Out of the Ashes Ch. 02

"I told you ... both, no need to be formal here," he grumpily responded to Alexia and focused on Margaret once more. "You two look desperate. Fine, but keep this," he said and pushed the ring on the counter back towards Margaret.

"I... don't understand," the blonde muttered.

"You don't have to give away your fancy rings. Don't even want to know where you got them from in the first place. You said something about working for me. I wonder, what do you have in mind?" his voice sounded a bit less rough, almost even a bit amused.

Margaret was completely surprised by this unexpected turn of events and tried to come up with an idea. She blushed while his smirk widened at seeing her nervous reaction.

"Kid, just speak up, what are you good at?" he said almost fatherly and grabbed another glass to clean. This gave her an idea.

"I could work... as a waitress. Not that I ever tried to, but I ... will give it my all," she almost whispered and hoped it was good enough.

"I guessed so," he said and looked back at his counter and continued to work.

The two hermaphrodites couldn't get a read on him, but both knew they had to convince him somehow. Margaret looked nervously around the place and ... at the piano ... and grinned.

"If you don't mind, I could play some music if you want... for entertainment," she suggested, and Alexia perked an eyebrow and looked down at the blonde princess in front of her.

The old innkeeper paused and looked at her as well and was obviously surprised at seeing her pointing at the dusty piano.

"Now that's unexpected," he grinned and leaned forward on the counter. "And what about her?" he nodded towards Alexia behind Margaret.

"She... uhm... could kick out drunkards that don't pay... maybe?" the blonde heir responded unconvincingly but that's the best she could come up with.

He squinted his eyes at hearing this and looked back at Alexia for a second, before returning his gaze on Margaret.

"She certainly looks like she could to that," he grunted and got back up to his full height, just maybe an inch taller than Margaret.

"Does this mean you...," Alexia dared to ask before getting interrupted.

"For now. Don't make me change my mind," he responded almost angrily while looking at Alexia.

His antipathy towards her was showing, which angered her, but if the occasional insult or his grumpy attitude would be the prize for any shelter, she would gladly accept it.

While Alexia was feeling quite annoyed, enraged even, the same couldn't be said about Margaret. The blonde incognito heir felt excited about finally finding a place to stay for now and the prospect of working for her shelter somehow strangely intrigued her. It would be a welcome change to her life at the palace... earning her place by merit not by birthright, or her looks.

"What are you waiting for, show me what you got, kid," the grumpy old man said and subtly nodded towards the eager to play princess.

Margaret happily rushed towards the piano and noticed many of the equally grumpy looking and at times heavily scarred sailors' gazes on her.

She blew the dust off the piano and guessed that nobody played on it for many years. But, besides the thick layer of dust it was of very high quality and seemed after closer inspection even more out of place. The blonde sat down and gave the first few keys a subtle push and the volume and sound was equally impressive.

Even more sailors looked into her direction at hearing her testing the odd instrument, while her grin widened even further. Margaret was already in a great mood, but playing before a crowd, even such an unusual one was always a treat to her and one of the few things she genuinely enjoyed back in the palace. She looked over to the now equally keenly observing innkeeper and Alexia before taking a deep breath and starting to play.

Years of practice formed Margaret into quite an accomplished musician, easily good enough for the crowd in the tavern, probably the whole city. Her mothers gave her lessons to teach her a sense of discipline and thriving for perfection, but what started as some sort of mental training turned out to be one of the princess's biggest passions.

Alexia grinned at hearing her childhood friend play and already knew that she wouldn't make any mistakes through the whole play. The black-haired commander even recognized the tune from a summer fair some years ago and enjoyed herself a bit more despite the still dire situation they were in.

Everyone in the inn now focused on Margaret picking up pace to the melancholic but still catchy tune she obviously remembered by heart. Seasoned sailors, experienced warriors or grumpy innkeepers alike shifted all their attention at this unknown stranger turning this ruin of a tavern into a music hall.

