Chapter 113 - Ye Olde Drink & Stay

No way.

There's no way the little boy in my dreams was little Reynard. After all, he already had parents. There's no way. Frustrated, I rubbed my face, trying to organize my scattered thoughts.

But then again, it could just have been a mere dream. Right, just a dream. Sighing, I hauled myself out of bed and checked the sky outside. Dang, it was already turning dark. How long had I slept?

Hastily, I fixed my hair and washed the dried tears off of my face before going downstairs. Even before I had reached the landing, I knew the house was empty. 

"Mama…?" I called out, looking around the barely lit room. "Sven?"

But of course, there was no response to indicate the presence of light other than my own. Where was everybody?

I checked in Mama's room, in the kitchen, upstairs and even in the pain reminiscent backyard, but there was no sign of them. I turned to the main door and stared long and hard at the brass knob, thinking about my next move. There was no way I was going to go out looking for them. In this cold dusk, wherever will I go? I don't even know my way around this strange neighborhood, I'm sure to get lost. 

Groaning, I searched the whole house once more, hoping they would just appear out of thin air, but all my efforts were to no avail. 

"Where are they?" I mumbled worriedly to myself as the light outside started fading away. It was getting darker. One part of my brain was telling me to sit back and relax since both of them were adults and can take care of themselves. But the other part of me was constantly worrying about them, wondering if something nightmarish happened to them. I hated that latter part of me, but I couldn't control it. 

Biting my lips, I grabbed a shawl from Mama's room and wrapped it around myself before instinctively heading out in the cold dusk. I knew I was taking a risk, but I can't just sit at home and kill myself from pondering over them. I needed to initiate action.

"Mama Ruth!" I called out as I walked on the seemingly never ending pavement. "Sven! Mama!"

But I only received an echo of my own voice in return. Shivering, I rubbed my palms together to warm them up as I looked around, scared of what might face me. 

"Mama!" I called again, looking behind me just in case someone was creeping up over my shoulder. There was nobody on the street except me. Gulping, I wrapped the shawl tighter around me and continued on walking. 

"Sven!" I coughed. "God, the cold is getting to my throat. Mama Ruth!"

I was almost in tears by the time I reached the end of the street. Where were they? Why had they left me alone?

As a tear trickled down my cheek, I turned back to where I had come from and made my way back to the inn. I'm sure I was halfway there when I heard a second pair of footsteps beside mine.

Startled and frightened, I turned around and there stood a short, old man smiling up at me.

"Lost, my dear?" he asked in a silky voice, despite his age. "I might help you find your way back."

"No..." I mumbled as I inched away from him. "I'm not lost, just looking for someone."

Even in the dark, I saw his face light up.

"Then I'm the perfect man to aid you," he beamed, pointing a thumb at himself. "I know everyone in this li'l ol' town. Say, who're you looking for?"

"Um..." I looked around, hoping to get away from him. Sighing, I decided to give it a try. "Her name's Mama Ruth. I can't find her, unfortunately, and it's unusual of her to leave unannounced."

His face had turned sour at the mention of Mama's name.

I frowned. "Do you perhaps not know of her?"

He scoffed. "How can I not? She was my greatest arch rival when her inn was still up and running. It sure did teach her a lesson when I upgraded my pub to a large inn. Took all her customers away." He gave a hearty, belly laugh. "Dang, the woman was a powerhouse in her prime. Too bad someone else got to her first."

I fidgeted awkwardly with my hands. "Um, I think Mama mentioned you once before. What was your name? Cliff?"

He nodded. "Cliff Beckett at your service. You seem cold, kid. Want to drink some hot chocolate back at my inn? It'll be on the house."

Even the thought of a warm mug of freshly stirred hot chocolate made my mouth water. I adjusted the shawl around my shoulders, looking over my shoulder to see if Mama was hopefully making her way back to the inn, but unfortunately, not another person was in sight. 

"Hot chocolate sounds delightful," I said as I smiled, turning back to the old man.

He laughed again as he turned around on his heel. "Then follow me, lassie. Make sure to brag about my recipe to the old hag when she returns."

✿

Mister Beckett's inn was quite fancy, indeed. 

As I followed the stout, old man into a towering building, I felt a shudder of excitement. Mister Beckett's inn was called 'Ye Olde Pub & Stay', a name I barely understood but still stifled a laugh at. 

"Right on in we go," Mister Beckett said cheerfully as he pushed back a door. 

It was as if a bomb of goodness exploded on my face. Warm air gushed out from the inside,and mingling aromas of different kinds of food tickled me under the nose. It was a feeling so much different to Mama's inn, and I almost instantly melted.

