Emily looked down at the straps covering her wrists. Her heart pounded inside her chest. She blinked in a white room with tiled flooring. Instruments sat in a small metal dish next to her. Along the wall, there were black cabinets made of a strange kind of metal. Red flowed into the metal's veins and outlined the glass that allowed one to view inside.
On the inside of each, there were tinctures, ready to collect any of Emily's body fluid. A certain residual numbness clung to her mind. After a while, constant torment seemed like background noise. Sometimes she'd react, and other times, she'd sit there mindless.
The sound of boots resounded on the hallway floor outside the room. She could already picture the doctor strolling into her room with his black rain boots. Her mind vividly found the image of his facial features. The doctor's thin grey hairs covering his balding head would soon be visible, no doubt.
Another stride, and his boot echoed again on the hallway floor. It was only after she heard this, that Emily started trying to distract herself from the upcoming inevitability. She looked around the room, attempting to ground herself in reality.
Though, this time, something was different. There were two more seats across from her. Each one of them held a different passenger. One of them was a rat that she'd seen before, and the other was an innocent little boy with brown trousers. She tried to open her mouth and call out to the two, but plastic pliers clamped her mouth shut.
The two of them looked at her with soft eyes. Neither of them tried to escape, even as the sound of footsteps drew closer. Their lips curved upwards into a grin, and the door opened.
Emily's eyes flashed towards the entrance, but the usual doctor wasn't there. It was a large humanoid with grey skin and tusks. The doctor's usual expression was gone, but he fit the attire.
The orc walked towards her with a frown, fingers digging into her cheeks. "You killed me, you bitch."
///
Emily's eyes blinked open to an unfamiliar ceiling. Her body was wrapped tightly, and her heart started beating as she realized she was bound by something. She wriggled and channeled her magic.
"It's okay," a soft voice said next to her. The girl was a servant, wearing a simple white dress and a bib. She had pointed brown cat ears gracing the top of her head and appeared to be in her early 20s like Emily. Soft brown hair graced the top of her rounded head with light blonde streaks. Her green eyes blinked, and she showed a gentle smile. "You're safe..."
Emily's eyes looked towards her with uncertainty. She used her practiced breathing technique in order to calm her heart.
"That's it," the feline woman said, her tail waving gently behind her. "I only bound you because you were thrashing in your sleep. Here...let me help you."
Emily closed her eyes while the cat girl reached for a nearby scalpel. She felt her body freeing of their bindings and breathed a sigh of relief.
Before she could ask any questions of the cat woman, another person entered the room without warning. This one was a tall black-haired man with a black coat and a cane. He had similar brown trousers to a boy that Emily had seen not so long ago.
The realization made her leap out of bed, her ears twitching with anxiety. Her tail waved behind her in discomfort, remembering the state of him in her dream.
"Thank you," the man said. His breathing became haggard, and he struggled and failed to hold back his tears. "Thank you for saving my son."
Emily's eyes widened. "He's alive? And how did I get back here?"
Count Hemrich straightened his posture and used a cloth hanging from his pocket to wipe away his tears. "Forgive me, they told me you'd fainted. I wanted to speak to you the moment you woke up. My son is alive thanks to your decisive efforts. If not for you, I am certain he wouldn't have made it."
[Congratulations!]
[You have successfully delivered Matthew back home! Distributing quest rewards...]
The kitsune breathed a deep sigh of relief. It seems that I am capable of saving someone, after all.
Nonetheless, she still wanted to confirm it with her own eyes. Moreover, she had no recollection of fainting at all. Her last memory was holding the boy in her arms.
"You must be confused. Follow me, if you will."
Emily nodded and followed after the tall man. She noticed that he had to duck a small amount to walk beneath the doorway. She walked after him into the hall, and the feline servant tailed her.
Once again, she was greeted by extraordinary wealth, but this house was profoundly different from the last one. Rather than be made up of mostly stone on the inside, it had a dark wooden finish. Paintings were this man's art of choice. Beautiful scenery was draped over the wall in intervals. One of the depictions was a very familiar natural spring nearby.
Only, this spring was even more fantastical. It was within a mountain valley, and the black rocks surrounding it gave it more of a modern aesthetic.
It was while walking that Emily realized she'd been changed at some point in her sleep. She no longer had the pouch, necklace, or leather clothes over her. Right now, she wore a simple white gown.
The blood that she'd last remembered was completely gone. She didn't even have her weapon. For the first time in a while, she felt truly naked. Her ears twitched with her discomfort, and she clenched her teeth, biting the edge of her tongue.
"Don't worry, miss..." The voice of the servant started behind her.
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"Emily Vander."
"Right, Miss Emily Vander. Your items are being cared for properly. The servants scrubbed away all of the blood and grime." The cat woman smiled.
The gentleness of the grin stilled Emily's worry. "What about your name?"
She shook her head. "The name of a servant is not important."
The head of the house looked back at their exchange with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't try to interject. Instead, they'd reached another door, and he pulled on the metal handle.
Emily noticed the cool breeze coming from inside the room. It was even colder than the rest of the house with its own version of mysterious air conditioning. This room held cases of glass and metal and was predominantly white all over. She could see a small bed with the boy, breathing through a white sheet.
"Matthew had awoken earlier and wanted to thank you, but the potion has made him fall asleep yet again."
Emily walked next to his bed that was oddly familiar to a hospital bed from Earth. She was more than pleased to see the rising and falling of his chest. "Seeing this is more than enough thanks than I could receive. Who took care of him?"
The cat woman raised her hand. "That would be me, Miss Vander. Well, I was the primary caregiver."
"Then I owe you thanks."
"Not at all! If it wasn't for your readiness to help, we would not be having this conversation. Myself and the master owe you a huge debt of gratitude." She bowed deeply.
