Cedric Crane and the legend of Sleepy Hollow
Chapter 11: The other man in the tavern
For the rest of the day, the Sleepy Hollow tavern never received any more customers. Cedric Crane spent what was left of the afternoon with the Lockhart family, celebrating the young ones tiny triumphs and enjoying a serving of berry flavored tea. Any work that remained to be done was put on hold, as Lucinda grinned with pride at every messily written word her son brought to her.
She used a spell to stick each paper to the wall behind the bar, and although Lucious frowned at the use of magic, he was filled with delight to see his gallery of color. After every signed art work was placed upon the wall, it was actually rather quiet, as Lucinda returned to her duties and Lucious to his scribblings.
It was a pleasant calm, as Cedric enjoyed his tea in the booth beside the staircase, watching the boy imagine and play.
Or at least it was until a pair of ladies rushed in, apologizing franticly for being late. One with hazelnut skin and charcoal hair, who dressed in shades of autumn. And the other, pale with ash locks, and she wore only blue ocean colors. They introduced themselves as Mrs Ruby and Mrs Jade, waitresses who worked in the dining room during the day, while the owner got some well earned sleep, though on Sundays they were often late.
When Lucinda finally headed up to the living quarters to collect those needed hours of rest, her son Lucious, requested that Mr Crane continue teaching him to write. And this went on for several hours, Cedric scribing a word, and then Lucious attempting to repeat that word, sometimes with an additional explanation where need be.
"...You see lad, a vowel is a letter that changes the tone of the word, changing at into ate, or..." Cedric Crane lectured on like this with an even interest, but then there was a sound from up above. A shuffling, and then something tumbling across the wooden boards. The room fell silent as heavy foot steps lead to the staircase, and a man was revealed to be the sounds source.
At the same hight as Cedric, and as lanky too, this man had the appearance of a scholar. His face however, seemed intense and angry. His hair was snow blond, but his lake green eyes struck a familiar sight, as they were the same eyes found on Lucious.
This man... must be his Father.
As if to confirm Cedrics theory, Lucious called out to the man, "Papa!" and climbed out of the seat. The paper filled with vocabulary words was in his hand, and when he approached his father, he held them high above his head for the older man to see. "I'm learning how to write, Papa!"
The stern looking man took up the paper with a bit more force than needed, and scanned the page with a critical stare. Everything that Cedric has heard about this man until now, was negative. Unfriendly, uncaring, and a drunk. With only a word from Mr Lockhart, all the progress Lucious had gained in this afternoon could be lost, and Cedric felt a pinch of anxiety as the boys father examined his teachings.
In an attempt to ease this bubble of doubt building within him, Cedrics eyes shifted to the bar maidens, hoping to find some emotional support. They were each busying themselves with something, though it didn't seem to need any immediate attention, only trying to appear busy.
Ruby's eyes were wide, and perhaps laced with fear, as she occasionally glanced at the back of the blonde mans head, only to quickly look away. And though Jade was quite the opposite, eyes narrowed at her task, unmoving and stiff, Cedric sensed some animosity there anyway.
The way the girls silenced, the way they froze up when this man entered, did nothing to calm Cedric's own nerves, and after a moment of reading, Mr Lockhart offered the parchment back to his son. "You're doing well." He said, and Lucious took the paper again. "Keep practicing." This praise and encouragement came as a shock to Cedric, but it was then that he realized, he knew nothing of this man besides the harsh judgments of others.
Mr Lockhart tussled the boys black curls and started for the front door. It was possible, that this man was not as callous as he appeared. He could simply be misunderstood, in the same way Cedric himself was at times, and he then found him self staring in a metaphorical mirror.
Before he could cross into the dining area, Cedric suddenly decided to introduce himself. He quickly raised from the booth and as the man approached, he dawned a somewhat nervous looking fake smile. "You must be the boys father. Good evening sir, I am…" Cedric greeted with the best school master enthusiasm he could ever muster, and offered a bow of the head.
But the man never stopped. He walked right passed the instructor and right to the door, only giving Cedric a sideways glare as he exited the tavern with an ear piercing screech of wood against wood. "... school master... Crane." Cedric muttered, but Mr Lockhart was already gone, with the door shut behind him.
Once the man was safely out of the tavern, Ruby and Jade let out a sigh of relief, but Cedric stood quite bewildered. He shifted his confused stare to the ladies now visibly relaxed behind the bar. "You are one brave fool Mr Crane..." Said Jade, putting aside her work and cocking him a smile.
"I don't understand, did I... he just…" Cedric began, but his words continued to elude him.
"It's nothing you did Mr Crane." Ruby assured him as she regained her sunny disposition. "...Mr Lockhart just doesn't like people."
Cedrics attention shifted to Lucious as the boy passed him. He climbed back onto the booth seat and set to work on the next listed word. The way the ladies spoke about his father didn't seem to bother him, though Cedric was aware the child had the ability to mask that emotional side of himself. He'd seen the child disguise his turmoil as creative concentration before, and it was obvious that his family was a dear subject.
"Well, it's not really people he doesn't like.." Said Jade with a sigh, and a cold expression that suggested inner conflict. "...it's our people he's disgusted by." With this spoken assumption, Cedric turned his gaze back onto the ladies with an arched brow.
"Our people?"
"Non-magic folk." Jade said simply with a shrug, and Ruby delivered her a swift elbow into her arm. "Ow!"
"Jade!"
Ruby scolded with only her name, but as she rubbed the sore spot on her arm, Jade argued. "What? If he's living in the tavern, he'd find out eventually! Lucy said she's not even hiding it!"
"So then..." Cedric began, and the ladies returned their gaze to him. "...I take it, Mr Lockhart too possesses some sort of magical skill?"
Ruby reluctantly nodded. "There's not a lot of residents in Sleepy Hollow who know about Lucy and Louie's abilities, but that man wants everyone to know just how much power they really have… in a bad way."
With an uncharacteristic stern stare Ruby locked Cedric within, he gathered her context. It seemed that there was a dark Warlock in the midst of Sleepy Hollow, but with a glance to Lucious, Cedric quickly collected his thoughts and regained his composure.
"I believe we shouldn't speak of Mr Lockhart in such a manner." He said, crossing his arms and giving an almost undetectable head gesture at the boy in the booth. "Weather or not you like his character is irrelevant, he's a loving father and gracious host."
The ladies glanced to each other, and suddenly Cedric felt as though he'd said something wrong. "Well... no one really said he's a bad parent, but…" Ruby started, but hesitated. She gave a guilty glance to Lucious, who swiftly refocused on his paper when she noticed him eavesdropping.
"Mr Lockhart doesn't really own this place... and he doesn't bring home any coin either." Jade said plainly, and again Ruby shot her glare. "Nobody knows where Mr Lockhart goes during the night, but, he doesn't come home till morn. Technically, it's his name on the title since he's the man of the family, but… Lucy and Mr Van Tassel have a deal."