Keep Your Enemies Closer

An Inn of Wants and Wishes

"Real beauty is to be true to oneself." - Laetitia Casta

It took them two days later, at nightfall, to reach the Inn aptly named the Moon's Rest. Fabian and Reyna had barely talked throughout their journey, only conversing when necessary. Food, water, rest, sleep. That first night when they both slept amid fallen leaves and dirt, she longed to mend things between them, that she was sorry. But he had turned away and gone to sleep, the opportunity lost. And since then, the time to talk had never seen right. Reyna didn't know why she had uttered those things in the first place - she knew the accusation was stupid and had regretted it the moment it had come out of her traitorous mouth. She hadn't been thinking straight at all and she wished to let Fabian know. And she would, if he still wanted to go with her to Ashur.

The Moon's Rest was nestled in between two large oaks, who had likely stood there for decades, branches spindly and stretching to cover parts of the Inn. It was decently sized, Reyna thought as she looked at it. There was a well before the entrance and a body of water that wasn't quite a pond but not quite a lake, accompanied by a small dock for any fishers that rested here on their travels. The nearest town was only a few miles away so if they desperately needed supplies there was always that option. Although if they did, Fabian would have to go because a warrant for Reyna had likely gone out by now. She hoped the Moon's Rest was distanced enough from civilisation they wouldn't recognise her or know about the affair at all.

Fabian had packed enough shillings for them to have a month at the Inn if they really wanted but the shillings were to go towards supplies and housing once they reached Ashur so they had to use it sparingly. She glanced at Fabian, the torches flickering outside the Inn the only way she could see his face dimly illuminated by the orange yellow light. "Shall we go in?" She asked softly. He replied, "we shall" mockingly before striding in. It was a good sign - Fabian's sarcastic humour hadn't surfaced for quite some time. That was probably her doing too. After a moment, she followed him in, the smell of meat, gravy and potato wafting into the night air.

To Reyna's relief, it wasn't too busy. A man and a woman nursing a baby sat by the far corner and an elderly man was hunched over a mug of ale with his back to them. Apart from that it was silent apart from the scuff of their shoes and Reyna presumed all the other tenants were in bed with how late it was. The bartender though was still up, scrubbing the sticky counter with a grubby cloth. It was cosy, Reyna thought, despite its apparent uncleanliness in some aspects. There were many tables (most of them empty) with the bar at the middle of the back which opened into a room that was likely the kitchens. From there, she could make out an adjoining hallway on one side and a set of stairs on the other leading down to a cellar if she knew anything about Inns. There was a staircase leading up and Reyna craned her head to see its different levels and made out four with three rooms on each floor, twelve in total. 

Fabian approached the bartender who still didn't look up, the former wrinkling his nose at the dirty cloth. "Hello," Fabian greeted, careful to not put his hands on the sticky counter that smelt vaguely of syrup. Reyna came up beside him as Fabian flashed his most charming grin at the bartender. He was right - they had to play their part to get a room. It might be difficult already, with their shabby attire and dirt dusted faces. 

The bartender finally looked up, revealing a bald head shaped like an egg, a faint fuzz of stubble on his chin, crooked teeth and watery eyes. He grunted and assessed them both, tossing the dirty cloth to the side. "What am I getting ya?" He finally asked gruffly, deeming them acceptable customers. "Oh, we're not here just for food." Fabian inclined his head to the stairs. "Are there any rooms available?" At the bartender's hesitation, he continued, "we've travelled a very long way. We have the coin." To prove it, Fabian flashed him his pouch of shillings, jingling it to show his words spoke true. "No rooms." The bartender replied, picking his cloth up again and beginning to scrub relentlessly. Fabian's smile faltered and he glanced to Reyna. Asking for her support. "Is there not anywhere we can sleep while waiting for a room to be available?" She asked politely.

