Clear blue skies without a cloud in view, a gentle breeze whistling through old oak trees in the forest ahead; soft grass with a pattering of daisies here and there to guide her way. The young woman skipped forth across the path, sunlight gracing her pale skin, warming her fiery red hair as the curls bounced along with each of her movements. Truly, this day and this girl was something out of a fairy tale. With the delightful day, wonderful scenery and her youthful visage draped in light mauve cotton she continued through the forest, finally arriving at a rocky path that appeared to lead towards an opening further ahead.
"Finally, it's finally time for me to go out into the world and do my part, Mother said twenty is a fine age to go off on my own, but one year won't make the difference!"
She exclaimed, her amber eyes gleaming brightly with excitement, her youthful innocence showing as she proclaimed her plot to the emptiness of the woodland around her. Continuing down the narrow dirt path, occasionally hopping from stone to stone, the nature around her became more apparent. Small rabbits, fawns and various types of winged insects that looked encrusted by gems flocked all around, their small chirps and scuttles making her short journey seem like something out of a very pleasant dream. Reaching into her small leather pouch on her hip, she pulled out a scroll of parchment and uncoiled it, glancing downwards as she paused mid-step.
"I'm glad Father still had this map in his study, but which way to go from here?"
She paused, humming softly and tapping her delicate fingers across the old map as she drew out her next steps. Her eyes wandered upwards to the sky and then back down at the map once more and she frowned for a moment, but took in a deep breath, folded the map back up and placed it into her pouch once again.
"Well, it will take a little while to get to the next town, but there's a village nearby, so perhaps staying the night will do me some good - It is a new place after all."
She mused, double-checking herself to make sure she hadn't left anything behind. When all was well and she was content, she put one foot in front of the other and stepped on, eventually merging with a large road. According to her map reading of earlier, she needed only to continue down here for an hour or two before arriving at her resting place of the evening.
"Excellent!"
She called out into the quietness of the road, then shook her head from either side with a bashful smile, simply murmuring something beneath her breath about talking to herself a little too openly. Surprisingly, there weren't many people around. She only passed two men on horseback about an hour into her journey, they looked weary and didn't say much apart from a brief nod and a greeting. Not long after she could see the buildings and chimney smoke from a small village in the distance, almost a large village, but not quite a town. It seemed that seeing a little bit of civilisation put a bounce in her step and she hurried forth, looking for the inn.
Several buildings lined the outside of the village, a blacksmith, stables, the inn on the right and a small pattering of houses surrounding the northern side. The centre was flooded with various small stalls, most of them farm or baked goods. She smiled towards the busy people coming and going, but they seemed very busy indeed and didn't take much notice of her, so she made her way towards the inn and opened the door. A strong waft of sweat and ale smacked her in the face. She gasped, trying not to gag at the stench, but pushed forth into the small lobby and was shocked with what she found. Various different races, scantily clad and lingering about; some stood upon the railings between areas of the inn, dancing and laughing. Various drinks were flowing and for a second, all eyes were on her - The newcomer.
For the most part, people seemed to be enjoying themselves. But that stench, that god awful stench, she could've never thought to witness such a thing - Especially not in such a quiet, homely village - Or how it was described in her map by her father, at least. The young redhead shuffled forwards, squeezing past people to reach the front of the inn where she called over the barkeep, asked for the inn keeper and eventually, after raising her voice over the hustle and bustle, managed to book a room for the evening.
Despite the business of the downstairs, the bar area was surprisingly quiet and she'd managed to sit down and order herself a small glass of red wine, which she sipped out of whilst nervously watching the other patrons. A second and third glass of wine followed, but she decided that with her current limited funds that retiring for the night would be more profitable than spending all of her savings on drinks - After all, there were other inns all across the world and no doubt, other wines to sample too!