CHAPTER XXII #5
Keane chuckles in approval and sets off for the pub counter as I reach for my half-filled toddy and finish the drink whole.
I watch from afar as he approaches the human woman who greeted our table, her eyes alight and smiling as she nods her head at his words.
She points to a side door down the room and then turns around to the toddy barrel to fill some new glasses, smiling when Keane leaves a few coins on the counter before walking off.
The woman turns to me next, approaching our table again and holding four glasses of toddy in her hands. She lets her gaze wander back to me in curiosity, her eyes focusing on the green of Knowledge that I’m wearing.
“He told me you down our drink straight,” she gives a semi friendly laugh and places the toddies on the table.
“It goes down far easier than our whiskey,” I nod with a smile.
“You’re from Knowledge, then?” she inquires, gaze flicking back down my shirt to my body in general. Her look is curious and assessing, wondering how and why a human not of the Court of Warriors came to be seated so comfortably with the future King of Disce.
I decide to add to her confusion even more and let my lips turn into a small smile, “originally from Woodlands.”
The woman’s eyes widen as I bring the pipe back up to my lips. I spot Keane over the smoke from the other side of the tavern, standing with an amused grin.
“Thank you for the drinks,” I nod to her.
The barkeep quickly shuffles away as I start chuckling to myself. There was no reason for her to know that Woodlands was a portion of my life I’d never remember…
The thought sends me straight in my chair, my mind moving to Jesse and the small conversation we had at the Bonfire. My eyes immediately reach for Keane’s across the room, watching as he make his way back over.
“You properly scared her,” he grins down at me with playful brown eyes.
He takes his seat and throws his arm around the back of my chair again.
“I aimed to add to her confusion,” I shake my head, “but only added to my own. Keane, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
The Prince looks back at me in question.
“There’s a boy at Castle Bardot who works for Chef. He served my table at court both nights and again at your father’s bonfire…”
“I saw you walk off with him,” he nods.
“He’s from Woodlands, Keane. A ward under Chef.”
“Why does that surprise you?” he asks, handing me a toddy before he grabs a second and lifts it in salute.
I keep my glass firmly on the table and hold his gaze, “because his experience matches my own. He told me he remembers nothing from his time in Woodlands, but that he does remember arriving in Bardot and being greeted by the King, Queen, and Prince.”
Keane frowns at the comment.
“Is it common?” I push, “do you think Troy does to others what he did to me?”
“That’s a big leap, Alexis,” he replies quietly.
“Maybe,” I huff, “but how many humans do you and Desmond bring to Warrior who completely forget their time in Woodlands?”
Keane considers my question, remaining quiet for a long moment.
“Not many.”
“Not many or none at all?”
He frowns again and shakes his head, “everyone that I’ve met from Woodlands remembers their lives.
They share their experiences with us. Their stories are what give us confirmation about what is going on over there.
Desmond’s men can only do so much, so the people we relocate act as a solid validation. ”
“It can’t be a coincidence, Keane,” I shake my head, so sure in my gut. Someone or something tinkered with a Jesse and I, making us forget the lives we lived in Woodlands.
Keane watches me in silent consideration, not yet ready to make the same connection I have. I sigh and let the conversation go for now, smiling back at my Prince as I clank my glass against his and let the drink add relaxation to my riddled mind.
We depart the next morning just after dawn, walking the remainder of the Great Road in Dalloway to the twin city bridges. We crossed into Agnor at record speed, the green banners of Knowledge greeting us as we walked into the border.
Our night last night passed well. Keane and I enjoyed another pipe and had a few more drinks with dinner and chatted with many of the inn’s guests who approached our table.
Some spoke to their Prince casually to pay tribute to his father, while others greeted me and Storm in open curiosity.
I even invited the human woman behind the pub to stay with us for a drink, feeling guilty for my small jest earlier that night.
She tentatively agreed but ended up relaxing with us as the night went on, even as her eyes remained fixated on Keane.
We ultimately decided to put ourselves to bed earlier than usual.
I was exhausted from the ride and still sore from Keane’s presence between my legs, while Keane had a full oak of messages to attend to once we got back to the room.
