"More than you," Jules said mildly, but Trevor was done bantering. He swung at Jules, but the CMO had already ducked.
He jabbed the man in the stomach and got a faint 'oof' for his efforts. Taking advantage, Jules then clopped the drunk on the chin with a swift uppercut, and there was a 'click' sound as the man's teeth clacked together in his head.
Ghia thought for sure that would knock the man out, but the behemoth just stumbled back and landed against the wall. Jules straightened and cracked his knuckles, point proven. Trevor was not to be dissuaded so easily -- he picked up a chair and rushed the medic. Ghia yelped as Jules rolled away from the downwards-swinging chair, narrowly missing a crack to his skull. The chair smashed over the back of another patron instead of Jules' head.
That did it. A full-fledged bar fight broke out as the third man began attacking Trevor. As more blows hit the wrong targets, people left, right, and centre began pummelling, kicking, and swinging limbs like maniacs. Soon the sound of breaking glass joined in with the medley of shouts, screams, and wood on wood as tables were overturned and flung.
Ghia crouched down by her corner table, watching Jules worriedly as he got pulled into the fray. She'd never seen a bar fight before -- all the patrons of the Cauldron feared Kasandra too much to dare any hostilities. She'd not had to deal with people thinking her a wench, either -- not since Kasandra had dealt with the first person to do that. These days the only person who calls me a wench is Jules, she thought, smiling despite the fighting around her. That was only good-natured teasing.
The whole tavern was in chaos now. She couldn't see Aro and Caelum but she was sure the majors were in the fray as well. How could they not be? She looked for them for a moment but soon gave up. It was hard enough keeping an eye on Jules, who was right there in front of her. And an incredible fighter, as far as Ghia's knowledge of such things went. No matter whom he was hitting or kicking or dodging, he somehow managed to make a brawl in a tavern in the worst dive in Athering look...elegant.
She still flinched at every hit that almost landed on him, sure that this time it would knock him out.
A sudden flash of steel caught her eye, and she saw someone had drawn a knife. He was heading right for Jules.
"Medic!" she screamed, and Jules looked at her after knocking out the ruffian he'd been hitting. She gestured wildly to the knife-wielder, who, she now saw, was Trevor's smaller friend. Jules spun as the man lunged and the medic's arm went up to protect himself. There was the bright red of spilled blood as the knife cut him, and he grunted in pain. Ghia held her breath, sure that this was it. In a moment she'd have to kill this man with her powers and then wouldn't they be in a right fine mess? But Jules disarmed the man with a bone-crushing wrist grip and then kicked him in the stomach. The man doubled over and Jules kneed him in the head, at which point he fell to the ground, out for the count.
Jules turned to smile a quick thanks at Ghia, who was slowly allowing herself to breathe again, and turned back to the fight, only to be punched in the face.
He stumbled backwards and would have recovered had a chair not come down on his head. He fell to his knees and then collapsed to the floor, unmoving.
Ghia saw with horror that no one had noticed Jules on the floor, and fighting patrons were coming dangerously close to trampling the medic.
She skittered out from her hiding place and tried to wake him, but he was well and truly out. Seeing nothing else to do, she dragged him back to the table and pulled him underneath with her, where she sat to wait out the fight.
She didn't need to wait long. There was the sound of steel across leather, and Ghia looked to the stairway to see Bellica Yarrow with her sword drawn threateningly. "All right, you slovenly lot," the bellica shouted, and several people stopped fighting to look at her. "One more punch and I start taking heads!"
The whole room went still.
Yarrow
Yarrow was not particularly surprised at the reaction her threat provoked. These were Xavier's patrons, after all, and she had no doubt his fear of her had infected them as well.
That, and she was the Empress' best bellica, noted for a short-fused, nasty temper, standing there quite angrily, with a vicious-looking sword drawn. She supposed she cut quite a figure -- especially with this new sword that was so much better than her old one.
