Luck in the inn 2

When Rue saw him, he gently nodded: "Can I stay?" He wondered, while the waitress and the guard, with whom he was chatting, went back to work.

Ylre nodded, "But you will sleep in my room, if you don´t mind."

"I don´t, thank you," Rue smiled happily.

Ylre took the rest of the mead and cake from the table and went to his room with Rue. Upstairs, they turned right, passing several doors before entering one. The enthusiasm emanating from Rue was palpable as he measured the pleasant looking, not the largest, room. To the right was a single bed with a small bedside table and a window against the door. Next to it stood a wardrobe with a bench and an armchair in the corner of the room. Everything was wooden and only the white carpet in the middle of the floor added a little color to the room.

However, the first thing that caught Rue's attention was the bedside table with a translucent vase in which stood a single white rose.

"Sweet."

"It would be a shame to throw it away," Ylre commented, placing the remains of the cake on the table, "Do you want a drink?" He sat down.

Rue nodded, took one glass, handed the other to Ylre and sat down on the bed next to him. Ylre smiled softly and held out his own glass t Rue, intending to drink with him.

It took a while before he realized what he was doing and gently clinked his glass with his own: "Luckily," he said, and drank to his heart's content.

"Luckily," Ylre drank and after a while put the empty glass on the table.

Rue smiled with a pleasant taste on his tongue: "Yum."

"Do you like it?" Ylre asked.

"It has a strange taste, but I like it," he nodded, "where did we end up?" Rue wondered. He was really interested in travel chatter, so he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to talk with someone who had visited every country, while he had been locked up.

"I asked you if you would like to go to Equil with me, I think you would like that village... and that apple tree is really special," Ylre smiled.

Rue considered for a moment before stating, "I'd like to sometimes, but for now I want to be in the city…check out the local places," he clarified.

Ylre, who knew he couldn't push for something like that, so as not to scare Rue off, nodded, "Would you like to hear where it's worth going the most?" He asked, and when Rue nodded enthusiastically, he started.

He talked about everything, he told Rue, how the world worked, what are the most beautiful places he could find in them, and how to behave in each country, although Rue didn´t understand most of it. However, Ylre was taking his time. He explained what international relations are like. He explained the hostile attitude between the Lacrisans and the Rinselans...that neither country loved or hated Equil, but the Equil hated both foreign nations out of jealousy. He explained that despite all the disagreements, the world is in harmony, because when any country wants to take initiative, there is always something to keep it by other two in check.

And Rue just listened. Sometimes he asked more about some place that interested him, about some rule that struck him as strange...but still he didn't hear a quarter of what he wanted and he was amazed at everything that Ylre told him.

"How do you know all this?" He wondered.

"I say... I travel, one learns," Ylre commented.

"I've always wanted to travel," Rue admitted contentedly and daydreamed.

"I didn't...but my master loved traveling...and I got used to it over time," he laughed.

"Your master?" Rue didn't understand.

Ylre nodded, "He was a bit like you," he said, "everything fascinated him, he wanted to see everything, and he dragged me everywhere even though I was incapable."

"Incapable?" Rue didn't associate the unpleasant word with him.

"My only job is to protect him, but he always protects me," he laughed.

"Protect?" Rue was intrigued as he finally realized what Ylre's job was, "So you're a guard?" He was interested.

"Something like that...more like a personal bodyguard...but as I say...mostly incompetent, that's why I ended up in a different position." He laughed. Ylre, like every mid-class Infey, had his master from the highest class, whose luck he accepted in the past, whom he protected and whose orders he followed...although he currently received one of the kings.

"I think you're doing well, you've taken care of everything today," Rue supported him.

Ylre laughed gently, but didn´t answer.

"Do you travel together? Where is he now?" Rue wondered.

"We used to...but we had disagreements, it was my fault. After we broke up, I started to miss it, so I started traveling alone from time to time, although he doesn't expect anything from me anymore. But that's okay," he said.

They looked at each other for a moment as if Rue didn't know what to say before he gently pulled himself close and said soothingly, "It's not your fault, if he was a good person, you would have solved this with words."

