17 The small inn in Gridell

Laughter and voices rang deep into the night. In a corner of the town's plaza sat proudly an inn that also served as a restaurant for those looking for a break from a long trip. As you enter the pub, a large gathering of people talking and enjoying themselves will come into view. Waitresses walked around the tavern serving ale to the thirsty ones. Some were stoic, eating their meal in silence while some were loud and smashing their fists on the table.

In one corner you would see a small platform, where a small band of ordinary people were playing music. They barely had any space to move freely but they did not seem to care, their instruments covering some of the small talks that took place in the room.

Not far from them at a large table stood a blonde woman revealing one by one, palm-sized cards, previously placed in an order. She looked like a nomad, with a shawl covering her head but letting some of her strands run loose. With every move of her long slender arm, the excessive bracelets jiggled, diverting the audience's attention.

The audience seemed to gasp every time she turned a card. They listened to her every word as if entranced by her.

"Come here, sweetheart." A plump hand signalled the waitress to come to him. He moved slightly and the wooden chair underneath him creaked.

"Get her! Ya old man never gets enough ey?" said another man, his laughter booming through the pub. He washed his throat with a large glass of black ale, after which he tossed it on the table. The other men laughed, eyeing the waitress.

"Oi! Shut up! Ya scaring mi customers." The innkeeper yelled from behind the bar. He was scrubbing the countertop with a dirty brown cloth. A waitress rolled her eyes and spit in their direction. She decided to walk inside the kitchen to get away from them. She pushed two small red timber doors and disappeared in the kitchen full of steam.

Another waitress was dressed in a black skirt and a large white shirt, with an open neck, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. She smiled seductively and rocked her hips left to right while coming closer to them. The people could not help but look at her. Her huge breast bounced up and down with every step she took, attracting spectators regardless of gender.

"What should I get ya this time?" said the woman, sitting in the man's lap. His belly was rolling out of his shirt and was touching her thigh. The redhaired woman smiled earing a few whistles from the men at the table. She slid her index finger along his unshaved spiky beard while waiting for an answer.

"The usual, love." Mumbled the drunkard with a twisted tongue. The woman did not even listen to what he was saying, she knew the answer will remain the same regardless the day. He was almost incoherent anyway.

The sun set a long while ago, men and women took shelter in their houses. Some decided to drown themselves in the alcohol forgetting their sorrowful and hardships. Such were the men at the table, two farmers, a blacksmith and a merchant. They smelled strongly of booze. One of them was smoking a cigar admiring the woman. He did not say anything, sitting in the dark corner of the table.

The woman's fiery eyes landed on him. She was not stupid. She knew who was paying for tonight's bill. She left the dirty man alone and inched closer to the man.

"What'd ya like?" asked the woman. The man smirked, his golden lower incisive shined in the dark. Any person that would not know who he was would naturally think that there is more depth to this mysterious man that he lets himself to look. He, however, was the merchant and lived his whole languid life in this small region.

The commotion outside stopped him from answering. Two men were stopping militants from entering the building. Futile. With a kick, a woman knocked the drunk men at the entrance. They flew inside the pub and landed on tables with a loud thump. The people in the vicinity sitting at those tables ran away from their seats, crying in fright.

"What is the meaning of this?" yelled the innkeeper while jumping over the countertop. An empty glass was knocked as a result, landing on the floor and smashing into pieces. The innkeeper had no time to clean this up, as he was annoyed by the sudden commotion. His broad shoulders brushed past some men gathered around the hurt drunkards.

Earlier today, in a small room on the outskirts of the town. Two women sat in silence. A small fire in the fireplace crackled quietly, seemingly also scared by the intense atmosphere in the room.

"I found a bookstore in this town that piqued my interest." Said a very young girl her eyes glowing with intensity. The soldier standing next to her flinched. Her heart was throbbing in her chest eager to know why that was.

"It is small, only just opened." Anna said in a monotone voice. Her indifference sounded almost detached as if nothing interesting took place at that bookstore. But the female sergeant knew better than to judge the situation this early.

"Yes?" Violetta did not know where the conversation was leading, so she was apprehensive when talking.

"I happened to find something very interesting there. Would you like to know?" the sergeant gulped loudly yet again and nodded her head nervously.

Anna diverted her eyes from her guard and landed on the desk. The woman followed her gaze and found that something was sitting on the otherwise empty table. It was just a relatively thin book, with a brick coloured cover. The faint light from the candle next to it was illuminating its glossy exterior.

The woman walked slowly toward the desk and picked it up. She did not read the book but looked again at Anna, silently asking for permission. Anna nodded her head and smiled sweetly at the sergeant. She, however, did not feel comforted by the smile and lowered her gaze on the title of the book.

'The Life of a Second Princess.'

Violetta felt a bolt of electricity run through her. Her eyes widened after reading the title. Now she knew. She knew why the princess was so calm. When she saw the smile a while ago her instincts told her something was wrong, but at least it was not Jack the one to be skinned alive. She sighed feeling a bit relieved but did not know how to act. All she knew form Anna was that she found it at a bookstore, nothing else.

As if reading her mind, Anna's eyes gleamed again with the same mysterious light from earlier and said:

"I bought it from a man called Michael. They say he is also a merchant."

