Psst. Hey. Yeah, I know. It's been way too long since I last updated. But I think I'm easing back into fan-fiction. Slowly. Anyway, I'm not going to bore you with how this chapter came to be. Instead I hope you enjoy. And please don't come after me with torches and pitchforks.


Chapter Eleven

Dinner was peasant food. I mean, by comparison to what I was used to, bread and soup in a bowl was not a meal fit for a king. The pitcher of water we had didn't look too appealing either (not to mention we had to share the thing). It actually looked like it had just been dipped in the horses' water and brought inside. Plus I think I saw an eyeball off some animal floating in my bowl of soup. It sent shivers down my spine.

But, surprisingly, I wasn't too focussed on what was in my meal. I was more focussed on what the drunk men at the other end of the inn were up to… and where Keiko was. For safety measures, Vaxitas and I had picked the furthest table from the band of drunks and had made sure that the ryuu princess was sitting between the two of us so that we could defend her if need be.

Unfortunately, we had to pass the drunks in order to get to our table. And that meant we'd have to go past them again in order for us to get back upstairs.

Not looking forward to that trip.

Even with Vaxitas to help me, a couple of the drunks had decided to press the boundary and try to grab Keiko in places no man should ever grab a princess. I was afraid that they'd do something worse on the way back to the room… especially seeing that Keiko was already shaking badly from her encounter.

Next to that, I knew for a fact that Vaxitas was going to be asking the innkeeper a few questions about the area and market times after dinner. He had that look in his eye as we were leaving the room that was basically asking for permission. Knowing we needed the information, I let him go ahead with his reconnaissance plan. But that also meant that I would be the only one to keep Keiko safe on our return trip up to our room.

" Steile. Stop staring." Keiko's faint voice ripped through my empty head and snapped my attention away from the drunks.

" What?" I asked dumbly.

" Eat something. I don't want them coming over here."

I looked over to the eighteen-year-old beside me, noticed the pale look of her face, and forced myself to take a deep breath. She was petrified. There was no other way to explain what I was seeing. And that made my blood boil… especially when I knew that the cause was those drunks standing at the other end of the room.

But I did what she wanted and started eating my soup. Glaring at the drunks probably would have provoked them anyway. And no one sane enough would want to be around a mad drunk. Things definitely got ugly then.

Other than that, dinner went by in a quiet fashion. I caught Vaxitas glaring at the drunks whenever I was eating and thus keeping an eye on Keiko. My guess was that the two of us had made some sort of silent agreement that we would be taking turns to make sure that the ryuu Visi was safe during her stay in the inn. Either way, the only words that did manage to pass between us were from Keiko reminding the both of us to eat.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the worst did come after dinner… just when I was praying it wouldn't.

" 'Ey, bellibone." The buffest of the drunk band called as Keiko and I made our way to the stairs after dinner. " Why don't ya leave tha' fonkin afterlin' and come over 'ere for a bit? 'Ey?"

Okay, I know Keiko is beautiful and all that, but I am not a fool and I am certainly not inferior. I'm a king for the sake of the gods. If anything, he's the inferior one around here. But, somehow, I managed to ignore the idiot and continued to carve a safe route to the stairs for Keiko. There was no way that I was going to let them get her.

Wait. Did I just say that? I'm not imagining things, right? I really hope it's just this sickness that's playing with me. What else could explain my sudden wall-like tendencies to protect her? It has to be. She is my enemy after all… right?

" Steile, look out!" Keiko's voice once again snapped me out of my thoughts.

This time it was for good reason. I had just enough time to dodge from a rather drunken fist that probably would have left me with a rather nasty bruise on my face. The owner of said fist was – surprisingly – a tall yet scrawny version of the buff drunk minus the beard. Honestly, this guy looked more like a kid than an adult. I could only guess that this kid was the son of Buffy over there.

Speaking of Buffy, he was laughing whole-heartedly at the sight of his own son stumbling around after I had side-stepped his punch. The poor kid ended up on his backside on the stairs looking up at me with his head tilted to one side and a really confused look on his face. Next thing I knew, he was laughing too.

But then everyone stopped laughing when Buffy pointed one of his fingers in my face with a dark look in his (wonky-looking) eyes.

" Tha', ya cole ass, shou be a warnin' to ya. No peasan' lie yaself shou be hangin' aroun booty like tha' righ' dere. So ge' back to da mud pile of yas. Outside. An' I'll claim dat lass fer miown."

Don't let him get to you. Don't let him get to you! My mind chanted.

But it was too late. Already I could feel the burning sensation crawling up my throat that was my fire emerging alongside my anger. I wasn't seeing red yet, but I knew I was close to it. My mouth was starting to fill with the taste of smoke and my tongue was going numb. Not to mention my demi form was starting to make an appearance underneath my clothes. I was literally doing everything within my will power to stop myself from going full dragon on these idiots.

I had no idea what I looked like on the outside, but I just had to glance at the boy on the stairs in order for him to go cowering behind his father. The other drunks seemed to get serious at that point as well.

All except Buffy. I have no idea what that guy was going on about – my rage was twisting anything that entered my ears into a buzzing noise – but by the look on his face, whatever he was saying probably wasn't that nice.

Of course, there always had to be exceptions. Keiko was mine. She was looking at me and tugging at my arm in a petrified way, practically begging me to ignore the drunks. Oh how I wish I could do what she wanted me to. But it's not that easy for a king to ignore being insulted like I had. Then she slapped me on the back and forced a jet of smoke pouring from my nostrils.