"Some things words won't solve," Ylre clarified, "but that doesn't matter now...traveling is fun even when I am alone...but it's always better when we are two." He clarified.

Rue looked at him for a while before he realized that he could help Ylre with his problem: "If you really want...I could go with you. I just wanted to stay here for a few days…but if you go later…I could go with you." He promised.

Ylre smiled softly, "Really?"

"Really...you're right, it's better to travel with someone," he nodded.

Ylre looked at him with pleasure: "Are you tired?" He wondered.

"Just a little," Rue admitted.

"We can go to bed...let's see the rest of the city tomorrow," he suggested.

"Okay," Rue agreed, looking around the room, "where should I sleep?" he was interested.

"Take the bed, I'll sleep in the chair," Ylre pointed out and went to the closet, from which he took a rather thin sheet. He handed a thicker one to Rue, took one of the sheets himself and sat down in the chair.

"Really?" he couldn't believe it, "Don't you want to sleep in the bed?"

"I'm used to falling asleep wherever I lay down," he explained, "get a good night's sleep."

"Really?" Rue still wasn't sure.

"Really, if you think it's unfair, you can invite me to breakfast tomorrow." Ylre laughed.

Rue thought for a moment before nodding and lying down, "Okay, I'll invite you," he smiled, and since he was slightly exhausted, he really covered himself up with the intention of going to sleep, "Good night." He looked at Ylre in the chair.

"Good night," Ylre smiled, and Rue closed his eyes. Ylre watched him for a moment before getting up and blowing out the candle on the bedside table. He returned to the chair, covered himself with the blanket, and fixed his eyes on the young man on the bed, who seemed to have fallen asleep within seconds. He wasn't surprised at all, since he had spent the last two hundred years in a cell.

Ylre looked at him calmly, a soft smile playing on his face as if he couldn't believe that he had managed to accomplish so much in such a short time. But he wasn't going to let his guard down just because he was doing well so far. His experience told him that when things go too easily, something is wrong, so he wasn't going to miss anything. But the main thing was that he found Rue, that their relationship was moving in the right direction...and that they would spend more time together soon.

***

Shane was lying on an uncomfortable bed. He frowned slightly and opened his eyelids, then blinked in shock to see several pairs of eyes staring at him with unprecedented interest. Confused, he moved, when a rush of pain hit his body, what an unsparing evening he had experienced yesterday. Nevertheless, he sat down and backed away from a number of young men who literally surrounded him as if he were an attraction.

"He's awake!" Shouted one.

"Is he all right?" Shane heard, after which other young men flocked to him.

"He took over!"

,,Almost."

,,Is he fine?"

"Were you the first time Nielle used you?"

"Not even the twentieth."

"He looks terrified."

Shane listened to fifteen or so people discussing his condition as if he wasn't sitting right next to them, only to straighten up in confusion. He waited for everyone to be quiet so he could find out what was going on.

"Shut up," one young man raised his voice, "do you want to scare him too? Poor guy." He stated, sitting down next to Shane.

Shane looked at the blond young man with piercing blue eyes that immediately focused on him and gave him a supportive glow, as he smiled softly, "Good morning, how are you feeling?" He asked.

Shane took a moment to consider what to say when he opened his mouth and realized his vocal cords were hurting more than he expected. He gently cleared his throat and tried: "Where am I?"

"In the palace, in Rinsel. Do you remember?" The young man smiled.

"I know where I am," Shane sighed, "but where in the palace." He didn´t know.

The youths blinked softly and slowly sat around, giving Shane the feeling of being interrogated, "You are in the storey belonging to Prince Nielle, on the fourth highest floor."

Shane looked around and tried to assess what kind of room this was. But he wasn't sure. It was really spacious, almost as if someone had connected the entire floor together. Along the right wall there were strange beds, one of which he was lying on, opposite were currently unfilled holes in the ground, which were used for bathing, and against the entrance he saw four more doors, leading to an unknown place. He saw spacious sofas in the corners of the room, and in the middle of the room was a platform and a long dining table for many people. In addition, all kinds of clothes of the young men were lying everywhere on the ground.

