Madison exited the inn with a soft sigh. Two months. Two months today since she had walked out the large heavy gates of Vallaki, and made the dangerous journey to Barovia. She had taken a room set away from the usual occupancies, and asked not to be spoken of to the patrons. The innkeeper knew that such a high-profile guest would surely bring in more revenue. However, she paid him well for his silence, and he spoke of her to no one. It didnt make much difference anyhow. It only took a few days for someone to recognize her and spread the word. It was just midday, but the sun hardly shone, and the damp streets gave off a cold, sad aura.
It was appropriate she thought. Why should the sun shine so brightly, so innocently, when her fragile structured world was turning upside down. Things were once so easy, decisions practically made for her. As long as she followed the rules..... the rules were everything, they were the foundation of her life, without them, she was directionless.
Rule number one..... "Never fall in love."
Rule Number Two.... "Never fall in love with a client."
The list went on, but the first two were the most important. Before leaving Waterdeep, she had never found issue with them. She knew her place, she knew her rights, and what she had no right to. No right to a chance at her own life, no right to ever truly speak her mind, no right to.... she could almost not even allow its mention in thought..... a right to real love. Simply a life of service. She hardly remembered life before her body no longer became her own. At first she had resisted of course. Then her will broke down, and she came to embrace her profession, slowly forgetting her initial impressions, until the only thing she knew was to give herself. The men paid generously to be sure, but she was helping them..... she had to be, Mother would never lie to her...... Then the mists came, and snatched her from her safe pocket of security.
"You going to stand there all day missy, or are you going to let me by?" the middle-aged man said with a smirk.
Standing outside the inn, she shook her head as if attempting to exit a fog. How long had she been standing there she wondered? "Do excuse me...." nodding politely to the man, she took off down the street, still deeply entangled in her thoughts. If not this..... if not this life, then what? "I dont know how to do anything!!!!" she said out loud in frustration. A passing peasant eyed her, then muttered, crazy outlander, before moving on. Madison bit her lip in embarrassment, then returned to her thoughts. "Well, I dont..... sexual services, the art of conversation, and music.... what good will they be when I have outlived my usefulness?" Age frightened her, and each year passed faster then the one before. In a few weeks time, she would reach her twenty-first year.... then what? Ten years left? Maybe? Before she had pushed the thought to the back of her mind, but today it refused to be silent. The clock is ticking..... the small voice chimed in her head. Tick, tick ticking.....
Then there was Tarth. Did he love her, did he just like her company? Or was Wilthame right, was she simply a pretty toy to distract him from the ugly parts of life? Did she love him? She stopped dead in her tracks at this thought. Yes, she did. But she would never tell him so. She only even allowed herself to believe it on rare occasions. Today was such an occasion. What did it matter? What would happen if he knew? Marriage? She laughed out loud to herself. He simply wasnt the type. She walked on, the inn coming back into sight. Making her way up to her room, she sat at the desk, and took a fresh sheet of paper from the folds of her book. He should at least know where she was, and that she was all right. She hoped he still cared to know.
"Dear Tarth" she began to write with neat elegant strokes.
"I'm in Barovia. I'll be returning soon. I hope this finds you."
She paused and chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. So many things she wanted to write, to say.
She wrote a few words, then scratched them out. No no, that didnt sound right. She began to write again, but it too was simply not what she wanted to say. Scribbling the words out beyond recognition, she began to write again underneath it.
"Please do not forget me."
She nodded to herself, then signed the letter with a flourished signature. She sealed it with a bit of wax from her candle, then made her way down the stairs to the innkeeper.
"I need a letter delivered, quickly. Who can help me?"
The innkeeper pointed to a man across the room.
"That one. He'll take it anywhere to anyone for the right price."
"anyone?" she answered. "This man may be difficult to find."
"Anyone."
She nodded and made her way across the room. The man looked up at her, then to the letter in her hands. "Where to?" he simply asked.
"Near Vallaki. Possibly in the woods, or in the city, or in the outskirts....."
"Who?"
She gave him a detailed description of Tarth.
He nodded, and after discussing payment, tucked the letter in his jacket, and disappeared into the night.