The Lord nods, his eyes fixated on the drink in my hand. “Try it.”
I oblige and take a drink, letting the liquid run down my throat with a groan. Its good.Damn good. Might be the best ale I’ve had to date.
“This is…” I shake my head, unable to find the words.
“Our small project,” the Prince walks to our end of the table, brown eyes alight and looking down at me. He stands in front of an open chair directly at my opposite, his eyes landing on my lips and then moving down to the mug in my hand that rests in front of my chest.
I quickly give Cal his drink back and reply in admittance. “It’s good.”
The Prince smiles before taking the empty chair across from me. I bow my head in silent defeat once again and resign myself to another loss.
“Our amber ale is only brewed here…” Lord Daniel supplies, taking the toddy and ale from the innkeeper and handing me my drink. I look down at all the tanned gold and try my best not to pout.
“Prince Keane made it his own little side task a few years ago.”
“You created this masterpiece?” Cal laughs at the Prince, toasting in his direction.
Keane’s smile is full as he leans back in his chair.
“Of all my creations, this is one of three I am most proud of.”
“And the other two?” I inquire at the same time Cal asks, “can I take a cask back with us on the ride home?”
“Only if you keep and drink it in secret,” Keane chuckles, “I don’t let anyone take the ale outside of Fumagalli, but I’ll allow it this once.”
The Prince either ignored my question or didn’t hear it all, but I’m not bothered, because Cal’s question only brings up another topic I haven’t much considered since we left Bardot…
The ride home.
I knew we’d come home eventually after Red Falls but haven’t given much thought as to what that trip would look like. Will we stay in the cities of Warrior for a few nights? Will we rest in Gaumond before camping along the way? Desmond had the travel to Pyre so meticulously laid out, but I have yet to hear about the plan to come back.
A slight nudge hits the side of my arm as Cal pulls me out of my thoughts. I glance over at him but he’s looking at the Prince who is now standing at the table.
“… inspired by our Knowledge companions this morning after seeing them share their table in Knowledge fashion at Margaret’s. I’m hoping that the four of you will appreciate the dinner tonight in honor of that tradition.”
Mana bows his head first to the Prince while Cal bangs his mug on the table. Holis and I both smile at him and nod in thanks.
“Then let’s share our food and keep the drinks flowing,” Keane grins and turns to the woman behind the counter, “add a bit of rowdy Warrior to tonight’s Knowledge.”
“Here, here,” the table grins.
The night continues that way, with the passing of plates, smiles and discussion. Half of us end up switching over to the amber ale once our first is gone, the lot of us laughing and conversing under the effects of a full belly and good ale. It’s a beautiful dinner that goes appreciated by all, and throughout the whole night, even though we didn’t say much to eachother, Keane’s brown eyes were on me. He watched me converse with Lord Daniel and drink with Cal. Watched me laugh at Holis who kept offering me more food with every chance he got. He just watched me. Always aware of my presence and always making sure that I knew he was aware.
I quickly came to love the feeling.
I loved the subtle dart of his eyes down my chest and his small smirk whenever he knew I caught him looking. I loved that his gaze became greedier as the night went on, not caring that others had caught him looking. His attention did things to my body that no one else had ever gotten close to, and it quickly became a new form of high that I still had no name for yet.
Eventually the night came to an end well after all the plates had been pulled and a few drinking games had been played. Yawns began to greet almost everyone at the table, myself included, and with them came the Prince’s announcement that he, Desmond and Lord Daniel had more meetings tomorrow and that it was time to retire. It was a bit earlier than usual but we all took our cue, no one arguing much as a genuine tiredness started to set into the group. We all said our goodnights and moved to our respective halls, with Golem and I walking Cal to his door before heading into our own.
The fire is well lit when we walk in. Golem quickly shuffles to my bed and closes the slats on the window above, hiding both the night view and the cool breeze from outside. I don’t question it as I’m too tired to be curious about his new fixation, and barely make it to the bed before the call to sleep pulls me under.
I’m awakened again in the middle of the night by Golem’s cool fingers on my shoulder, this time pressing harder and more forcefully than before. I groggily look up at him and to his eyes darting out of the cracked window, but this time I’m ready as I sit up quickly to look out.
Just like last night, Desmond and Lord Daniel stand waiting in the courtyard of the inn, both of their hoods drawn to the darkness around them.
I swiftly pull the covers off my body and slip on my boots in haste, turning back to the window to see the Prince’s dark form bounding towards the two men in the shadows. I don’t think twice and reach for my cloak onthe back of the door, running down the hall with Golem chasing after me until we both reach the common room of the inn.
We quietly move through the unoccupied room, both of us wary of the owner still hanging around somewhere, and it isn’t until we reach the front door that we push out quickly and rush through the courtyard, both it and the main road completely empty of the three men.
