As the light faded away from his hand, Leyna could see his eyes looking at her closely. Pretending not to notice, she settled herself down onto the leaves, curling up into a ball for warmth. The armor made it more difficult. It was bulky and uncomfortable, but she didn’t mind. As long as she was unable to relax, she was guaranteed to remain awake. There would be plenty of other opportunities for rest. She would take advantage of those when they arose. Until then, she would remain vigilant.
Chapter Three
Days quickly turned into weeks for Leyna, soon starting to roll over into years. She had spent her sixteenth birthday silently sitting around the mountain camp, listening to the men share their war stories. Feolan urged her to tell the story of their successful battle against the Sanarik, hoping to open her up from the shell she’d sunk into after that night in the woods. They managed to head off the attack they had been scouting to plan against. The mission had been a success and earned her a spot as an actual soldier under Feolan’s command.
She’d forgotten about her seventeenth birthday until it was already passed. They’d been in battle against the Namiren throughout the entire week, the endless days of fighting blending together. Remembering something so trivial as a birthday had been impossible. It wasn’t until she’d heard the date of their return to central Siscal that she realized it had been forgotten.
Eighteen. This marked another year for her. Another year she had managed to keep her secret, and another day to reminisce about her days with Reina. Reina would be twelve now. She had to wonder if the little girl even still remembered her. Letters had been sent to the orphanage on a few occasions, but no response was ever received. Leyna eased her mind by assuring herself the replies had been lost in transit, unable to find her while she was in the field.
Music filled the air of the tavern, giving a jovial feeling to such a dismal place. It was dirty. Not a place for a young girl to be, especially not one as young as her. The bar keep wouldn’t think to throw her out, though. She wore the uniform of the home military and the music was played in her honor. It was her party she attended amongst the filth, but not because of the sentimental memory of the day of her birth. After two years of service to the military, she was being promoted to first lieutenant under Feolan. For the first time she would be placed in charge of her own unit of soldiers to keep watch over in battle. Men taking orders from a child. Even through her melancholy thoughts, she couldn’t help but find a mild amusement in the truth.
“Your first drink is on me!” The grin on Teagan’s face was just as irritating as usual, if not more so. He did so love his booze. Any occasion to celebrate, he was the first to the tavern with coin in hand. It had become his goal to get her to drink, and she constantly was forced to turn him down. The scent of the drink was hardly appetizing to her.
“I much prefer the tea, but thank you.”
Shoving a mug into her hands, Teagan patted her on the back, ushering her away from the bar over to the table where he and several others were seated at. Her nose wrinkled up at the smell. “How are we supposed to get you drunk at your own party if you won’t drink?”
“You could always just not try to get her drunk,” Feolan chuckled, sliding over on the seat to make room for Leyna to sit next to him. “There is no rule that states a person has to be completely out of their wits just because the celebration is in their honor.”
“Thank you, Feolan.” Slipping into the booth next to him, Leyna nodded her head approvingly to Feolan’s comment, hoping Teagan would ease up on her, knowing that not everyone wished to see her inebriated.
There was no chance of him being so sensible. To him it was all about the alcohol. It wasn’t a party without the drinks. “Just one. You don’t have to get drunk. Just humor me and at least taste that.”
A woman came by the table, passing out drinks to the men seated there. She was tall for a Siscalian woman, her long blonde hair hanging loose over her shoulders. Most people of Siscalian descent were somewhat shorter than the Vor’shai, their bodies more compact. Her fingers were shorter, having to press hard against the sides of the large round mugs in order to keep them from slipping out of her hands.
Leyna watched her place a mug in front of Thade, his eyes barely acknowledging the waitress’s presence despite the hooting and hollering of the others. While the men leaned forward to catch a glimpse of her low neckline, she seemed to be trying to catch Thade’s attention, bumping him nonchalantly with her arm as she leaned back across the table. “Oh, I’m so sorry, sir…”
“Do not worry about it,” he waved dismissively, oblivious to her attempts at flirting. “If you could – I would like to buy a cup of tea for the lady here.”
Teagan booed him loudly from where he stood outside the booth next to Leyna, still pushing the mug in Leyna’s hands closer to her lips. “Don’t encourage her, Captain.”
Struggling against Teagan’s insistent hands, she managed to maneuver the mug away from him, nearly spilling it down the front of her before getting it flat on the table. She heaved a sigh of contained frustration, her eyes shifting over to Thade curiously. “If it will get this animal here off my back… What is it that you are drinking? It looks far more pleasant than whatever this substance is that Teagan is trying to poison me with.”
Thade tilted his drink to one side, peering into it thoughtfully before offering it to her over the table. “It is the house special wine. Not the best I have ever tasted, but certainly not the worst.”
She accepted the drink, inhaling deeply of it. The scent was much more agreeable than the ale Teagan insisted she try. Slowly, she raised the glass to her lips. It felt foreign to her tongue, thicker than she’d been expecting. The taste was quite strong, filling her senses with a mixture of flavors she’d never experienced in a single beverage before. It was more bitter than anything else. Not wanting to reveal her distaste, she scrunched up her nose in feigned thoughtfulness, pretending to ponder over the flavor.
