*~Chapter 2~*
"The cold bitter nights give way,
I believe in the hope of today.
As all my fears are gone away,
To the brilliant lights of day.
Oh! It's a new day.
It's a good day.
It's a new day...."
It might have been a new day, but it was not good.
Whoever wrote that stupid ballad was a complete idiot, Arialla reflected.
The day had grown steadily bleaker and colder. Perhaps the weather had been trying to warn them of what was to come. For the evening brought a new element to the little inn. It had brought fear. Five dark strangers had swaggered into the common room. Their hard eyes and arrogant postures had marked them as seasoned fighters. Jaemath had immediately sent Arialla to the kitchen. Ari was far from ugly, and Jaemath was no fool.
Even scrubbing the floors was better than this, thought Arialla as she stirred a thick stew. An anxious silence had settled over the inn, punctuated only by the harsh voices of the five men. Slowly, the inn had emptied of customers, until only a few (too deep into their cups to move) remained. Arialla had been stirring stews and baking bread for hours. Although she normally adored cooking, the obviously pensive atmosphere made Ari restless. She wanted to be out of the kitchen, damn it!
Suddenly, a great crash reverberated through the inn. Shouting soon followed, along with what sounded like the beginnings of a fight.
If those toughs are going to try and start a ruckus, they're going to have to deal with me as well. Not that Jaemath'll need too much help, being a former mercenary and all, she thought with a smirk. Arialla grabbed a nearby broom and headed toward the common room, fully expecting to see a neatly beaten pile of brigands as she burst through the door.
Instead, she walked in on a massacre.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's note: I wrote the verse at the beginning, with some inspiration from the Beatles' song "Yesterday."
I realize that this is a really short chapter. But have no fear! There really is a reason for it!
"The cold bitter nights give way,
I believe in the hope of today.
As all my fears are gone away,
To the brilliant lights of day.
Oh! It's a new day.
It's a good day.
It's a new day...."
It might have been a new day, but it was not good.
Whoever wrote that stupid ballad was a complete idiot, Arialla reflected.
The day had grown steadily bleaker and colder. Perhaps the weather had been trying to warn them of what was to come. For the evening brought a new element to the little inn. It had brought fear. Five dark strangers had swaggered into the common room. Their hard eyes and arrogant postures had marked them as seasoned fighters. Jaemath had immediately sent Arialla to the kitchen. Ari was far from ugly, and Jaemath was no fool.
Even scrubbing the floors was better than this, thought Arialla as she stirred a thick stew. An anxious silence had settled over the inn, punctuated only by the harsh voices of the five men. Slowly, the inn had emptied of customers, until only a few (too deep into their cups to move) remained. Arialla had been stirring stews and baking bread for hours. Although she normally adored cooking, the obviously pensive atmosphere made Ari restless. She wanted to be out of the kitchen, damn it!
Suddenly, a great crash reverberated through the inn. Shouting soon followed, along with what sounded like the beginnings of a fight.
If those toughs are going to try and start a ruckus, they're going to have to deal with me as well. Not that Jaemath'll need too much help, being a former mercenary and all, she thought with a smirk. Arialla grabbed a nearby broom and headed toward the common room, fully expecting to see a neatly beaten pile of brigands as she burst through the door.
Instead, she walked in on a massacre.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's note: I wrote the verse at the beginning, with some inspiration from the Beatles' song "Yesterday."
I realize that this is a really short chapter. But have no fear! There really is a reason for it!