You see, anyone who approaches Antei from the south will, whenever they look to the left, see the large pink eyesore that is Scarleticia Castle. Granted, the castle was an architectural marvel(it being a marvel that an architect had actually been willing to design something like this), but not only was it big, ugly, and pink, it was on top of a rather large hill.

Cleo had the misfortune of approaching Antei from the south. Like all people who did such, she did at some point look left. She made a mental note to punch Milich in the nose the next time she saw him.

And what made it even more sick was that there was probably a legitimate reason for the stinking castle to be on top of the only hill in any direction for miles. True, a castle on top of a hill was a romantic ideal, but a castle on top of the only hill within any reasonable distance was a tactician's dream.

But thinking about it wouldn't make it go away. Thinking about the bloody eyesore would only reinforce its presence. Of course, not thinking about it wouldn't make it go away, either. It'd still be there, tugging at the corner of the eye like an overlarge scab screaming "Pick me! Pick me!"

It was the stuff nightmares were made of.

But luckily for Cleo, Antei was fast approaching, ready and willing to hide the view of the bad, bad castle. Cleo smiled happily. That was why she'd always liked Antei. She was glad she could finally put a finger on that.

Cleo rode into town and quickly stabled her horse with one of the most disreputable-looking men she'd ever seen. Despite the large number of other horses there, Cleo still got a nagging, annoying feeling about that. She made sure to overstress the fact that yes, her horse was technically property of the Toran government, and just how much hell there'd be to pay if anything happened.

Satisfied that everything was set up the way it was supposed to be, Cleo walked further into Antei, trying to remember where exactly a decent inn was.

There was an odd smell to the air. Cleo paused and sniffed tentatively, trying to identify the smell. It seemed vaguely... floral? Odd...

Cleo blinked slightly when she realized that there were a lot of flowers around. Pretty much everything that wasn't private property had a flower growing out of it. And they seemed to be scattered about without much in the way of either rhyme or reason, almost as if it were a whole tribute to randomness. It was all just... odd.

It was then that Cleo saw the woman wandering amongst the flowers, looking for all the world like a ghost with a watering can. She was wearing a floor-length, billowing, pristine white dress with the most ridiculously flowing sleeves easily imaginable. She had a white apron covering the front of the dress, probably to keep dirt off of it, but there wasn't any dirt on the apron, either. She was wearing gloves, but they quite obviously, even at the distance Cleo was at, were not meant for garden usage. She was holding a basket full of... something in one hand, and a watering can in the other.

She was walking amongst the flowers, watering them, pausing here and there to do this or that, and every once in a while, pushing back her long, wavy, pale purple ponytail.

It was definitely odd, but Cleo just shrugged and passed the woman off as some local oddity.

Cleo wandered over to the inn in the hopes of getting some place decent to spend the night. 'Hopes' being the operative word in that last sentence.

"What do you mean, there's no room in the inn?" she demanded for at least the sixth time.

The innkeeper rolled his eyes. "What does it sound like it means? There's. No. Room. In. The. Inn. Go away. Asking again won't make there be room here. So stop asking!"

"Fine," Cleo muttered, walking away in the direction of the inn's bar. "I'll go see if I can't try passing out in a corner. There's enough room for that, isn't there? Besides, I've never done it before, so I might as well now..." She wasn't really serious, but it sounded good.

There were other inns in Antei. Maybe less affordable inns, or inns of poorer quality, but this pleasant, cost-efficient inn was not the only one in Antei.

Still, she might as well stop for a quick drink.

She sat down directly at the bar and within moments had a mimosa sitting in front of her, merrily bubbling away.

After ten or twenty minutes, Cleo was almost finished her drink and was contemplating ordering a second when she heard an impossibly deep, but distinctly female voice coming from behind her.

"Has it arrived, sir?"

Those four words, directed at the bartender not far away, sent chills down Cleo's spine. Not because of any ominous qualities to the words or voice, but because that single, submissively-toned question was said in a voice that, at louder volumes, could vibrate glass. And the accent was odd. It sounded almost like an Antei accent, but there was something different about it...

Idly, Cleo looked over her shoulder at the source of the voice.

And there she was again. The woman from before. She looked a lot different up close, though she'd obviously changed. Her hair was still a mass of soft waves and ringlets, though it was down now. Her dress... it was hard to tell, but it seemed fairly different. Looked like silk now, and was fairly low-cut. It fit, though, her being the slender yet inexplicably curvy type. Despite the fact that you could hardly tell were the dress ended and her skin began with that frost-white colouring, she wore white well.

Cleo's eyes met the woman's, bluish-grey to brilliant royal purple. She nodded slightly at Cleo as the bartender said, "Of course it's here. Has it been late once?"

"Of course not," she replied pleasantly. "So I shall retrieve my money if you obtain my wine, thank you."

The bartender nodded and scurried off. The woman looked thoughtfully at Cleo for a moment before extending her hand and saying, "I saw you earlier. I didn't think I'd find you here, but who's to say what comes, you know? At any rate, it's a pleasure to see you again and to hopefully make your acquaintance, Miss...?"

