First Night

Lucius pushed his way inside the inn, absolutely fuming. He grumbled under his breath about nonsensical women and stupid ideas as he glared around at the interior. It was a cozy space and typical of most establishments of its kind. Tables and booths offered patrons a place to rest their feet and a long trench firepit crackled with flickering light. He noticed a handful of other patrons; some of which flicked their gazes his way but none appeared to be overly interested. When he heard the door open again behind him, their eyes followed the newcomer a bit longer than they did for him, which was exactly what Lucius hoped to avoid. A confident voice called to him,

“Well don’t just stand in the doorway lad, come in proper!”

A woman who stood behind a counter at the far end of the room addressed him. Her thin, pointed ears belied elven heritage and she carried herself with a certain degree of propriety. She beckoned to him with a finger, to which he had no choice but to oblige. She smiled warmly as he approached,

“Well now, that’s better, yeah? So, what’s got a strapping young lad like yourself to scowl so darkly? Nothing bad happen to ya out on the road, I hope?” Lucius managed to shake his head, forcing his mind back on to the matter at hand. He could gripe later, right now he had to take care of business. He felt Hana appear at his side, though he noticed with a small mote of satisfaction that she had drawn her hood up to cover herself in a satisfactory manner. The woman seemed to catch the glance and her eyes reflected understanding,

“Ahh, a bit of a lover’s quarrel, is it? Well, don’t you worry. A night spent together can often clear any bad air between people. So, I take it you’ll be needin’ a room for the night?”

Lucius’ face grew hot, but he managed to keep his composure, “That’s right. One with separate beds, if you have one. Are meals included with this?”

The woman frowned slightly, showing that she was displeased with his decision but showed no signs of overtly pressing the issue, “Yes, we have a couple of rooms like that. Room and meals for tonight and tomorrow?”

“We’ll be heading out in the morning, so just breakfast would be fine. Oh, we came with a horse. Your stableboy has already been paid.”

She nodded appreciatively, “Thanks for that. So that’ll be four silvers for the two of ya, then.” Lucius dug in his coin purse and presented the appropriate amount, to which the woman replied,

“Thank ya kindly. Feel free to look at our menu up there,” she pointed towards a large wooden sign just above her head, “Drinks are available too, though anything special’ll cost extra. If ya need anythin’ else, just give a holler.”

Lucius gave his thanks and removed himself to a booth on the far side of the dining area. Hana followed closely behind and sat opposite him, staying silent throughout the entire interaction. Because of the hood, Lucius had a hard time gauging her mood, but her body language was much more subdued than it had been all day. Chancing another look around, he was relieved to see that none of the other patrons seemed to care about their presence anymore. As far as they were concerned, Lucius and Hana likely appeared to be a young couple in the midst of an argument, and nobody wants to get in the middle of one of those.

Just the few moments of silence that transpired while he was looking around was damn near unbearable, so he tried to find things to keep preoccupied,

“You must be hungry, yeah? Why don’t I get us some food and then I’ll show you how money works. How’s that sound?”

Hana murmured, “That’s fine.” Lucius got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, one that he had rarely felt in the past, the acrid taste of guilt. Their dinner was simple but robust; he got them both a bowl of stewed vegetables, potatoes, and chicken with some rye bread. He wasn’t sure if she was used to drinking alcohol, and he was having a hard time in mustering up the fortitude to ask her directly. Instead, he opted for goat’s milk and took a dark ale for himself.

He returned with their food and sat down once again. Hana didn’t complain about the difference in beverage, in fact, she didn’t say so much as a word. Lucius wasn’t sure if that was because she simply didn’t care or if there was another reason behind her silence. As they ate, Lucius brought out his purse and placed a coin on the table,

“This here’s a copper piece. It’s the smallest value coin that most countries use, you can use it for most small purchases just about anywhere. Ten of those copper pieces make one silver, which you’ve seen me use.” He took out one of his remaining silver and placed it next to the copper, “See, it’s a bit bigger. Silver is also common; most often its used for transactions and wages. Most families keep their money in silver and copper, so these are the backbone of the economy. Now, ten of those silver pieces make up one gold piece. You might ask, why don’t we change out these silvers for gold? We do have enough, yes, but that would be foolish. You only use gold at major establishments or for big transactions, because most people outside of businessowners and nobility ever see gold, much less get to use it. Technically, you can go one level higher and say ten gold makes a platinum piece, but basically nobody uses those except for banks.”

