Chapter 7 #2
He grunted and gasped for air as he dropped to his knees, and tears started to stream down his face.
“I’m your king, you fucking idiot,” I said.
He was the last person who made the mistake of getting in my way, and finally, I reached the table where the fight had broken out.
“You’re a dirty cheat!” the broad-shouldered man growled.
He’d managed to get his thick arm around the older guy’s neck and had him in a loose headlock. The older man was swatting at his captor’s arm with limp movements.
“I didn’t–” he said in a strong voice.
So he wasn’t being choked, just restrained. That was good.
“Hey!” I yelled when I finally reached the pair. “Let him go!”
“Piss off!” the broad-shouldered guy snarled without looking at me. “This fuck tried to cheat me out of three thousand!”
“Three thousand,” I gasped. “Holy fuck.”
They were definitely noblemen. No commoner or peasant would have been able to pony up that kind of coin for a simple card game.
Or maybe that was the problem. What if this guy had been impersonating someone of means to swindle money out of the other man?
If that were the case, he’d picked his target very poorly.
“Yeah, that’s fucked,” I agreed. “But you gotta let him go!”
“Who are you to tell me–” The broad-shouldered man finally looked up at me, and all the color drained out of his face. “Shiiiiit.”
He clearly recognized me.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Let him go.”
“But Your Majesty–” he tried to argue.
He shrugged his shoulders at me like a ten-year-old boy who’d gotten caught cheating on a math test, and that was all the opening the cheater needed to break free from his hold.
“Fuck you, Scallon!” the older man screamed, and he hauled off and punched Scallon square in his shocked face.
The broad-shouldered man’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he dropped to the ground like a felled tree. The floor actually rumbled under my feet when he landed.
The older guy started to crouch down and reach for Scallon’s pockets, but I grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed my knee up into the side of his face as he turned to look at me.
Recognition sparked in his eyes in the split second before my knee connected, but it was too late.
He was out like a light, and I let him drop unconscious to the floor.
I heaved a sigh of relief, but the fight continued all around me. It had taken on a life of its own by that point, and I was going to need to make myself heard in order to get everyone to stop.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
But this time, when I looked around the room, I could see everyone’s energy and enthusiasm waning. People’s punches were slower and sloppier, and several pairs were just kind of holding each other rather than actually fighting.
The fire in their bellies was burning itself out, and they only needed a final splash of water on the ashes.
I stuck two fingers between my lips and whistled like a sonic blast. The ear-piercingly sharp note sang through the entire barroom, and almost everyone stopped throwing punches or released their opponents to cover their ears against the assault.
“Heeeey!” I hollered in my loudest, deepest voice. “Fucking stop!”
The silence that slowly fell over the room was deafening after so much noise, and my ears rang from it all.
Several drunken faces stared at me in bleary-eyed confusion, but the more sober-looking people gaped in shock and shame before they dropped to their knees to bow before me.
Many of them dragged the people nearest to them to the floor, and a series of hushed explanations circled through the room as word of my identity was passed around like the hottest gossip in a high school.
Otto broke free from the crowd first and jogged through the kneeling people and over to my side.
“Your Majesty,” he huffed. “That was rather impressive.”
“Thanks,” I sighed before I raised my voice to address the tavern patrons. “Is everybody done with their fucking pissing contests now? All finished trying to prove whose dick is bigger? Yeah?”
I took a long moment to scan the room, and I locked eyes with as many people as possible. Most of them looked down in shame, but a few looked at me with gratitude, and I wondered how many of them had simply gotten caught in the crossfire like my ladies and I had.
“I expect every one of you to help set this room back in order!” I hollered. “And you’ll add a little extra coin to your bills tonight to apologize to the owners and staff of this fine establishment.”
About a third of the room gasped in outrage, but they were quickly silenced by the rest of the people, and many heads nodded in agreement.
“Well?” I demanded. “What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Start cleaning up!”
That was all the direction they needed, and everyone stood up and hurried to begin setting the room back to order.
“Fuck,” I sighed.
“Your Majesty,” the broad-shouldered man said as he pushed himself back to his feet.
When I turned to look at him, he bowed deeply.
“I must apologize for the trouble,” Scallon said. “Harrison here has been known to cheat, but he pushed it too far this evening.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Three thousand is pretty insane. I don’t blame you for punching his lights out.”
“It wasn’t only his cheating, sire,” Scallon said with a look of fury in his eyes. “He insulted my daughter’s honor.”