She was quite happy with it. The metalworker had spent extra time on it, adding touches to make it unmistakably hers. The rubies adorning the hilt glinted like blood in the light of the tavern, matching the hue of her hair, and the glow of the light on the shaft of the sword shone almost red and hungry, making the weapon take on a blood-thirsty personality. The pommel had a shape of two dragons curling around to snarl at each other. It was perfectly balanced, not too heavy for her, for all that she was well-muscled and toned. Strong or not, she had a limit. This sword didn't test it.
She'd not yet taken blood with her sword, the ritual that made each weapon take on a life of its own. She was itching for her opportunity.
Not tonight.
"Alright," she continued, taking a step down from the stairs and gesturing with her sword. A space cleared for her instantly, people shying away from the pissed-off bellica. "Anyone want to tell me why you're taking such care to wreck the tavern I poured so much gold into?"
Any other time, Yarrow might have joined in on a bar fight, for a celebration of senseless violence did relieve certain stresses that ale and sex didn't. It usually didn't involve killing anyone -- something she did too often in her job for her to enjoy it much. Pummelling someone did have its satisfactions. There was honour to be had in a good old-fashioned fistfight.
But she didn't start bar fights. Drunk males did that easily and often enough. And especially not at the bar she helped to get on its feet. She didn't want her investment destroyed.
No one answered her. No one met her gaze, either. Suddenly everyone seemed very interested in the floor of the room. "Majors!" she shouted for Aro and Caelum, hoping the officers could give her some answers.
The crowd parted as the two tall men made their way over to her. The came forward sheepishly, Aro with a bloody nose and Caelum sporting a freshly-formed black eye.
She frowned at them disapprovingly. "Report, officers."
The two men shrugged and exchanged glances, looking like naughty boys caught with their fingers in the pie. "We were drinking and talking in the corner," began Caelum, pointing to a table that was now on its side. "And people started swinging."
"We tried to stay out of it, Bellica," Aro chimed in, desperate to save face for the both of them. "But then someone gave Caelum that shiner, and, well...." he trailed off and shrugged, looking at the floor again.
Yarrow shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Really, Caelum, you know better." He looked away, guilt covering his features. He knew it had been Yarrow who'd paid for that huge party in '14, and saved Xavier's bar from bankruptcy. He should have known better.
She turned to the bar, which appeared to be devoid of human life. Knowing otherwise, she sheathed her sword, for she had complete control of the situation now, and strode to the counter. Reaching over, she grabbed Xavier by the collar and raised him to his feet. "Bellica!" he gasped. "Hello there."
"Hello, Xavier. Still a coward, I see."
He shrugged and wiped the counter nervously. "Strong sense of self-preservation, Bellica."
"Yeah. I'm sure. Who started the fight, Xavier?"
No doubt seeing a chance to shift the focus point of Yarrow's ire from him to someone else, he immediately pointed to a corner table around the side of the bar. "She did, Bellica."
Yarrow moved over and crouched down, looking underneath the table. The pale face of Ghia peeked out at her, and Yarrow saw Jules lying unconscious beside the figure of the healer.
The bellica smirked and straightened, looking back at Xavier incredulously. "You mean the girl cowering under the table? She started the fight?" Yarrow could not imagine Ghia throwing punches at random strangers. D
espite the girl's fire and spirit.
Xavier coughed and looked anywhere but Yarrow's face. "Well. It was about her," he said, qualifying his statement, and Yarrow needed no more explanation. Ghia was attractive, drunk people did stupid things, and Jules had always been very quick to defend someone's honour. That equation was a surefire formula for a successful brawl.
She turned to the crowd of patrons, some of whom were edging surreptitiously towards the door, and the rest of whom were still looking anywhere but her face. "Right, you lot, I want all of you -- except the officers, whom I'll deal with myself," she added, pinning Aro and Caelum with a glare, "all of you get to setting this place to rights. I want it looking better than new when you're done. Now!" she added, when no one moved, and a general scramble ensued, some patrons shooting sympathetic looks at the majors.