The master of the house repeated the motion. "It is as she says. Thank you once again for saving Matthew, my precious boy."
Their earnestness made Emily's cheeks heat up with redness. How long had it been since she performed a duty that she could be proud of? There was a certain discomfort that came with their honest words. Maybe it is my heart that is full of ugliness?
She felt like she should stop them. Tell them that she really didn't do anything, but was there a point in doing that? She accepted their gratitude, even as her tail betrayed her awkwardness.
Eventually, she was led away from the room with the recovering boy, and other servants were left there to fill the gap. They strolled into the Count's fancy living room with brown carpeted flooring and soft sofas. A large mural was painted on the wall, but this one was very different from what Emily expected. It immediately grabbed hold of her interest.
It was a vast white, snowy landscape. The stars twinkled in the night sky, and aurora borealis hung in the air. The same feeling was captured in the air directly above the snow. Blue light hung like a thin layer of mana, and within it, one could see a girl with a white furred tail, turned away from the observer.
Emily's eyes were drawn to it, and her ears wiggled at the strange thing. Why was something like this here? Did the count have a secret love of kitsune?
The man sat down beneath the mural on a sofa and gestured across from himself. The moment Emily sat down, he pointed his cane towards the mural above him, right at the girl.
"It was a gift. I never expected I would see a kitsune in my lifetime."
Emily looked towards the girl, then towards him, blinking several times.
He leaned forwards, pressing both of his hands on the top of his cane, and resting his head on those while he stared at her. "I'd once thought that you'd have a more wild nature. I'd once thought the same about Cattleya."
The cat girl in question shook her head in exasperation. "Humans always have such a narrow view of others."
Count Hemrich chuckled but turned his focus back on Emily. "If my boy was a bit older, or you were a bit younger, I would ask for your hand."
Emily shook her head. "I have no interest in marriages..."
"I know, you're the type that needs to be somewhere, right? I had a feeling that you would leave pretty soon. Do you mind if I ask where you will go?"
"I want to travel north," she said, pointing up at the picture of the fox girl.
Hemrich remained quiet for a bit. It wasn't until he studied her face that he realized her earnestness. "Well, I am sure you can make it back if you made it down here in the first place. Do I even need to tell you how dangerous the trip is?" He looked down towards her prosthetic arm as if to emphasize the point.
"I am open to any information you can share."
"I don't know much," he said, "we aren't a traveling noble family. I'd wanted to rest in this hamlet without incident. Our neighbors seemed to share that same sentiment, so we all moved out here. Besides, the kingdom had a need for us...I heard about what happened. Did you find anymore orcs during your fight?"
Emily's mind flashed with the memory of her battle from before. She shook her head. "There were certainly no more."
Hemrich breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, that puts my heart at ease, even if only a little bit." He paused before getting back to his previous point. "I don't have much information that could help you, but the capital might have someone like that. I have some rewards for your efforts, and I ask for another selfish favor."
Emily gave a curt nod.
"If you find any orcs along the way, please do away with them. They're not supposed to be prowling this far south. The last time that happened was the massacre of the southern swamplands, and that's been a while ago."
Emily looked towards him with a gaze of confusion. "I'd heard about orcish conquerors, but why would they avoid the south?"
"Orcs are not usually grouped together. What happened yesterday is the common experience. They rarely get together, unless there is someone who can rally them. Otherwise, they're all brutish people. I will admit I was wrong about foxes and cats, but I am not wrong about orcs."
Emily looked towards the cat girl, and she received a nod in response.
"Never give any sympathy towards the orcs. They're revolting and repugnant. They would not hesitate to wipe out all of human civilization if they could. The only good orc is a dead orc."
Hemrich clapped his hands together. "Now then, let's talk about your rewards. I have determined a few things that will help in your journey. One of them is one of our most well-bred Edmontosauruses so that you may have a mount. Naturally, I will give coins for your service. I'd have given even more, but the kingdom will examine my coffers periodically. The reward has to be less than I want to give, even though I owe you my entire house..."
Finally, his two hands gestured towards the cat woman next to him. "The other is a transference of servant Cattleya."
The woman's green eyes widened and flashed with disbelief. "You can't be serious, Master Hemrich!"
"I can. Your debt to me has already been paid." He stood up with intent and towered over her, leaning on his cane. "Don't you remember what you told me? You wanted to escape. You wanted freedom. You wanted the grass outside of these walls, was it not so?"
Cattleya shrunk, her tail curling between her legs, and her ears lying flat against her head, her voice becoming small. "That was a long time ago..."
"I know that your heart hasn't changed. I will not be swayed in my conviction..."
"Wait," Emily said, "why would I be receiving..."
"Please," Count Hemrich said, looking at Emily with desperation. "Consider it as you two heading in the same direction, or let her accompany you all the way. I don't mind, but either way, she must go with you."
Emily blinked several times. Of all things, she never expected that he'd force a servant on her without letting her protest. She had several questions and wondered why he'd quickly throw away someone he trusted, but his gaze told her everything she needed to know. I guess their history is more complicated.
The kitsune sighed and slumped back down in her seat. "Fine, I am willing to at least let her accompany me to the human city. She could serve as my guide, and if she doesn't like it, I will allow her to come back here. Is that sufficient?"
"That's perfect!"
Cattleya took a deep breath. "If it's an order from the Count, I am unable to refuse."
"You may call it whatever you like, but in the end, you're no longer bound by our contract. I will see to it thus."
Before the cat woman could complain any further, the front door of the manor opened. Madame Middleton entered along with her daughter Daisy.
The little girl's eyes flashed with recognition of the kitsune and she sprinted across the living room, leaping into Emily's lap and hugging her.
"I am so glad you're okay!" Daisy shouted, burying her face into Emily's bossom.