Clovis's coin purse couldn't survive another shopping trip with Lissa, at least not until Anna paid him for the wheat and weapons. He didn't regret spending as much as he did. Lissa needed their night out.
The happy humming and the jingling of bells at his side made the loss of his coin well worth it. Lissa was in a very cheerful mood as the two headed back towards the inn. She was still wearing the Winter Solstice outfit, her arm intertwined with his own. He'd hold her hand, but his hands were too full between the basket of tomes and the bundle of capes. At least she wouldn't get lost with her arm locked with his own.
Clovis was happy enough that he considered joining Lissa in her humming, but it would clash with his disguise. The masked avenger, Cyrille Dusk, does not joyously hum… often. The Nohrian mask was great and really sold Clovis's alternate identity. Perhaps he could even claim the Dusk clan originated from Nohr?
The journey back to the inn was uneventful, The moment they did arrive, Maribelle swiftly came out of the inn, nearly tackling Lissa in a hug.
"You look wonderful, darling! Such elegance, such wonderful design!"
Maribelle seemed deeply entranced by Lissa's dress, pressing her face up against the fabric of Lissa's upper sleeve. Lissa awkwardly unhooked her arm from his own, taking a step away from both of them.
Lissa twirled her dress for Maribelle "I know! Clovis bought it for me. Isn't it great?"
"Cyrille," Clovis coughed into his hand.
Maribelle momentarily turned her gaze to him, "I see you have also gotten yourself a new accessory. Yes, it is quite nice. The dark metal of the mask really sticks out with your pale complexion. It looks quite nice with your blonde hair as well."
"Of course it's perfect, Ophelia picked it out for me."
Maribelle turned her attention back to Lissa, "Did you enjoy yourself? You look much more cheerful than before."
Lissa was happily smiling, "I enjoyed myself. Cyrille and I found this ice arena thing where you have to wear boots with blades on the bottom. When you move on the ice, you slide around. It's scary at first, but it's something you have to try!"
"That sounds terrifying. Blades attached to boots? Think of the accidents! If I must try such an activity, I will not do so without my healing staff at the ready."
"The lady watching the icy arena had a vulnerary ready just in case. I think you're right though, I did wish I had my staff with me. Cyrille was inspired by the boots… "
Maribelle raised one of her brows as she looked at him.
"Boot blading on ice with wooden poles would be perfect for jousting. Chrom and Vaike would be huge fans," he grinned.
Maribelle's complexion paled, "Ah, I can see now why Cyrille's idea would worry you Lissa."
"Would it be a blacksmith I go to for a schematic for those blade boots? Anna might have them…" Clovis mumbled to himself.
Lissa groaned, "Do you have to? We already have souvenirs ready for home."
Maribelle moved to mess with one of the bells on Lissa's hat when she paused, "Souvenirs? The bundle of capes and the tomes Cyrille purchased, I assume? I should purchase a souvenir of my own and one for my father before our trip ends. You must show me the store you purchased your dress from."
Lissa agreed to do so as Clovis contemplated giving Maribelle her souvenir he picked out for her.
Well, he didn't want Maribelle to feel left out. He did promise himself he would get her a better quality romance book than the trash she brought along. It was time to keep his promise. Clovis threw the bundle of capes onto his shoulder in order to free his hand to dig through the basket of tomes.
After a short search, he pulled the tome "Shieldmaiden" from the basket. He happily presented it to Maribelle.
"No need to get yourself a souvenir. I found this for you, Maribelle!"
Maribelle looked at the tome in his hand, "Shieldmaiden? Is this a book on war?"
She carefully took the tome from his grasp before spending some time flipping through the book.
Her pale complexion was slowly stained red as she lingered on random pages within the tome, "Y-you.. W-wha.."
She flipped through the tome some more, falling silent. Her face was growing increasingly red.
Lissa pressed up against her to read aloud the page she was on, "Rolf, hulking giant that he was, was a far less intimidating figure pressed down upon the sheets of my bed. His giant hands reached out to cup my ample…"
Maribelle immediately reached out and covered Lissa's mouth with one hand before slamming the tome shut with the other, "You will not!"
Lissa pulled at the hand covering her mouth, "That was the interesting part!"
Maribelle pulled away from Lissa, losing her composure, "You're not supposed to say that out loud! Especially in front of a boy!"
Lissa smirked, "That boy gave you the tome though?"
"It looked interesting, very Feroxian. Do you like it?" Clovis asked.
Maribelle stumbled, a myriad of emotions running rampant across her face before something seemed to finally click into place.
She slowly seemed to settle into acceptance, "I.. do."
"Great, I was worried you might not have liked the souvenir I picked out for you," Clovis told her.
Maribelle mumbled, "Did you pick such a lewd novel on purpose?"
Clovis gave her a thumbs up, "I know quality when I see it. You can thank Emmeryn for that."
Maribelle's face went deeply red, "Huh?!"
Lissa swatted Clovis's arm, "Don't say stuff like that! You'll make people think Emmeryn is a creep. He raided Emmeryn's stash, Maribelle."
Maribelle awkwardly played with her drilled hair, "O-of course, I-I didn't think otherwise."
