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Blake walked into the reception hall, slightly numb. It was the day after the wedding, and he had snuck away from his parents to go and talk to the bartender again.
"So, you're going back to Gren, eh?" Blake asked, surprising the cat, who was packing up the last of the bottles.
"Yeah. I have been away from my family for a long time," the bartender said. He looked at Blake's face closely, examining the still red scratches. "Those are going to scar, you know."
"Some people would say that it improves my face," Blake muttered.
"Girls find scars attractive, son," Mr. Lambeth said, coming up next to Blake. "How did you get those, anyway?"
"I fell and hit my head on a table," Blake lied, his heart stinging from his father's comment.
"You should be more careful, son," Mr. Lambeth commented. The bartender seemed surprised by Blake's lie, but he said nothing about it.
"Dad, who brought the rings to the reception?" Blake asked suddenly.
"Some dwarf," Mr. Lambeth said with a distasteful frown. "Your brother was very thankful of him."
"I can imagine," Blake murmured. "He practically saved the wedding."
"You've got that right," Brody said, appearing next to his brother. "The dwarf even got the one that Malery liked so much."
"We should send them a thank you gift," Mr. Lambeth muttered.
"I could deliver it," Blake said, surprising the people around him.
"Are you sure you want to go back to Razen, son? I thought you hated it there," Mr. Lambeth commented.
"Besides, we have a life ban, remember?" Brody pointed out.
"It'll be fine," Blake said, not willing to be deterred. Mr. Lambeth smiled widely.
"What are you smiling about, Dad?" Brody asked, noticing the beaming grin directed towards Blake.
"You can go, son," Mr. Lambeth said. "I have a good gift to give the dwarf."
"How will he get there?" Brody asked. "The ship is all out of fuel. It'll take a day to get to the docking station."
"He can ride with me," the bartender suggested. "Gren is pretty close to Razen. I can take him there. I planned on visiting Razen anyway. I have a new potion that may be able to help with magic poisoning."
"Are you sure you'll take me?" Blake asked, surprised again by the cat's assistance.
"Yeah, it's not a problem. Besides, I know the dwarves. With luck, they won't send you away immediately if I'm there, especially with what I have to offer." the bartender said.
"Sounds good," Mr. Lambeth said. "Hurry up and get packed, son. You need to get out of here before your mother wakes up."
"She's so hungover that she won't be awake until next week," Blake muttered as he got out of the stool and headed to his room.
"If I may ask, sir, why are you allowing Blake to go back to Razen?" the bartender asked, directing his question towards Mr. Lambeth. "You know of the risk that is posed when it comes to returning to a place with a life ban over your head."
"I can see that my son is interested in a girl. It is a strong enough interest that he is willing to take the risk to visit her planet and see if she is alive," Mr. Lambeth said.
"Yeah. We were beginning to think that Blake wasn't interested in girls," Brody said.
"I see," the bartender said.
"Brody, go and get the gift for the dwarves," Mr. Lambeth said. "Go through the safe and find something that they'd like. And something for that girl, too."
"I'm on it, Dad," Brody said, disappearing from the bar.
...
Blake slipped out of his room, his pack on his back. He was trying to be quiet as he walked through the halls, not wanting to disturb anyone. That failed.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind him. Blake turned around, feeling a deep sense of dread when he recognized the platinum blonde hair.
"None of your business, Malery," Blake muttered.
"I think it is my business," Malery said, crossing her arms. "After all, you are my brother-in-law now."
"I don't have to tell you anything," Blake said, turning to walk away.
"Yeah, you do! I'm in charge of you now!" Malery said, angry that Blake was not obeying her.
"You married my brother. That's it. I'm not your servant, slave, or brother. We just happen to know the same person," Blake said as he continued down the hall.
"No, you have to listen to me!" Malery screeched, probably waking half of the hall.
"No, I don't," Blake hissed. "No one died and made you my legal guardian. As far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell!" Blake hurried down the hall now, ignoring Malery's angry shouts. By the time he got back to the reception room, her cries had stopped.