"You two are close, aren't you?" Alexia heard and that made her snap out of listening to Margaret.

The innkeeper still standing behind the counter looked at her, his expression still borderline bored but his voice didn't sound nearly as hostile as before.

"None of your business," Alexia drily replied and kept on looking into his eyes for any clues on what he might be thinking, while some of his customers started softly clapping to the beat of Margaret's play.

"I think it will be my business, when you two end up working her."

"Why do you help us... I mean, me?"

He didn't answer right away but looked over to the blonde princess' hands swiftly and precisely swooshing over the right keys at all the right moments, before looking back at the brawny hermaphrodite.

"Because I have seen your and her expression many times and know what will happened if I'd make you leave".

"What would happen then?" Alexia hissed.

"She would go with you and you wouldn't make it through the night. Who knows what would happen to her then..."

His gaze lowered for a second and he frowned, almost like he remembered something at that moment.

"I doubt that," Alexia assertively replied, inclined to not show any weakness, despite believing him. This was further proof that the rumours of armed militias in the town were true, even the royal guard or tax collectors didn't walk into it for many years by now.

"If you say so. Regardless, what should I do with you? Do you know anything besides how to dispose of my kind?" he angrily asked his gaze wandering all over Alexia's obviously strong and finely sculptured body.

"Say what you need me for, and I will be useful," again, Alexia kept her reply very short, but her antipathy was clear.

The 8'6" hermaphrodite and around 6' tall innkeeper silently looked at each other in disgust while Margaret concluded her impressive show to the occasional applause of some of the grimmest looking seamen she had ever seen.

Margaret playfully bowed down before them and was pleasantly surprised by finding music enthusiasts in especially this out of all places. She rushed back over to Alexia and her still unnamed new boss and smiled happily.

"So, when does the shift start?" the blonde asked cheerfully, enthralled by the unexpected reaction of the small crowd.

The innkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly before taking his gaze away from Alexia and focusing on Margaret.

"Aren't you a cocky one. But I gotta admit, you have some serious skill, kid. It's been years since I heard ... someone play something this good on the old thing," he mused and for a second the bored expression on his face was replaced by slight excitement.

"We have closed tomorrow, but I bet you two will be busy. Especially paying the tailor a visit looks like something you really should do," he concluded with mentioning their straining clothes.

He turned around towards the keys dangling from the blackboard over the bottles of wine and liquor, took one of them and laid on the counter in front of the two hermaphrodites.

"Up the stairs, third room on the left. That should be spacious enough for you two," he said in his familiar, bored sounding voice.

"Thank you, good sir, you won't regret it, I promise," Margaret enthusiastically gleamed and hastily grabbed the key to their new room.

"I certainly hope so," he replied and grinned warmly for a second before returning to his grumpier state. "But for now, head to the kitchen. I guess it's time you introduce yourself to the others".

"Alright, we are right on our way and once again, thank you!" the ecstatic princess chirped before grabbing Alexia by one hand and leading her towards the kitchen behind the bar, next to the staircase to the upper level.

The two walked to the revolving door with the sign "Kitchen" above it. Alexia's mood was getting better once she wasn't seeing the old man anymore, but she still was feeling much at unease being here.

"Relax a bit Lexi, things are getting better," Margaret smiled and still pulled the way taller "futa" behind her, almost in a comical fashion.

"Time will tell," Alexia replied drily. Earning a perked eyebrow from her far more optimistic friend, but Margaret was sure she only got treated better, because she slipped through as a human - the first time she was glad about that.

The wooden revolving door was pushed open by the smaller blonde and Alexia followed close behind her. To both their surprise the kitchen was quite decently clean, atleast in comparison to the rest of the inn. The sound of pots and plates rattling was echoing through the kitchen, coming from behind an especially high mass of crockery.

"Uhm... hello?" Margaret asked cautiously and was greeted by an elderly woman, wearing a chef's hat and a white apron peeking out from behind the china obstacle.