He settled himself into the large table as I got ready for bed, his strong figure still there when I fell to sleep.
I woke up halfway through the night to his wandering hands on my body. He massaged me until we both went back to sleep, his arms drawing me close as I slept without waking again until morning. I remember smiling hard in bed when we did wake, thinking to myself that I could do this forever.
Be with him forever.
But our travel alone would end soon. We’d be back in Bardot and surrounded by the full castle and its court. Keane would be pulled in every direction by the Lords and his advisors, and while I knew we had to be back in the capitol, I still found myself lulling through Agnor and taking my time.
I truly didn’t want this trip to end, but Keane couldn’t push aside his duties any longer.
“Keane…” I peer over at the Prince as we both dismount our horses, opting to walk them through the early morning lake city.
Keane looks at me with a content smile on his face, the deep green of his shirt moving with the breeze.
“Alexis,” he replies with a grin, brows lifted.
I shake my head and smile. “What happens after you become King? Are you expected to live in Bardot?”
The thought of Keane being a resident of the Court of Knowledge irks me. He’s always looked so right in his own Court and lands, and although he commands every hall and room at Castle Bardot, it’s just not him.
But for as long as I can remember in our history books, Bardot and its greater lands have always been home to the Kings of Disce, a tradition that has passed down along with their family name.
Keane looks at me in thought, his brown eyes darting across my face as I stare out to Moonsbay Lake.
“What would you like?” he asks quietly.
I turn to him with a small frown.
“That’s not my decision to make,” I shake my head, “I will follow you wherever you decide to go.”
Keane continues to watch me, “and if you had the choice? To take up residence wherever you wanted. Where would you choose?”
The answer comes easy to my heart as I smile without hesitation, “Gaumond.”
I can feel Keane’s grin next to me before I even turn around to look at him. He nods his head in silent agreement.
“I plan to make Gaumond the next capitol of Disce. Strategically, it gives me quick access to our western border and also allows me to venture east into Woodlands or Knowledge within a day’s travel if needed.”
“What will happen to Bardot?”
“It will continue on as the capitol of Knowledge. I will need to appoint a new Leading Lord to govern, but Castle Bardot and its lands surrounding will continue on just as Gaumond and La Cour do, overseeing their own Courts. I suspect my mother will wish to remain.”
“You’ll be breaking tradition,” I point out.
Keane grins, “the first of many to come, Alexis.”
We continue the rest of our walk through Agnor in silence, greeting the early morning risers and the fishermen heading to Moonsbay Lake and the River Poise.
It’s a peaceful morning, one that passes beautifully with the sun rising along the horizon and sparkling across the city.
It’s also a morning that passes too quickly, with Keane and I mounting our horses on the outskirts of the city and beginning another hard ride to Brierman.
We stop once at midday, letting Millie and Ash cool down in the banks of the river before we take our lunch and begin again, riding with speed.
Keane and I are greeted by the twinkling bottled moonslight resting along the buildings of Brierman at sunset. The full of the main road is filled with drunks and raucous laughter, everyone going about their early night with genuine smiles on their faces.
Keane brings our horses to the stables of the Drunken Stump where we’re greeted again in open welcome by stable boys and the inn’s owner, all of whom are already prepared for our arrival.
I don’t know if this is a royal thing or if Keane wrote ahead to announce his arrival, but it’s nice to be greeted so warmly.
“Your room is set and ready, Your Highness,” the innkeeper smiles.
“Let’s take dinner first,” Keane nods at the man, “and ale,” he adds as an afterthought.
“Of course, Your Highness,” the man smiles again, walking us to the door, “we have a full crowd tonight. Been receiving a few traveling groups for your coronation. Some are here now.”
Keane nods at the news and stops in his walk, motioning for me to head in first with a small pinch on my ass from behind. I grin and scoot into the loud pub with Stormfall awake on my shoulder, the Bird of Ash taking in the boisterous and warm room around us with piercing eyes.
The pub is exactly as I remember, with all of the tables near full capacity and the counter rowdy. The woman behind it is running around and grabbing drinks as a light smoke fills the air, a few of the guests sitting around the main fireplace in the middle with their pipes lit.