"How should I proceed?" Violetta knew that this is treason. She was not naïve, she heard about such a book while talking with the recruits three weeks ago. It became quite popular these days, but no one had a lead from where they came or where they were printed.

"I don't know…It is your choice." Anna raised from her seat and approached Violetta.

"Should I…" Violetta did not finish her sentence. She hoped that killing him would be the last option.

"I trust you know the best." Anna still did not make her intention clear. She took the book from Violetta's hands and placed it back on the desk.

"Your Highness he will require a trial and evidence. Not to offend the Princess but all we have is the book." The woman was trying to excuse his actions. Anna threw a murderous look at the sergeant making her close her mouth at once. Lowering her head the woman backed a step, fearing that the princess will lay hands on her.

"This is your moment to shine sergeant. Your moment to show your loyalty to the Crown." Anna was trying to guilt-trip the woman into doing it without a trial. For once it would take them effort to catch the bookkeeper and arrest him. Secondly, for such books, no retailer would supply a written receipt. It would be risky to divulge its location.

The sergeant did not seem too convinced. Although Anna was royalty, she had no power in the struggle for the crown, so she had no one backing her up. There were only two sides, not three. The sergeant did not like the idea of getting her hands dirty for the second Princess.

"Your Highness our code of chivalry does not allow us to proceed as such." Violetta started defending herself.

"Does your code also allow you to disregard a royal's command?" Anna was getting impatient with Violetta. Her voice was stern and sounded almost condescending. Violetta's blood ran cold. She was given an ultimatum, with no escape route.

Back at the inn, men and women were sitting in a circle around the Knights. The room was engulfed in silence not a single person dared to move. A woman dressed in a fire red uniform, with a cape of similar colour was standing in the doorframe. She looked around the room, searching for someone. Behind her, four other soldiers were getting rid of the men that earlier caused them trouble.

On the stage, the performers continued to play their instruments as if nothing happened. They added to the suspense that surrounded the room. All but one person seemed to be curious about the Imperial knights.

"Cut the music will ya?" the innkeeper's voice rang loudly. The performance came to a stop.

"What is your problem?" asked the tall man with indignation. He was wiping his hands with the same cloth that earlier was used to clean the table. His crossed face scared the people around him.

"Under the order of the Princess, we are here to arrest a merchant called Michael for committing a crime." The audience gasped and became agitated. They were also aware that the Princess was around, but they did not plan on welcoming her.

The public opinion of the Princess was very bad. Selfish, pompous, thoughtless and impolite were some of the many epithets used to describe the second Princess. If Aura was called an angel and revered everywhere, she went, Anna was exactly the opposite. Her sister, Aura took care of Selda's image for her, and Anna never had any intention to clear things out.

Since she was not present for her sister's birthday that just passed, the public began to speak ill of her. Rumour has it that the second Princess is ugly, and her face is disfigured. She cannot see her sister any longer because she will die of jealousy, that is also why she never spends time with noble's children.

"What?" the innkeeper yelped. His gaze landed on a table in a dark corner, where a group of four men carried on with their conversation ignoring others. Soon other gazes landed on the same man, some confused, some smiling maliciously while others did not know what to make of it.

"Are you Michael?" asked Violetta in a stern voice. She wanted to get this over and done with so she can go to sleep. She did not feel great carrying out Anna's command, but she was her superior and a royal on top of that. She blamed it all on the princess and that calmed and comforted her conscience.

"Ye." Said the man. He did not listen to what Violetta told the innkeeper moments before.

"Arrest him." Commanded Violetta. Two soldiers came and hoisted the heavy man. He struggled but in vain, the soldiers easily lifted him off the ground and departed.

"Hey! What ya doing?" the waitress who earlier entertained Michael said indignantly. Violetta focused on the deplorable state of the woman. She took a tablecloth and tossed it at the waitress.

"Put something on yourself, Goddamit it. You make me sick." With that the soldiers left the inn, leaving the audience confused. None of them knew why the man who lived all his life in this town was now carried away by the soldiers. They all knew what followed.

"Helm!" the innkeeper called for a small boy, who until now has been hidden underneath a table.

"Yes, master." Replied the boy promptly. He was fourteen and for as long as he could remember, the innkeeper was his master. He was sold by his grandmother more than ten years ago, to a slave merchant for a few gold coins. It was a lot for a slave, usually, they were not worth more than one gold coin. However, because the boy was in good shape and ready for work, the trader paid for him a bit more.

"Go tell his family to run."Said he innkeeper with a grim face. The atmosphere became sombre and a collective sigh came from the audience, mourning for Michael.

"Yes, master." Said Helm and dashed through the back door. His rushed steps clicked on the gravel alleyway. The night turned eery and the air grew a touch cooler.

The full moon shone brightly up in the clear sky. Its silvery light illuminating the dark, guiding a boy dressed in a brown suit though them. He was holding his hand on his head, keeping the hat on, while his other was touching the cold walls he rushed past.

Inside the inn, a woman with big circular earrings stood at the table unperturbed. Her shawl covering most of her face, hiding her expression. She glanced at the cards in front of her. All but one were turned over. Her slender fingers touched the paper card and gently flipped it over.

'Five swords'

"Dishonesty… The wolf has finally taken her sheep clothing off." The woman said and returned her gaze to the open door, contemplating.