It turns out that our cherub like inn keeper was still serving breakfast- barely. And she made sure to let me know with glares and snarky remarks that she was pretty displeased that she had to feed us with only moments to spare. It made for pretty good morning entertainment.

  She also did not bat an eye when Pride and I returned with a slave, only to tell us that she had no more rooms. I am quite sure she was lying, but I didn't feel like arguing with her right then. She did raise an eyebrow when I insisted that Edric sit with us, and also eat with us. Even Edric looked a little lost and surprised.

  I guess slaves were not supposed to eat with their masters? Oh well. If I didn't mind a dog eating at the table with me, I sure as hell wasn't going to put up a stink with this poor, emaciated, fellow having a damn meal like the human being he was. Especially since I was eighty-eight percent sure that he was no debt or criminal slave.

  The meal was pretty silent. I ate normally and Edric looked like he wanted to do anything but, despite the fact that I could hear his stomach. Eventually, when no one bothered us about a slave eating with us- except Shera-the-Bar-Queen glaring at us- he eventually started in on his runny eggs and the mystery meat sausage rolls.

  He ate slow and he didn't eat much. But I wasn't surprised. No doubt his stomach had shrunk, and I would rather he eat a few small meals in the day than stuff himself just to throw it all up later. Once he was done, I lead us all back to my room, so that we could speak freely finally.

  I instructed Edric to sit on the chair while I sat cross legged on the bed. Pride decided to sit between us.

  "So, Edric, welcome to our merry band." I said on the back end of a sigh. I wouldn't say I was bad at social interactions, but I was a little awkward at the moment, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that the half dead man that sat across from me was far more than he seemed.

  He opened his mouth briefly, like he was going to say something, but then thought better of it, snapping his mouth shut again. He did look a mixture of afraid, confused, and more than a little frustrated.

  "Look..." I sighed, deciding to nip this awkwardness in the bud as best as I could, right away. "I have never had a slave before. I can't say I ever, even once, imagined it. And, if the need was not great I probably wouldn't have one still. So, yes, I am in charge, but I would very much rather it be that we acted more like friends- heck, business associates if you like- more than slave and master." I said, watching 'confusion' become the most dominant emotion written on the man's pale face. "I'm gonna call you Edric, you can call me Nyx. And this here is Pride. He may look like a dog, but he is a demon, and just as much a person as you or I. Please treat him as such."

  I took a deep breath before continuing. "Now, I know for a fact that you have plenty of questions. I don't know if I can answer them all, but I will at least hear them."

  Edric seemed to be fighting some kind of internal struggle. I had never been a slave before, though I had accused a few people of treating me like one. Still, there was no way I could know the true scope of the pain and degradation he had been through, nor how long he had had to suffer it.

  But I had been through my share of shitty circumstances and trials. I knew that he would need some time to be alright, if he ever was. But I could give him whatever time he needed to get his head on straight at least.

  Eventually, finding his words, Edric spoke. "How do you know my name...?" He asked. His voice was rough and under used, almost croaking. I was sure that it was not how he would normally sound... but I did have a bit of experience with not speaking for a long run of time.

  I had be expecting the question, of course. After all, I knew full well that he had not given it to me. "I have an appraisal skill." I said, and watched the man's face go even paler, his eyes wide and locked on the tattered rug on the floor. "I won't ask why a prince is as slave, that is your business. I'll listen though, as I am pretty curious. But I won't make you tell me."

  The news was new to Pride but he did not act like it was. Or, maybe he really couldn't care less that we had come across a literal prince in the depths of a slave camp. I know I was pretty surprised. I also knew that there was no way that creepy slave master had any idea what it was he had. I can only imagen the ransom he could have gotten for a prince.

  "Are you planning on selling me again then...?" Asked Edric, fists clenched.

  "No." I stated, fiddling with the end of my tail. It was still weird having one. "I told you what I need you for. To read and to write. And to teach me to do the same if you can. I also would like to have a better grasp on a lot of things." I had no reason not to tell this man anything. He was a slave, and our contract meant that he could not betray me. The slave seal would not let him, locking his voice, or even paralyzing him with pain if it came down to it. "I am not from this world, and I have no idea how to read or write any of the languages from here."

  At my statement, the princes head snapped up. His vibrant blue eyes were still wide, but there was shock and curiosity in them now, more than fear or resignation. "A summon...?" He asked.

  I raised an eyebrow. Apparently the summoning that the Stellarian did was not as secretive as I had thought it would be if a slave knew about it already. I nodded.

  "But... You're a demon... I think..."

  "You think?" I asked, wings twitching. What else would I be?

  At that Pride actually chuckled. "He is more knowledgeable about demon kind than the average human if he can tell that about you so swiftly."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a little out of the loop.

  "You are not part of the traditional demonic species, after all. The closest race would be the succubae, going by your current characteristics. Though they have horns."

  Without thinking, I reached up and felt the top of my head, just to be sure. Yup, no horns. Good, the tail and wings were a big enough pain! The number of times I nearly slammed or sat on the tail already was annoying enough. And there were times that I had to force my wings not to stretch out, nocking into people and things.