Clovis shrugged, "Whatever. I just thought you'd appreciate a quality novel over that trashy one you kept in the wagon."
Maribelle looked both insulted and defeated as she slowly tucked the tome under her arm, "Thank you for your thoughtful gift. I shall endeavor to return the favor with a souvenir of my own choice for you before the end of the trip."
Maribelle stiffly dragged Lissa off into the inn, leaving Clovis behind with the bundle of capes and basket of tomes. The souvenirs were starting to be a bit too cumbersome to continue lugging around. Clovis planned to head to his room in the inn to drop them off.
Clovis trailed after the duo at a casual pace, watching Maribelle drag Lissa off into her room. He passed by the rooms the girls were staying in, heading to his own room next to Kellam's room. Clovis chose the room at the very end of the second floor hall. Mostly because the window of the room was closest to the stables for a quick warp to Shadowmere. Clovis briefly entered his room to store away the gifts.
To his surprise, several large coin pouches were sitting neatly on the center of his bed. A small card was left off to the side next to a small glass bottle of some type of liquid. Red ink covered the white card.
Clovis picked the card up, reading it over.
"Time is money! Couldn't stay up too late for you. Need to rise early to visit a few important people. I'll see you sometime in the afternoon to show you my wagon stock. I left you a sample of Nohrian Whiskey, one of many products I have to offer. Enjoy!"
- Anna
Clovis grabbed the glass bottle, giving it a swirl. Anna had kept her promise. Gold wasn't going to be a problem, at least for a little while. He had enough to bet in the arena now.
Clovis swirled the bottle of liquor, looking outside of his window at the night sky. He raised it to his lips, drinking from the bottle. The liquor had a strong ashy taste, nearly causing him to choke. He wiped at his lips as he coughed. Nohrian Whiskey was much stronger than Vaike's ale.
As Clovis's coughing fit subsided, he turned his attention back to the world outside his window. As tempting as it was to just go explore Ferox in the middle of the night, he feared Lissa tattling on him to Emmeryn for going off alone.
Clovis sighed, moving away from the window. He stripped out of his clothing, putting on a wool shirt and some long pants to sleep in. He sat down on his bed, continuing to drink from the bottle of whiskey.
He stared up at the ceiling as he continued to drink. Time passed, eventually the bottle was emptied. He left it at his side as he laid down to try to get some sleep.
It was quiet.
Silent.
All he could hear was his own heartbeat. His ears were ringing.
Where was he?
He swallowed.
Which squire was on watch tonight? Was it his turn? Jay's turn?
No. No. No.
Jay was dead. He was dead.
Dead.
Clovis reached towards the ceiling, his eyes warm.
"Don't chase him Jay…"
A whisper, one only he could hear, answered him back, "We can't just let that kid go off into the desert by himself. He looks younger than us!"
Clovis covered his eyes as he heaved, his shoulders shaking, his eyes burning.
He rose from his bed, knocking the glass bottle down onto the floor. His chest hurt.
Healer, he needed a healer.
Lissa.
He stumbled to Lissa's door, pounding on it.
After a short delay, Lissa opened the door. The smile she had on her face fell, "Clovis?"
Clovis pushed past her silently, his head hung low. He headed towards Lissa's bed, taking a seat on the end of it.
Maribelle pinched her nose, "You reek of liquor."
He glanced behind him to see her on the bed, tome in hand. Both girls were in wool sleeping gowns.
He remained silent, staring down at the ground, lost.
Lissa hesitantly spoke, "Are you… well?"
"Chest hurts," he whispered.
As she approached him, she held her nose, "Maribelle's right. Are you drunk?"
"Dunno," Clovis slurred.
Maribelle laughed for a mere moment before covering her mouth.
Lissa glared at her, "It's not funny! Clovis shouldn't be drinking by himself in the middle of the night. This is how things go horribly wrong. It's going to be my fault because I should have been keeping an eye on him!"
"My fault…" Clovis's shoulders shook again.
"Damnit, Jay," he took a shuddered breath.
"Clovis…?" Lissa stopped her ranting to move closer to him.
"My fault. Shoulda stopped him. Hex trap. One touch. Poof. Red sand."
Lissa reeled back, nearly slipping, "M-Maribelle… What do we do?"
Maribelle rose from the bed, "Sit with him. I need to return to my room. I have a special brew of tea leaves I brought from home. It should help him sleep."
Clovis remained where he was. Lissa took a seat by him.
He looked at her through watery eyes, "Lissa?"
She enveloped him in a hug, "Don't let the bad thoughts win. We had a lot of fun today didn't we?"
"…"
She hugged him tighter, "That's right. Think about how excited Chrom will be when you tell him about those bladed boots! He's going to be so jealous he didn't get to try them out."
He stilled in her embrace, "Boots… Get."
He slowly pulled away from her, wiping his face onto his own wool sleeved shirt. He stared at Lissa.
"We'll find a way to get our own. I promise. Just relax Clovis. Maribelle is going to bring us some special tea that will help your chest."
He nodded at her words.
Lissa gently smiled at him as she squeezed his hand, "I'm here. Everything will be okay."
