Dance of the Gods

Both Veronica and Suze were breathing heavily. The short run to the carriage really took a lot out of them, especially in the shoes they were wearing.

The carriage rumbled on without any issue. Whoever the person following them was, he didn't want to be seen by the driver.

After a few minutes they finally got their hearts under control. Veronica took a deep breath through her dried out throat, then looked at Suze with outrage.

"This is what all those rules are for?! For us to get chased by some insane individual?..." Suze stared at her questioningly. Then slowly she brought out the material box and tossed it to Veronica.

"That's the reason we were followed! That stalker was probably that angry man from the auction! And why do you suddenly act so angry? I clearly told you multiple times how dangerous these gatherings and the whole world actually is!..."

Veronica wanted to say something, but Suze wasn't finished yet.

"Do you think you can just become an ascended with ease?... I don't know what fairytale did you make for yourself, but this is the real world! Here you make one too many mistakes and you are dead!... Not losing your job, or losing your lover... DEAD!"

Her mouth was falling open from speechlessness. She had never seen Suze this angry before.

"So I suggest you get yourself together. Don't question why other people do things the way they do, and most importantly Do Not Rely On Others!"

It was true. Veronica put too much trust in the gatherings rules. They weren't omnipotent. Their power was strong and they could probably track down the individual who followed them. But what would've happen if they get caught? They would be on their own!

With a sigh Veronica nodded, then looked out the window. While she watched the buildings pass them by Suze shook her head a bit. She reached out her hand and held Veronica's own. Turning away from the window, she looked at Suze who had a sad smile on her face.

This time she talked much more gently and kindly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you... It's just... I don't want for you to get hurt... This world is the farthest away from kind, and what you are going to do will only make it worse... You have to be prepared..."

With a small smile Veronica squeezed Suze's hand a bit. They stayed like that for a few moments, then eventually she grew too curious. The box was still in her hand, so after releasing Suze's, she quickly opened it.

Inside was a tiny object with a triangular shape. It had a greyish color, but as the light within the carriage hit it from different angles, it seemed to glow in very light pink color. The outside felt moist, like it was a freshly caught fish. It was even a bit slippery and she nearly dropped it.

Quickly she placed it back into the box, then handed it back to Suze.

Throughout the rest of the journey they stayed silent. When they got back to the inn James was still working, or more like waiting for them to come back, since there weren't any customers left.

"How did it go?" He asked joyfully, but Suze just motioned for him to follow. Swiftly all three of them went down into the basement, then into the office. There finally she took out and showed the material box to James.

"So, you have the first one! That's great!" He exclaimed with much enthusiasm, but soon turned silent. The expressions on both Veronica and Suze wasn't the happiness that should've been. Instead they looked angry.

"James write to Mr. Host first thing in the morning! We had been followed from the gathering. Tell him that if he doesn't find and get rid of the individual, he won't going to have a gathering anymore."

He wasn't even remotely surprised by this threat, unlike Veronica who was staring at Suze with wide eyes.

"So, just the usual?" Asked James with a raised eyebrow. "Yes. Nothing serious happened, we just had to run a bit."

Veronica looked between the married pair speechlessly.

'What did he mean by usual?... What does she mean by nothing serious?! We could've been robbed, or killed, or raped... Or all of them at the same time!... Is that nothing serious... Just how often does this happen to them to take it so lightly...'

The two of them continued to talk, but Veronica was zoned out throughout the whole conversation. Only when Suze was trying to hand her something did she look up. In her hand were two large glasses of red wine and on the table another few bottles full of them.

Without any questions she grabbed it and took a big gulp from the glass. On the other side of the table Suze laughed lightly, then took a small sip herself.

The wine tasted amazing, but that was maybe because of all the stress she had suffered throughout the day. It was nice to finally let go.

"Thought you might want to let some steam out. I always found wine to be the perfect remedy for anxiety and stress."

They both drank a bit again, and finally Veronica could breath a bit more freely. She looked at the bottles on the table, then asked, "Where do you keep these anyway?"

