The inn was full of laughs, the women were dancing around the tables. A violinist and an organist enlivened the dinner. There weren't many people in the inn. A couple of travelers and the regulars, townspeople who had nowhere else to drink.
"Peach," yelled one of the regular patrons to a girl who had climbed up on the stage to dance with the fiddler. "Come and warm me up a bit."
The said girl lifted her skirt, just enough to show off her tights, and the men in the venue cheered enthusiastically.
"No way honey, tonight belongs to the pretty cowboy," she said pointing at him, Remy raised his whiskey and the man grunted grumpily. "Tonight I just plan to eat and get drunk to his health."
Peach blew him a kiss from the stage and asked him to come up, calling out for him to come up and dance. He politely declined, dancing in public wasn't among his favorite activities.
"Come on, Frenchman, stay on your toes," said his partner in the game, a short and rather grumpy Canadian.
"Oui, oui, Mon Ami, Lady Luck doesn't favor the impatient," he replied, winking at the guy who was chewing tobacco with a crooked sneer.
Two players had already backed out and there was a good pile of money on the table. Remy raised the ante and the blond guy to his right dropped a few coins on the table. Rabbit stepped in front of him and stuck her tongue out before going to sit on a couch.
"Come on, old man, it's your turn," he said leaning back in the chair rocking.
"One card," the Canadian asked not taking his eyes off his hands. Remy dealt him the first card of the deck and the guy bet again.
"I'll pass," the blond man said laying his cards on the table.
"It's just you and me, mate," the guy added, leaving his cards on the table.
Remy raised the bet again, still smiling. The Canadian held his gaze, and he wasn't sure if the guy wanted to stab him or kiss him, he'd be betting on the first.
"I fold," the Canadian said after a tense silence threw his hand away, and huffed in frustration.
Remy laughed and showed his cards. He had two queens and two nines.
"Fuck, what a bluff, Frenchman!" he grunted grumpily, gulping down the remains of his pitcher. Remy removed all the money from the table, as his fellow game players complained.
"Another game, fellas?" he asked rubbing his hands together.
After some emboldened accusations of cheating, the blond took the cards to deal while Remy ordered another beer, which was home-brewed and probably the worst beer he had ever drunk in his life.
He looked around while being served, Peach was still dancing with the fiddler, this time embracing like they were newlyweds on their wedding night.
Rabbit and "Cleopatra" were sitting facing each other, their legs entangled. They talk in whispers, laughing with their faces close together. Cleopatra was braiding and undoing a lock of Rabbit's hair, while she ran her fingers through the lace of her partner's cleavage. The women were oblivious to the world and nothing that was going on around them seemed to matter to them.
After picking up his drink he returned to the table to wait for a new game.
Remy went outside to get some fresh air, he was a bit tipsy and it was quite hot inside the inn. He took off his jacket and saw Rogue sitting on the stairs. She was draped with a threadbare blanket and staring at the stars absently.
"There you are," he said sitting down next to her on the stairs. Rogue looked at him for a second and wordlessly looked back up at the stars.
She had been very quiet since the run-in with her old friend. Like a ghost, barely took a bite of the lamb and slipped out of the room as soon as the party started. Though he did see her talking to her friend, looking relaxed and with that pretty smile she had when she really smiled.
Remy glanced at her Rogue didn't even seem to be there next to him.
"So you lied too when you said there was nothing interesting about you huh?" he asked looking at the horizon, trying to find what she was looking for.
"Yes."
Not bothering to look at him, she folded her arms, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. Remy looked down at the jacket folded in his lap and was tempted to drape it over her shoulders.
"Whatever. Take this," he said handing her a cup he'd taken outside, hoping to find her. "It's sarsaparilla, the Spaniards say it cures all woes."
Rogue took the mug in her hands and stared at the drink. She drummed her fingers on the cup's wood and clicked her tongue, holding back a growl with little success.
"I didn't lie, all I did was not tell the truth," she said in a bad mood, biting her lip angrily. She didn't look up from the cup and clicked her tongue again.
"Of course, what an honorable difference, chère" he mumbled annoyed with her tone. His voice sounded rude and nasty and Rogue gave him an angry sideways look. Then she snorted and shifted slightly without lifting her ass off the stair. Stepping away from him. Remy put his hand to his forehead and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Also, stretched his legs over the steps and rubbed his knees, putting his jacket aside.
After another long silence, he looked back at Roque who hadn't taken a drop of the sarsaparilla. She was clenching the cup in her hands and kept looking at the inside in the same way she was looking at the stars before.
"You can drink, I don't mean to poison you," Remy said retracting his legs, he could not find a comfortable position. Then grabbed his jacket again to search for the tobacco in the pockets. And with parsimony, he rolled a cigarette.
"I know. You wouldn't do something that awful," she murmured, running her finger along the corner of the cup. Rogue sighed like she was trying to hold back a sob. And gripped the cup so hard he thought she was going to blow it to pieces. Then she rubbed her thigh, where the bullet wound was, and moved toward him again. Remy stood still, cigarette dangling from his lips, and didn't know what to say. Rogue set the mug down between her legs and swayed, resting her hands on either side of her body. "How much money did you spend on those girls?" asked after a few excruciatingly long seconds. Her voice sounded lighter and curious, she seemed to have returned to that reality.