The bartender stared at her and hoping she was winning him over, she said "we'll pay the same price for anything you might scrounge up." She flashed him a smile. "Please." She clasped Fabian's hand, Donovan's wedding ring still on her finger. Seeing it made her see red but she pressed on. "We're newly engaged." 

Fabian shifted to put his hand on the small of her back and the touch brought her back to the night they met when he had done a similar thing - in a situation so alike to this. First, she had acted as a prostitute to get into the palace. And now, a betrothed into an Inn. And just like that night, she felt a jolt up her spine. She didn't know if the Bartender had softened or if it was the promise of coin but he relented, telling them there was a makeshift bed in the cellar. Why it was there he hadn't specified but they had somewhere to stay and that was all what mattered for now. He - Liam, he was called - had informed them a proper room was opening up tomorrow night to their relief. 

After that had been sorted, Reyna suddenly felt the acuteness of hunger stirring in her stomach. So they had sat down, ordering two bowls of stew and two glasses of water, the silence palpable between them. Reyna cleared her throat, coming to the conclusion this was as good a time as any. "I'm sorry." She murmured, his flint eyes meeting her own. "What I said was stupid - and wrong. There's no excuse for it."

Fabian nodded. "Yeah it was." But," he ran a hand through his dark hair, matted with specks of dirt and likely grease. "You had nearly been strangled to death so I don't blame you." His voice shook as he said it and Reyna rested her hand on the table. A peace offering. "Are we okay?" 

Fabian returned her faint smile and laid his hand atop hers. "We're okay." They could have stayed like that for seconds or minutes until a blonde waitress came up to the table bearing two steaming bowls of stew, Liam behind her with the glasses of water. Reyna noticed the waitress eyeing Fabian up and gripped his hand tighter, causing Fabian to chuckle as they walked away. It was only them now, alone in the huge room. She hadn't even noticed when the others she had seen had gone up to bed.

"Jealous?" Fabian purred as Reyna peered into her stew. She lifted her spoon, watching the gloop fall back into the bowl with a plop. Reyna had to refrain from saying, I know you have a thing for blondes and instead replied with, "Hmmm. If it suits you." Fabian leaned back in his chair, making himself at ease. He looked more like himself than she had seen in a while and she smiled at the sight of it. She grimaced into the bowl at the watery brown liquid and chunks of chicken and unevenly cut vegetables. Life in the Palace had made her more picky than she cared to admit. Fabian looked equally disgusted as he raised the spoon to his lips. "On three?" He suggested. "On three." Simultaneously, they hesitantly took the stew into their mouths. 

Reyna coughed, the stew so scalding hot she couldn't taste the other flavours. She swallowed it down as quickly as she could manage before taking a gulp of water which was thankfully refreshing. Fabian's cheeks had turned crimson from the heat of the stew as he too drained the water in an instant. "I think I'm done." He said between coughing and as they looked at each other, they both burst out laughing. "My tongue's burnt." Reyna groaned, rolling it around in her mouth and wincing at the soreness there.

Fabian got up and rounded the table to where she sat and tilted her chin upwards to him. "I think I can fix that," he whispered before leaning in. Reyna tugged him down so he was sitting beside her, marvelling at how much she had missed this. Not just the kissing but the dynamic they had once had blooming back into life. She grinned against his mouth. "I don't know." She said in mock thought. "You might have to kiss me again so I can make sure." Fabian didn't need any more encouragement and then it was just them, all thoughts of hateful princes and chicken stews torn from her mind in an instant. Reyna breathed deeply as they broke apart and Fabian whispered, so low she had to strain to hear. "I still love you, you know."

 Reyna could see it then, the life she and Fabian might have in Ashur. She as a cosmetician, beauty throughout products and not making deals with Witches and Fabian maybe as a soldier or guard for the King of Ashur. She could see the house they would buy, the children they would come to have. And they would be happy and not have to see Donovan again. He would be a distant memory, overshadowed by the joy in their lives. It was perhaps too much of a dream to come true but Reyna craved it with every fibre of her being. "I love you too." She replied.