Chapter 12
The main hall of the Blooming Rose was crowded with visitors and prostitutes, even though the sun outside had not yet set. The not so fancy chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings of the great room, the red curtains draped over doorways, the red carpets lying under the sort of elegantly carved tables and chairs all served to make the establishment something it was not: respectable. At least in Ronan's view. Dressing up the place wouldn't make it less seedy. It was a brothel, and every now and then moans and screams of pleasure could be heard over the laughter and the soft thrumming of a stringed instrument.
As he walked through the great hall, he searched for his human friends. He spotted two of them sitting at a table to the left of a great giant cask of ale in the far right corner of the room, under the second floor balcony. Ronan set off toward them. An elven woman brushed by Ronan, knocking his shoulder back and momentarily taking him off of his path.
"Can I get you a drink, Ronan?" she asked. A coy smile covered her face and she smoothed a hand over her auburn hair and then down her side, resting finally at her hips.
"Not now, Porfiria." Ronan replied. He flashed the woman a quick smile in gratitude and continued on his way.
"Where've you been?" Vance asked as Ronan stopped by his table.
Ronan didn't bother answering Vance. The man was so bossy sometimes, acting as if he was not just Ty's older brother, but Ronan's as well. Ronan just wanted to clout him in the face. But that wouldn't do. Instead, he looked around for Ty. He couldn't spot him anywhere. "Where's Ty?"
"Hopefully he's not doing anything stupid." Vance said.
Ronan frowned. "I have a plan."
"Do you now?" Vance asked in slight disbelief. He changed his mind once he saw the serious expression on Ronan's face. "Spit it out then."
"Not here, and not without Ty." Ronan said defiantly.
Vance sighed. "Find him then. He's probably staring out at the water. That's usually what he did when was a kid, when he wanted to sulk."
"Where can we speak?"
"My aunt's place in Lowtown." Chug said. "Ty will know where it is."
Ronan turned around and left the brothel as quickly as he had entered. There was no more time to waste.
…
The sun was a bright ball of fire in the sky as it set, turning the sky orange and pink. Ronan made his way along the docks, keeping an eye out for Ty. Finally, he spotted him, sitting on the pier, staring out at the water like Vance had said. Ronan took a seat next to him.
"I've always wanted to be a sailor." Ty said wistfully as he watched a couple of sailors rigging the sails of a galley. "They get to see the world. To be a part of something."
"Then why didn't you become a sailor?" Ronan asked.
"To be honest, the first time I went on a boat, I vomited through the whole journey. That was also the last time I was on a boat. I made the way back overland. Can't be a sailor with a weak stomach."
Ronan laughed at the image Ty drew in his mind. He laughed so hard his cheeks hurt. He was amazed at how long it had been since he had really laughed like this. Ronan couldn't even remember the last time he'd had to hold his stomach in sweet pain, the scene in his mind was so funny.
"Hey, it's not that funny." Ty said with a smile. He playfully shoved Ronan away. "What is it you call me all the time? Halla turd?"
"That's right, you're a halla turd." Ronan managed to say, his laughter simmering down. He shoved Ty back. He was reminded of Rhys, his silly cousin, at that moment.
"Vance practically raised me. Our mother died when I was really young and I never knew my father." Ty had a wistful look on his face. "Vance was worried sick about me when I took off on that ship. He thought I ran away for good. He's always worried sick about me. Sometimes it's too much to deal with."
"And so he brought you into a life of bounty hunting." Ronan said.
Ty shrugged. "It was that or fend off thugs, gangs, the Coterie and all that in Darktown."
Ronan didn't know what else to say, so he sat there in silence, watching the water roll in and out of the harbor. He thought of his clan, far away across the sea. He wondered what they were doing, if they even noticed if he was gone. Of course they would notice. But would they care?
"How about you? What did you want to do with your life?" Ty asked after a moment of silence.
Ronan was caught off guard by the question. He couldn't help looking at his stump. Ty noticed.
"Never mind, I didn't mean to…" Ty began to apologize.
"No, it's alright." Ronan said. He thought about it some more before answering. "I guess if this had never happened, I would have just stayed with my clan and defended them, living the life of a warrior. I would have bonded with a girl, taken her to wife, and made lots of babies just to shut my mother up."
Was that the life he had always wanted? Was that what he had been so disappointed about after losing his hand? Or was that the life his father had wanted for him? He didn't know if he was sad or regretful for that lost life. Perhaps, this new one was turning out better than he had hoped. At least, once he rescued Anwen and got his blade back. Then it wouldn't be so bad after all.
Ty smiled. "You must have had girls falling all over you."
"Oh I did." Ronan admitted with a grin. "But when I lost my hand, I wasn't so popular anymore. Though, now that I think about it, it may have been my sulkiness that turned them off. Besides, I didn't want any of them."
