The room was quaint and comfortable with a thick, almost too firm bed that he got used to quickly along with a desk and dresser. Since Trevor was only going to be here for a night, he didn’t bother unpacking. Traveling must have been much more tiring than he thought, because he was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Waking up came easily for him. There was no magical alarm clock, but Trevor opened the blinds on the window to see that it was nearly light out. It was about the time he normally woke, and he realized that Mr. Tiggles had trained him well.

Getting dressed, he went downstairs to see that Beth was already up despite the early hour. She directed him to one of two restrooms where there were baths already drawn. The other one was already occupied, so he took the one that wasn’t. Between the clean water and the Heating Stones, it was a wonderful experience. Trevor had often taken showers because that was what he was used to, but a bath was nice, too.

Instead of sullying the inn’s towels drying himself off, he pulled the water into his inventory once he stepped out. Trevor frowned as he realized he only had a little bit of room to do so, but went about the slow task of drying off via taking in water and dripping it out over the tub. It took longer than he wanted to, but the job was soon done and he was clean as a whistle.

Putting on clean clothes, Trevor walked towards the exit to hear the tub start to drain on its own. He glanced back, knowing that it didn’t have a drain, and watched as the water receded into nothing before refilling again with clean water. “Handy,” he said with an approving nod. He hoped that it was sanitary, but trusted that it was.

As he stepped out, he saw that the room was empty except for Adabelle. She was sitting at one of the tables with a mug in her hands. It looked like she had just come from the bath with her long, thick hair up in a towel, and he confirmed the other room was now unoccupied. Her face lit up as she saw him, and gestured him over.

“Good morning,” she said as he sat down across from her.

“Good morning,” he yawned. “You seem very awake, lady, what’s your secret?”

“Trevor, are you teasing me?” she asked.

“Could be,” he admitted. “I am very relaxed after that bath. Who knows what I could say or do.”

Adabelle allowed a light laugh. “When I’m out and about away from home, I need to wake up quickly. I know it’s a weakness of mine, so I’ve taken steps to fix it.”

“So you sleepwalking through breakfast is a conscious decision for you?” Trevor asked.

“It’s not hurting anyone,” she shrugged. “Besides, it’s better to wake up naturally.”

“What, do you have some kind of shock stone or something?”

“Might as well be,” she answered with a small smile.

“Wait, really?” Trevor asked, bemused. “I was just kidding about that.”

Adabelle laughed. “It's not, don't worry. It's a type of magical apple called a Wake-Up Fruit.”

“Because you always eat an apple in the morning?”

“That's right. It's a cheap imitation of a Full Night’s Rest, but it's enough to get me started. So, I set one aside in my room so I eat it first thing,” she explained. “Besides, it’s better than Rashie screaming her true name in the morning by a large margin.”

Trevor’s eyes flicked to the horned woman’s long, animal-like ears and gave her a shaky nod. “I suppose I can see where that’s harder on you than it is me,” he admitted.

“Coffee, water, or cocoa?” Beth asked the young man as she walked over to the table.

“Oh, cocoa definitely.”

“Coming right up.”

“I get the same,” Adabelle said as Beth returned to the kitchen. “Don’t care for bitterness so early in the morning.”

“I hear that,” he said with a smile. “My life would probably be a lot easier if I liked coffee, but I don't, so… that's the end of that sentence.”

Adabelle smiled and closed her eyes as she took another sip from her mug before sighing appreciatively. Trevor found himself smiling at how serene she looked.

“This is why we're always happy to see Lady Adabelle traveling with someone,” Beth said as she walked from the kitchen to set a mug of cocoa in front of Trevor. “The first time she came, she did so alone and we didn't know what to think.”

“Beth, I would appreciate it if you didn't go spreading tall tales,” Adabelle mumbled without opening her eyes.

“No, please feel free to spread them,” Trevor said quickly.

“What say you, my lady?” Beth asked cheekily.

It took Adabelle a few moments to respond, but she ended up waving her hand. The halfling woman pulled out a chair to sit.

“It was about four years ago,” she began, leaning into the table as if spreading the juiciest of gossip. “We had been in business for two, at the time, and things started getting dangerous enough for us to construct our walls.”

“They weren't before that?” Trevor asked, leaning in to match her pose as he happily sipped his hot cocoa.

“There were dungeons around and we had guards on the road at the time, but we didn't have too many problems until a dungeon full of fire elementals spawned less than a mile away.”Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Oh, no. There's a lot of trees around here.”

“There are, but there used to be a lot more,” Beth said with a nod. “We sent a message to both Eskretet and Tosa for adventurers, promising a hefty reward. The elementals were circling their dungeon home, turning the whole place into an ashen wasteland, and it was only a matter of time before they came for us.”

“And Lady Adabelle was the first one to arrive?”

“The only one to arrive,” Beth corrected. “We received a letter from Eskretet that the only person they had who could handle this kind of threat was on another quest. But, just as we were about to close up for the night, here comes Lady Adabelle herself.”

“And then I saved the day,” the horned woman claimed.

“But before then, Reed and I pampered her,” Beth said with a laugh. “She didn't know what to do with herself. Despite having ridden all day, she was ready to go and take them on.”

“That tracks with just about everything I know about her,” Trevor stated, smiling.

“Right? She's a fine young woman,” the halfling agreed. “We put her up for the night after feeding her. Imagine our surprise with what we got in the morning.”

“That must have been a shock,” Trevor chuckled.