Cleo took the offered hand and shook it pleasantly, still taken a bit aback by the woman's voice. She ought to have some wispy soprano with her looks, not... that. "Cleo Brandis. Nice meet you, though I don't think I caught your name...?"

"It would have been very hard to, as I did not say it. I am Lady Amaranth Veritas."

The bartender returned holding a bottle. Amaranth calmly placed a changepurse on the bar and took the bottle. While the bartender counted out the money in the purse, Amaranth eyed Cleo slightly. "Might I be so bold as to inquire why a lady such as yourself is spending her time sitting at a bar?"

Cleo shrugged, not really liking talking like this to a complete stranger, but not seeing that it would hurt anything, and said, "Well... I was going to stay the night here, but it seems this place is full. So I was just stopping for a drink before looking for another place."

Amaranth nodded. "I see..." she said, taking back her changepurse and putting it in a pocket. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, looking Cleo up and down. "Perhaps... it is not proper that I make this suggestion, as we have just met, but it would do me great honour if you were to spend the night at my home. I've never had a war heroine over for the night before." She smirked abstractedly then, as if thinking of something else. "And I think perhaps such would be a great deal easier on your pocketbook, no?"

Cleo blinked, surprised. She hesitated, thinking, evaluating this Amaranth. She was... odd, to be sure, and had a definite... antique bearing to her, but something told Cleo she was trustworthy. Besides, even if she wasn't, Cleo was probably more than capable of handling any problems that should arise with this woman. Besides, she had promised to herself to do something completely without thought, hadn't she? "All right," Cleo said. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Thank you, Amaranth."

Amaranth inclined her head just so. "Then I shall wait for you to finish your drink."

As they walked through the streets of Antei, Amaranth looked slyly at Cleo and said, "Might I ask your business in Jowston?"

Cleo stopped dead. "What?" she half-spluttered. "How did you know I was going to Jowston? It isn't quite public knowledge, after all."

Stopping as well, Amaranth smiled serenely. "Because you arrived in Antei from the south, and are spending the night here. Thus, it is likely you are going in a northerly direction. North of Antei, there is but the realm of the Dragon Knights, which is closed to anyone not on official business now that the war is over. Since you have no official capacity in the Toran government, it is unlikely that such is your destination. Next, there is Moravia castle. You could have official business there, but again, you are not an active member of the government. You could be delivering a message there, but because of the closeness of communication between Moravia and Gregminster, it would be an urgent message. If that were such, you would not be stopping for the night in Antei, if you were traveling overland at all. Thus, you are on a vacation of sorts, traveling of your own free will to your own ends. As no one in their right mind ever willingly visits Moravia, that is not your destination. The only thing past Moravia is the Jowston border. Thus, you are going to Jowston, if not on a pleasure trip, then for personal reasons. Am I correct?"

Cleo's jaw dropped.

"Not as innocuous as I seem, am I, dear?"

Shaking her head to clear it out and starting walking again, Cleo said, "Don't call me 'dear'... I think I'm probably older than you are."

Amaranth remained stationary for a moment or two. "That would surprise me very much, dear..." she murmured. She sighed, and started walking again, having to show Cleo where to go, anyway.

Once inside her house, Amaranth calmly led Cleo to a guest room. "You can spend the night here... And..." She paused and stared off into space for a time, seemingly thinking.

Cleo cocked her head curiously. "And what?"

Calmly biting her lip, Amaranth looked Cleo up and down. Finally, she said, "And I think that I shall be going with you."

"What?" Cleo was genuinely surprised. "Um... It's a nice suggestion, and all, but I don't even know you. So forgive me if I'm a little..."

"Of course. And I'd think the less of you if you didn't have any reservations." Amaranth looked extraordinarily unconcerned. It'd be hard to look any more unconcerned than the way she looked. "However, I did not ask you if I could go. I am going. Whatever you say or do can have no bearing on the fact that I shall accompany you on your trip to Jowston. I was merely informing you in advance."

Cleo looked at Amaranth with supreme frustration. "I... aaaaahh... fine, whatever. Do whatever you want."

Amaranth smiled pleasantly. "Wonderful, then. Providing that you do not wake up at a reasonable hour, I shall wake you up. Is noonish suitable, or is that too early?"

Cleo's eyes lit up as she felt her reservations starting to disappear. "Noonish? No, noonish is wonderful..."

"Until then, then." Amaranth calmly turned around and with a ghostly, inhuman grace, walked away down the hall.

The rest of Cleo's worries were dismissed the next morning(or afternoon, as it were), when Amaranth(hair already 'done', all elaborately piled on top of her head) woke her up and wordlessly presented her with coffee and toast with lemon marmalade.

As they both prepared to leave, Cleo asked, "Amaranth... why did you up and decide to follow along with me, anyway? I mean..."

Amaranth looked down at her gloved right hand. With her left hand, she traced some pattern on her right palm. "Because..." she said slowly. "There is something... that I must do... in the North... And I was waiting... for some sign that it was time for me... to do it. Your presence... and your destination... served as my sign. And then... I don't want to have to go alone... At least, not all the way..."