Page 48 of The Dark Prince
Again, I couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong. There didn’t seem to be enough people to fill the lively collection of buildings that made up the town. Clearly there once was—the shuttered market stalls were proof of that. Did it have something to do with the lingering darkness that clung to the castle and its servants … to Tyr himself?
Rose chatted up the barkeep happily while I slid onto a bench in front of the bar. The barkeep’s eyes bugged out of his head when he saw me.
“My lady!” he burst out, ignoring Rose in favor of me. “I apologize, we didn’t know you were coming, I would have prepared—”
“Go easy, Rolf, she’s not as high as all that,” Rose interjected, exasperated.
I gave the flustered man an easy smile. “It’s all right. Tyr is away today, so I wanted to explore a bit. Rose said your stew is delicious.” I paused. “I brought some breakfast from the castle, if you like. I couldn’t eat it all. I offer it in trade.”
I kept my smile plastered on until the man disappeared into the kitchen, barely able to take his eyes off me. I raised an eyebrow and shot a look at Rose, who only giggled. The man burst back through the kitchen door a moment later, his hands full.
“Only the best for my lord’s lady! Beef stew, fresh bread, the creamiest cheese spread Marie has made to date, and—”
“It all looks fantastic. Thank you,” I said, trying to hold in my laughter at his willingness to feed me. I handed over the basket and the man happily dug in.
“Rose will bring you here anytime you’re hungry. Anytime. Anything for Lord Tyr’s lady!”
I nodded with a bit of bread in my mouth. It was warm and soft, and exactly what I needed. The barkeep’s stubborn loyalty to my husband wasn’t the first time I’d witnessed it. The servants and his men also fervently declared their loyalty to my husband. Not that I begrudged them that, but from being a servant I wondered what deeper meaning there was to their passion for their lord.
As I ate my stew, a few of the scattered patrons made their way closer. I happily introduced myself, and soon there was a small crowd around the bar.
“All right, back up, you lot. Don’t crowd milord’s lady!”
I laughed. “You can call me Isadora,” I insisted.
The barkeep huffed. “Still milord’s lady.” He bustled around getting more ale and soup for everyone, and Rose kept distracting him by flirting.
I leaned back in my chair, happy to bask in the companionship and easy friendship. An older man sitting next to me leaned over, his eyes darting nervously. “He brought you here for a reason, you know.”
I swallowed my remaining ale. I knew that. Or at least I thought I did. “He didn’t want to marry the princess, I heard. I know the king ordered him to marry.”
The man eyed me nervously. “You are a kind lady. Too kind for the purpose he brought you here for. Otherwise I’d keep my gob shut, but I gotta say something, you see? It’s only gotten worse lately.”
I didn’t, but exasperation on Tyr’s behalf rose in me. “I know more than you think I do,” I answered, thinking of what lay behind Tyr’s mask.
The man took a long drink of ale, a bit splashing down his beard and sinking into the small hairs. He smacked his lips, trying to catch it all. “Bad business, it is. And no one can tell you but ‘im. Except for one other. More beasts every day. It has to stop. You understand, right?”
I sighed, sensing this was the whole point he was talking to me. The sooner I played along, the sooner he’d stop. “And who is this other?” I asked, playing my part.
He leaned in closer. The stench of ale was strong on him, like he’d bathed in it. “Some say the witch in the woods knows all and sees all.”
“Galen! Quit bothering milady!”
Before I could react, the barkeep had shooed the man away, and the rest of the crowd had pressed in until he was on the outside looking in.
The kindly barkeep turned to me, brushing a hand behind the back of his head. “Sorry about him. Ee’s crazed ever since that bout of the fever sickness that went around in his youth.”
My lips pressed together. Had Galen just confirmed there was something sinister at work? Maybe I wasn’t imagining the ‘darkness’ that plagued my husband and his people.
Was Tyr and this town under a curse? It would explain the secrecy. It would explain the hesitancy. It would explain the desperation.
“I … I’m full. Thank you. He said something about more beasts?” I pushed the bowl away, but the barkeep turned away, either not hearing me or pretending he didn’t. I realized I had a momentary reprieve. Rose was flirting with a young man on her right, and the other few people around me were telling Galen off, trying to get him to leave.
This was my chance.
I felt bad disappearing, but I had to seize my moment. I gathered my cloak and hurried out the door, not looking back until I was across the street and a few buildings down. A glance over my shoulder reassured me that no one had followed me or noticed my absence yet.
On the outskirts of town, to the west, the dark forest loomed. I settled my cloak more firmly around my shoulders, and set off. The casual noises of the village drifted away as I approached the edge of the woods, which made the silence that much more unnerving. Shouldn’t there be birds? Or insects buzzing?
