Ryza thought that she would have been used to hills. Especially after growing up in Noria a good chunk of her life. Having lived on her own, without her father, and hiding from others, ruffing it was normal. Yet her legs were burning and she was clinging to her shovel for dear life.
Cresting the top of a hill she took a moment to breathe. Bending over, her hands on her knees she took a steadying breath. This far south Sanctum air was much warmer than home. The sun showed out here. Clouds passed above blotting out the sun with a rolling breeze. It was going down slowly and she was relying on its light.
Huge swaths of the land were taken over by a sprawling forest. Thick with leaves, branches, and foliage. She almost wanted to be in there. It reminded her of the good old days. She chuckled to herself thinking that living off rabbits caught in traps and picking vegetation were the good old days.
As she stared she felt her clothing move as Shriek climbed his way onto her shoulder. She held her hand out and watched as he jumped and scurried to her palm. She brushed her finger across his head gently. “You would have been a nice snack back then. But I also needed a friend and thus our relationship began.”
He stared at her not making a sound then scurried back to her shoulder. He found a strand of her hair to play with and she sighed. As long as he didn’t chew through her braids again she would be fine with him playing there. She could see a town in the distance on the other side of this hill. She was going to have a long walk to get there.
She loosely missed having a horse but taking care of a living one was not her forte. She could barely take care of herself and a rat. And traveling on a decaying or skeleton horse was murder on her butt. No one made saddles for that kind of body structure.
Picking up her shovel again she started to walk. Her dress was tattered at the edges, her boots muddy, and hair and face must have been dirty. She doubted she smelled pleasant.
She worked her way forward, stepping to her own rhythm. It took the better of almost an hour of walking before she stumbled and glared at the ground. She stared at the hole that her shovel was presently stuck in. Jerking it out of the hole, she kicked clumps of dirt and grass.
“Damn rabbit holes,” she grumbled to herself. “You know little one I almost miss the companionship of Orion. But that is the past. It is just us now.” She touched the mask that hung at her hip, pieces of it chipped but still in a smarmy smile.
“How many years has it been little one? Two maybe?”
She looked at her shoulder to keep speaking to Shriek but the rat had ceased to be in her hair or respond to her voice. Glancing at him she could see him staring into the forest and saw him shaking almost like a leaf. She slowed and picked him up quickly, cradling him in both her hands.
“What is it little one? What has spooked you so much?”
As if in direct response to that question she could hear the growling. It was a subtle noise that she would have missed normally through her own exertions. Turning around quickly she saw the single pair of amber eyes.
She narrowed her own silver eyes into the darkness trying to pierce the veil of the shadows but it didn’t remain where it was. It disappeared into the darkness with a crack of branches and she scowled. She didn’t know what it was that spooked her rat but now it was on her shit list.
The growing shadows of the setting sun didn’t help things. Her own reached so far behind her it seemed like she was easily three times as tall as she was. It didn’t help that she was wearing a long patchworked cloak now. It was almost identical to the one her brother had worn. His tastes had rubbed off on her.
The sun had fully set by the time Ryza hit the edge of the village. It was large, large enough to even have a well-trodden main road. But apparently traveling along the forest was very much out of the way because the moment she came out of it the few people awake in that side of the town gave her strange looks.
At this time of night though she was looking for an inn to stay at. Some places were bright in the growing darkness but most lights were out. People were either in their homes or on their porches as she passed by them. Once she walked the streets like a normal person she blended into the crowd. That was a first.
She started to look around when her stomach rumbled. Shriek looked down at it and then back at her and she chuckled, “Alright little one. I think I could use something to eat before I even think of sleeping. And something to drink. How long has it been since we’ve had a real meal little one? Where shall we go hm?”
He stared at her and she knew she saw the spark of intelligence in his beady little eyes. She watched him and looked at where his nose pointed and she followed the gaze to a place that in slipping letters read BAR. The B looked ready to fall off but it had a sort of broken charm to it.
