The bar was crowded at this time of night. Crowded and rowdy. There was shrieking laugher and the thick, pungent smell of ale in the air. There were musicians in the corner adding to the chaotic noise in the room and people swearing, dancing, kissing, and yelling. All around them barmaids wove in and out of the crowd, trays of ale-filled mugs poised in their hands held high above the mass of bodies. Liam nimbly made his way through the sea of people and found a small table with two unoccupied chairs. Dex followed close behind him and somewhat behind the dog was Rhys, still regretting not relighting the forge and making some more headway on the pile of weaponry that awaited her.

"Rhys," Liam's voice called out to her and she spotted him, already seated, as the crowd parted momentarily.

Rhys pushed her way through to join him at the table. She sat opposite him and watched as he ordered something. The barmaid smiled and nodded, disappearing to get whatever it was he had asked for. The table they were seated at was somewhat away from the dancing delirious crowd near the entrance and they could hear each other better.

"So," Liam said, leaning forwards. "You're in town for a week or so you said. Why the time limit?"

"I'm waiting for a friend," Rhys replied. It was the truth, if only part of it. "She was delayed on her way to town and I need to wait for her here. I figured I'd stock up on supplies while I was here."

Liam looked as if he knew there was more to the story, but he didn't prod.

At that moment, the barmaid returned, setting down two heaping platters of freshly caught fried fish and two frothing mugs of ale before disappearing into the crowd again. Liam immediately began to eat. Rhys, much slower, picked up her fork and tried the first bite. It was heavenly.

As she chewed, she looked over at Liam. She wasn't very good at small talk, but he had been very kind to her since she had come to Bowerstone and she figured she at least owed him the effort of it.

"So, did your lady friend come to pick up her package this morning?" she asked, latching onto the first thought that had come to her mind.

Liam's brow furrowed in confusion of the lip of his mug. He set the ale down and swallowed before cutting another piece of fish off. "Lady friend?"

"Yes, the pretty blond woman that had the pistol engraved for her brother yesterday."

"Oh. Annabel. Yeah, she came by and picked it up already. She said it was great work."

"Thank you. You did most of it. Or at least, the hardest part." Rhys was very aware of his gaze on her. She felt as if he thought of her as a puzzle that had to be solved. Was she truly that horrible at interacting with people? She had been told by the gypsies that she was on the quiet side, but she never realized to what extent that quiet attitude went. She tried again at small talk. "So, how long have you two… you know."

Liam merely cocked a brow in her direction.

"Known each other," she tried. "Or… been together, I suppose."

Liam barked a laugh at that and shook his head. "Together? With Annabel? Oh, no. She'd like that, but I'm not that stupid."

Rhys was intrigued. "Stupid?"

"Annabel is the type of woman who suffers from a severely twisted self-esteem. To feel good about herself she needs to have her ego constantly stroked and prodded. I don't buy into that kind of narcissistic megalomania. Her persona also involves having others feel inferior to her. For women this means bringing them down with ego crushing schemes and for men this means getting them to pine and idolize her. As I do neither of those, she feels what she believes is an attraction for me, but is nothing more than a subconscious need to make me submit to her ways.

"And besides," he continued. "If I would pander to her and give her all the praise and adoration she so desperately wants, she will simply get bored and search for a brand new challenge in a brand new man. That is hardly the kind of marriage I want. An unfaithful wife is not something I look forward to in my future."

Rhys glanced up at these last remarks, somewhat amused. "So you're looking for a wife?"

Liam gave her a charming, devilish grin. "Looking is a bit much. But I do want one in the future. When the time comes around and the right girl is there to propose to."

Rhys laughed. Liam was easy and open and she felt at ease around him. There was no pretense in his way of being or in his conversation. She readied another forkful of food.

"What were you going to say?" Liam asked suddenly, his voice low and intimate, but still steady enough for her to hear. "When we first met and Paul introduced you to me, you started to say something other than your actual name."

Rhys had frozen as he'd asked the question. He hadn't even needed to add the second part to it, she knew exactly what it was he had been asking about. She stared at her food for moment before looking up at him. She was intending on tell him that she had no idea what he was talking about and denying that it had ever happened. She had intended on saying that it was nothing more than a nervous slip of the tongue. But when she glanced up and caught his gaze, she saw that he was sincere. He had seen the importance of that moment and he genuinely wanted to know more.

"Sparrow," she said softly. "It was what my sister used to call me."

There was a long moment where they sat in silence, staring at each other. She could see the questions forming in Liam's eyes, but he tactfully waited until his brain picked out the most appropriate and important one. Just as he looked about ready to speak, there was a disturbance at the side of their table. They both turned to gaze at the drunken man who had knocked into the table's side and was straightening now.

"I'm so sorry," he slurred, then hiccuped. His hazed and spaced gaze fell on Rhys and he furrowed his brow for a moment before he broke into a wide smile that revealed more than a couple of missing teeth. "Hey, I know you. You're… you're that girl that the bard was talking about. Yeah…"

Rhys lowered her head in a blush. "I'm sorry, I don't know you."

Liam glanced at her, then held a steel arm out to push the drunkard away from their table. He wobbled unsteadily a few feet further back.

"You should go," Liam said in an iron voice, giving the man a look. For once, he looked as dangerous as the scar cutting through his lips made him appear.

But the drunkard wasn't listening. "You're the one who killed Thag! You're the… the Hero of Bower Lake! That's what they're calling you, in'it?"

Rhys turned as the room stilled. The man had been shouting quite loud and it seemed as if the entire tavern was staring at her now. Then someone in the back cheered loudly and everyone else hollered, caught up in the moment once more and returning to their dance and drink. Rhys closed her eyes mortified. Now she'd be known as the vigilante who killed the bandit leader forever. The thought of her sword coming down in a clean, sweeping arc to decapitate the giant of a man was still fresh in her mind. She shook the thought away, embarrassed to be sitting here and making the situation uncomfortable for Liam.

"So, you're the one who took care of Thag," Liam said.

Rhys glanced up at him, surprised by his tone. Instead of one of revulsion, it was one of understanding. He was trying to make her comfortable again. Trying to help her block out the joyous cries and whooping yells from the patrons behind her.

"You… you don't think I'm a freak?" she asked, hesitantly.

Liam shook her head vehemently. "I think that what you did should have been done a long time ago by the people who had the responsibility, but not the courage, to do it. I'm sorry that the task fell on your shoulders. More sorry than I can say. In all honesty, if I had know two days ago that the deed would come to you, I'd have gone out there and dealt with him myself. It is a heavy burden to bear and it pains me that you are the one bearing it."

For some reason, the way he said it, Rhys got the impression that the burden he was referring to entailed more than just the disposal of Thag and his men. She knew that he did not know what it was she had to do and deal with, but he was offering her some comfort and help. He was offering to share the load in whatever small way he could, even if it was just being there when she needed someone to talk to. Liam truly was more complex than he seemed at first.

Liam smiled. "How about round two, eh?"