Princess Charming Ch. 04

"Do not speak," Vedran whispered in her ear, "The only women who grace these premises sell their bodies, and we do not wish to draw that kind of attention to you." The Princess nodded in thanks and followed Vedran silently through the crowd of men in various states of inebriation, every one of them ignoring her as they discussed their next venture. When she stopped to stare at a horribly scarred man with a rag over one eye Vedran grasped her hand and pulled her away before the man could ask any questions. "Don't stare," he chided seriously, "Eyes down if you cannot refrain from staring." Athanasia snorted in frustration, not for nearly drawing attention towards them but the loss of all the new sights she was seeing.

They reached the bar and Vedran pulled a stool out for the Princess to sit on, which she did gladly. "Can I have a drink?" She whispered to the Thief.

Vedran smiled and indicated four with a flip of his hand, the barkeep just nodded and moved to get four mugs of ale. It was then that Castor and Axel joined them, both looking very displeased at their current resting place. "Here," Vedran said, handing them two of the mugs the barkeep had placed in front of him, cutting off any argument either of them might try to start up, "We will discuss your grievances once in the privacy of our rooms and not in a tavern filled with unscrupulous bandits."

"Then settle our sleeping arrangements quickly," Axel glared him, "We have much to discuss."

Rolling his eyes in a mocking way, Vedran gained the attention of the barkeep again, "We are in need of accommodation for the night, how many rooms do you have vacant?"

"One left for tonight," the barkeep grumbled, "Three pieces of silver an hour."

"An hour?" Castor asked curiously, looking to Vedran for explanation.

"We need the whole night, Urs," Vedran clarified, "My friends and I wish to rest."

Urs looked from Athanasia to the three men; he could smell the money on them and decided to try to get it out of them. "No favours, Vedran," the brutish man crossed his arms in finality, "You know the rates."

Vedran felt angry, trust Urs to be thinking more of money than helping a friend. He could punch the greedy barman. A thought crossed his mind that may have the barman changing his tune, "Then we will go across to the King's Heart."

"You do that then," Urs turned away to deal with another customer.

"I guess friendship means nothing to some," Vedran grumbled. If Urs had not been so much bigger than him, he would have hit him.

Vedran went to retreat to the street again when Axel grabbed his arm, "You mean to tell us that there was no need to bring us in this filthy hole?" The Knight growled menacingly.

Vedran cowered momentarily until he saw Urs look around suddenly, clearly insulted at the way the Axel showed his disgust at the establishment. "You're right, Sir," the Thief replied louder than was necessary, "I was a fool to think this hovel would be suitable for our company of travellers." Urs began to move closer. "We should go back into the forest where the accommodation is clean."

Urs was looking quite flustered at the implication that his establishment was a grimy hole not fit for pigs let alone people. Axel was taken aback by Vedran's change of opinion, "It is nice to see you share my view," the Knight smiled slyly.

"Ved, friend," Urs spoke now, trying to avoid the looks the other patrons were now giving him, "We've known each other for years now, you can have the rooms for a piece of gold for the night." The barkeep waited nervously under the gaze of a few of the larger, thuggish looking men near him as he waited for Vedran to respond.

"Four pieces of silver and that is for the night," Vedran haggled, "And breakfast."

"Twelve pieces and I'll throw in a bath for each of your companions," Urs bartered.

"Six," Vedran argued.

"Eight," Urs responded.

"Deal," Vedran answered quickly, grinning uncontrollably at his bargaining skills, "We will need extra bedding and firewood."

"One more piece of silver and I'll throw in a bottle of my finest whiskey," Urs offered, still being looked at by the men, "I'll show you to your room."

"I call the bed," Athanasia smirked as they followed the barkeep up the stairs at the far end of the room, "And first bath," She added quickly. The men grumbled, but she did not care, she was the one who insisted that they have an actual roof over their heads this night and it felt like it was well past her bed time.

Axel saw the tired grin on her face and smiled, this young woman would be his wife one day and that subtle expression on her face was something he looked forward to seeing every morning for the rest of his life. His smile disappeared quickly when Vedran offered his arm to her to guide up the stairs to their room, he saw everything go red in an instant. He reached for his blade when Castor stayed his hand and shook his head. Axel looked up again to see Athanasia walking ahead without Vedran hanging onto her and relaxed. "Thank you, Castor," the Knight sighed.

Castor gave him a half grin, "We cannot kill him after he secured us a place to rest our heads, but if he does make improper advances toward my sister, I will deal with it." Axel nodded and they entered their room for a much needed rest.

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Have a great day everyone :D