Instead of answering she just laughed, then made a small hand movement and a small room appeared around them. They were back at that fake basement where the inspectors looked around.

Without her anxious and confused state she noticed a lot more details than before. There were a lot of barrels full of beer and multiple shelves full of wine. Slowly the room disappeared like a mirage and Veronica stared at Suze with bewilderment.

"Just because we don't use it as storage for important items, doesn't mean we don't store anything inside. Now, its actually pretty barren. It has a special power of preserving any item you place inside, which means if you leave food there, it will never rot."

They took sips again, then Veronica immediately blurted out, "What a waste... A storage that exists outside of this plain and you use it to store alcohol and food... What a weird ass pantry you have..."

Suze stared at Veronica with her mouth hanging open. Never before had she heard a relic of the 3rd Order be described as a 'Weird ass pantry'! Veronica seemed to notice her statement as well. They looked at each other and burst out laughing nearly at the same time.

"You got quite a mouth on you young lady! You could be a sailor with that mouth of yours!" Said Suze between laughs.

"Oh, I think the sailors would be more happy with your mouth... You know what they say – with age comes experience!" Her laughter slowly stopped and she stared at Veronica with faked anger.

"What are you trying to imply? That I would sleep with some man from the sea, or seaman for short!" It was impossible to hold their laughter after those last words.

They spent another hour drinking and talking, at that point they had already consumed one of the bottles and opened another. Their speaking was getting more slurred and mumbling.

Veronica's eyes kept closing, but she tried her hardest to keep them open. In front of her Suze was saying something, which she didn't quite hear it.

"Wha did yu sayy?" Between hiccups and burps Suze spoke again. "Why aren't you married?... Any man would be very happy with someone, such as yourself!... My advice, don't care nothing about how much money he has! Go with your gut... or some other organ, maybe one a bit lower!"

They laughed again. Veronica laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair and hit the ground. She stayed there motionless. After a minute or two Suze controlled her chuckling enough to ask, "Hey?... Are you alright there?"

There was no answer and soon Suze found out why. From the ground sounds of snoring came to her ears.

*Laughter* "Seems like some person can not handle her liquor..." Slowly and shakily Suze stood up, then began walking towards the door.

"Do not fear little Veronica! I will get someone to take you to bed!... Well, that came out wrong... I need to find a bathroom..." While holding her mouth Suze rushed out the room, completely forgetting about Veronica who was happily sleeping on the floor.

After nearly an hour a pair of footsteps approached the door. The door itself was special, it had no handle on the outside and could only be opened by a key. From the other side of the door there was the sound of metal hitting metal, possibly a keychain.

The lock inside the door clicked and it slowly opened. Veronica, who was still lying on the floor, gradually looked up and saw the silhouette of a man. With her sleepy and drunken sight she had no way of making out even the slightest detail about him.

One thing she could judge though, was that he didn't expect to see her on the floor. His hand rose and seemed to facepalm himself.

"Did that idiot really leave you here?... *sigh* Come on I will help you to your room..."

She couldn't really make any objections as the man bent down and lifted her with more or less easily. After trying for a few seconds to see who the man was exactly, she eventually gave up, closed her eyes, and went back to blissful sleep.

...

When she woke up in the morning, Veronica looked around confused. By her last drunken memory she was still inside the office, happily drinking with Suze.

"How the hell did I get back to my room?" She was very bewildered, but more importantly her head was pounding like a bell at 12 pm. Her dress from yesterday was still on her. From inside its pocket she took out her watch and saw how late she was from work.

Without much regard to anything she stormed out of the room with a new dress and her few cleaning supplies.

James stared at her with a wide smile and laughed to himself when he saw Veronica's annoyed pout. Luckily Suze was looking even worse than her. She was cooking something with her eyes half closed.

'Seems like the customers will be unsatisfied with todays meals... I hope the bath is still there...'

After a mumbled good morning from the two hungover ladies. She went and took an ice cold, refreshing bath, then quickly got ready and began working.