The waitress returned to the table, batting her eyes flirtatiously at Thade as she sat the cup of tea down on the table in front of him. Noticing his drink in Leyna’s hand, the woman’s smile faded somewhat. “Can I get you another glass of wine?”
He barely nodded to her in response, his eyes focused on Leyna curiously as the men at the table began to chant for her to chug. Bracing herself for the rush of the strong liquid, she tipped her head back, pouring it into her mouth. She gave no pause to her gulps until the last drop had fallen from the glass, her hand placing it firmly down on the table in front of her.
Almost immediately, another drink was pushed in front of her. This one smelled even stranger than the last. She didn’t know what it was, but the chant had started again, urging her on to drink it. Taking the challenge, she tilted the mug back, practically choking on the disgusting fluid that came from it. She couldn’t take any more. The after taste was unbearable, her mouth sticky and warm from the alcohol.
Thade gently pressed the cup of tea across the table toward her with his fingertips. “If you are going to chug anything else, it should be this.”
She accepted the cup gratefully, lifting it to her lips in hopes of ridding her mouth of the horrible taste left behind from the last drink. She was afraid to ask what it had been. The flavor had been less potent than that of the wine, but it had been significantly less tolerable. “How do you men drink that stuff? It is absolutely awful.”
The tea soothed the lingering taste only mildly. She could hear the men laughing at her comment, their attention distracted once again by the return of the waitress. By now she was frustrated by Thade’s disinterest, setting the glass down in front of him with a lack of grace which nearly sloshed it over the edge of the cup. His eyebrow rose curiously to look up at her, seeming to see her for the first time – and unimpressed by her manners.
“Can I get you men anything else?”
Leyna ignored the inappropriate responses of the other men, her eyes gazing down into the familiar liquid of her cup. It wa
s still warm to the touch. Her hands pressed against it, thankful for the comforting feel of it against her skin.
At first she felt nothing from the drinks she’d consumed. Her senses were unaffected, her thoughts still coherent and rational. She had just started to relax into the idea that she was in the clear from its effects when it hit her. Mild at first. A simple feeling of lightheadedness, going away almost as quickly as it had come. She was vaguely aware of Teagan still at her side, continuously offering her another drink.
The situation was slowly slipping out of her control. The dizziness was increasing, her vision hindered by several bright spots of light dancing across the faces of the men around her. Why was this feeling so sought after? It was absolutely miserable. Voices around her were hollow, their words no longer making any sense to her. She was only somewhat aware that certain comments were being directed at her, lost to the distractions of her head.
A sudden splash falling down the front of her shirt pulled her from her scattered thoughts, her hands clumsily wiping at the liquid soaking into the fabric. Thade and Feolan were instantly on their feet, their hollow voices scolding Teagan for something. She couldn’t understand what. All she could think of was getting away from the table. The smell of ale perfumed from her drenched top, adding to the discomfort already starting to build in her stomach.
Standing did nothing to ease the spinning room. It only intensified it. She wasn’t sure she would be able to maintain her footing, but she somehow managed it, her shoulder slamming into Teagan hard as she moved past him. His hand flailed about wildly in his own attempts to keep on his feet, almost striking her in the face. Her thoughts were slow and sluggish, her arm reaching out to push Teagan backward before she could think better of the action. In the back of her mind, she could hear the other men laughing. Teagan was on the floor now, holding out his hand to her. He wanted her to help him up? Why would she do that? He was an imbecile and a drunk. He could lay there all night for all she cared.
She stepped over him, ignoring his slurred request for help. Her clothes reeked of his drink. She didn’t know how she was going to fix it, but she knew she had to try. Drenched in alcohol was not how she had anticipated spending her birthday. It didn’t seem right. She hadn’t left Reina at the dismal orphanage just so she could move away and party. It wasn’t fair to her.
Clear your head. How long could this awful feeling last? Nothing she did made it go away. The room continued to spin around her, the sounds muffled to her ears. How she managed to find her way to the bathroom was a mystery, but there she was. Surrounded on all sides by the worst filth of the tavern. Did they ever clean this place? The stench wasn’t quite strong enough to overpower the smell of ale still wafting up to her nostrils from her own shirt. She wasn’t sure which scent was worse.
If she’d been able to think clearly, she wouldn’t have let her hands touch the basin, but she found herself leaning over it. She needed something to help hold her up so she wouldn’t fall onto the floor, which was even more disgusting. The sink seemed the lesser of the two evils. A film of muck covered the ground, its origins too gross to even want to consider. The water in the basin wasn’t much better. It was nothing more than a large bowl filled with stagnant water. She didn’t want to think of how many people had placed their hands in it – and even worse, what had been on their hands when they touched it. Even her confused mind wasn’t disoriented enough to possess her to splash the disgusting liquid on her face.
“Leyna?”
Oh, go away. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. She just wanted to stand there for a few minutes and wallow in her own misery. That was too difficult to do when someone was standing there watching her.
It took too much effort to lift her head. A clicking noise told her someone had locked the door. Odd. It was a male voice that had spoken. Why would a man come into the ladies’ room and lock the door? They were segregated for a reason. Society frowned upon any instance of men and women being alone in a single room together.
