A Key To Another World

Chapter eleven

The sun had already set and the beautiful lights of the village replaced the sun's task by illuminating every path. The night sky was filled with bright yellow and light blue stars. The moon showed itself in full glory and shone. While following King Zalkan through the village, Michael often looked up at the night sky and lost concentration on listening to the king. A crowd of these anthropomorphic foxes passed them by. Some bowed to their king, some stared at Michael, some even cheered him, and some simply ignored them and went on about their daily tasks.

Zalkan: "And here we are in the best bar in the world, where you can order beer, wine, alcohol and much, much more!"

Michael: "Uh-huh."

Zalkan glanced back at Michael and found that he was staring upward into the dark abyss.

Zalkan: "Hmm, I see. No matter how long you live here, everyone still finds the night sky the most beautiful thing in this universe."

King Zalkan cleared his throat to get Michael's attention.

Zalkan: "Michael, why don't we go to the bar and order some drinks so we can talk about some things."

I wonder what he wants to talk about. Probably about me and Zoe.

Michael: "Uh, yeah sure."

Michael followed the King inside the bar. The air inside smelled of beer and alcohol. The atmosphere was filled with clinking glasses, conversations and burps. Many humanoid foxes sat inside talking and laughing with each other. When the king cleared his throat, everyone in the bar fell silent and stared at them. The bartender walked up to the king and bowed to him.

Bartender: "Your Highness, your private bar room is prepared and waiting for you."

Zalkan nodded and thanked the bartender. The king beckoned Michael with his paw to follow him. They walked up to a wooden door guarded by a knight.

Knight: "Your Highness!"

The knight bowed to the king before opening the door and letting the king in. Suddenly, Michael felt a burning pain on his nose as he also tried to enter the room. The knight held his sword, sheathed in green flames, out to him. The tip of the sword touched Michael's nose.

Zalkan: "Leave him be. He is my guest."

The knight nodded and lowered his sword to give Michael a passage.

Knight: "I beg your pardon, your highness!"

Michael touched the tip of his nose and felt something wet. His nose clearly had a small cut and was bleeding slightly.

Tin-shelled prick...

Michael entered the room and slammed the door behind him. He discovered a table with two chairs in the middle of the room. Two bottles filled with an unknown green liquid stood on the nobly dressed table, fresh and cold, ready to be drunk. The king already sat down on his chair and waited for Michael to do the same.

Zalkan: "Why don't you take a seat, Michael?"

Michael agreed and sat down across from him.

Zalkan: "I hope you don't mind taking a few sips of Xenonan's best beer while we talk."

Michael knew he wasn't allowed to drink beer because he wasn't allowed to consume alcohol until he was twenty-one. He had drunk beer a few times behind his parents' backs to conquer his inner demons. Once he even poured beer into an empty apple spritzer bottle and took it to school. What a little criminal bastard Michael is.

Yeah, fuck the law!

Michael: "No, I really don't mind."

Zalkan: "Great!"