"Oh, you must be the one who played so beautifully. Please, give me a moment," the slightly chubby looking and around 50 years old woman said in a pleasantly friendly tone.

She washed her hand and walked in front of them. Her expression shifted as she saw the imposing commander behind the smaller blonde princess. That made Alexia roll her eyes as she noticed the shift in expression and was already getting more annoyed.

"Sorry, I didn't expect to see someone like ... you here as well," the already grey haired chef said and didn't stop walking towards the two though and offered a hand to Margaret.

"My name is Agatha, it's a pleasure to meet you. It's been a while since the old man took in some strangers, especially someone like your company. You must have impressed him quite a lot, Miss...?" she finished on the unanswered question.

"No Miss, just Maggie and nice to meet you too, Agatha," the blonde grinned and gladly accepted the handshake.

Alexia almost started to shout at hearing Margaret just casually revealing her true name. Sure, they wouldn't draw a connection to the heir and admittedly the name was quite common, but still this was just reckless... and naive.

Agatha didn't stop just there and walked up to the far more imposing hermaphrodite and repeated her showing of respect and offered her hand as well to Alexia.

"It's also a pleasure to meet you too. What is your name? If I may ask".

Since keeping their names a secret was no longer an option there was no point in lying anymore- she gave in, but that wasn't the only thing on her mind.

"Lexi," the confused looking veteran replied, but was pleasantly surprised by the first time a human showed atleast a decent amount of respect towards her.

"Wow, what a handshake. You are as strong as you look," the more than middle aged woman chuckled and eyed Alexia from top to bottom.

"Sorry to ask, but how exactly did you convince Manuel to let you join us. Not that I got a problem with that, but that really doesn't seem like him," she asked the two.

"Manuel? So that's his name?" the black-haired commander asked before Margaret could speak up.

"Didn't he even bother to introduce himself?" she let out a loud sigh, "Quite a grumpy fella isn't he? Still, don't let you fool you he is a very good person once you get to know him."

"Surely not to everyone," an obviously angered Alexia muttered.

"Sorry if he was rude towards you, but ... you will learn with time why he holds a grudge against you... I hope".

"I did nothing wrong".

"Not you, but people like you. Some of us are still haunted by their past, that turns even good people cruel at times," she looked over to Margaret and visibly brightened up at looking the way more cheerful blonde.

"But for now, let's talk about something less grim. How about a late-night meal? You two certainly look hungry," the chef asked and earned an instant grumble from Alexia's and Margaret's stomach as a response.

"See, told you so," she laughed out and turned around to whistle loudly, before shouting. "Hey, you two troublemakers, prepare two more meals and ..." Agatha looked up the imposing 8'6" amazon in front of her " ... and make it big ones".

"Aye, aye boss!" two male voices simultaneously shouted back from somewhere behind the female chef.

"Who was that?" Margaret asked and still had a soft grin on her face because of the friendly hospitality.

"Oh, they? My apprentices".

"A bit late to still work in the kitchen," Alexia stated, and the chubby chef focused back on her.

"Well, not for us. We all live here, and Manuel lets us cook whenever we want. He usually doesn't care much when we stay up late at night, trying out new recipes or in general," Agatha explained and before she could continue any further, she was interrupted by her apprentices stopping next to her.

The two boys were around Margaret's age and were ... identical twins, not only in their physical appearances. They actually wore the same outfit resembling their work in the kitchen which made it only harder to separate the two.

Both were of average build and height, even a bit smaller than Margaret. Just like the incognito princess they were natural blondes and generally looked like they took care about their appearance. Groomed hair and the first precursor of actual beards only further backed up this claim.

They were both holding big bowls with some sort of stew in them, but also looked like they were petrified as they looked up to Alexia.

"Don't just stay there, introduce yourself boys to Maggie and Lexi. They will live here with us from now," Agatha chuckled.

The first of the twins gulped down his obvious fear and spoke up while walking up to Margaret.

"Sure, sorry. My name is Remy and this scared chicken over there is called Richard, but you can call him Ricky, he doesn't mind," the blonde boy grinned smugly while handing Maggie her bowl.

