They walked back to the inn in the early hours over the morning when the sun had already started to rise. People were scattered all over the place, passed out on the grass, and on the steps. A couple was still dancing to music only they heard, wrapped around each other in a loving embrace. Aurelie envied them a little. If the previous evening had taught her anything, it was that she was in serious trouble. When she looked at the two lovers, she saw herself and Kirin.
Aurelie hesitated before walking inside. Speaking to Kirin had been a nice balance between the buzz of the inn and the solitude of her journey, and she didn't want to have that end. Her chest tugged with warmth and pleasant ache when she spent time with him, or thought about him, for that matter. The thinking seemed to be happening a lot recently. Her thoughts were divided between him and Leila's injuries.
"Are you coming in?" he asked and swept his hand through his dark hair. It stood on the ends and needed a cut. He looked tired, worn from the evening and, the strangest thing happened, she realized that nothing had been more beautiful to her before. A switch flipped inside her chest and she felt himâvividlyâopening the folds of her heart.
"I'm not sure."
"You look tired."
Aurelie touched her cheeks, feeling them warm up with sudden embarrassment. She wondered what she looked like, a thought that had very rarely crossed her mind before. "I guess I am a little."
"I didn't meanâ"
"No." She smiled, unsure of what else to do. "I didn't think you did."
One of the women that had been sleeping on the grass started to slowly rise, awakened by their voices.
If Uncle Kaiden had been there to see the people she had met, and the place she was in, he would have built a prison inside their cabin, locked her in it, and never let her out again. She had many arguments with them, trying to get them to let her visit the local town with Leila.
Her aunt would usually go alone when her uncle was at the manor. But, on the rare occasion that he went away with Mr. Holver, she would take Aurelie with her to town.
They were both brought up that way, she and Leila. Her father would not allow her anywhere near the town either. Not even for school.
"Had a good time, Doris," Kirin asked the woman as she approached the house. Bits of grass stuck out of her long, bushy hair, and she had a yellow food stain on her shirt.
"When do I not?" She bared her yellow teeth in a wide smile and winked at Aurelie. "You kids have a good morning," she said as she passed them on the steps.
"Sleep well," Kirin added, wrapping his arms around himself. It was a cold morning and he was only wearing a thin shirt. One he must have kept at the inn as Aurelie had never seen him arrive without some sort of Dranoir uniform when he came from the castle.
"Go change!" she insisted. His lips were a light shade of purple. Highfirian winter was warm compared to anywhere else in the world, but the winds carried an icy chill.
He hesitated on the stairs. "You're not coming inside?"
"Not just yet," she said, and sat down on the bottom step, as he slipped into the inn. The buzzing was even louder than before. To the left of her, a powerful wizard lay slumped over a bench, the top part of his body hanging over the seat. The collar of her cloak pressed against her neck. She untied the strings and dropped them behind her. Strands of hair blew in the wind and tickled her face. She felt the chill instantly and took a deep chilling breath, exhaling a cloud of steam.
"Yes, I'm going back today," Kirin's voice sounded from inside.
Aurelie turned to see the old man balancing himself on Kirin's shoulder.
Orken said something under his breath, pointing at the door.
Kirin led Orken to one of the couches and helped him sit. It appeared that he was still drunk from the previous evening. "She's right there." Kirin pointed at her.
Orken's head bobbed in her direction, his eyes went by twice before focusing on her. His head tilted slightly backward in surprise. He lifted his entire arm and waved.
As Kirin turned his back and made his way back to Aurelie, Orken crawled off the couch, wobbling out of sight.
Kirin stepped outside, purple quilt in hand, and sat down beside her. "You'll have to excuse them. Three more families were taken to the King this week. They need something to lift their spirits. That's why Sasha does all this."
Aurelie's mouth itched to say something negative. On the very first day of her arrival, her powerful allies were too drunk to walk and now they needed another excuse to drink. What if the guards from the town followed the sound and the lights and attacked the inn? She bit her lip and shook away the thought. "It's alright. Everyone deserves some fun," she said, her foot tapping on the grass.
Aurelie had fun. More fun than she had in ... she couldn't remember. But they were all in danger. Having the King take three families should have put them on the offensive, it should have made them enter every town in the kingdom and look for potential recruits, but instead, they drank and they ate and they sang. And she too . . . she, whose family was on the brink of death and whose friend was in terrible pain, she too had been happy that evening. And still that happiness grew, every time she stole a glance at Kirin.
