A Changing World P1:SN

The Hideaway Tavern  

Entry: 005

Act One 
Chapter 2: A Changed World
Side Note Chapter

February 15th 510 A.E.W. 

Two weeks had passed since Mareiya left the safety of Axtin, and she arrived at a village known as Naver. She had never been here before. It was small, nestled between rolling hills and a winding river, a place where life moved slowly and strangers were met with curious smiles. It reminded her of home.

She had only intended to stop for a day, restock her supplies, and move on—but then she met Topher.

He was an Aquariusian, broad-shouldered with deep blue skin and silver hair that shimmered under the afternoon sun. His voice was smooth, his laugh easy, and when he spoke to her, his bright blue eyes never wandered in judgment, never flickered with hesitation. Mareiya was used to cautious glances when she flirted, but Topher seemed genuinely intrigued by her.

They spent the afternoon strolling through the village, exchanging playful remarks and stolen glances. When he asked her to dinner, she hesitated, feeling a familiar nervous flutter in her stomach—but she agreed.

Dinner was warm, filled with easy conversation and lingering looks. By the time they left the tavern, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting the village in a soft glow of lantern light. They walked side by side, close enough that their hands brushed against each other. The tension between them thickened, shifting from innocent to something heavier, something charged.

Topher invited her back to his home, and Mareiya, her heart racing, accepted.

Inside, the air was warmer, intimate. They shared another drink, but neither of them were paying attention to the taste. Their words slowed, replaced by touches, by the heat of breath against skin. It wasn’t long before Topher guided her toward his bed.

Mareiya wanted this. It had been a long time since she felt the weight of another person against her, the thrill of closeness. But just as her hands roamed over his form, as she tilted her head to kiss him deeper, he pulled back slightly.

“I just want your mouth tonight,” he murmured, his tone husky but firm.

Mareiya blinked. She swallowed the initial sting of disappointment, masking it with a small smile. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. She wanted to be wanted, to be touched, but she also craved intimacy beyond just being a means to an end.

Still, she nodded.

She enjoyed giving pleasure, enjoyed the power of it, the way a man trembled under her touch. She didn’t mind the act itself—if anything, there was something about it she found thrilling. The taste, the feeling, the way she could draw pleasure from another person so easily.

But tonight felt different.

It wasn’t until the very end, when Topher pulled away from her, finishing on her face and chest instead, that the weight of the moment fully sank in.

She sat there, still breathing heavily, feeling the warmth cool against her skin, her body half-covered in something that suddenly felt humiliating. She expected—hoped—he would pull her close after, that maybe he would reach for her, kiss her, touch her in return.

Instead, he sighed, stretched, and gave her a lazy smile.

“That was great,” he said. Then, after a pause, he added, “I think I’m gonna turn in for the night.”

Mareiya sat still for a moment, waiting—hoping—for him to say something else. A joke, a kind word, anything to soften the sharp edge of dismissal. But nothing came. Just silence and the weight of expectation that she would leave.

Slowly, she nodded.

She wiped her face with her yellow cape, barely taking the time to clean herself up before gathering her things. Topher wasn’t cruel about it—he was polite, even—but there was no mistaking what had just happened.

She had been used, and now, she was being dismissed.

Stepping outside, the night air wrapped around her like cold hands, clinging to her damp skin, sending a shiver up her spine. She exhaled sharply, her breath visible in the crisp air. The streets were empty, quiet. She could have found an inn, but the thought of lingering in this village any longer made her chest tighten.

Instead, she walked beyond the village limits, into the forest where she would make camp. She sat beneath a large tree, wrapping her arms around her knees, staring at the dark sky above.

Mareiya had never been in love before. She wondered, briefly, if she ever would be. If someone would ever look at her, not just for what she could offer in a fleeting moment, but for who she was entirely.

She wiped at her cheek again, though there was nothing left to clean.

She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath.

Tomorrow, she would move on, and continue her journey to Vapotentia, and next year would be better.

"Happy Birthday, Mareiya" she whispered to herself as she drifted off to sleep.