As she approached the bar she definitely noticed that she was getting a few strange looks immediately. As if going to this bar was some kind of taboo. A man walked past her and stopped, “You’re not from around here. Word of advice. Don’t go there.”
She made a face at the man and raised her eyebrow, “There a reason for that?”
“Owners are cursed. Nothing good comes from interreacting with them,” he made a gruff noise in the back of his throat and spit.
“I think I’ll take my chances. Like you said. I’m not from around here,” she smiled and she had been working on that to a degree. After enough of Orion’s comments, she wondered if her smile was actually creepy. From the reaction of the man there may have been some truth to that.
“It’s your funeral,” he said gruffly and walked off.
She walked through the door and the place was just this side of empty. And actually, when she looked closer at the entire place she saw that the entire building was entirely empty. The only other person that she saw was a woman behind the bar.
She was tall, even from here Ryza could tell that she was taller than her, at least by half a head. They were likely the same age. Her skin was like ebony, eyes a deep sapphire blue, and nose large and round. A thin bandana was wrapped around her head, a thick braid of silver hair going down the side of her head and to her back. She was wearing a thick apron over a sleeveless shirt and gloves. Her eyes were narrowed and she mumbled something as she cleaned the bar with a rag.
But when Ryza approached her she looked up quickly. Her eyes rested on her and Ryza paused for a moment, frozen under the gaze. She didn’t know why but her mind went blank. She was gorgeous. Not ever in her life had she thought about another living person like that. Her eyes darted from her eyes to her lips to her face to her. Everywhere. She needed to blink but her face wasn’t obeying.
The woman stared at her and slowly her face broke into a smirk as she barked out a laugh, “You must not be from around here.”
That snapped her out of her daze almost immediately. Taking a breath and regaining her bearings she said in her default annoyance, “Why is everyone saying that?”
“People in this town wouldn’t be caught dead in this bar.”
“Well the sign caught my attention,” she smiled. “I thought it was endearing.”
Her smirk turned into a genuine smile as she fought her laughter, “Tell my Gran that. She’d roll over in her grave.”
Ryza smiled back at her and by the fact that the woman didn’t recoil away she must have done it right. Ryza sat at one of the stools, taking her shovel around blade against the floor and the shaft against the bar itself.
“So what brings you to this cursed part of town?”
“Why’s that?”
“Why what?”
“Why is this place considered cursed?”
“My family’s curse,” her face fell to a scowl. “A local superstition. And it’s bad for business most of the time. If you’re going to stay here any amount of time I’d advise against hanging around here long.”
Ryza shook her head, “I’ll be the judge of that. I’ve had my share of rumors thrown my way. Most people spreading them are cowards.”
She laughed covering her mouth and Ryza felt a modicum of pride at that reaction. “You’re a strange one. But tonight’s been relatively dead. So, I’m glad for you coming by. I don’t get a lot of visitors. Gran was better at entertaining people. This used to be her place. I’m not cut out for this.”
“You make it sound like you hate this place,” Ryza looked at the empty bar around them and grimaced. “Maybe I can understand your apprehension.”
She laughed something akin to a cackle. She looked at the empty booths, at the mugs on the shelf behind her that looked dusty. She shook her head again and rest her hands on the shelf underneath the bar. “I keep this place going because my Gran would want that. But this wasn’t my first choice since coming back home. But let’s not get too deep into me. I’m here to serve you.”
She placed her hands on the bar and glanced at Shriek who scurried down her arms. Ryza grasped Shriek and put him back on her shoulder, “No no. This is a place of business little one. You must stay with me.”
“You carry a rat with you?” she arched an eyebrow and her face morphed to one of mild disgust. Shriek squeaked and darted away around the back of her neck and dug into her curling hair.
She met that looked and shook her head, throwing a smile back at her companion. “He’s a good rat. Smarter than some people I’ve run into. Most men too.”
That brought the laugh back to her and it was rough yet musical. “I guess he gets a pass. Just make sure he stays out of trouble.”
“I promise that he will behave. He’s a gentleman or else I wouldn’t allow him with me. If you have anything bread related he would appreciate it though.”
