âA young lady who burst in here not a quarter bell ago? Aye, Iâve seen her.â Momodi Modi crossed her arms. âTried to hide her tears when gettinâ her key, she did. You wouldnât have had something to do with that, would you?â
âC-certainly not!â Alka Zolka stammered. âWe had agreed to meet on the steps for Little Ladiesâ Day, and I am to be her seneschal. I had only just caught sight of her on the Avenue when she ran off!â
Momodi eyed Alka up and down, then squarely met his wide, earnest eyes. âYou seem an all right sort,â she said. âHonest enough. Iâve been in this business long enough to have a pretty keen sense for these things, if youâll excuse me sayinâ.
âBut just so I ainât callinâ on some other distressed young lady today, Iâm goinâ to need her name.â
âSetoto,â Alka said, relieved. âHer name is Setoto, and oh, thank you, miss. Tell her itâs Alka Zolka asking after her.â
âDonât go thankinâ me yet,â Momodi cautioned. âIf she decides she ainât of a mind to see you, I wonât be pushinâ the subjectâand neither should you.â
Alka nodded so vigorously he had to push his slipping glasses back up the bridge of his nose. âYes, yes of course. Thank you, maâam.â
âI said donât thank me yet,â Momodi said wryly. She waved a hand toward the center of the Quicksand. âTake a seat, then. Iâll have one of mine call on her.â
As the Adventurerâs Guildâs branch in Ulâdah, Alka Zolka did not expect the place was ever what could be considered quiet, but with the Little Ladiesâ celebrations in full swing, most of the seating was already taken by adventurers. He gratefully took a small table off to one side when a server pointed it out to him, assuring him that no one had come to claim the seat yet.
The sandy and earthy tones of the Quicksandâs decor were awash in the bright pink of potted cherry blossoms and paper blooms, and the reds of decorative parasols and runners laid across each table. Alka twisted his hands in his lap anxiously. The noiseâand trading his armor and axe for the loose, breezy fashions of Ulâdahâdid not help calm his nerves any. Just to take his mind off things, he started counting the petals on the floor that had drifted in from the main avenue, and tried not to glance in the direction of the bar too much.
It was during one of these glances that he at last caught sight of Momodi gesturing him over. He hurriedly stood.Â
âShe ainât ready to come downstairs,â Momodi told him when he reached the bar.
Alkaâs expression fell. Momodi wagged a finger at him. âNow, donât go mopinâ about just yet. She said you can go up and speak with her. Room twenty-two, on your left.
âAnd while I donât know what happened, you set things right, you hear? I donât want to see any young ladiesâ cryinâ their eyes out on a day meant to be all about their happiness.â
Alka, one foot already on the stairwell, looked over his shoulder. âBringing her happiness is precisely my intention,â he said, resolute.
Momodi nodded approvingly.
Setotoâs room was near the end of the hall, and Alka wondered if she had intentionally asked for such a secluded lodgingâat least as much seclusion could be found in such a well-frequented establishment. He knocked softly under the â22â that had been engraved into the wood of the door.
âSetoto?âÂ
There was a pause, and then Alka heard a shuffling and a quiet sniffling from behind the door. His heart sank.
âSetoto, whatâs wrong?â
âIâŠIâŠ.âÂ
Another fitful lapse into silence, punctuated by another sniffle.
Alka swallowed. âIfâŠif it isnât your wish to have me accompany you as your seneschal, my lady, just say the word. Your comfort and happiness is paramount to me, on this day and any other.â
To his dismay, that only prompted a loud sob. âOh Alk- k- ka, itâs just like you to assume youâre the one at fault. I-itâs not you. Itâs me!â
âHow can it be you?â he asked, bewildered. He wished he could open the door and sweep her into a hug. âI donât understand.â
âI-I donât want you to see.â
Alka leaned his face against the wood and closed his eyes, ignoring the way it dug his spectacles into the bridge of his nose. âSetotoâŠyou know that I have ever found you beautiful beyond compare. Even if you were to suddenly turn into a tonberry again on the morrow, it would change naught of how I see you.â
He waited. Suddenly the door was yanked open and he stumbled forward, nearly falling on his face.
âIâm sorry, Alka,â Setoto hiccuped, letting go of the door handle to steady him. âI didnât know you were that c-close to the door.â
Her cheeks were flush and damp with tears. Before Alka could reassure her that the apology was unneeded, Setoto abruptly pulled up the sleeve of her riviera dress and thrust out her arm toward him, her face screwed up in distress. The exposed skin was riddled with painful looking weals, each swollen and red.
âI d-donât know whatâs happening,â she cried. âThey just started appearing, a-and Iâm not sure if Iâm doing something wrong with my codex or my incantations or if it just isnât responding to healing magick.â
She yanked her sleeve back down before he could take a closer look. âWhat if itâs the plague coming back?â Her gold-colored eyes were brimming with panic and more unshed tears. âI think it started this way, too. The welts, and then the ghastly greenish color, and then the painful shriveling of the limbs, andâand didnât Surito say there was a chance it could come back? What ifââ
âSetoto.â Alka grasped her hand, careful not to jostle her afflicted arm. âWe donât know that yet.â
A door opening further down the hall alerted them both. With Setotoâs hasty nod, Alka fully stepped in the room and quietly shut the door.Â
âYou are but recently come to Ulâdah,â he told her gently. âThere may be all manner of common sores and illnesses that youâve never been exposed to, making you more susceptible to them.â He reached into the pocket of his sarouel and handed her a handkerchief.Â
âI apologize,â he hung his head, âI should have thought of that before inviting you to a city packed to the bloody brim for a festivalâŠâ
Setoto gratefully took the handkerchief and dabbed her eyes before noisily blowing her nose into it. âDonât blame yourself, Alka,â she said thickly, âI wouldâve come anyway.
âIâŠI really do want you to be my seneschal for the day. Just notâŠâ Setoto gestured hopelessly to her arm with her hand that clutched the kerchief, still holding his hand tight with her other. âAnd what if, in publicâŠ.â
Alka mustered his most reassuring smile. âLet us call upon a chirurgeon. I am sure we can arrange to have someone sent up to the roomsâUlâdah plays host to the Alchemistsâ Guild, after all.â
âButâŠâ
âIf they cannot diagnose it,â said Alka, squeezing her hand, âwe will call upon Surito. He will set things right.â
Setotoâs shoulders relaxed, but her eyes were still fearful. âWhat if itâs just a temporary fix?â
âThen we seek a longer term stratagem, my lady.â Alka gingerly lifted his hand to her cheek, and when she leaned against the touch he thumbed away the fresh tears there.
âLet us take it day by day,â he said. âAnd today, I have a princess that will want for escorting after she is given the very best care the realm has to offerâŠif she is still amenable.â
Setoto let out a small, glad sob. âI would like that. Thank you, Alka.â