  I sighed. "I came here as a human from Earth, summoned with a large number of other people by a group of people introduced as the Stella Empire."

  Edric grew thoughtful, but he suddenly also looked more relaxed. Clearly this information was too interesting for his fear and trepidation to override it. "They summoned a large group? Odd. It's true that the summoned come here with great powers, but that power is greatly reduced the more people are summoned... And the summoning alone is forbidden. Not to mention, thought to be a lost art."

  "Well, they are the epidemy of a bag of dicks in any case." I said with a shrug, enjoying the looks on both Edric and Pride's faces at the phrase 'bag of dicks'. "I got 'separated' from the group, fell down a hole, took some strange advise from a dog, ate a dead guy and some bugs, then wound up here. Now I have an incredibly flimsy mission to find Pride's buddies he hasn't seen since the downfall of the world or some such."

  "Wh-what?"

  Yeah, that was pretty well how I felt about that whole thing too.

  "But, now that you are here, I can add another goal to the list of things to do: Get you back to the Vespertine kingdom. Unless you have a solid reason why we should not do that?"

  The was a long pause where Pride examined his nails and Edric just stared at me, pale faced and wide eyed. "You... want to bring me home?"" He asked at last.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "I mean- yeah. Why not? I plan on putting you to work the whole way, so don't go thinking I am being kind or anything. Besides, it doesn't hurt to have you and your royal family owe me a debt. And its not like Pride and I had any set direction to head, other than 'away from Stella', so Vespertine is as good a direction as any. It is far away from Stella, isn't it?" I asked, suddenly reminded that I had no clue of the geography of this world and there fore could very well be setting up to go straight through the Stella Empire in the end.

  "We are in the northern region of the Waring States right now." Said Edric. He looked drained but also cautiously optimistic. At least, as optimistic as a moody pale dude could look after who knew how long as a slave. "The Stellarian Empire is to the east of us, and Vespertine is to the west. It's the largest nation besides the empire."

  "See! Look at that, you are useful already." I said happily, glad that at least one of us in this room knew where we were.

  "Good thing we didn't eat his eyeballs." Stated Pride, still looking unconcerned.

  I snorted. I never thought I would have a dog- or a best friend!- but maybe it was nice to have both in one?

  After that, Edric slipped back into quiet contemplation, while Pride and I talked about what to do next. He agreed that heading for Vespertine was probably for the best, as it was in the opposite direction of Stella, and therefore all the more likely to find progenitors in hiding there. And Pride agreed that having a powerful nation indebted to us for returning their prince was a good thing. Though we both agreed that we needed to know more about how Edric had become a slave. I didn't want to be nosey, and I still planed on giving the prince time, but we did need more information. We needed to know what we were walking into before we just barged in on royal affair's.

  In the end I dragged my sad little parade back out on the streets, flashing a winning smile at the landlady as I passed. Its good to keep people like her on their toes.

  After buying Edric- there is a phrase I never thought would cross my mind- our funds were getting low, but we still needed several things to prepare for a long journey. Not the least of which being a change of cloths for both Edric and I. He looked like I just dragged him out of a ditch, and I looked like I just escaped a goblin camp after being captured for a year.

  Even if I hadn't been a demon with a large talking dog, I'd still draw attention.

  Edric was still pretty silent. He would answer a question if asked directly, but other wise he just followed us a couple paces behind. It made me uncomfortable, but I didn't want to push him too hard. I still did not know his circumstances, but I was pretty sure that he was not a criminal slave, and as a prince I highly doubted that he was a debt slave. That meant that something must have happened to land him in that slave camp.

  After some looking around the prince managed to point out a sign that apparently announced a clothing shop. I patted him on the head. Was it a little condescending, maybe, but I wanted him to get used to us and feel a part of the group, not just like he was my slave.

  "Welcome!" Trilled a bubbly voice as we entered.

  It was just Edric and I this time. Pride agreed to wait outside. Even he was getting tired of having to explain every time he went into a store or building. Apparently he felt it was quite unlikely that I was to be attacked in a clothiers shop.

  The woman that greeted us was in her mid forties, her blonde hair tuning a little grey and held up in a bun, her pretty but simple dress fit her wonderfully and at her hip was a sponge or something filled with little pins. I guess she looked like a seamstress.

  She did take a little start when she saw Edric and I, however. She noted the slave collar on Edric, and then her eyes went to my neck. It was then that I knew for sure that I looked in hard shape. She totally thought I was a slave too.

  "Good after noon." I said with a small merry wave. "As you can see my companion and I are in dire need of some new cloths. Could you help us out?"

  "Of course!" She said, beaming. She recovered quickly.

  She seemed a little put off by me at first, but I just explained away my state as getting into some trouble with bandits on the road. She seemed to take it on face value, making me think that bandits were probably a real issue around here.

  I had thought that my wings and tail would be an issue, but she was the first person not to be put off by them. In fact, the shop lady seemed to take them as a personal challenge. She took my measurements and then began gathering up articles of clothing from around the shop, while Edric stood off to the side, almost invisible.