He wanted Melisende. And he still wanted her, despite her words. He cursed himself for a fool. What good was it to want someone who didn't want you? The gods certainly were cruel to him lately. Whatever had he done to offend them so?
"Was there someone special somewhere else?" Ty asked.
Ronan shrugged. This was not what he came looking for Ty for.
"Vance keeps trying to get me to forget about Anwen, now that it looks impossible to rescue her. But I can't. It's only her I want." Ty said when Ronan did not answer. He flipped a rock angrily into the water. Ronan couldn't understand Ty, but maybe they had more in common than he thought. Ty was willing to risk everything to save a woman that maybe didn't even like him back. And Ronan couldn't stop thinking of a woman who had scorned him badly.
"Did you even kiss her yet?" Ronan asked.
Ty flushed red with embarrassment.
Ronan regarded Ty with an arched brow. "You never got further than the ridiculous stories and lame attempts at flattery?"
"Hey, don't mock me. I was being gentle with her."
Ronan chuckled. "Women are not animals that need gentle cooing and tentative touches. Sometimes they just want you to jump them and ravish them till the sun comes up."
"And you would know." Ty grumbled.
"Oh, I know." Ronan thought of Melisende. The way she had looked at him and then commanded him to kiss her. It was all too much to think of. He should change the topic, and fast. "Anyway, I'm glad I found you. I have good news."
"Good news?" Ty perked up.
"You may soon get to kiss Anwen, if things go as planned."
"What?" Ty looked to Ronan in slight disbelief. "How?"
"The guys are waiting at Chug's aunt's place. You know where it is."
"Oh no," Ty whined. "Not her place. The old lady always pinches my cheeks."
Ronan chuckled. "You're scared of an old lady?"
"You just wait," Ty said with a grin. "She'll do the same to you. It doesn't matter how old you are, she'll do it."
…
The old lady was small, certainly not how he expected an aunt of Chug to look like. But she did have the strength of the giant. Ronan tried to shrug away from her, but she gripped him hard, smiling, and pinched his cheeks with such force, he found himself rubbing his cheeks.
Ty rubbed his own cheeks with a smirk. He leaned closer to Ronan. "I told you so," he whispered before sitting down at the table, the only furniture in the room, with Chug and Vance.
"Aunt, we need some privacy." Chug said loudly. His aunt did not seem to hear. She walked around the small, sparse room and muttered to herself. She filled her arms with bread and cheese and placed it all onto the table before them. She fussed around Chug, removing the barbarian helmet from his head and placing it to the side.
"Where is the cute one with the long golden braids and sweet Ferelden voice?" she asked.
"Fritz?" Chug asked back with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Is that his name?" his aunt looked confused. "I always wondered why a sweet boy such as that had such an awful name. He looks more like a William or a Maric. A noble face such as his deserves a noble name, I always thought."
The little old lady had a dreamy look on her face as she thought of Fritz. Chug shook his head and Vance fidgeted in impatience. Ty chuckled behind a hand, careful not to let the old lady see what he was doing.
"He took a wound." Chug explained.
"That's too bad." His aunt shook her head and clucked with disappointment. "He should have been a bard that one."
"Do you mind, aunt?" Chug gave her a pleading look. But she ignored him. She came behind Ronan and gripped his shoulder tightly.
"Am I going senile or was it a female elf you had with you the last time you came around?" she asked.
Ty fought hard to hold back his laughter and Ronan fought hard to stay quiet. He wanted nothing more than to tell her to shut up and to get her hands off of him, but that wouldn't be wise. She was Chug's aunt after all. They had more important things to do than catch up with Chug's aunt, but what could he do without seeming rude and without getting a beating in return?
"You're not going senile, aunt. This is Ronan. Anwen is away." Chug said patiently. He was the only one in the room to have any patience at all.
"Hmm…" his aunt released her death grip on Ronan and walked back toward Chug. "When are you going to bring that daughter of yours around? What's her name again? The last time I seen her she was a babe. You don't visit me often enough, nephew."
"Roslyn is with her mother in Tantervale, aunt." Chug answered with a look of sorrow. "Can you leave us be for a little while, if it pleases you?"
"Fine, fine." Chug's aunt made her way slowly to the door. "I'm off to the market then. Don't be planning no assassination of the viscount or anything like that. I'll not be a part of that…" she continued muttering as she opened the door and left.
"Finally." Vance groaned. He turned to Ronan. "So what's your brilliant plan?"
Ronan told them about Anders and explained their part in the rescue. They listened to him warily at first, but he could tell they agreed with it as Chug grinned, Vance nodded, and Ty sported a look of pure excitement.
"We're going to get Anwen back." Ty said happily once Ronan was done.
"If all goes well." Vance warned.
If all goes well? Ronan knew it would work out. It could not happen otherwise. Anwen would be free of the Circle and he would get his blade back. That was the only outcome possible, the only outcome he could see. It will all go well.