"Here you go," Brody said, handing two small boxes to his brother. "One is for the dwarf, the other is for the jeweler." Blake quickly deposited them into his pack.
"Are you ready to go?" the bartender asked as he and Mr. Lambeth finished some sort of talk.
"Yeah, more than ready," Blake said. He turned to Brody. "I woke Malery up on accident, and now she's really cranky."
"Great," Brody said. He clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Good luck in Razen," he said before hurrying out the door.
"Son, make sure you get back on that girl's good side," Mr. Lambeth said. "She may be the only one you'll ever get a chance with."
"Dad, I barely know her," Blake said, sounding really annoyed.
"That's how it always starts, son," Mr. Lambeth said. "I'll see you when you get back. I'll be expecting good news."
"Dad, stop being so overbearing," Blake complained. "It's getting old."
"Try inviting her over for dinner, son," Mr. Lambeth suggested. Blake shot him an irritated look.
"I think we should go now," the bartender suggested.
"Yeah, we probably should," Blake agreed.
"Have fun, son. Just make sure it isn't too much fun," Mr. Lambeth said with a wink as the two travelers exited the room, arms laden down with boxes and bags. "And make sure you hurry back! Your mom will miss you!"
"She probably won't notice I'm gone," Blake muttered. "She'll be too drunk for that." The bartender decided not to comment on this, and the two remained silent until they arrived at the bartender's rocket.
"Here she is," the bartender said as they approached a magnificent space craft. It was sleek and silver, not a single imperfection to be seen. It looked like a giant silver sunflower seed that had been tipped on its side.
"Wow," Blake said in awe. "That is one nice rocket."
"Thanks," the bartender said. "This job pays well."
"I can tell," Blake said as they boarded the craft. "This couldn't have been cheap."
"Like I said, this job pays well," the bartender said as he settled into the pilot's seat, gesturing for Blake to sit next to him.
"How long do you think the journey will be?" Blake asked. "In Brody's rocket, it took a day."
"Well, in this one, it'll only take a few hours," the bartender said. "Lucky for us, both Razen and Gren are very close today, and will remain that way for a few weeks. Travel between the two will be easy."
"That's good to know," Blake said with a nod. The two fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the music from the space radio station.
"May I make a suggestion?" the bartender asked after about an hour.
"What?" Blake asked, jerking out of a doze.
"Maybe you should get changed," the bartender said, gesturing to Blake's pajamas. "We're arriving soon, so you may want to be presentable."
"Shoot," Blake said, jumping up. "That's probably a good idea."
"And change the bandages on your face," the bartender added.
"Got it!" Blake called from the back of the rocket.
"And use disinfectant!" the bartender added.
"Okay!" Blake shouted back, rolling his eyes. The bartender acted just like a mother. Not Blake's mother, but just a mother.
The bartender sat in his seat, watching as the red planet came into view. He began to wonder if it was a good idea to bring Blake back here. Anything could go wrong. Some of the massive monsters could appear and try to kill him. The dwarves might try to kill him. Even the pot folk might try to kill him.
The bartender sighed as he began to realize what he had gotten himself into.
"Thanks for the reminder," Blake said as he slid back into his seat.
"Not a problem," the bartender said. Something in his voice mad Blake think that he was holding something back.
"Is something wrong?" Blake asked.
"Not really," the bartender said. "I did want to return to my family, at least to visit for a short period..."
"And?" Blake prompted.
"Would it be alright with you if, after we've ensured that the dwarves aren't going to kill you, I return to Gren for a day to see my family and drop off my goods?" the bartender asked. He shook his head. "No, I cannot abandon you there. It's too much of a risk."
"No, it's fine," Blake said. "It'd be fun to stay there for a little while."
"Are you sure?" the bartender asked.
"Yeah. We just have to make sure that the dwarves aren't going to kill me first," Blake said, only half-joking. "Not that my mother would care."
...
"Where the hell is Blake?" Mrs. Lambeth shouted. Mr. Lambeth was wrong when he assumed that his wife wouldn't notice her son's absence.
