Chapter 10- Amir

The next day Amir found himself surrounded by prostitutes who wanted nothing but his body warming their bed and his coins in their pockets. He kept telling himself that he had not made a mistake by coming, but he had not been able to convince himself. The captain was nowhere to be seen even though he had invited Amir himself. Had he bailed on him? Amir could not blame him though; this place was anything but enjoyable.

He could see that the girls in the tavern were eyeing him, trying to find an opening to approach. He was clearly the only non-Elwairian man among the guards and it had not gone unnoticed. The girls were hungry for a change, and Elwaira mostly only saw people of Danion and their own kind among them. Men and women of his kin hardly stepped in this land by their own will. Not that Amir had come willingly, but the factor of him not being a slave made it look like that. So those hungry men and woman were probably wondering how much they could charge him for a night, or how good he was in bed. Not that Amir would feed their curiosity, he knew better to get in bed with any of them.

He took a sip from the cup in his hand, it was probably high-quality beer inside it. Amir did not know his liquor, he’d been too young for it when he was in the southern empire and upon coming to Elwaira he had figured it was better to stay clearheaded, to avoid any sort of trouble. So even though seventeen years of his life had passed, this was probably the second time he held any sort of liquor in his hands.

Someone yelled across the room “To the king!” the rest of the guards repeated after him as they struck their wooden cups together. Amir did not bother himself to join as he sat in a corner, he was reading the room, or at least trying to. Nothing strange had caught his eyes. He’d told himself in the morning that he was going to train his mind, sharpen his senses. That a sharp mind was needed for his survival, but so far he had not made any progress. Maybe he was testing himself too soon.

The doors of the tavern opened, and finally after a long wait Amir saw his captain coming in. He first said some greetings and took a cup from someone’s hand then made his way to Amir. “You showed up.” Amir took another sip. “You made it clear that you’d order me to do it, I had no other choice.”

“You could have said yes and not bothered anyways.”

“And risk a whole day of shifts without a break? Never.” The captain laughed at his comment and sat on the chair beside him. There were unspoken words between them, and Amir had no idea why he was feeling that way. But the air around the captain had a heavy feel to it, as if he wanted to talk more, to say more, but he was stopping himself. Amir, despite the fact that he did not like most Elwairians, could see that his captain had done so much for him, too much in fact. So he broke the silence as it was the least he could do. “How long have you attended these…gatherings with the rest….my lord?” It had been a question of his for some time, that why the son of mighty lord Seltar bothered himself to communicate with his unit. “From the very first day I joined.” Amir took one more sip, telling himself that it was going to be the last when he knew that it would not be. From the corner of his eyes he caught Logan Seltar do the same.

What the captain said next shattered every thought he’d had before it. “Logan, just call me Logan.” Amir looked at him in shock, was he already drunk? He doubted it. “You are my captain, the son of one the king’s advisors and of noble blood. It is disrespect if I call you anything but your title.” The young captain smiled, drinking a huge gulp from his drink and then standing up. “I’m taking a stroll around; I’ll get you another drink.” Amir wanted to protest, saying that he was not going to drink anymore but the captain was long gone before he could open his mouth.

Soon he found himself surrounded by Jacob and a bunch of other soldiers who made him drink too many cups for him to be certain of. But one thing he knew for sure, Logan Seltar had broken his word; he’d not returned to him with the promise of more drink.

………………………………………………………………………….

Amir woke up with the sound of the first bell, a chiming of the huge stone clock in the castle. He was certainly not in his own tent, and that made him anxious. The mattress he was on was soft, way softer than he expected of a tavern. Was he even in the tavern? Maybe someone had gotten him a room. Or perhaps, as much as he hated to think of it, he’d been too drunk to avoid the women trying to bed him. If that was the case, then he had to get out now.

But then something struck him, he’d heard the bell loud enough to waken him. It meant he was in the castle. In no other location in town the clock could be head clear enough to even matter, let alone awaken someone from their sleep. He shot his heavy eyes open, taking in his surroundings.

The walls were all in army green, golden curtains hanging from the corners of windows as the sunlight made its way into the room. He shifted his body, turning to the other side. His eyes widened in fear as he saw Logan Seltar beside him.

It all made sense now, the soft mattress, the loud sound of the clock and even the golden curtains. It all made sense, how had he not thought that they were signs that he was in the room of a wealthy man? But the problem was that the wealthy man or woman was not just anyone, it was his captain.

As soon as he thought possible, he got out of the bed. He was still wearing his clothes, which meant nothing major had happened between them. He’d heard rumors of the captain’s specific preferences but had never minded them. Private life was to be kept private, and Amir had never been the type to linger onto rumors. But now, now that he had woken up beside the man, he hoped that it was not true.

Because if it was then his current situation could only mean one thing; he had gotten involved with his superior. Which was of course something he’d want to avoid as much as possible.