5) Breaking the Ice

They didn’t travel all that far out of the city before stopping for the night. The driver had to switch the wheels on the buggy to ones more suitable for the terrain they’ve yet to traverse.

It was around an hour to sunset. They had stopped at an inn at the edge of Biel City territory. Cecilia and Aloe head to the inn to get their rooms, while the driver and the bull-man, who Liam learned are named Simon and Xon, stayed by the cart, taking a moment of rest before they got to work on swapping the wheels.

Hoping to break the ice, Liam approached Simon and offered to help switch out the wheels.

‘Oh, erm, yes of course! Help is always appreciated.’ Simon said with some surprise, giving a stern nod to Xon who huffed out of resignation.

Liam did his best to help with the fiddly work of getting the wheels off and Xon did what he could to tolerate Liam’s presence. When Liam would get a wheel unfastened; Xon would bump him out of the way, snatch the wheel off the spoke, very aggressively put the new wheel in its place and just as violently recede back to his spot to wait for the next wheel to be unfastened. His strength was an asset, these wheels were heavy, but Liam definitely feared for his life. Xon was just as sudden and violent with Simon’s wheels, but Simon didn’t bat an eye at the aggression. He was used to it. They've known each other for a long while apparently.

With the new wheels on; Simon thanks Liam for the help, and Xon does too… by not ending his life right then and there.

With plenty of sunlight left, Liam considers staying out for a bit. If he went to his room, he knew he’d be too lazy to do anything else.

He looked out into the field bordering the inn. There were rolling hills, occasionally broken up by small groupings of evergreens and broad-leaves. In the distance, maybe half a day’s cart ride, was a wall of mountains. They kind of reminded him of home.

He noticed a silhouette under one of the close trees. It was Aloe. Does he dare approach her? He’s supposed to study under her, so it might be best to clear the air as soon as possible.

He approached her; ‘Hey, Aloe.’

She lets out a mild scoff as she looks back at him. Holding her sketch pad to her chest.

Liam starts; ‘I thought it would be best to clear the air between us. I’m not here to get in your way-’

‘Good!’ she barks, ’But if you actually mean that you’ll just… go.’

Liam takes a second to think. She clearly doesn’t want to talk right now, but…

‘I’m sorry the king forced this on you without asking. I was completely unaware of it until I was brought to the meeting. And honestly, I’m still kind of lost on what’s going on.’ Liam says calmly.

She huffs and turns her gaze back to the field.

Liam continues; ‘I think it’d be best if I stick around. I’m sure there’d be consequences for both of us if either of us bailed. But I promise I’ll do my own thing and stay out of your business.’

He doesn’t receive a response. He decides to let her be.

Opening the door to the inn, Liam is greeted by the smell of pub food and alcohol. It's quite lively. He was glad they'd gotten their rooms without trouble, or at least he hadn't heard anything about it, so it probably worked out.

Sitting at a table alone is Cecilia, slumped into a drink. Liam sits across from her greeting her as he does. Her face lights up for a split second before realizing she’s angry; ‘LIAM! Where’ve you been?’ she slurs angrily.

Really? They haven’t even been here an hour and she’s already this gone?

‘Does it really take that long to change the wheels??? I’ve been waiting for you to eat! I thought we were all eating together, but everyone ditched me.’ she rambles solemnly.

This was a side of her he hadn’t experienced yet, it was amusing, but…

‘How’s the beer?’ Liam asks, trying to gauge how much she’s had without asking.

‘Oh, it’s pretty good. I’ve been nursing this one ‘cause it’s so tasty.’ she says affectionately as she clasps both sides of the half-full pint, tapping her nails on the glass.

She’s barely a half pint in…

‘Heeey, how bout we order that food?’ Liam says.

‘Yay!’ she cheers.

Liam got to see magic being openly used for the first time. The bartender could levitate things within a small distance. They put on a show as they made drinks for people. Cecilia had explained back in the castle that magic was rare and that only one in a few thousand people had the aptitude for it, and of the people that did, at least half kept it hidden out of fear of exploitation.

During their meal Simon enters the pub and chats pleasantries with Cecelia and Liam for a moment before moving on to the front desk. After another moment he was back out the door. Soon after a server heads out the front door with several meals. Cecilia explains between bites and slurred words that beast-folk like Xon aren’t allowed in most establishments, but they get a few free meals and can rest the night in a little shack on the property at a reduced rate. It’s a law the king made in favour of the beast-folk.

