Crystal looked over at the man and laughed lightly. She hadn't heard such boldness since she was a wee girl. A young boy had said something similiar to her father and he scared him away.
That boy was Arty, how he had loved her. He never wanted anything to happen to her. He had even said that he would die for her and in the end he had. He had died protecting her from the one man that had scared him away on his first encounter.
She blocked the memories. She wouldn't let them. Not here, not now, not ever again. She would be free of her haunting memories. She would be free from the jail cell her mind had created for her. She would be free from it all.
I will make a new life here, Crystal thought with a smile as she finished her supper. The night was closing in around the Inn, but now that didn't matter to Crystal. She wasn't worry about lodging for the night. These people were kind. I can work for my pay. I can work honestly for my money, Crystal thought. The thought alone made her feel proud. She hadn't earned a decent coin in years. She wasn't proud of it, but she had done what she had done in the past to survive. She vowed she wouldn't do those things again.
She took a small pouch out of her cloak and gave the last of her coins to the Innkeeper.
"Thank for the meal. How much is it to rent a room for a night?" Crystal asked, hoping that it wasn't much. She wanted to pay in advance if she could, but she wasn't sure she would be able to. Her fingers found their way to her locket, her one possession from Arty that she had also been able to save before her father had destroyed all the artifacts of her mother and Arty in that fire he had created.
"I could give you something for the room until I get enough money for it," Crystal suggested with baited breath. She couldn't believe that she could part from this, but she wanted to become honest once again. This was the only way she knew how.
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"What you see is exactly what you get. Don't say I didn't warn you."
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