"How did they find you? Do you have any idea? You were in hiding for so long with Kaiden. It surprises me that he did not see it coming. He must have been very cautious to have been able to hide for seventeen years," he said and rested his cheek on his fist.
Aurelie leaned back on the steps and pressed her elbows into the step behind her. "The Sproots betrayed us." She sneaked a peek at Kirin and caught him looking right back. Her cheeks colored. There was something about his face that drew her in. "Leila must have escaped; I thought they had taken them too but when I went to their house, they were gone. Aunt Elizabeth always thought that it would be Mr. Holver who gave us away," she sat forward, and pushed her face into her hands, "because of how careless he was. Isn't it funny that it ended up being us who did it to them?"
"Who's Mr. Holver?" Kirin asked.
"He wasâ
A screech came from inside. Kirin jumped to his feet, the blanket dropping from his shoulder. A gust of wind blew against Aurelie's cheek, as someone leaped over her. She ducked down and raised her head. Daerious ran down the field, a row of bright lights, the size of her head, following him.
"Watch out," Kirin called and picked Aurelie up by her arm. He pushed her back against the railing, pressing himself up against her.
Four hogs ran down the stairs, in pursuit of Daerious. Sasha trailed behind them with a kitchen rag on her shoulder. "Kirin Donahue, you better not have had a part in this," she said, her finger in line with Kirin's nose.
Daerious was halfway across the field, his laughter echoing in the distance.
Aurelie looked from Kirin to Sasha. His brows were in a deep frown. "I didn't." Kirin raised his arms, palms up.
"What happened?" Aurelie asked, stepping sideways out of Kirin's way, her fingers lightly traced past his arm. If another one of his breaths were to fall on her neck, her knees would give out.
"He stole my transmutation potion and spiked the brew." Sasha grabbed the rag off her shoulder and slapped it against her knee. "Thankfully, only Mark, Tomas, Liam, and Samantha had any, before the entire inn turned into a bunch of hogs."
Kirin burst out into a fit of laughter. As if connected, her lips curled along with his.
Sasha narrowed her eyes and pointed her rag at him. "I swear on my magic, Kirin Donahue. If I found out..."
"I didn't do it." He chuckled. "And," he added quickly as Sasha's lips parted to throw another accusation, "I didn't know about it either."
Sasha sat down on the steps, shaking her head. "I hope they catch up to him. Give him a proper beating. Do you have any idea of the ingredients needed to make one potion? Never mind the effort it will take to turn them back. Do you remember the time Larry turned himself into a cat while experimenting with growth potions?" She looked up at Kirin. "I had to clean his litter for a year!"
Aurelie's eyes widened, she sat back down on the step and covered her mouth with her hand. Now she had heard everything.
Sasha patted her shoulder. "Oh, don't you worry, dear. We'll get them back to normal."
"Or," Kirin lifted his finger, "we'll have a nice stew."
Aurelie gasped and scolded her gullibility as soon as the air entered her lips. Kirin looked down at her and grinned.
"Why did he do it?"
"Why?" Sasha raised her voice. "Who knows with that boy?" She shook her head.
"I think it was meant for Tomas," Kirin said, a weak smile still creasing the edges of his lips. "He threw itching powder down Daerious's shirt last week and they've been at it ever since."
The hogs appeared out of the trees, walking slowly with their heads hanging low.
"They're going to break the damn in down if they continue like this. Please talk to them Kirin, they only ever listen to you." She folded her arms over her chest. "Where are we supposed to keep them now? They'll destroy the beds with those hooves and did you smell them?" Sasha said in a low voice.
When they were close enough, Aurelie moved to give them space to pass, her eyes nervously traced over them. They reeked of grass and sweat.
"Don't you worry yourself, Samantha. I'll start making the potion first thing tomorrow."
Sasha patted one of the hogs on its head. Aurelie wondered how she could tell them apart but didn't dare ask.
"He has to return at some point. I'll wait the whole night if I have to," she said once the hogs had passed. "Are you staying for the night?"
Kirin folded the quilt. "Not tonight," he said, and he walked inside.