Chapter 25 Dinner and New Friends
Chapter twenty-five
Dinner and New Friends
Alaceandra
We arrive at a small village. A half-constructed wall surrounds the town.
Clusters of cottages line cobblestone streets with roofs made of a soft straw-like material.
In each set of cottages, only one holds a door, while the rest seem to be mostly underground.
How are those accessed? The exposed walls of each cottage have ornate drawings etched into their surfaces.
Some depicting people, others elvisera in mid-flight.
At the town's center two larger buildings stand above the rest. Their engravings are brightly colored, unlike the other cottages.
One has a bright blue sky with soft wispy clouds and the other some kind of storm.
I marvel at the engravings. Their details seem to sparkle with some kind of ancient magick.
I wonder what other beauties this place holds.
No one wandered its streets nor was there any movement that could be seen in the windows of the small cottages with doors.
I peer into the woods surrounding the small town and note that that too seemed uninhabited by any person or animal.
Where is everyone? Nightfall was almost upon us, the sun almost to its resting place for the night, a slight chill entering the air.
The scent of baked goods drifts through the breeze causing my stomach to rumble. Okay so someone must be here…
“Is it safe here?” Sorin asks Sam.
“For now. We have been here a couple days and the people have been friendly. I was transported just outside this town when I arrived. Some creature tried to attack me and one of the children who was playing outside the village.” He smiled.
“The adventurous nature of the little one kind of reminded me of Lace, actually. Anyway, I was able to fight the beast off mostly and get to the little girl, but ended up suffering some... minor injuries. That is when I ran into prince tag-along here and he may or may not have helped stitch up the wound.”
“I saved your life,” the prince chimed in. “You would have bled out if it weren’t for me and you still shouldn’t be walking around now. Not that you show any gratitude for it,” the prince mutters.
“Anyway,” Sam continues, ignoring the prince. “The little one led us to this village where we were informed those creatures have been attacking the villagers for months. We have been helping them set up defenses ever since. It has earned us boarding, food and kindness from the villagers.”
“Wait, back up,” I cut in. “You are wounded?”
Sam rolls his eyes. “Minorly. It is not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal my ass, show me.”
“I would disagree....” Sorin mutters.
“What?” I swing my gaze towards him, and he backs up his arms raised in surrender. The prince continues studying us like a puzzle and I glare at him for a second before turning my eyes back on Sam and raising an eyebrow.
Sam purses his lips and lifts his shirt.
A huge gash spans his stomach, it is red and irritated, but not at the point where it looks like it might get infected.
Stitches line the wound in perfect lines, but the details are lost to the darkness fast approaching.
I suck in a breath and Sam pulls his shirt back down.
“It is fine, Lace I know it looks bad, but the stitches are imbued with magic for faster healing. The wound will be mostly gone in another week.” I glance towards the prince again and he raises an eyebrow at me. I will thank him later.
“Fine. I am glad we are all back together at least. Where are the other villagers?”
“They are resting. This village is mostly nocturnal,” The prince supplies.
“Yes. That is why the cottages are placed in little clusters like this.” Sam points to the closest cluster of cottages.
“They tend to stay inside during their waking hours, as the night around here can be dangerous, but that does not mean they are anti-social. Quite the opposite in fact. They use these clusters to stay connected with close friends and host each other. When they are able to get out, play, collect food, and forage for essentials, they etch little drawings into their buildings to stay connected to those they may not be currently hosting and to warn each other of future events.”
Future events? “The person we are going to stay with is not currently hosting friends though, right?”
“Of course not,” the prince mumbles.
Sam rolls his eyes. “Not for a few months, luckily. They rotate.”
“Oh...” My stomach growls a little once more. I decide to shift the subject. “Did you say something about dinner?” I try to keep the hope from my voice.
A smile touches the prince’s lips, but Sam replies.
