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With a wide, knowing smile, the owner took a deliberate step toward our table. “I own the hotel next door if you need a room for the night.”
“No. No need.” I pulled the bag of coins from my hip and dumped a heap on the table. That should be enough to cover our meal, plus a healthy tip for her quick service. Hurriedly, I pushed off the table and stood.
But standing wasn’t happening very well. I exhaled, fanning the red bangs off her forehead as the Fae gave me an ‘I feel sorry for you’ grimace. My chest was braced against her palms as she pushed me upright and I tilted back toward the bench. Smoothly, or as smooth as a drunk man with the top half as heavy as a cow could manage, I grabbed the back of the booth and leaned onto it.A slick burp rolled up my throat and out.
“Totally fine.” I chuckled behind my hand. “But maybe the Nymph would like to stay the night. I’ll do it for her. Draw out the suspense of our trip.” I couldn’t help the way I wiggled my fingers at her.
“I don’t like you when you’re drunk,” Red said.
“I don’t like you when you’re not drunk.” It was a pathetic rebuttal, a clumsy slur that tumbled off my tongue.
“Here,” the owner plucked a few extra coins from my bag that I hadn’t realized I had left out on the table and handed me a large key. “Head next door and you can use this key for room twenty-five. Just make sure not to get too loud.” She glanced from me to Red.
This would delay our trip, but since I wasn’t able to stand upright without the world tipping me over, it was likely the better option to just make camp for the night in the hotel next door. It was okay. It was all going to be okay. I was already screwing up my assignment because of this stupid drink that tasted like fresh fruit. But maybe if I kept saying it…everything would turn outfine.
“Well, let’s go.” I grabbed the bag of coins and attached it back to my waist, scanning the booth for anything else I may have misplaced. Red scooped up her wrist cuffs and scooted out of the booth. Together, we wobbled out the door and managed to make our way into the hotel.
“Room twenty-five,” I said, holding up a key as we entered, to no one in particular.
A man dressed in a well-pressed tunic looked up. His lips turned down in an unamused frown and he pointed to his left to a clearly marked hallway of doors with small painted numbers on them. Perfect.
“Onward,” I coughed, placing my hand on Red’s back and steering her toward our door. I could see the number twenty-five painted in green on the old weathered wood. Almost there.
Stumbling against the walls in between doors, I bounced back and forth like an eagerly thrown ball, until I stopped and shoved the key into our lock. It clicked and the door creaked open.
Inside, the lights were already on as if they had been expecting us. There was a dresser, an under-stuffed chair, and a bed. Quite frankly, it looked like the first dump I had stayed in when I entered this freaking realm.
“Great, another piddly slum like the last time.” I grabbed Red’s arm and pulled her along.
My foot caught against hers and we toppled forward, both trying to catch ourselves, only to collide again and bounce off each other onto the bed. We landed with quiet yelps as the mattress broke our fall and our shoulders brushed. Any words that we could have said didn’t feel right anymore.
Every tense muscle in my back relaxed against the green comforter and Red’s head lolled to the side, a lingering smile still on her lips. Silence grew as we lay next to each other, breathing deeply.
“What's your favorite color?” Red asked in a whisper.
I squinted at the ceiling tiles like somehow that would help me sort through my muddled thoughts. “Red.” I finally answered, knowing that was the answer that was required.
“Why red?”
“Red like blood. Red like lipstick. Red like the gowns my queen likes to wear.”
“And do you fancy your queen?” she said even quieter.
“Hardly, but red is her favorite color, so it must be mine too.”
“Is that how it works, then? You only are allowed to like what she likes?”
“I’m bound to her.” I closed my eyes, shuffling through all the knowledge I had of what she liked and didn’t like. Like files that were transferred from her brain to mine as soon as the binding was done.
“What color do you like?” she said again, turning to look at me. I could feel the heat of her gaze on my skin.
“I already answered this question. Red.”
“No. Not what color you're supposed to say. Not what color does your queen favor. What color doyoulike?”
The answer had always been red. It had been red since the day I had been taken in to train in the castle. But I thought about it for a moment. Eydis often wore lavender. A particularly pretty shade of purple that I always thought complemented her fair skin. Then again, I only favored that color so much because it looked good on her.
“Brown,” I finally said. Brown, it was a good sturdy color and most certainly underrated.