“What do you want?” She didn’t know what else to ask. “You do realize this is the ladies’ room, right? We can’t lock everyone out.”
“It is the ladies’ room in a tavern. Aside from the barmaids, there is maybe one other woman in the whole place, not counting you. She can wait.”
Thade. She didn’t want him to see her in her condition. It took all her focus just to straighten her back up, removing her hands from the grimy sink. The room wasn’t spinning at the moment, which was a welcome surprise to her. Maybe it’s wearing off.
“I’m fine, really.”
“You have not seemed fine all evening,” he replied calmly. He was unfazed by her dismissive tone, the sound of his footsteps coming closer filling Leyna’s ears. “Truthfully, you have come across as distracted by something. Is everything alright? Disregarding the ale dripping down the front of you, that is.”
“I don’t have anything to change into.” She knew it didn’t answer his question, but she didn’t care. It was the first logical sentence that formed in her head.
Thade’s eyes were watching her closely, taking in every detail. It made her uncomfortable to think they were in such a tiny room, alone. Something felt inappropriate about it, but her mind couldn’t quite put a finger on what that something was. He was the Captain and she was a soldier under his authority. There was nothing out of the ordinary with that… Except for the fact that she was drunk. The alcohol had been much too potent, and her body was far too underdeveloped to handle such an amount so quickly and on an empty stomach.
Slowly, she turned to face him, afraid to meet his eyes. She was embarrassed. She was making a fool out of herself in her altered state of mind. If only she’d done the smart thing and continued to decline the drinks. What had she been thinking? Fitting in wasn’t worth this.
Thade’s expression was more sympathetic than scolding. His fingers were already halfway down his uniform jacket, unfastening the gold buttons which held it together. Through her unfocused eyes, Leyna tried to figure out what he was doing, confused by his actions. Noticing her questioning stare, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “These uniforms have so many pieces to them. You can wear my shirt and no one would even have to know. This jacket covers me well enough as it is.”
“No, I am not going to ask you to give me the shirt off your own back just because I was too stupid…”
“You are not asking me for the shirt off my back. I am offering it. And you will accept it. Please.” It sounded like an order coming from him, and yet his tone remained gentle. She couldn’t deny her appreciation at the gesture. It would allow her to go back out and face everyone again with at least some amount of dignity after what she’d done.
All she could think about was Teagan lying there on the floor. She’d pushed him down. Why in the world had she done that? He’d deserved it, but she had been out of her wits to follow through with it. She wondered how angry with her he would be when she returned to the table.
He didn’t give her an opportunity to decline his offer. It didn’t sink in right away until she saw him slide his jacket off, draping it over the handle on the door to keep it from touching the ground. Each button on his shirt took him only a moment to undo, easily allowing him to slip his arms from it. She initially didn’t intend to stare, her eyes gazing at him without really seeing him. It was when his shirt had been fully removed that she felt her heart skip bashfully at the sight of him.
The muscles in his upper body were surprisingly well-defined, having been concealed from view under the heavy fabric of his uniform she was so used to seeing him in. Despite his slender build, his stomach was perfectly toned, his chest and shoulders broader than she expected. He was like a flawlessly chiseled statue there before her, his muscular arm holding the shirt out to her expectantly.
When she realized she was staring, she lowered her eyes to the floor, her hand still clumsy from the alcohol as she tried to take the shirt from his hand. Without thinking, she turned
away from him, fumbling with her own ale soaked shirt to pull it off.
“Leyna, you can wait until I leave to…”
Thade’s voice cut off sharply, reminding her of his presence still in the room with her. It was already too late. Her shirt was in her hand, dangling from her fingers onto the floor. She didn’t even care about the filth it was touching. Her face flushed with embarrassment at the thought of having just removed her shirt in front of him. She was thankful she’d at least had the sense to turn around.
Out of nowhere she felt something against her back, causing her to jump unexpectedly. Thade was behind her, his fingertips brushing against the sensitive skin. Scars. She had forgotten they were there. What a sight they must be to behold. Very rarely did she ever pay them mind anymore. After the attack on her mother, she’d spent many hours trying to see them in any mirror she could find, making sure the wounds were healing properly. They hadn’t had enough coin to seek an actual doctor to tend to them.
Flashes shot through her confused mind, jarring her back to reality. She could see the tiny opening under the table in Reina’s father’s study. Her heart raced again with the fear that had gripped her while she slid underneath it, trying to press herself against the wall to escape the sword of her attacker. Each slice of the blade carved a line into her back, connecting at different points and angles. A single line crossed them all from one side to the other, a deeper gouge near the center from the locking mechanism on the trunk her mother had hidden her in.
She flinched away from Thade’s touch, pressing his shirt over her chest to keep her concealed from view. “What are you doing?” she gasped. It was unlike him to approach her in such a way. She could only imagine the confusion in his mind at the sight of the marks there. There was no way to lie about how she had received the scars. He’d been present during almost every battle she fought since arriving in Siscal. Thade would never believe she’d sustained the injuries so recently.
The Myatheira Chronicles: The Vor'shai: From the Ashes (Volume 1) Page 8