  "Since you are a traveler I assume you have little use for gowns." Hummed the lady as she began sorting her pile.

  "Very little." I agreed.

  She shimmied me to a back room, Edric on our heels. It was some kind of changing room. Then she had me start trying on various articles of cloths, with zero regard for the fact that there was a young man in the room.

  Now, I didn't really care. To be honest, I was not body shy. Hell, you gave me enough money, Id streak down Main Street in nothing but my panties. I was sure I was pretty hot in my new demon form- so long as wings and tails were no issue for you- but I was just average on Earth, and it didn't bug me then either.

  But I thought It may be an issue for Edric. But when I glanced his way, he seemed unbothered. He had his gaze respectfully lowered when I was unclothed, but while I had at least a little coverage, I did catch him steeling glances. I think it was more due to my demon-ness than because he wanted to catch a glimpse of a woman in her under cloths.

  "Do you think there is enough room for you to spread them in here?" The seamstress asked after trying on a few blouses and loose fitting pants combinations. I really felt horrid that she had to cut holes in them. But she told me that the things she took for me to try were of lesser value or used. If I found something I liked then I could pick a nicer version if I wanted, and buy that.

  The room was not very big, but I was down for giving a bit of fan service, given she was so polite and accommodating. Heck, she may well be the nicest person I had met here so far. Cautiously, I opened the purple hued membranes of my wings. I could not spread them completely, but it was enough to get a decent look, at least.

  The lady clapped her hands, looking like a little kid. "How lovely. And look at the color!"

  I smiled at the lady and looked back at Edric. He was leaned against a wall, arms crossed, but he too was avidly eying the wings. When he realized I was watching he blushed slightly and looked away. I chuckled a little and turned back to the full length mirror before me.

  Out of what was left of my Earth cloths, I really did look wildly different. It was like the last time to my old life had been severed. I didn't mind. There was nothing tying me to that world anyways, and I was glad to be done with it, even if my new path was a little vague at the moment.

  In the end I got myself a couple shoulder-less blouses where I could fit my wings without having to much trouble, a leather corset to keep the shirts from fluttering about. Plus they just looked good. I also bought a couple pairs of pants, but the lady suggested I keep my shorts. Apparently she had never seen such fabric before, and that- aside from getting expensive enchanted items- they may provide more flexibility and protection than anything she had here.

  So in the end I was dressed in my cut offs, a white shoulder-less blouse, leather corset, and my tattered cloak that the seamstress patched a little for me so it looked a little less like I stole it from a mummy.

  Dressing Edric was far less of a fan fare. She wasn't rude or anything, but the seamstresses tone was far more business like while she took the man's measurements and the like.

  She started pulling out 'slave cloths' at first. Apparently they were cheaper quality and made in darker or brown colors so the dirt would not show up as well.

  I immediately put a stop to that though. I told her that he was my slave and I wanted him dressed like the average adventurer. Please and thank you!

  I could not afford to dress him like the prince he was, of course. Not to mention having a dandy looking price following me around would just be asking to be mugged. But I was done with him being treated less than a person.

  The seamstress apologized and started bringing him less shabby and depressing looking cloths. They were still cheep, but we were not made of money, so he would just have to live with it.

  By the end of it we left the shop and rejoined Pride with Edric dressed in simple, yet not clearly slave oriented, cloths and a new cloak.

  Our next stop was a general store. This one did not allow slaves, however. Edric tried to explain to me that from the signage, they were the cheapest shop in town. But I refused and we went to another. If he couldn't go in and there were other options, then we would visit those options.

  Edric didn't argue, though I could tell he wanted to. I was sure that I would eventually wear him down to where we would be having screaming matches in the streets. I had that effect on people.

  The next general store looked a little worse for wear but I didn't mention it. We stocked up on some potions, travel rations, and other survival gear. It turns out it was good that Edric and Pride were with me as I was a city girl though and through. I had roughed it, yeah, but I never had to use flint and steel before...

  Besides the essentials, I also got myself some nice leather boots! I had to admit that I was a boots kind of girl.

  I also got us varying belts, bags, and the like. Lastly, I grabbed a cheap but sturdy for Edric to defend himself with and a new collar for the guy. He may have to were one, but it didn't have to be that ugly one. I got him something more akin to a leather choker. Or you may be able to look at it like a dog collar, which was sad. But there was only so much I could do about a dang collar, alright!

  All of that done, it was now late and I was significantly poorer. I dragged my boys back to our super pleasant inn for the night. I wanted to set out right away, but there was still something else we needed before we left. A map. And they were not as easy to get your hands on in this world as they were back on earth.

  Paper here was expensive. Not to mention they did not have huge printing presses like they had back on earth. It all was done by hand- or magic- which was a slow and arduous process. All this raised the price significantly. So we needed more money to get one.

  So the goal for tomorrow would be to head out and look for some nasties to kill so we could get more magic stones to sell.

  It figured that even in a fantasy world I was still having money issues...