Aro and Caelum edged towards her slowly, trying to put off their punishment, but Yarrow ignored them. She turned back to the healer and held her hand out to help the girl up. Ghia put her softer palm into the bellica's callused one tentatively and scooted out from under the table. The healer seemed pretty shaken up, and Yarrow gave her a kind smile. "You okay, kid?" she asked.
Ghia nodded, smoothing her peplos and clearing her throat nervously. "You're not going to punish Jules, are you? It's not his fault the fight started, he was only -- "
"Save it, girl," Yarrow cut her off. "I know Jules well enough to be able to guess what happened. I'm not particularly concerned with that right now." She gave a brisk jerk of the head to the majors, who now stood beside her. "Get the medic to your room, will you? And stay up there," she added to Caelum's nod.
The two men dragged the medic's limp body out from under the table and carefully lifted him, carrying him up the stairs. When they were out of earshot, Yarrow turned to Ghia and gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Men, eh? There's a reason we run things."
Ghia's eyes widened and then she let out a hesitant giggle.
Yarrow was glad she'd been able to make Ghia laugh. That meant the girl was feeling better. "Did Jules sustain anything worse than the concussion he no doubt has?" she asked abruptly, serious again.
A look of sudden remembrance crossed Ghia's face. "Oh, Goddess! Yes, a cut to the arm," she gasped, looking longingly up the stairs.
Yarrow recognised the light in the girl's eyes. It was the same light she saw in Jules when a soldier was injured and he was already rushing to help, regardless of any danger to himself. Healers, she thought, unable to understand what drove people to such a career. Selflessness, she supposed, which was why it had never appealed to her. She did respect them for what they did but she thought they were crazy.
She nodded in the direction of the stairs. "Go. I'll have a bowl of hot water and some rags sent up. Do you need anything else?"
Ghia was already halfway up the stairs. She turned with a thoughtful look on her face. "Something cold, for their black eyes. Everything else I have," she added, and was gone, a blur of healing frenzy.
Yarrow shook her head and ordered the supplies up to the boys' room. This trip was becoming more and more interesting.
Jules
Jules awakened to blurry shapes above him. He blinked furiously, and the shapes resolved themselves into Ghia, her orange hair creating a fiery halo around a face etched with worry.
She smiled to see him conscious. "Welcome back," she said gently. "How do you feel?"
He groaned and shifted position on the lumpy mattress. Where was he? Oh, yes, the tavern in Mudflat. "As if I have a spectacularly bad hangover," he said and a smile quirked her lips. "What happened?" He asked as much out of curiosity as out of needing to distract himself from how cute she was when she smiled.
"Ah, well," she said, her smile turning to the embarrassed variety. "A fight got started when you were...defending me from someone confused as to the nature of my vocation." A blush stole across her cheeks and suddenly she got up. He watched her tend to the majors, who were also apparently somewhat worse for wear, and tried not to think about how attractively she walked.
Well, she'd answered his question, but he still couldn't remember much. He closed his eyes and willed the memories to come back from wherever they'd been chased by this headache. Defending Ghia...from....oh, right. That drunken lout who'd insisted on Ghia's wenchitude. Jules had walked in and seen the man and found himself flooded with fury. Before he'd known what he was doing, he was across the room and playing the hero.
Try to teach the cretin some manners, and start a bar fight. Great job, Jules. Yarrow was going to be pissed.
Maybe she'd take pity on him. He was injured, after all, and he'd only been doing the right thing. Somehow he doubted she'd kill him and take on Ghia as her CMO, for all the healer'd done a wonderful job taking care of him.
Suddenly remembering the knife that had sliced him open during the fight, he glanced to his left arm to see it bandaged up. There was a pleasant numb sensation and the astringent smell of darkshade paste, and he was prevented from determining the extent of the injury. Unless he wanted to unwrap the neat bandaging job, which he didn't.
Ghia reappeared at his side then, a cold pack in her hand. He gestured to his arm. "How bad is it?"