My eyes went wide with shock at that statement. No matter what world I was in, that was a fucking dick move.
“Jeez,” I scoffed.
“I’d like to pay for any damages caused by my actions,” Scallon said. “It’s the right thing to do and will still be less than the amount he tried to cheat me out of.”
“Yeah, probably,” I chuckled. “You seem like a man of honor. Scallon, was it?”
“Yes, sire.” He bowed his head. “Gerald Scallon.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said and held out my hand to him.
“The honor and pleasure are all mine, Your Majesty,” Scallon said as he took my hand and shook it. “I’ve been following your story since you rose to the throne. I’m quite impressed with the results of your rule thus far.”
Pride and warmth swirled in my chest, and I decided I liked this guy.
“I’m glad the people approve,” I said. “Making things better has been my goal from the start.”
“Ken!” Yori grinned as she approached me. “That was so much fun!”
Scallon snorted out a burst of laughter, but he quickly recomposed himself and bowed to my new queen.
“Your Majesty,” he said. “Allow me to offer my sincerest apologies for the trouble–”
“Trouble?” Yori laughed. “No way, that was a hell of a good time.”
She threw a few shadow punches into the air, and Scallon arched an intrigued eyebrow at her.
“Um…” He looked stunned for a second. “I suppose I’m glad you enjoyed it?”
He laughed in confusion as Tanell and Serra hurried over and threw their arms around me.
“Thank goodness,” Serra sighed. “That was awful.”
“Yori seems to have had a good time,” Tanell chuckled, and she squeezed me tight. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m fine. This is–”
“Gerald Scallon,” Tanell said. “It’s good to see you.”
“Your Majesty.” Scallon bowed to my blue-eyed queen. “I must apologize–”
“It’s nothing.” Tanell brushed his apology off with a flick of her wrist and a smile. “I’m just glad no one was seriously injured.”
“As am I,” Scallon agreed. “There will be many a hangover and plenty of sore bodies in the morning, but alas…”
He sighed and looked down at his unconscious opponent.
“What did he do?” Tanell asked, and she nudged him with her foot.
“He was cheating at cards,” I explained. “Three thousand, and then he insulted Scallon’s daughter.”
Tanell frowned, and her eyes filled with indignation as she looked down at him again. Serra audibly gasped and covered her mouth with one delicate hand.
“Pig,” Yori muttered.
Carissa didn’t say anything, but she nodded in agreement with Yori’s statement.
“Beg your pardon, Your Majesties,” Scallon said.
He cleared his throat and looked around the room with a touch of embarrassment in his brown eyes.
“I believe I should speak with the innkeeper,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me?”
“Of course,” I said with a nod. “It was nice to meet you.”
“And you, sire.” Scallon bowed again. “And again, my apologies for the… mess.”
“I have to admit,” I said with a half-smile. “It was kind of refreshing to have a fight that wasn’t due to an assassination attempt on me.”
“A nice change of pace,” he laughed.
I turned to the women as he picked his way through the room toward the man who’d been watching everything from behind the bar.
“What’s he doing?” Yori asked.
“He said he was going to pay the owners for the damages the fight caused,” I explained. “He’s taking responsibility.”
“That sounds about right.” Tanell nodded.
“You know him,” I said.
It was obvious he and Tanell had some shared history, and I was curious about the circumstances of their past.
“Yes,” Tanell confirmed. “He’s a man of honor. Oberis never liked him, and I didn’t understand why. He’d always struck me as someone with good values and integrity.”
“Ah,” I said in understanding. “So he wasn’t someone Oberis could bend to his will.”
“It certainly seems that way,” Tanell agreed.
“Which would also explain why you liked him,” Serra pointed out.
“Perhaps,” Tanell mused.
Anders appeared beside us, and he nodded to Otto, who’d been standing guard just behind me since the fight had ended.
“Sire,” he said and looked over at me. “Are you hurt?”
“No, Anders,” I assured him. “I’m fine. Thank you. Are the maids alright?”
I leaned up on my toes to look past Anders and the crowd, and I spotted Merryl and the other servers huddled together still. They’d at least risen to their feet, but they hadn’t separated or moved away from the door to the kitchen.
“They’re pretty shaken up,” Anders said. “But none of them were injured.”
“Good,” I sighed. “Scallon, the man who unintentionally started the brawl, was going to offer to pay for the damages.”
“Very honorable,” Anders observed.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I’d like to offer a small sum as well. For damages or the trouble, whatever they want to use it for.”