, her voice regaining some of its usual pragmatism.
"Oh, alright… do you want me to come with you?" Mara offered, stepping a little closer.
"Of course we can go together, dear." A spark of warmth returned to Alice's expression as she answered, then turned toward the inn's front door.
Now that I think about it, I haven't been outside the inn since I arrived in this world… obviously, not counting the first day, Mara thought as she followed her, a sudden idea lighting up her mind.
A genuine curiosity, mixed with a tingling sense of excitement, began to grow inside her.
She had only glimpsed the city in passing—through panic and disorientation, then briefly alongside Mordred—but she had never truly looked at it with the intent to know it.
As she crossed the threshold behind Alice, leaving behind the scent of old wood, dried roses, and secrets, a smile formed on her lips.
This will be interesting, Mara thought as she stepped out of her new, small nest.