Midnight

Chapter 27 Two Beds

Chapter twenty-seven

Two Beds

In a cove where the moonlight kisses the tide,

Lived a mermaid with secrets the stars could not hide.

Her voice held the hush of the deep ocean swell,

And legends would bloom where her melodies fell.

-The Mermaid Song

Just as he promised, Ira didn’t make them stop more than they had to, and the way down the mountain was much easier than the way up.

Every now and then, there would be a hint of cinnamon in the air, and Luci knew Elowen was watching, if not intervening.

Mostly, all Luci could think about was how Brielle was going to gloat about having been right about magic existing.

By the time they made it back to The Enchanted Sleeping Inn, Luci’s legs, arms, and brain ached with the effort of the pace they set.

In fact, everything was a bit hazy when she stumbled into the inn and found no one at the front desk.

In fact, the stable was empty as well. Less people meandered the street.

It was nearly unsettling if it weren’t for the sounds of laughter and talking from the dining room.

Luci and Ira exchanged glances, but much like he did at every opportunity, Ira slid his hand into hers and pulled her towards the smell of warm biscuits and laughter. When they rounded the corner, nothing prepared them for the sight before them.

The once-empty dining room was littered with people eating and talking.

At the front, a woman sang while a man beside her played a violin, the words of her song melting together into a beautiful symphony.

By the fireplace, Calcifer lay sprawled out getting a good head scratch from Cochran, who didn’t have a smudge of dirt on him.

“What is happening?” Luci asked.

Ira grinned at her. “Magic.”

“Liam! Bridia!” Agnes yelled the moment her eyes latched onto them.

She disengaged from a table she’d been dropping food off at and immediately walked over and wrapped them in a large hug.

“Come in, come in. How was the Blue Mountain? Calcifer had the time of his life! Just look at him over there like the king he is. Sit, sit. You both must be starving. Your room is just as you left it. If you want to get washed up first, and Bridia, I hope you don’t mind, but I saw a dress at Raelynn’s yesterday and immediately thought of you and your dark hair, but oh, look, you washed it out.

I’m not sorry to see it, though. A woman’s natural hair color is exactly what it’s meant to be. Oh dear, I’m going off, aren’t I?”

Before anyone had any chance to utter a word, they were sitting at the only empty table with a single candle flickering between them.

“It’s good to see you, Agnes. It looks like business is better.” Ira said.

She looked around at the packed room, and emotion clouded her eyes.

“Not really. After you two left, I remembered why we built this inn in the first place. It’s meant to bring folks together.

Maybe this village doesn’t have much, but we have each other, and that’s worth a lot.

I traded a week's worth of meals for the dress for Miss Bridia, and Cochran earned his keep cleaning in between seeing to Calcifer. Thomas always said a community that takes care of its own is a happy community. I somehow forgot that.”

“It’s easy to get lost in what you don’t have and forget what you do,” Luci said.

Agnes nodded her head, tears escaping from her eyes. She clasped Luci’s hand in hers and nodded.

“That it is, sweet girl, that it is,” she said. “Now look at me leaking all over the place. I’ll go ask Ollie to get some warm food started for the two of you, and Lacy will bring up some hot water to wash up.”

There was no arguing with her as she walked off to complete her tasks. Truly in her element, she stopped to swap a joke with one patron while grabbing a drink from another to refill. It was like life was being poured into her, making her skin glow a little more.

“It’s like a different place,” Luci said.

“It’s fantastic,” Ira murmured, looking around with a spark in his green eyes.

The fervor in his voice made her heart stammer.

“I'd better go wash up and put on that dress after all of Agnes’ effort,” she said.

For the first time since leaving the mountaintop, there was an awkwardness between them.

They hadn’t talked about anything that happened between them.

It hadn’t felt like an insurmountable problem until they were faced with an inn and a night of comfort between them.

There was no denying how she felt anymore, but some things were hard to face.

If Brielle were there, she would remind her that she could do hard things, but being vulnerable enough to let another person in was something else entirely.

Every step up the stairs was punctuated by the aggressive beat of her heart, reminding her that she had acted rashly.

She should never have kissed him. She should have told him that he was insane for thinking that they could be anything.