"You all live in one room?" Shane didn't understand.

One nodded, "You'll get used to it...we belong to Prince Nielle, although it's not the most ideal to live in the same room with a bunch of other people, after last night you'll surely appreciate staying here for the night," he knew.

"Last night," Shane remembered, whereupon everyone fell silent, as if waiting for Shane to explode.

"Ah," however, Shane sighed more or less calmly, "that bastard." He cursed.

"Shhh," one of the young men sharply put a finger to his mouth, "don't say such things. What if he hears you?" He whispered.

Shane lowered his finger from his lips and tried to stand up: "Let him hear," he stood up and stretched gently, "so you just live in this room all day?"

"You shouldn't be walking," a young man stopped him and pulled him back to the bed, "after the first night with Prince Nielle..." He didn't finish.

"I'm fine," Shane shook his hand, "and what if you want to go out?" He was interested.

"Some of us have to work... I'm in the kitchen, for example... we go to our places... if the prince calls us, we go to him... if we have time off, we can go to the city, if the prince allows us, or to some part of the castle, if the prince allows us... if he doesn't, we're in the room," he summarized.

"If the prince allows you," Shane repeated in a monotone, sighing again and making his way to the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" one of the young men grabbed him.

"I'm not going to wait in the room until the prince lets me out," he said.

"You can't without permission," he stopped him again, but Shane simply got rid of him.

"You can't...wait," another argued.

Shane wasn't listening to them. He didn't know why all the Lacrisans in this room were without an ounce of self-respect. He didn't know why he wasn't allowed to go out without permission, but he really wasn't going to sit on his ass and wait for the prince to remember not to leave him in a room for days.

"He's going to whip you and you will end up in jail for a week!" one shouted, causing Shane to stop.

"Really?" He looked at the young man, who just nodded sharply. Although Shane was not afraid of being whipped, the prospect of spending so much time in the dungeon was not appealing. So after a while he sighed and returned to the bed, "Fine." He laid down.

The young men looked at him with relief, as if they were afraid that everyone would have a problem because of his escape. They kept looking at him for a while before they started bothering Shane: "Do you need anything?"

"Why are you all looking at me?" He didn't understand.

"You seem to be quite well," one said.

"Shouldn't I?"

"I don't know..."

"He raped you and you have bandages everywhere, he took your luck and-" the other blurted out, after which one of the young men covered his mouth, as if he was afraid that Shane wouldn´t take hearing about last night in the best way.

Shane looked at him, "I have all my limbs, I can move and I have enough luck," he said.

"Yeah, but-" one began.

"Ah," it dawned on Shane, "you want to support me…you think your words will make me feel better."

The young men nodded: "If you need anything..."

"I don't need it," he explained, to which the young men looked at each other in surprise, as if they didn't understand what Shane was saying.

After a while though, one of them said, "Fine...but if you need anything, say it." He patted a few Lacrisans on a sign to leave him alone for a while, as it looked like he really didn't want to communicate with them.

And he was right, because Shane had no energy for them. Everyone told each other that he was suffocating all his feelings inside, that he was stressed, terrified inside and didn't know how to get rid of his pain, just like they had when Nielle brought them here. However, no one knew that they were really wrong.

Shane was fine as always. For him, one rape was just another line of unpleasant experiences he had lived through, and after yesterday, Nielle became just another bastard in his memory. Shane didn't need friends, he didn't need pity and support. All he needed was the opportunity to complete his task and get out of this country as quickly as possible, along with revenge on another idiot who chose not to listen to his suggestions for peaceful coexistence.

Shane knew it wasn't going to happen right away, he knew he wasn't going to have the best of times in this country and the scenario of yesterday would probably repeat itself countless times before he will get his way. But it didn't matter. There were other things inside him that were destroying him, so a little pain and a few violent erotic acts were nothing more than child's play that couldn't break him.

However, none of the Lacrisans around him understood such things...and he didn't even demand it from them.

And so he just lay down and waited.