Mister Beckett walked inside as if he owned the place (he did, lol) and beckoned me to follow him. Wholesome chatter of customers was everywhere, and I heard snippets as I walked past the tables where people sat, having drinks or having dinner.

It was such a comfortable atmosphere, the polar opposite of Mama's place. No wonder her customers changed inns. 

"Sit wherever," Mister Beckett said as he patted my shoulder, looking distracted. "I'll make sure someone serves you a hot cocoa."

Nodding obediently, I found myself a seat in the corner and sat down. I took my shawl off since the blazing fireplace kept the room warm enough. Finally settled in, I looked around in awe.

This place was simply expensive.

There were two golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, below which people sat beside tables equipped with expensive cutlery and hearty looking meals. I gulped as I stared at the food, wishing I could eat something right now.

The atmosphere in here was similar to a modern five star hotel, and I was dead chuffed at the effort it all must've taken, especially considering the fact that these were old times.

I sat around idly as I waited for my hot chocolate to arrive, and sure enough, a server approached me with a large mug over a silver tray he held.

"Here you go," he said monotonously and then left the mug on my table. 

Smiling, I stared at the thick brown liquid floating about in the fairly large mug.

"This looks so good," I mumbled as I blew on it before taking a small sip. My God, what was this warming feeling? It had been so long since I felt this at home. "And it tastes as good as it looks, too!"

I sure was going to brag about Mister Beckett's recipe to Mama, just like he had said. Happily swinging my legs, I drank slowly from the mug without a single thought in mind. 

But then my nightmare came flashing back to me. 

At the moment, I hadn't been able to think straight because I was so frightened and out of breath. But now that I was calm, I could probably wonder about it all.

Was it really a dream? Or a vision? It was strange, because I've never ever had a dream that connected to a past one. So was this pointing at something?

Was my dream an actual past reality? Or was I being too paranoid about it?

Gulping down the rest of my hot chocolate, I sighed and leaned back in my chair, enveloped by the deep thoughts circling in my mind.

"Something on your mind?"

Startled, I awoke from my trance-like state and looked about me. Was someone talking to me? Indeed, there was. A girl crouched beside me, staring into my eyes as she did so with a questionable look on her face. 

"Something on your mind?" she repeated as she arched her eyebrows. "Hi, my name is Yuriel. I saw you come in with my dad earlier. Are you perhaps a friend?"

"Oh..." So this was Mister Beckett's daughter. "No, I was out on the street looking for someone. He thought I was called and brought me in for a warm drink. I'm really thankful for that; I was freezing!"

She laughed. "That's my dad for you. He's a nice guy, but really, he needs to stop giving out freebies to people. He's too soft on some people, haha. But that's what attracts so many customers to our inn. How did you like your cocoa?" she asked suddenly, staring at me with her large hazel eyes.

I smiled awkwardly. "It was great! I'll be sure to tell Mama all about it when she returns." 

Yuriel frowned. "Mama? As in, Mama Ruth? That old hag who ran Ogden Cove?"

I nodded, inwardly questioning her tone. "The very one."

Interested, Yuriel pulled up a chair beside me and sat down, crossing her legs. 

"As far as I know, her lone daughter died long ago? Are you perhaps a niece?"

I shook my head. "I'm… a friend of hers. She's putting up with me for a while."

"Ohh..." she muttered, twirling a strand of her dark brown hair around her fingers. "What happened to your own abode?"

I shrugged. "Nothing." She waited for me to emphasize but I remained tight-lipped. She sighed.

"So, how is she? Mama, I mean." Yuriel leaned in with a smirk. "I heard she's a real b*tch. Is it true?"

I scoffed incredulously. "No way! How can you call her that?"

She leaned back and shrugged as if she didn't give a damn. "So what if I called her a b*tch? She used to think competing with my dad was a good idea. Imagine the look on her face when I sabotaged her food and made everyone turn their backs on her trashy inn. The business for the health center's was booming that day. Really, she must've known better than to go side by side with my dad."

My eyes widened in horror. It was as if a volcano had erupted in me. A hot, flaming volcano of immense anger. I stood up and slapped my hand over the table, startling everyone in the room.

"How dare you?" I hissed at Yuriel. She scoffed. "You're the real b*tch here, you know that, don't you? Does your dad know about what you did? Shall I tell everybody here?"

Gasping, Yuriel stood to her feet. "Don't you f*cking try it. I'll kill you, I swear."

I laughed maniacally. "Sure, sure. I'd like to see you try in public. Imagine what would happen to the inn if the owner's daughter proceeds to kill a customer."

Yuriel flushed and clenched her fists menacingly. For a moment, I thought she was going to take a swing at me, but then again, she knew of the consequences. 

"Get out of here," she hissed to me. "Get out and don't ever show your face here."

I smiled smugly.. "I'll be pleased."