"Remy and Ricky? Couldn't you think of something easier to separate you two?" she replied with a chuckle and looked over the still petrified twin staring at Alexia.

"Nah, it's quite easy to separate us. I am the more handsome one," Remy joked and earned a cute laugh from Margaret.

He atleast sounded confident but blushed at seeing the gorgeous heir up close. His body language gave away how he felt towards the young heir, he was trying to woo her and already was in awe about the young beauty.

Alexia looked at him keenly and already swore to herself that should he try something "funny" with Margaret, she would make him regret it. Her mental threat was interrupted by an abashed cough in front of her.

"Uhm... that's... for you. Maggie?" the second twin spoke up from in front of the brawny veteran and she looked down at the subtly shaking boy - he barely managed to keep eyecontact.

"I am Lexi, she is Maggie. But... thank you," Alexia couldn't help but feel a bit amused at seeing this shy little guy handing her the bowl.

Atleast they had different attitudes, that would make it easier to tell them apart from eachother she thought to herself... and they were maybe a bit scared, but not atleast openly hostile towards her.

Agatha and the twins gave the two hermaphrodites a short summary on how they were working and what the two should actually know about this place, but didn't go into any detail about the owner, even after they were asked.

The twins offered to show the two around the most important places in the district, especially a tailor and Maggie gladly accepted. They chatted for a bit, with Margaret already enjoying the company and Alexia mostly silently watching them, still a bit unsure of what to think of them and if they could be trusted.

After some while and after finishing their meals the two walked up to their room while their new colleagues kept on cooking and joking around.

"So, this is it," Margaret grinned at opening the wooden door to their shared room.

The two aristocratic women were greeted by a very minimalistic interior decor, but it looked kinda "cosy".

Their beds were on either side of the room with a bookshelf separating them. A little desk in the middle and two wooden chairs were pretty much all to it, but Margaret's mood wasn't to be impaired any time soon.

"That's not even that bad," she smiled and looked up the door leading to another room and gleamed as she opened it. "Look, it even got a bathroom. That's great!" she laughed and noticed her friends lack of enthusiasm.

"Come on, it's not that bad. More that we could have asked for to be honest," the princess grinned and that actually made Alexia feel a bit better about this situation.

"It's... decent enough," the bigger hermaphrodite sighed and couldn't help but notice Margaret's enthralled attitude. "You are excited about this, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. It might sound a bit hypocritical, but I sometimes envied the common folk for their more... simple... lives. Now I can actually get to see it for myself," the blonde heir cheered and playfully dropped into one of the beds.

"Don't forget why we are here. This is just temporary, don't try to settle too much Maggie."

"C'mon Lexi, relax a bit, this might be quite interesting. Our little adventure!" she laughed but didn't earn a laugh from her friend.

"Don't get reckless Maggie. But for now ... rest a bit, we gotta get up early tomorrow," she walked over to the free mattress and cautiously laid down on the creaking bed.

Alexia let out a sigh as her feet were dangling over the bed and almost rubbed against the floor. She wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as Margaret, but it was good to see the princess this enthralled for once.

"Well... see ya tomorrow then, good night," she whispered, not even caring about getting out of her clothes and almost immediately overtaken by her exhaustion, falling asleep on her back within seconds.

"Good night, Lexi," the incognito heir said but her grin wasn't disappearing from her face while she looked up the wooden ceiling.

This was something she often daydreamed about, just walking away from the constant mocking at the palace and living a life somewhere else and this was probably the only opportunity she would ever get.

To top it all up she wouldn't be alone either, her best friend was at her side. Margaret was fully aware about the risk of getting revealed and the general danger they were both in, but her excitement overshadowed her doubts for once.

She was laying there wondering about her new job, their new colleagues and what the coming days would bring.

"Our little adventure," she muttered to herself contently as her lids soon got too heavy and she eventually slipped away into a well-deserved slumber.