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Chapter8
Itwirled, looking for the mysterious stranger who had not only appeared next to me from nowhere on the castle road, but who had also made it seem like she was threatening my life.
But why?
The more I spun, the more people, creatures, and all other beings of this world jostled past me like I was a mere inconvenience.
There was no sign of her.
Anywhere.
With war being all the castle talked about, perhaps I was on edge and had misunderstood. After all, if some stranger wanted to threaten me, she could have done it even after being interrupted.
Moving past the bakery crowd, I started trying to see what I could find out about the king’s tea. The woman had rattled me and now instead of taking my time, I worried I needed to keep moving.
The crowd thinned as a group of larger men, almost giant-looking, ducked into a tavern I recognized. The same one that Noah and I had gone to when he snuck me out to celebrate my birthday.
The alcohol had been fantastic that day, and as my stomach growled I glanced down at my change purse. Judging by the weight of it, the queen had practically paid me off to avoid the prince. While I wouldn’t be doing that, I would use some of this to get a meal and some of that cider-like drink Noah and I had shared.
I couldn’t stop the grin on my face as I followed behind the large creatures. The sign outside the door surprised me, as I realized I hadn’t noticed it before.
Old World Tavern.
The sign was in English. I blinked a few times as I took that in. Had there been signs in the castle I’d been able to read? I didn’t think I’d noticed any.
Furrowing my brow, I moved around the sign and then quickly turned, facing it again.
Still, Old World Tavern.
A dwarf stared at me, blowing circular puffs of smoke my way out of his long pipe. He was leaning against a barrel next to the tavern. “Clean clothes you have there for a village crazy person.”
“What?” I asked. Crazy person?
He nodded my way. “It’s just a sign. It’s not going to get you.”
I looked at the sign and then back to him, feeling the color creeping up my neck. I glanced over my shoulder at the sign and then back to the dwarf. “It’s just…it’s in English.”
The fact that I’d mentioned something so astounding to me didn’t faze him in the slightest. He puffed another few times on his pipe before standing straight up. “And it’s in dwarf for me. Ogre for trolls and giants. Have you never read a sign before?”
I shook my head, which brought on an even more questioning look as his top lip curled as though maybe my craziness was contagious.
“It’s magic,” he said, as though I were not just crazy but an idiot as well.
“There hasn’t been magic here for hundreds of years though.”
He snorted. “Powerful magic may be gone, but the parlor trick kind that anyone can have never left. Fae can heal still and use glamour, can they not? Unless you don't know any fae either, in which case the only way I can explain this to you is that every person sees these in their own language. It’s a glamour of its own.” He circled me as he spoke, but then returned to his barrel and huffed before puffing out rings again.
“Thanks for the information,” I said. Now I needed to go not only because there might be a psycho older woman chasing me, but also because I was embarrassed and being schooled by a dwarf. And yes, there was a small crowd nearby watching our interaction.
Definitely time for a drink, I told myself as I marched forward into the tavern.
The atmosphere of hustle and bustle shifted into one of carefree debauchery immediately. The bar was rougher than I remembered. Though there were still swaying creatures dancing in various parts, there were also less friendly looking patrons, snarling over their food or drinks.
All the way across the room I noticed a makeshift bullseye drawn on the wall that the giants had moved toward as they flicked swords at the shape on the wall.
In their hands, the metal looked like daggers, but they were full-blown swords to the rest of the patrons, myself included.
And yet even with the craziness surrounding the patrons, each person paid attention to themselves and didn’t seem at all caught up in what anyone else was doing,
