The wagon looked unassuming enough, even with the dark, misty night that wreathed the quiet town. Four wheels, somewhere to attach the oxen, made of strong-looking wood. Besides its slightly larger than average size, no one might've taken it for anything other than some traveller's rest.

Of course, the thief knew as she approached it, that was only because its owner hadn't put up her advertising yet. Jia had seen it, through the day, the many, many clients that the mysterious woman had received. Some of very high profile, too, and noticeably lighter purses when they left...

Still, for now, she knew that the tall holstaur (Cassandra, she'd gathered her name was) had rented the inn, so there would be no one home to keep her from rummaging about... Not after she'd paid off the guard with a gift of exotic alcohol from a "mystery lover", she'd made sure he'd be asleep by now.

Her silk-clad shoes walked along the pavement with not aq single noise as she hurried to the door, already preparing her lockpicks as she looked for the keyhole, letting the moonlight be her only source of vision. Her hands ran along the grooves of the door and...

Jackpot. The handle and lock, neither felt especially fancy, and a cursory exploration of it with her lockpicks showed that it wouldn't be too much of a challenge to get to open...

Still, she had no time to waste, and-

She frowned. The placement of the lock's inner mechanism... Surely it couldn't be?...

Jia tried to handle, pulling it down just a bit, before feeling no opposition as the door opened with a click.

Had it really been left unlocked all night? The fortune teller was either distracted or overly trusting...

Stepping inside and closing the door behind her, she was surprised to find the wagon utterly dark. The windows seemed determined to not let a single bit of moonlight in.

Not that it was a problem, Jia'd got a lantern ready to-

Before she could think of taking it out, a flame flickered to life before her, on the low table that housed the crystal ball.

This gave the thief a pause as she took a second to process what had happened, staring incredulously at the dancing flame and the odorous smoke that poured out of it, the way it made the room shine all by itself made it difficult to not look at it, really. She was certain there was no one here that could have activated it, not even any wizard of Illusion... she'd have felt the wind, she thought...

Still, she stared at the flame, remaining suspicious of it. Was it just some form of trap? She knew she couldn't allow herself to look away, distraction could mean her end...

So she stood there, in a standoff with the flame, the all consuming flame, the beautiful flame, the marvelous light...

To an outside observer, the thief was not the picture of vigilance she currently believed herself to be, as more and more of her focus moved to her staring, her arms going limp by her side as her legs shook and slowly gave out, bringing her down to her knees as her mouth hung open, a slight trickle of drool starting to form as her eyes grew glassy, her body swaying, only kept upright by her knowledge that she couldn't, shouldn't look away, that she had to keep... staring...

She didn't see time go by, did not see the hours pass, did not see, did not perceive as a presence appeared behind her.

"...oh my, my spirits did tell me that I had to expect a guest, but I thought you'd come to my room, not here, darling."

Jia offered no answer. Answering was not staring.

The woman pressed against her back, keeping her steady as she stared. Jia felt a... pleasant, soft, heavy weight on the back of her head. "Well, still, I can work with this, I suppose I left the right candles out tonight~"

Jia stared. Her mind was open, the gates unguarded with all manpower going to the taking in of the flame's beauty. And so the holstaur spoke, softly, gently, assertively. Made sure Jia's mind was filled with her words and her body with warmth, went out of her way to remind the poor little assistant of what her place was, of how she'd gotten so lost, how she was finding her way again...

And Jia accepted it, the touches and words, the softness and control, she'd been so lost, she was lucky her teacher, her mistress had found her, she was so lucky, so grateful, so happy, unable to help herself as a wide, unserious grin crept across her face, smiling wide with mindless glee...

She didn't quite catch everything her teacher said, but one word undeniably got her attention, as she finished a sentence.

"Sleep"

Jia obliged, her mind and body having been kept awake and alert for so much of the night, it took very little convincing for her to accept the soft, restful oblivion of slumber, especially with the comfort she felt from her Mistress' presence...

Cassandra smiled to herself as she effortlessly picked up the smaller thief, carrying her to her bed, humming a lullaby to make sure she stayed nice and asleep. A night with the spirits ought to make sure she wouldn't cause her trouble again, she even had half a mind to keep her for herself while she was in town...

But she'd figure it out as she'd go. At least, she was happy to have an assistant to give her free advertising tomorrow... Or to make sure tighter-pursed clients still gave their contribution.

Tonight was a good night, she thought to herself as she snuffed the candle with a dismissive wave of her hand, locking the door as she returned to the inn.

Tomorrow'd be even better.