Chapter 20 - Getting Settled

When the group arrived at The Snake Pitt Inn, they decided they would need to eat before calling it a night; they had a long journey from tomorrow, and there would be no more inns between Kuramji and Direwood forest. Finding themselves a table, Ronan went to the bar to order food, and he returned with three pints.

"And what would the two lovely ladies want to drink?"

"You call this one lovely?" Ger smirked as he looked at Cilv, who returned a glare.

"Wine for me, 'Roach, '" Cilv mocked; Ronan rolled his eyes then looked over at Evanna, who was not paying attention to the chatter. She seemed to be eyeing the pint in Ger's hand.

"Raven?" Ronan asked hesitantly; Evanna reached her hand out to grab the pint from Ger, who had lifted the metal tankard to his mouth. He paused when he saw Evanna looking intently at the drink. Sighing, Ger passed it over to her, knowing too well that she would not like it. He did not even think she drank wine before; if she had, it would be ten times better than what could be found here.

Evanna brought the tankard to her lips, and she took a sip tentatively. Ronan and Axel leaned forwards as they once again were watching this very odd princess drink. Their perception of a princess must surely be wrong if she kept surprising them while Ger watched her like it was an everyday occurrence.

The moment she drank from the tankard, the liquid hit her tongue then her throat as the slightly warm drink went down. Her stomach churned at the unwelcome liquid; she stopped herself from gagging.

"Ugh, that is absolutely disgusting. How can you drink that?" Her face scrunched up out of distaste as she placed her hand on her mouth. Everyone, including Cilv, burst out laughing at the princess.

"We never said you should", Axel blurted out in between laughing.

"I think I will stick to water."

"No wine?" Cilv enquired, smirking. Evanna's face started going somewhat red from the embarrassment. She could not help but want to try anything that she could not get when she was back at the palace. Even when she visited other royals or nobles, attending their banquets or balls, there was always water and wine being served. Not that she accepted the wine, she was too young when she attended the gatherings. She has, however, been told that the wine they get in the palace is of top quality, as is expected of royalty: nothing but the best for King Osian Goodrich.

"No", Was all she responded; at this, Axel put his arm around her shoulder, giving it a small pat. What seemed small to him made her nearly fall forwards; the man was such a giant.

"Aww, lassie, you done well. Don't look so down. I like your spirit!" He said; Evanna smiled up at his face, comforted by his huge form, she started to realise she was looking at him as a father figure.

Not that his age was anywhere near her father's, he seemed to have a caring, protective nature who took charge. Or maybe it was just because of the beard. He already, with ease, took on the role as leader of the group; she wondered if that was his role when he was out monster-slaying with the other two men.

Not long after Ronan brought back the ladies drinks, did the food arrive at the table. This time there was chicken, some vegetables and bread on the side; Cilv did not hold back this time, too hungry to complain. She had quite the day, herself, today. Even though she separated from the group at the black market, she was more relaxed in exploring the stalls without the keen eye of Ger. She did make a few quick getaways, as was her usual reaction to any object not kept under constant surveillance.

However, Cilv knew she would not be able to resell them anytime soon, what with the quest they were on, so she stole the bare minimum that she could carry, knowing that she would definitely be returning to Kuramji in the future. After finishing her meal and her wine, she quickly excused herself and went up to the room.

"Does anybody else get the feeling that she acts a little forced to be with us?" Ronan spoke up his thoughts about the woman once she left through the double doors.

"Not our fault you were shocking in bed", Axel retorted; Ger burst out laughing as he put his pint back down, trying not to spill it, while Evanna covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Evanna was starting to feel more relaxed with the guys she sat with; their quick banter was something she was not used to. In fact, she was not used to a lot of socialising outside of her family, servants and Ger, unless it were a ball she needed to attend to, though the conversations she were typically in were very dry and dull.

Ronan acted hurt at Axel's comment, dramatically placing his hand on his chest, his mouth agape. The men then quickly changed the topic; after realising Evanna was still at the table, they began talking about some of the adventures they had been on before instead. After a while, the inn became more scarce as customers started to leave or go to their rooms. But they continued on with their stories, and Evanna listened eagerly.

They then started animatedly telling her about the time they came across a monster with two heads, one on the front and one at the back. Making it quite hard for them to try any sneak attacks, once the beast had fallen, they were paid extremely well as it had been terrorising the town for decades.

"Wow", Evanna said in fascination; her elbows were on the table as she leaned her chin in her hands while looking at each of their young faces in awe, "And this monster.. where was it slain?"

"I believe that was in Tigby?" Ronan replied,

"No, that was the Scarrow monster, a similar town but different place, Helia?" Axel said as he started scratching at his beard on his face in thought.

"Not Helia that's too close to Lyvaria; their lands are very clear of monsters. I think it was Quantya," Ger responded before taking another sip from his drink.

"These places, they are all past Lyvaria?" Evanna asked, still in wonder at the places they had been to, the things they had seen and the monsters or creatures they must have come across.

"I already sense the little explorer in you", Ronan chuckled, "Yes, the towns we have mentioned are the other side of Lyvaria. There are still so many places we have not seen, but we were on a mission to make a name for ourselves. I am sure in the future we can see them without there being any havoc."

They were on a quest now, but once her mother would be better, she knew she would want to explore the other lands. She wondered how long it would take to get to those other lands; the guys said they did not need to venture too far into Direwood forest. However, she stopped herself from thinking too far ahead, her future was still unknown, and she had a gut feeling that her father would not be letting her out of his sight once she returned.

"Can you show me the map, Axel?" She asked; Axel downed the last part of his pint before responding,

"I will show you upstairs. This is no place to speak openly about our plans."

Evanna nodded her head before standing up with him but stopped walking when she suddenly sensed someone watching them. Her head moved in the direction where she felt their gaze, her own eyes searching the tables across from them until they landed on a dark figure in the corner of the room. Their hood covered their features; the only detail she could make out was their long white locks that cascaded down their chest. A shiver went up her spine as she realised, they did not move their head from her direction. She tilted her own curiously, she usually would ignore people watching her, but there was something about this being that made her stare back.

A hand slapped onto her shoulder lightly, snapping her out of her locked gaze, blinking; she turned her head back to see Ger also standing up now while Ronan finished the last of his drink. They once again started to follow Axel. Evanna did not look back at the figure in the corner for fear of possibly causing any more problems for the group. There was a brooding aura that came from them, and staring at this person could cause them to act out irrationally, especially in a place such as The Snake Pitt Inn.