“Sorry to bother you sir.” A young serving girl interrupted him, she was probably no more than fourteen, but Lucius guessed that she had been working here for quite some time based on the way she swerved through tables with expert dexterity. She glanced between the pair, perhaps sensing the strange atmosphere, but did not comment on it, “The Madam said your room is prepared, you can collect your key from her when you are ready.”

He was grateful for the interruption, “Thank you, I’ll do that now. I think we’re ready to turn in for the night, anyways.” Not wanting to wait for another prompting, Lucius extricated himself from the booth and made for the counter, where the elven woman, now confirmed to be the owner, waited for him. she clearly knew what he was coming for, and she produced an iron key with a number tag attached, indicating their room number. As he reached for the key, her fingers tapped on the counter to draw his attention,

“A word to the wise for you, young man. Don’t go to bed angry. If you do, it’ll be that much harder to go back to the way things should be. Trust me, it might be unpleasant, but its best to get things taken care of now. My husband and I have our fair share of disagreements, but we always solve our problems before we get in that bed. Might take minutes, might take hours, but you best get things fixed. Understand?”

Lucius did not have getting chided by an innkeeper on his to-do list, but it seemed that reality cared little for his wants. It also didn’t help that she was entirely correct, he did need to clear the air between them. Burning with embarrassment, he uttered a meek “Thanks,” and quietly fled to the stairs that led to the second floor with Hana following closely behind.

Finding the room was a simple matter; and it was well-furnished, two beds separated by several feet of floor, each of which had a small chest at the foot for any possessions. Additionally, there was a wardrobe and a desk that was seated next to the window offering a sweeping view over the surrounding fields. All in all, it was a cozy space that offered a pleasant alternative to the outdoors.

The pair spoke little as they got themselves settled, not that they had much in the way of possessions to organize. Though there was little to do, he found that his mind constantly wandered between the words of the innkeeper and Hana. He watched as she undid the clasp on the large cloak, which slid down off her shoulders to reveal her pointed ears and sleek tail. She noticed him staring, but didn’t say anything and instead turned slightly to the side, occasionally tossing him a glance out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly self-conscious, Lucius turned away, fighting down the constant urge to turn around.

When he was settled, he sat down heavily on the bed and struggled with what to do next, knowing very well what had to happen. He breathed in heavily and turned around, opening his mouth the speak, but found that no words came out.

He saw Hana seated on her bed and leaning against the wall as she cradled her tail in her arms. She focused intently on it with a slight scowl and began to comb her fingers through her fur, attempting to groom it. The moonlight that cascaded in through the window enveloped her in a sheen of white, giving her a forlorn and ghostly appearance.

No better time than the present.

“Hey, Hana.”

One of her ears swiveled in his direction, but the rest of her body stayed focused on the task at hand. He figured that was the best he would get for now, “Look, I just wanted to say that I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did to your comment earlier. You were right, it was a good idea to keep suspicion down and people would’ve believed it. I should’ve rolled with it, but instead I let it get the better of me. I was kind of a jerk, and I’m sorry.”

She paused her brushing, “No, it is I who should apologize. I did not realize such a ruse would concern you so much, and I should have considered more thoroughly. I will try to be more considerate in the future.”

“No, no, that’s…well…it isn’t that it wasn’t a good idea. It just surprised me, is all. if you’re going to come up with something on the spot, give me a bit of warning next time, okay? I’m not good when put on the spot, so a bit of a heads-up next time would be helpful. Can we agree to that much?”

She turned to face him properly, “Of course. So, am I to take it that you are not opposed to continuing this ruse, as you put it?”

He looked away, unable to meet the strange intensity of her gaze, “N-no, I suppose not. It’ll help keep up appearances at least.”

“I thought as much,” she stated with an air of smug superiority, “Your heart has been far more honest than the rest of you. It hasn’t stopped hammering in your chest since we got here.”