“The family of the little one has been awakening right at nightfall to ensure we have a hearty dinner. We have told them many times it was unnecessary, but they seem to insist, citing their love for guests and gratitude. We are not going to refuse to eat it as that would insult the family and the food is rather tasty.”
“Oh... will they mind us joining? I do not want to intrude, and I have found my encounters with the people of this land thus far have been... not the most pleasant.”
Sam smiles. “Yes, Lace. I had a feeling we might bump into you today. Call it lucky intuition. I asked if they could prepare some extra food just in case and they already have agreed.”
“Oh.”
Sam makes a noise in the back of his throat, a mix between a laugh and a snort.
“Are we going or not?” the prince asks, his form already obscured by the shadows of the surrounding skeletal trees.
“Yes, of course, let’s go,” Sam says, leading us through the village.
We all make our way through the half-constructed walls and through the village, until we come to a cluster of small cottages.
The prince and Sam walk up to a pretty pastel blue one and knock gently on the door.
Some time passes and a sleepy older woman opens the door.
When her eyes land on the prince and Sam’s faces her body language brightens.
“Come in, come in!” she says in a musical tone.
The men smile and walk inside, but Sorin and I hesitate.
She gives us a warm smile. “So, you did bring guests!” she calls out over her shoulder. She beckons us inside. “You are welcome in, please do not just stand out here it is going to get chilly and by the look of your red noses it does not look like you are much built for the cold.”
We give her small smiles but walk into her home.
It is a cozy place with a fire casting the living room in a warm glow.
A little girl plays by the fire with some carved toys.
She is enraptured in whatever story her imagination is conjuring up.
So much so she barely notices there are new guests within her home.
The girl cannot be any older than six years old.
She has deep blue curly hair that is tipped with a pretty silver and thick eyelashes frame pretty teal eyes that are stark against her pale skin.
Her tiny voice moves through the room jingling in much the same way as her mother’s.
I inhale. The home smells absolutely amazing. Although I do not recognize the scents exactly, it smells like some kind of stew. My stomach lets out another pitiful growl and I cover it, my cheeks heating in embarrassment.
The older woman laughs, a warm sound. “Looks like someone is hungry! Good thing I made plenty. Hayford is finishing up with the food in the kitchen, feel free to make yourself at home. The boys can show you to your rooms. We have tunnels to two of the cottages outside. I have you in a room with that one over there,” she points her finger towards the prince, then lowers her voice in a conspiratorial tone.
“He refused to give me his name that one! But as he had helped in saving my girl Lyza, I figured I would let it slide.” She raises her voice back to a level where everyone can hear her.
“He said you two are getting married soon! I hope you don’t mind sharing.
The room only has one bed, but I figured it might be better you share it with him than anyone else.
” She gives me an impish smile. She goes to walk off before pausing in her steps.
“Oh, how rude of me! My name is Sylvie. Make yourself at home. I will go fetch some food.” Then she walks off with a flourish.
My stomach has dropped to my toes at this point, and I spare a minute to shoot my gaze towards the prince, but he is already staring at me with a smirk on his face.
When he catches my gaze, he raises his brows at me.
Holding back a groan, I look away and watch Sylvie as she starts passing out the bowls of stew with a man I assume to be her husband.
After they finish serving us, they scoop the little girl up in their arms causing her to squeal before they leave us to our meal.
We eat. The stew is fantastic. It has many vegetables and meats with the perfect amount of seasoning, and I cannot help but make noises of contentment throughout.
Although the fruit and meat Sorin procured throughout our travels had been nourishing enough we did not die, there is not much in the way of seasoning out in the middle of the woods and the flavors had been a bit lacking.
Once I am finished scarfing down my food, I look up to see the men’s eyes on me. I blush under their gaze.
“Sorry,” I say a bit under my breath. Before they can reply, Sylvie breezes back into the room and collects our bowls.
“It is getting late for you all and you look quite exhausted,” she says with motherly reproach, giving me a pointed look. “I think it is time you head off to bed.”
We acquiesce and split up to head to our cottages.