"He went to Razen," Brody muttered, too quiet for his mom to hear.
"What was that?" Mrs. Lambeth asked, turning on her son.
"Nothing, dear. He just went home ahead of us. He wasn't feeling too good," Mr. Lambeth said, trying to cover for his son. It looked like Mrs. Lambeth was going to believe him.
"He went to Razen," Malery said, making the two men silently curse her in their heads. "He went with that bartender. To give a thank you gift to the dwarf, or whatever."
"He did what?" Mrs. Lambeth turned and screamed at her husband, "And you let him go? Are you out of your mind?"
"He had a legitimate reason," Brody said, coming to his dad's rescue.
"And what would that be?" Mrs. Lambeth asked icily. Mr. Lambeth swallowed, gesturing for Brody to continue.
"Well Mom, Blake met this girl on Razen..." Brody trailed off.
"And?" Mrs. Lambeth prompted.
"Well, dear, it looks like he really likes her," Mr. Lambeth said.
"What, the jeweler?" Malery snorted. "That little peasant girl? She's a joke, and a piece of trash."
"Now, don't be so rude, dear," Brody said. "Maybe she isn't always like that."
"Who is this girl?" Mrs. Lambeth asked.
"She has somehow gained the interest of our son," Mr. Lambeth said. "I would say that makes her a miracle worker."
"How do I know that she actually exists?" Mrs. Lambeth asked suspiciously.
"Blake is inviting her over for dinner," Mr. Lambeth said quickly. "Then you can meet her."
"He had better get her here. If he comes home without her, I will pull him from Will-o-Wisp," Mrs. Lambeth threatened. "I'm going to have a drink."
"I'll go with you," Malery said, walking out of the room. Once the two women were gone, Brody and Mr. Lambeth practically collapsed on the couch.
"What are we going to do?" Brody asked. "Blake is going to kill me."
"Us. He's going to kill us," Mr. Lambeth corrected. He ran his hand over his face. "Contact the rocket. Hopefully they haven't arrived at Razen yet. Tell him the news."
"Got it, Dad," Brody said, jumping up and exiting the room.
...
"Mom said what?!" Blake shouted into the microphone.
"Don't panic. It will be fine," Brody said, trying to soothe his brother. It wasn't working.
"Are you bonkers? I don't even know if I'm allowed on the planet!" Blake yelled.
"We are landing in seven minutes," the bartender said.
"Oh god," Blake said, putting his head in his hands.
"Relax Blake! Just use some of that Lambeth charm!" Brody said, trying to be encouraging.
"I'm going to get pulled out of school because of my idiot father and brother," Blake hissed. "Maybe if I tell Lila about my problem, she'll take pity on me..."
"No! Blake, that's the wimpy way out. Look, you have a week until mom expects you back. I might be able to get you even a month. Try to charm her first," Brody said.
"I don't even know if she likes me!" Blake said. "I don't even know if I like her!"
"You won't know until you try," Brody said.
"She probably hates me for what Malery did," Blake muttered.
"Malery did it, not you. It's not your fault," Brody pointed out, not sounding happy that he had to put the blame on his wife.
"We are entering the atmosphere in a minute. Communications will be offline until we land, and I don't think we'll have very much time for talking," the bartender said.
"Alright. Goodbye, Brody. Thank you for ruining my life," Blake muttered.
"Oh, come off it. It's not that bad," Brody said. "Consider it a little push towards love."
"Tell Dad that I'm going to kill him when he get's home," Blake said angrily. "And send him and mom my love."
"Alright. Bye, Blake. Good luck," Brody said. And with that, the line turned to static. Blake sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I wouldn't relax if I were you," the bartender said as he peered out the window. "Looks like we have company." Blake leaned forward. Sure enough, there was a dwarf waiting on the ground near the only landing pad.
"I guess they were expecting us," Blake muttered.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" the bartender mused as the ship touched down.
Chapter done.
Yay!
I hope you all like it!
I want to thank my two reviewers.
You guys are awesome!
Thanks,
~CatKkit.