“Oh, a big one!”

“The letter said it was an emergency,” Adabelle complained. “I didn't grab much before coming out to help. I forgot to grab my apples.”

“I made her some breakfast and a cup of coffee, though she only ate the food and sat around until she started really waking up.”

“In my defense, I left Tosa in a hurry,” Adabelle whined.

“Yes, dear, you did say that,” Beth said soothingly as she patted the other woman on the arm. “We may have been a little too dramatic in our letter, perhaps. Eventually, though, she was able to take off and complete our quest. Imagine our surprise when she returned not even an hour later.”

“Her work ethic is quite different from her slothful mornings, isn't it?”

“Trevor, not you, too,” Adabelle grumbled.

“It's fine, it's just us three so you don't have to worry about playing noble,” Beth cooed. “Why don't you tell Trevor how you fixed the problem.”

The young man sat up straighter as Adabelle slowly opened her eyes. Hers locked with his and gave him a wide grin. “I dropped a lake on their dungeon.”

Trevor paused, thinking about natural disasters. “Flood?”

“Earthquake,” she replied. “Sank the dungeon, then I made a few trenches to bring in water from a nearby lake.”

“Dang, that's hardcore.”

“It was. Watched that new lake boil for three days before it finally stopped,” Adabelle bragged tiredly. “Spent an extra day waiting to make sure things were stopped for good even after the Quest Master finished the quest just to make sure.”

“You are awesome,” Trevor said. Adabelle’s grin turned into a smaller, more genuine smile.

“Lady Adabelle is always very diligent, and that's why we always try to take care of her when we can,” Beth proudly said, and Trevor noticed her looking back and forth between them. “We can overlook some excessive fatigue in the morning.”

“For sure. She's always been great for Tosa, from what I hear,” Trevor agreed. “We're actually on our way to Eskretet to announce that Jackson is stepping down as mayor. Lady Adabelle is taking over.”

Beth gasped. “That’s huge news! Why didn’t you lead with that, Lady Adabelle?”

Adabelle opened her mouth to respond when the smell of breakfast wafted from the kitchen. She and Trevor both looked that way to see Rupert, the youngest son of Reed and Beth, approaching with sizzling skillets on wood blocks. He placed one in front of each before scurrying back into the kitchen, having said nothing.

On the skillets were biscuits and sausage with eggs on top surrounded by crumbs of bacon and onions. Trevor’s mouth had started watering when he first smelled it, but now he couldn’t help himself. He dove in.

“Rupert’s been training up in the kitchen,” Beth said. “He’s not as good as his ole ma just yet, but he will be.”

“It’s delicious,” Trevor said between mouthfuls of food. It wasn’t as great as hers, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good.

Adabelle picked at her food delicately, like a true noble, before Beth turned to face her again. “And how come you didn’t lead with being the new mayor, Lady Adabelle?”

The horned woman glanced at the halfling, then at Trevor, before sighing. “I guess I’m still processing,” she admitted. “I gave Mayor Jackson a hard time, but I guess I’m just feeling…”

When Adabelle trailed off, Beth finished her sentence. “Like they’re big shoes to fill?”

“Exactly. Here’s a guy who’s been around for centuries, and he literally built Tosa up from scratch,” Adabelle said. “This is his town. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“Why do you have to compete?” Trevor asked, putting down his knife and fork. “I don’t think you do. Just be Adabelle, and you’ll do just fine.”

“That’s easy to say, but it’s completely different in practice.”

“No, it’s not,” Trevor insisted. “The only thing you’re losing is your safety net, and you have everyone in town to help you with that. Plus, it’s barely losing a safety net, because you’ve done just fine whenever Jackson disappears. Okay, maybe not just fine in regards to your mental health, but you’ll be able to delegate tasks to the people who can help you.”

Adabelle went quiet at his words, and Trevor continued. “If you really need it, then I’ll help you,” he said, reaching his hand across the table. “You’re going to do an amazing job. Will it be the same as Jackson? No. Is that a bad thing? Also no. You have a passion for your community that I’ve rarely seen outside of, like, television or movies. You’re going to do a wonderful job, butterflies in your stomach or not. So long as you don’t put Rashie in charge of a swim class or something. Wonderful job.”

The woman laughed, then nodded. Adabelle reached out and took his hand, smiling softly. “You’re right, Trevor,” she said. “I’m just letting everything get to me, and I shouldn’t. I faced a world shattering adventure before I came here, why should this bother me?”

“It’s okay that it does, though. It’s okay to feel those feelings,” Trevor replied. “That just shows how much you care. While you could bottle it all up, that doesn’t mean you should. You can express yourself, both the good and the bad, and your friends will be there.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“You’re welcome, lady,” he replied, smiling. Their touch lingered.

“Your breakfast is going to get cold,” Beth said with a little cough. The two let go of each other and immediately started eating again.

“Tell Rupert he’s doing a fine job for me, Beth,” Adabelle said.

“I will, Lady Adabelle. Thank you,” the halfling woman said, stifling a laugh. “I’ll go make sure Dill will have your wagon hitched before you’re done.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Beth,” Trevor said.

She stopped and elbowed him on the side. “I’m rooting for you, Trevor,” the halfling whispered before walking to the back. The young man could have sworn he saw Adabelle's ears twitch, and he realized he wasn't sure how good her hearing actually was.

The duo both heard the woman laughing from the kitchen, and finished their meals in companionable silence.