[Music Recommendation: Pulling Thread ~ Kerry Muzzey, Andrew Skeet & The Chamber Orchestra Of London]
Freya touched the sleeve of her dress as she walked around the inn. She was done standing at the entrance since she wasn’t even able to find anything useful. Freya stopped walking when she saw someone standing alone and laughing all by herself; she squinted her eyes to see who it was.
"Madame Rosalie?" Freya called the woman’s name. "What are you doing all alone... laughing?"
Madame Rosalie raised her face when she heard Freya’s voice. She pressed her lips together, trying to bite down her laughter, but she couldn’t. The woman started laughing again uncontrollably; she couldn’t wait to bring down the general who had insulted her from his high horse, starting by making him drunk and then seeing how he would resist any woman.
Freya furrowed her brows; she looked around to see if she missed out on anything funny while on her way, but it was just the two of them.
"I’m sorry, Freya, I just can’t," Madame Rosalie held her stomach as she finally stopped laughing, tears at the corner of her eyes. As the duo were talking, Oriana walked out of the inn, dragging her dress while ripping off the band on her waist. She muttered to herself,
"He can’t pay. He is really going to pay for this! I tried to dance the best I could!" she cursed angrily.
Freya was the first to see her. "Your Majesty," she called to the young Queen, who was evidently annoyed about something they didn’t know about.
"Oh, Freya, Madame Rosalie. You both are here already," Oriana breathed in and out. She had been furious since Adric rejected her when she was offering nicely. He made her fall helplessly in love with him but rejected her every time she offered herself, and that was really getting on her last nerves.
"Did something happen in there? You both don’t look happy," Madame Rosalie looked at both Freya and Oriana and realized she was the only person with a smiling face.
Freya grumbled; she wasn’t ready to talk about what happened earlier with Rowan, just like how it was for both of them every time they met. She would forget about him and everything that happened.
Oriana shook her head. "It’s nothing I can’t handle," she muttered, knowing that she was going to make Adric pay. Since he wouldn’t accept her when she wanted him, then when Adric comes, she would reject him. A sinister smile crept on Oriana’s lips as she imagined Adric begging her desperately while she sat on the couch sipping her tea. Her thoughts were cut short when Madame Rosalie spoke.
"I found out something," the woman started. "The women laced the food and drinks before serving them to the men." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Oriana narrowed her eyes. "What?" she asked, and Madame Rosalie nodded. "That explains what the soldier told Adric; they pass out after eating and don’t remember anything after that."
Madame Rosalie sighed. "It’s a dirty way girls make money in establishments like this one. I make sure my girls are duly trained; it’s sad to know that some inn owners still accept these cruel acts."
"We have to do something about it. What did Adric say?" When Oriana said this, she noticed someone move behind Madame Rosalie. "Shh," she placed her finger on her lips.
Oriana moved back, slowly holding Freya’s hand, with her eyes waiting for whoever was behind there to come out. When the person finally stepped out of the shadow, it was Freya who recognized the man. The same man who wanted to pay to spend the night with her.
"You?" she pointed at the man, her voice sounding a bit irritated.
The man grinned. "Something about you made me want to follow you here, and I’m glad I did... I will be having fun with your friends too."
. . .
Meanwhile, Adric’s eyes scanned the inn. He noticed the movement of some of the women who were serving as if they were waiting for something. Then the soldiers started falling, some on the floor, others with their heads on the table.
"It has begun," Malcolm spat out the content inside his mouth, wiping the corner of his lips.
The owner of the inn, who was watching everyone in the room, noticed two men were yet to fall asleep. She walked up to them with a bright smile. "Good gentlemen, it appears you haven’t touched your food yet. Should I get more for you? Or did you not enjoy it?" she eyed them suspiciously.
"I would love for you to have a taste first; it will help me digest the food better." Adric pushed his plate forward, giving it to the woman who waved her hands dismissively.
"We don’t eat from the same plate as our guests. The food is very much safe to eat. You can ask our other customers..." she pointed.
Adric hummed, with a serious look on his face as if he was buying what the woman was saying. "I’d have loved to ask them, but they all have their eyes closed, and I wonder why."
The woman, seeing that Adric had caught on, snapped her fingers. "Attack! Imposters!!" she shouted for her men to step in. The door broke down and instead of her guards, Rowan stood there with a frown on his face, holding one of the guards by the neck who seemed to have passed out.
"He kept attacking even when I said stop," he let go, and the man crashed on the floor.
Adric chuckled. "You should have told him who you were."
The women who had seen this went to hide in different corners of the room, afraid of being caught.
The owner of the inn looked from Rowan to Adric, and she shook her head. "W-who are you? What are you doing here?"
"That should be ours to ask. What are you doing here? Isn’t here supposed to be a harmless inn?" Adric stood up from where he was sitting, now taking gentle steps towards the woman.
The owner of the inn moved back, trying to escape, but before she could run, Malcolm pointed his sword at her neck, making her stop.
Adric removed his hood, revealing his face. "You dare to harm the soldiers of Avon?"
The woman gasped when she saw the king. She got down on her knees. "Your majesty, I must have lost my mind not to recognize you," she bowed her head.
"Why did you try to taint the name of our soldiers?"
The woman continued, her voice trembling as she was scared of what would become of her. "I- didn’t mean to, I just wanted more money and... someone," the woman paused, afraid to even continue with her words.
"Someone put you up to this," Adric nodded. He didn’t need the woman to complete her words. He had been surprised to see things quiet even after he was crowned king. He turned to Rowan, "Let’s clean this up."
Malcolm went to touch his soldiers. "They are sleeping. We can keep them here until morning. Just have someone keep guard."
Adric nodded in agreement. "Let’s do just that," he said to the other workers. "You can leave while I’m being gracious. I take it that you wanted to survive, but just know you don’t have to hurt others because of your endless hunger for wealth."
"Thank you, your majesty," they chorused, leaving the room quietly.
Adric dipped his hand in his pocket, wondering where Oriana was. All he could hope for was that she wasn’t in some kind of trouble knowing she was mad at him. As soon as he thought of her, he heard someone scream.
"Argh!"
Adric turned towards where the scream was came from. "Oriana," he muttered.
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