“I’ve got some leftovers that I was about to throw out unless he’s picky.”
“He’s very much okay with scraps.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
She leaned against the bar and stared at her, “Are you picky? In your tastes of things.”
Ryza stared at her, her mind going empty. She wanted to say that she was open to eating anything she could catch. So, she settled on shaking her head quickly and the woman smiled.
“Alright. So, bread, some fresh and some old, along with soup sound good?”
Ryza nodded and the woman walked away, going around the corner to a door that led to what she assumed was a kitchen. She spun around in her chair and leaned against the bar letting her head hang down. Reaching above her head and she pulled at her hair and let it cover her face.
“What is wrong with me little one,” she whispered and glanced at her rodent companion. “I’m like some teenage girl stumbling over her words. If Gest or Ryze were here they’d never let me hear the end of it.”
Shriek squeaked pressing his tiny hands against her cheeks and rubbed his nose against her own. She wrinkled her nose and frowned at that but smiled. He sniffed at her nose and then backed away curling up on her palm and yawning before lying down. She rubbed his head gently and chuckled.
“Thank you little one,” she said and sighed as he ran up her arm and rested around her shoulder. She tossed her hair and let it cascade down as a curly black wave. She rustled it slowly, scratching at her head and shuddering pleased. Reaching into a pocket she tied her hair up with an old bandana.
“Aw why’d you do that. I think you looked better with your hair down like that.”
She whirled around to face the woman who had approached with a wide plate. A steaming bowl and half loaves of bread were there. One of them smelled sweet like it was just pulled out of the oven. The other way much colder but as Ryza tore a hunk off she set it aside from the soup. Taking a small piece, she held it out to Shriek and he started picking at it.
She brushed her finger across his back and then looked at the soup. It was a dark brown, chunks of vegetables floating within it. Taking the spoon, she got a spoonful and blew on it gently. But before eating she glanced at her, “How much would I owe you?”
“Only a few silver pieces. I wouldn’t overcharge you for what’s going to get thrown out anyway.”
Ryza glanced at her skeptical. For such a price like that she fully expected the soup to be something terrible. But when she lifted her spoon again her eyes widened and her taste buds sang. She started eating it slowly, mumbling spells under her breath to cool her tongue as she dug in much to joy and amusement of her bartender.
After several starved minutes Ryza said, “This is wonderful.” She started to say more but dug back into her food and choked a bit. Blinking and rubbing her eyes she laughed and continued to eat.
“Hey slow down. You don’t need to choke on it. There’s more if you want,” she said leaning against the bar.
“You cook like this and people really stay away because of some stupid ‘curse’,” Ryza shook her head and took of a hunk of the bread that was still warm. She dipped it into the soup and then ate that too.
Her bartender laughed and set down two tankards. One she pushed toward Ryza and took one for herself. Pressing it to her lips she drank deeply from it and leaned back belching. She started drinking again and Ryza joined her, draining half of it. But she ended up reeling backward. She had never done much with beer before and this was definitely not that. It was much stronger.
Setting it down she grunted and pressed her forehead down against the bar. “What is that?”
She leaned forward and glanced into the tankard and whistled. “Good God. Homebrew. Gran’s recipe.”
Ryza snorted and placed her hand on top of the tankard. “Liquor. Liquor is interesting.”
“Yes it is. So, what’s your name?”
Ryza squeaked, “Me?”
“You see anyone else in this bar?”
She met her gaze despite her embarrassment of the obviousness, “My names Ryza. You?”
“Snow. Snow Kylum.”
“That’s. That’s a pretty name for a pretty lady.”
Snow raised her eyebrow at her from the other side of the mug and Ryza hid her face in her soup. “I know my food’s cheap but flattery won’t make it free Ryza.”
“What? I would never do that,” Ryza said quickly, stared at her and then realized she was being teased. Making a face she sipped from her drink again and shook her head. Snow laughed and finished her drink. She stepped away and started to refill her own drink as well as Ryza’s when the door to the bar slammed open like a crack of thunder.
The Harlequin Library 