Yet Elowen had been clear that it was their line, implying- well, it was just impossible.

By the time she got to the room, it was just as they’d left it, but a dress of deep blue threaded with gold ivy laced over the hem lay out on the bed.

It was beautiful with its three-quarter sleeves and sloped neckline.

More beautiful than any gown she’d seen while at court, but the simple A-line of it made it feel like home.

As it were, not only was Agnes an excellent innkeeper, she had wonderful taste as well.

As she washed, her skin felt too tight, too sensitive.

The lavender and oils reminded her what it meant to be human once more, but all the while her heart only raced faster and faster.

It was like her mind couldn’t rest for one moment, or something terrible would happen.

Luci glanced at the window where the Midnight Flower was set in water, appearing as healthy as it had been when she’d found it.

Yet nothing felt right. Elowen said Brielle was safe, that she would make it in time, but what if it was a lie?

What if Elowen didn’t know for sure? What did Ira expect of her?

Just because they were compatible didn’t mean they would be happy.

It was too much, too fast. She didn’t even know how to feel about it. She needed Brielle.

A gentle knock at the door made Luci jump two feet off the bed.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“I thought I should come check on you.” Agnes' voice called.

Luci let out a sigh of relief that she hated.

She didn’t want to be afraid of Ira. He didn’t deserve that.

He’d never pressured her or cornered her, but Luci had only ever lived for one person.

It was all she knew. To have another person wanting her time and her energy was overwhelming.

Midnight, he hadn’t even asked her for any of it.

It wasn’t like he’d proposed marriage except for that first time, but it hadn’t been her.

“I’m coming in,” Agnes called.

Luci didn’t stop her mostly because she felt entirely paralyzed and glued to the bed. In fact, she might never move.

Agnes opened the door and took one look at Luci before nodding knowingly.

“I know a woman too deep in her head when I see one,” she said, coming to sit next to Luci.

Luci shifted down the bed, giving Agnes more space as she stared down at her hands, feeling lost in an abyss of turmoil.

“I may be a gullible old woman, but I still can tell when two people are in love and ain’t nothing more simple than that. Doesn’t much matter if it’s a prince or a servant,” she said.

Luci lifted her head, mouth parting while Agnes sported a wicked smile with a glint in her eyes.

Groaning, Luci put her head in her hands. “Did he tell everyone down there?”

Her laugh reminded Luci of breakfast rolls and fresh coffee with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

“No, though that boy is honest enough that he might just if one of us doesn’t go down there.

Mostly, I think he was worried about you and thought you could use a friend.

That and he requested a second room,” she said.

“I’m sorry about your Brielle as well, but midnight knows she’s lucky to have you.

Not many would go to such lengths for someone like you have. ”

Luci stared at the midnight flower.

“I wish she were here,” Luci said quietly.

A small murmur of agreement from Agnes.

“And if she were? What would she tell you about that young man sitting downstairs?”

Luci snorted and wiped at her cheeks despite the lack of tears.

“She would tell me to stop being so ridiculous and overthinking everything,” Luci said.

“Mmhm. And what would you say back to her?”

Luci threw up her hands and sucked in a shaky breath.

“I would tell her that this isn’t a storybook.

Maybe he loves me- even though I don’t have the slightest clue why- I’m grumpy and cynical and stand in my own way more than not.

I’ve only loved one person, and I don’t really know who I am outside of her.

I don’t know how to let someone else in.

It isn’t something I can just do. Brielle and Ira- it’s easy for them. It’s- it’s just different for me.”

Nodding, Agnes let loose a long breath.

“A strange thing to propose to a woman after a few hours together.” Agnes hummed.

Luci’s laugh sounded more like a choking, but she sniffed and wiped at her nose.

“It’s arrogant,” she said. “Brielle thought- thinks it’s romantic.”

Bumping her shoulder into Luci’s, Agnes’ wrinkles pulled up with her smile.

“Maybe it’s both.”

It was true two things could be true at once, but at the end of the day, Luci wasn’t sure if it mattered.

Of course, she’d felt what he felt that night.

There was a connection, but now Luci wasn’t sure if all those moments were her or if it was Elowen manipulating them.

What if these weren’t even her own feelings?