" More than I should actually. I'll probably have some bounty hunting to do before we get to Sabine" he replied with a light chuckle, scratching his head. Or maybe he should keep cheating at poker, he hadn't been any bad at it that night.
"You're too kind for your own good," she retorted, and rather than a compliment it sounded like a reproach. She leaned over slightly and gave him a little bump with her shoulder.
"That's not true, I just have a soft spot for broken things," Remy replied repeating the same gesture she had made. He could barely see her in the dark, couldn't see what her gestures said or what they hid. "My mother was like them, chère, she did it to give me a roof over my head and something to eat, I guess I'm trying to fix what I couldn't do in the past," Remy said and he didn't even know where that outburst of sincerity came from. He sighed incapable to continue and reached into his jacket for the matches to finally light his cigarette.
"You were a kid, there was nothing you could do," Rogue put her hand on his forearm running her fingers through the wrinkles in his shirt. Remy stared at her hand until she pulled it away and grabbed the mug again.
"Yeah yeah, that's what I tell myself every day," he replied standing up, maybe he was drunker than he thought he was. He smiled cynically and headed for the door." Anyway, the regulars will be drunk by now, I'm going to see if I can squeeze a few more dollars out of them," Remy leaned against the door frame and grinned cheekily. "Don't even think about running away, wherever you go I'll find you."
"Is that a threat?" she asked looking at him over the top of the sarsaparilla cup as she drank from it.
"Non, is a promise."
Rogue raised her cup in a distant toast and smiled slightly before turning away and returning to gazing at the stars.
After spending the night drowning the memories in that nasty beer and poker games he woke up with the urge to vomit and a bad headache. After washing his face with cold water he went down to the first floor of the inn, hoping that a strong coffee would cure his hangover.
Going downstairs he saw that the party had continued after he had gone to sleep. Peach and the fiddler lay naked on a sofa, hidden in the shadows at the corner of the tavern.
His fellow players were nowhere in sight, but several drunks were scattered around the room. The innkeeper was sweeping the floor with no interest whatsoever, while a small boy reached into the pockets of sleeping customers.
Remy stopped the boy's hand as he tried to pickpocket Rogue who was asleep sitting in a chair, her arms on the table and head resting on them. She was clutching a knife in one hand and someone had thrown the blanket over her shoulders. She woke up startled and nearly stabbed the brat if he hadn't been quick enough to grab her hand and stop her. Rogue stared at him dazedly, with sleepy eyes and marks on the face from the wrinkles in her shirt.
"Come on, if we don't leave soon the sun will bother us for the whole trip," he said taking the knife from her hand and leaving it on the table.
She rubbed her eyes and without a word stood up. She looked disoriented, but it was quite funny to see her sleepy expression. He ordered coffee for both of them because they certainly needed it, and they sat quietly having breakfast. The coffee helped calm his hungover stomach, but the headache didn't go away.
"The girls said that three days ago a guy matching Creed's description and a woman came through town, but they didn't stop," Remy explained as he rested his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. "So we're on the right track, but behind schedule."
" Just look on the map I marked for you," replied Rogue touching his arm gingerly, he lifted his head to look at her. She had a tiny red brass pot in her hand with a yellow dragon drawn on it and held it out to him. "I know I'm not trustworthy, but I told you I'd give you Creed."
He didn't want to respond to her comment. She had no right to be offended for not trusting her.
"What is this?" Remy asked taking the small pot with two fingers and examining it with curiosity. He opened it, which smelled awful and looked quite questionable.
"Dragon balm." She replied in a matter-of-fact fashion.
" Someone told you this is made from a dragon?" He asked, laughing out loud. " They've fooled you."
"Of course not, you idiot," she said annoyed taking the little pot out of his hand. "It's for the pain."
Rogue brushed her forefingers with the balm and carefully began rubbing his temples. She was delicate and the feel of her fingers was warm and pleasant. Remy closed his eyes and let himself be carried away by the unexpected massage.
"It usually works," she whispered devoted to her task.
"How did you know I had a headache?" asked Remy copying the soft tone of her voice.
"My mother has migraines and makes the same gesture of rubbing her temples as you do," she explained, moving her hands through his hair, massaging his head as well.
It was so relaxing that he was tempted to fall asleep in her arms. The warmth of the balm seemed to erase the pain, or maybe it was her hands.
"Thank you," he said when she pulled her hands away.
"Whatever. You can keep it," she said standing up and moving toward the door.
They were getting the horses ready to resume their trip when Rabbit came running towards them.
"You're mean, you were going to leave without saying goodbye," she said, hugging Rogue. And she held onto Rabbit as if her life depended on it, whispering how sorry she was. "It's okay sweetie, just promise you won't do anything that gets you in trouble."
"That's a tough one," Rogue replied with a chuckle as she broke away from her friend.
"At least try," she reproached pulling her hair in jest. "Listen, cowboy, next time you stop by, you're buying pork, a big one."
"You may not be princesses, but you ask like ones," he joked getting on his horse.
Rabbit laughed and waited by the inn until they faded down the road.