Trust me. I wasn't the only one surprised to see smoke coming out of my human nostrils. The poor drunk kid actually fainted at the sight. My guess was that he thought he'd seen some kind of demon. The others, though still standing their ground, didn't look too frightening now either. And it was that which somehow allowed me to turn my head to face the teen at my side.

Keiko's eyes were practically ablaze with silver fire, but there was also fear still present in them. Her mouth was also stretched thin in a disapproving scowl. The only times I ever saw that face on her was when she was angry at me. And right now, she was angry at me. Probably for allowing my fire to get out of control like it had. But instead of having her hands on her hips like they usually were when she was angry with me, they were squeezing the life out of my arm which meant that she was still scared.

" Swallow." She ordered quietly, her voice cutting into my mind for the third time that night.

I tried. Honestly. But at that moment, there was only one thing I could think of that would get me to swallow. And that something was something that I did not want to happen because it was my sickness talking and not me. So don't even ask about it because it is utterly disgusting… especially coming from Keiko.

" Steile. Swallow. Now." Keiko ordered again, this time her fear showing in her words.

Don't ask how I did it, but somehow I managed to dry swallow my fire back down into its fire pouch. My throat burnt badly after that and I knew I wasn't going to be able to taste anything for at least another twenty-four hours. And I admit, smoke did come out of my mouth when I finally opened it to speak.

" You're right. These guys aren't worth it. Let's get you up to the room." My mouth said. My mind was too stunned from agreeing with the ryuu princess over something for once.

And that's how my mind stayed as I escorted the scared Visi towards the stairs. It was also around now that I began wondering if I was ever going to get Keiko up the stairs and into the room. We got not even two steps before a loud and pain-filled shriek filled my left ear. And there was only one woman who could shriek like an eagle in the entire inn.

Instantly, my eyes zeroed in on Keiko's hand, no means required. The dirtiest, sharpest nails ever to belong on a human hand gripped Keiko's arm like it was a life-line… and each time Keiko struggled to get her arm out of the grasp, the hand tightened. Within seconds, a drop of Keiko's blood somehow managed to mar her beautiful skin.

And it was seconds after that which had me ripping the filth's hand off of Keiko's arm and twisted around his own back. I didn't care how scrummy the drunk was, I had the scent and colour of blood in my nose and eyes. There was no way I was going to let them live now that they had physically harmed a princess.

" Keiko, get up stairs and hold that door closed tight." I ordered, steel in my voice, without even taking my gaze off the drunks.

" What about you?" She called back. But I heard her footsteps on the wooden boards as she spoke.

" You know the code."

A minute or two later and I heard the thud of a door being slammed closed. With as much force as I could muster (which was a fair bit mind you) I shoved the scum back into his drunk buddies. After stumbling a bit, the whole lot of them ended up on the ground with the scum ending up with his backside in the air. Stone faced, I slowly walked over to the drunks and placed my foot upon the scum's backside. Then I locked eyes with Buffy.

" That, peasant, is a warning. And it will be one thou shalt never forget. Whether intoxicated or not, one shalt never harm a lady." I growled in the only way a king could.

Then I technically scrubbed the floor with the scum under my foot by kicking him to the other wall. Okay, it was just a push of my foot, but it was enough to send him sliding. Plus it felt good to see him sliding along the floor after what he had done to Keiko. The red colouration in my eyes actually dimmed upon witnessing the scum kiss the other wall.

However, this time I didn't see the punch that was aimed at my head by Buffy himself. Even in a drunk state, the man was strong. He managed to send me tripping back over the stairs. I heard Vaxitas unsheathe his sword and start down the inn to my defence, but I merely raised my hand and he stopped in his tracks.

Now I was mad.

And I wasn't going to hold back.

White scales washed over my body like some kind of waterfall as I picked myself up off the stairs. Once again my flames rose in my throat. But unlike last time, I let my cloak fall to allow my wings to form. In my full demi form, I had no doubt that I looked like some kind of monster… and I smirked at the thought.

The fear in Buffy's eyes when he saw me was surprisingly satisfying. His son started waking up, took one look at me, and promptly fainted again. The other two… well, they were already trying to make a silent get away. Of course, because they were drunk, they kept walking into things. A broken nose probably didn't help the scum either, but he deserved it.

And the lot of them would have ended up in a worse place had they been part of my kingdom.

" Now I suggest peasants the likes of you scurry back to your rat holes before I really lose my temper." I growl, smoke accenting each word.

I know. Keiko wouldn't like that I've scared the drunks that badly. But they deserved it. And it wasn't like I was sentencing them to death (which would have been the case had they been my own peasants). Plus, it was fun to watch as they literally scurried over anything that got in their way. Even the boy had woken up and was following suite.

But what made it even funnier was when I started reciting regal etiquette on how to treat a lady in my native tongue. Boy, did they run then. Alas, Vaxitas and I weren't able to laugh about it until after we had left the next day. Instead, iron masks hid our faces on the subject. Just like that, they were gone. Stiffly I turned to my High Officer as I allowed my demi form to return to its human guise.

" Vaxitas. Deal with the innkeeper." I ordered.

" Yes sir." Came my saluted reply.

" And make sure he lives."

" Of course, your majesty."

On that note, I made my way up the stairs and to our designated room.