The Smiling Tulip Inn

Zyli opened another door and then they both stepped inside. Kiara stared in wonder at the room that she suddenly found herself in. The room was large but very cozy. There was a large fireplace going and it heated up the room. Against one wall there was a long comfy couch with a blanket at the end of it. There were several large windows throughout the room with light coming through them. Snow was gently falling outside and Kiara could see many wooden houses. There were a few people walking about with hoods over their heads and those that did not had a variety of strange ears that she had seen in this place. Bunny, cat, and even fox-like ears on the top of their heads!

On the opposite side of the room was a large bookshelf that was filled with so many books. They were all a brown color and the spines of all were well used. Kiara could not make out the titles of these books from her distance away. On the walls of the room were several lanterns. There were also several small wooden tables in the room with wooden chairs under them. On one of the tables was a cup of hot tea with smoke drifting up from it and a small cake.

"Eat up and drink some tea," Zyli said as she motioned to the table. "Mythra wants you to work the front tables and I will take the back. A lot of the customers are in a jolly mood and will probably tip you a lot. You can finally buy that Wemfox that you have been wanting for some time!"

Wemfox? Kiara thought. She tried to even imagine what the horned girl was talking about. 'Um…where exactly am I?"

Zyli heartily laughed and shook her head in amusement. "You are such a silly elf! We all love you for it, Kiara! I'll see you out on the floor when you are done!" Zyli quickly walked out and closed the door before Kiara had a chance to answer.

Kiara stood in the warm and cozy room in confusion. The fire was crackling in the fireplace and the snow was gently falling outside. "What is going on here?! Where in the world am I?!" Kiara said out loud. She walked to one of the windows and peered out. She saw so many wooden buildings and an open square in the distance to the right of her view. There were many people who were walking about and also others who were shoveling the snow from in front of their homes.

Kiara saw a woman with long reddish-brown horns jutting out of her head. She was shoveling slowly at the snow that was in front of her head as she would stop often and say hi to someone with a big happy smile. Kiara noticed that a lot of the people were smiling as they walked. There wasn't an unhappy face or miserable expression on any of the people's faces! They were trudging through the snow and none of them were upset about it!

Kiara turned and looked at the bookshelf. Maybe I can find something here that can tell me where I am, Kiara thought. She walked quickly to it and turned her head to the side to look at the spines of the books. She could barely read the words as all of the books looked very old and had the same brown color. Kiara grabbed a book at random and looked at the faded cover.

"The Faun's Great Love," Kiara read the title. There wasn't an image or even an author's name on the cover. She quickly put the book back and looked at other titles. A lot of the titles had romantic connotations to them. The word love was in almost every title!

"Are these just romance books!?" Kiara said in a frustrated voice. She shoved a book titled Love in the Wild Elven Kingdom back into its spot. She gave up with a sigh and then looked around the room to see if there was anything that she could discern about the place where she was but there was nothing. She looked at the tea and cake on the table and her stomach growled so hard that it even echoed in the room.

Kiara rushed to the table and sat down. She picked up the cake and bit into it. Her eyes opened so wide and she even moaned in amazement at how delicious the cake was. "Oh my god! What is this?" Kiara said before biting into the cake again. It had a flaky exterior but the inside of it was a wonderful creamy substance. It reminded Kiara a little of cream-filled donuts that she would sometimes get from the local dessert shop on her way to school. The shop had been one of the unfortunate ones to close due to a lack of business. Many people in Willow Springs were desolate after the factory closed and could not afford to spend money on any delicacies.

Kiara quickly finished the cake and then began to drink the tea. She shook her head in disbelief after one sip of the hot tea. It was so delicious as well! It had a sweet taste to it that reminded Kiara of honey. She sipped it until she was done and then she stood up. She looked at the door with apprehension and confusion.

Who were these people and how did they know her?! Was she expected to work here?! Kiara thought. Maybe I can slip out the back door and figure out where am I. She looked around for a back door but there wasn't any. She let out another frustrated sigh and then walked to the door. She hesitated when her hand reached out to turn the knob.

See if you can get out of here without that horned girl seeing, Kiara told herself. She opened the door and saw the women and man who had said good morning to her hard at work. Bexia noticed her and gave her a warm smile. Kiara shyly smiled back.

What is wrong with me? Why am I so shy with her?! Kiara thought. She was the most unshy person in the world. She was always the one to ask girls out and to be flirty with them. She was not shy or timid at all! Well at least in her world and not this one!

Kiara hurried to the other door and opened it. There were even more people now and they were all strangely dressed and sitting at the tables. There was happy laughter and loud talking. Kiara saw several people with fox-like ears now in the place. The ears were so fascinating to her as she saw that they would move about as the people talked excitedly.

She saw Zyli talking to a patron with a small wooden tray in her that had several mugs of tea. The horned girl did not see or notice Kiara. Kiara quickly began to move to the edge of the grand room. Several people smiled at her as she walked by. She awkwardly smiled back and hurried as best as she could to the main door.

There was a loud laugh from a chubby man with pointy ears as he talked to a woman with cat-like ears. The woman giggled and reached out to touch his hand. Their fingers interlocked and they stared at each other with affection.

Kiara got to the front door which was open. She stepped outside into the cold snowy weather and stared at her surroundings in shock.