Aloe also entered the inn. When her eyes met Liam's, her expression went from neutral to annoyed. She sat somewhere behind where Liam was facing so they didn’t have to see each other and before he had finished his food he noticed her head upstairs, most likely to her room. Once clear, Cecilia remarks that she’d never seen someone eat a salad that fast, let alone with that amount of contempt.

They finish their meal and order another round. Cecilia was more proportionally drunk now that she had food in her.

She explains again that everyone split up after they got the room; ‘Aloe barely said anything to me, and JJ was at the bar for a bit, but I haven’t seen him in a while.’

Liam pauses for a moment, uncertain he asks; ‘Who’s JJ?’

‘What? You don’t know JJ?’ She says dumb-struck. ‘Wait, no- you do! You just rode in a wagon with him all day!’

Liam sat frazzled, his mind was blank. He went over the events of the day, but he couldn’t place this JJ.

Suddenly a loud, very drunk voice emanates from the far side of the table; ‘Ciiiciiii!’

Liam looks over, and it’s… the guy… you know… the guy from the cart. Just wearing his armor and carrying his spear. His face was stone cold sober. He’s a total wall flower honestly... but on to more important matters; where did that drunk yelling come from?

‘Oh hey, JJ!’ Cecilia exclaims cheerfully. Liam looks back at her confused, but before he can look wherever it was she was looking, the armored guy launches towards Cecilia and hugs her torso. She held her hands up as her expression contorted from ditsy drunk to confused disgust in an instant. She locks eyes with Liam before looking down at ‘JJ’.

She manages to pry him off and push him away.

‘JJ, don’t just go… glomping me. We don’t know each other like that! I was just calling you over to sit with us…’ She says, having moved over a seat and contemplating moving another to avoid the widening splash zone of JJ’s waterworks.

‘I’m terribly sorry, Lady Cecilia! I don’t know what came over me.’ JJ cries through slurred speech, groveling for forgiveness. ‘I’m not myself when I drink. I thought it’d give me confidence.’

Maybe a bit too much confidence.

JJ resigns to his room.

Recovering from the shock, Cecilia returns to her drink.

Liam remembers her reason for being there; Vacation. She’d explained earlier that she had over a year of unused vacation and sick time built up over the last however many years she’d been working for the king and decided to cash them in. She reassured that the King was more than ok with letting her take it since there are other people who can do her job while she’s gone. But why come on this journey?

Any attempt he took to try getting her to expound on other details of her job or why she chose to join them were met with coy deflection.

After finishing their drinks they decide to turn in.

Liam follows Cecilia to his room. They ran into JJ who was a drunk puddle on the floor. They help him up and take him to the door. Liam assumes he’s sharing a room with JJ. When they reach the door Cecilia gives Liam the key, saying he’s less drunk than her, so he should be able to do it. He unlocks it and opens it a crack before looking back at Cecilia; ‘Sleep well! See you tomorrow!’ Liam says with a kind smile in a gentle voice.

She stares at him for a moment with a dumb expression; ‘Huh?’

Cecilia wedges herself in front of Liam, opens the door and walks in; ‘We’re all sharing this room!’ she announces loudly with her hands in the air as if it’s something to celebrate.

She forgot to mention that. And of course; there are only two beds.

Aloe shot up from the bed to the left, now sitting up, staring daggers between everyone.

‘Oh, nooo. I was trying to be quiet! Sorry, Alooooe.’ Cecilia drunkenly coos.

‘Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention there were only two beds,’ she says looking back at the guys. ‘I’ll just jump in with Aloe and you guys can figure out what to do with the other one.’

Cecilia says this and approaches Aloe’s bed, but is immediately repelled by an even more furious look from Aloe. Without missing a beat Cecilia redirects to the other bed and flops on it, face first, sprawled perpendicularly.

‘Liaaaam… come on. You can share this bed.’ she says patting the open space next to her.

With a new lease on life JJ rights himself and takes a hesitant step towards Aloe’s bed.

‘NO.’ Aloe reprimands.

JJ immediately deflates and wanders out of the room.

Cici is still patting the bed for Liam. Liam sits on the edge of the bed, still unsure if he should.

He feels her hand move over his. Her hand was very warm and her finger tips were surprisingly rough. He looks back… and she’s already dead asleep, snoring loudly no less.

He takes off her boots, gets her situated comfortably in the bed, and tucks her in.

Liam leaves the inn, collecting JJ from the floor in the hall on his way out. He grabs some camping gear from the cart and sleeps outside.