She shrugged and gave him the cold pack, which he gratefully pressed to his aching head. "You'll live. But I still stitched it up," she added, sitting down gently on his bedside.
"I'm immensely grateful you did that while I was out," he murmured, closing his eyes as the cold of the pack eased away the pain in his head.
"I numbed it first, Jules. I didn't want to cause you pain," she said softly, and he opened one eye to regard her. This was a much different Ghia from the one he was used to -- where was the tartness? The teasing? The saucy wench he so loved? (Like. Care for. Not love, he reminded himself sternly, uselessly.) More wild mood swings? Or had being in the middle of a brawl scared away her bravado?
She looked at him worriedly, and he gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You did a great job, Healer. No complaints over here."
She returned his smile, creating cute dimples in her cheeks. He adjusted his position again and closed his eyes, ostensibly to rest, but in reality to keep himself from kissing those full lips. That could have pretty bad repercussions. Especially in front of Caelum and Aro. He'd never live it down. If he lived to live it down.
"Jules?" Ghia's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Mmmmm," he said, not opening his eyes.
"I don't think you should go to sleep yet," she said, healer's tone back.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Until when?"
"Tomorrow morning. You sustained a concussion, Jules. You could slip away from me if you go to sleep," she added as he began to protest.
He stopped, taken aback. Slip away from me. Not us. Me, she'd said. What...did that mean she felt the same way?
No. Just friends, Jules, his conscience answered him. She's just worried as a friend. And she's right about the concussion if you're having such thoughts.
Reluctantly he nodded, acquiescing, for all that he was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Well, nothing more than to sleep with Ghia, but that wasn't going to happen, regardless of his concussion. He'd just have to keep the two majors up all night, too. Misery loved company.
She smiled, happy at not having to argue with him. "Good. Aro and Caelum already said they'd stay up with you," she added.
There went that idea.
She went quiet then, a cloud covering her features, and he was worried anew about her. Something was wrong. "Are you okay, Ghia? That man didn't hurt you, did he?"
"Oh, no," she said, her face clearing. "Just a little shaken. You came along just in time, Jules. Thank you," she added, a slight pink colouring her cheeks.
"No problem," he said, and their eyes locked in an intense, heated gaze. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Ghia's parted lips, and he had to restrain the urge to grab her by the hair and kiss her ruthlessly.
She cleared her
throat and looked away, and the spell was broken. "I'm going to retire, now. You boys play nice." She got up to leave.
Jules caught her arm with his hand. "Your gift is downstairs, tied up next to Suki."
He watched her as she registered the information, and then her face lit up joyfully. "You got me a horse?" she squeaked out, and then he was being mauled by an affectionate Ghia intent on hugging him to death.
"Gently," he murmured into her hair, though truth be told he didn't want her ever to let go.
"Thank you so much, Jules," she gushed, and looked at him with eyes alight with pleasure. "I'm going to go see her right now!" She kissed him on the lips and then was gone, out the door before he could react.
His eyes followed her as she left and, unable to stop himself, he fell back on his bed with a heavy sigh. "You're welcome," he said to the not present healer, his lips burning with the taste of hers. Good thing he was supposed to stay up. He was too seriously aroused to fall asleep now.
A snicker from the other side of the room caught his attention, and he looked up to see the two majors trying to hold in their laughter, faces red from the effort.
"What's so funny?" he asked, though he could well guess.
Caelum collapsed into giggles at that, and it was Aro who answered. "Oh, nothing," the major said, and a small laugh escaped him. "We're just admiring your self-control, is all," he managed to get out, and then burst out laughing along with Caelum.
Jules glared at them. "You both can burn in Tyvian," he spat out viciously and determinedly looked at the ceiling, pissed off that he couldn't turn onto his side because of his arm.
"Now, now, Medic," gasped out Caelum, unable to stop laughing. "We think a horse is perfectly natural gift to get a girl you have no intentions towards at all," he said, and laughed even harder.
"Yes, well, that self-control you so admire is better served by Ghia riding alone from now on," Jules said tightly.
Bellica Page 36