Sorcerer's hill

7

"You should come with me," she turned to face him.
"Where?" Thane asked.
They were inside his kitchen, each of them holding a cup of coffee. It was later that morning. Keira was painfully aware of her pounding head - probably from the alcohol and lack of sleep.
"To the village." She said, her voice managing to sound full of excitement.
"And why would I do that?" 
"To accompany me." She joked. His face was serious, so she added: "I thought that maybe I could show them you aren't that bad."
"I don't like them. And they have their opinion of me. And we work that way just fine." he cut her off. She felt as if she opened a vault she wasn't supposed to. But it didn't stop her from digging.
"But what happened? I'm sure they would come around." she tried to reason with him.
"And who said I care?"
She almost jumped at the sudden aggression in his voice. He didn't yell exactly, but it wasn't the stoic composure either. But she wouldn't back down that easily.
"First of all," she said with absolutely no idea where she was going with that. "I think that... it's all one big misunderstanding."
"What is?"
"Whatever that has happened between you and them." She took a sip of the coffee.
"It's not a misunderstanding." Thane put his empty cup into the sink. "There's a grudge that goes long way back to the past, even before you were born."
"But still-"
"Why are you so invested in it?" He slammed his hand onto the counter. "It's none of your business. I helped you once, we met a few times. End of story. That doesn't give you the right to, to-"
He shook his head. Keira sat at the table, suddenly feeling hot. He was right, she didn't have the right to say anything. It almost sounded like she was judging him. To be honest, she couldn't be sure she didn't.
"I'm sorry," she shifted in her seat. "It just doesn't make any sense to me."
"And who says it should make sense to you?" He said, his voice already calm.
"You're right. Sorry," she waved her hand, "for bringing that up. Yeah."
He sighed. "You're leaving in a few days, anyway."
Keira felt her heart tighten at that comment. To be honest, she played around with the possibility of not coming back. She had no idea what would she do here, where would she stay if she even could stay. But it wasn't a completely strange thought. She felt like she belonged here... until someone like Thane opened his mouth.
"Hm," was her response. She didn't wanna dive deeper into that topic with someone who clearly thought she was nosy. How would he react if she told him what she thought? He probably didn't even care.
"I'm sorry, too." She heard him say, his voice almost a whisper. She raised her head only to see him with his back turned to her. He looked somewhere out of the window.
"Well, I don't accept."
That worked. He turned to her, confusion in his face. She smirked at him. "I mean, you did nothing wrong."
"I yelled," he said, suddenly not sure.
Keira felt ashamed, yes. Did he yell? No. But she had to admit she had no right to dictate to him what he should or shouldn't do. So she waved her hand. "Long forgotten."
She quickly finished her coffee and stood up, not giving him a chance to reply. "I'm gonna go."
She didn't wait for him to react and went to the door. She thought she saw a slight movement on his part but was already walking to the main hall. She can see herself out - she doesn't need him to do so, she thought.
As she stepped outside, she took a deep breath. The sun was already high up and the birds were singing their usual songs. She turned her head to see the horse - but couldn't find him anywhere. Then again, the meadow was rather large.
Well, she thought, that didn't work. She stretched her hands and set off to the woods.

The first thing that welcomed her at the inn was Mrs Rivers. And she didn't look pleased.
"Your payment was for two nights."
"Oh," Keira was confused. It took her a minute to realize she was talking about Candlelight. "Technically, I only spent one night there..."
She regretted saying that. Mrs Rivers frowned. "Not my problem, Ms Lester. Our deal has come to its end."
"Mrs Rivers," Keira stepped forward with a shy smile. She only saw her passing with plates on her arms or behind the bar. Now that they were standing so close she realized she's smaller than she seemed. Almost as if she shrank overnight. "Please, I don't have anywhere else to go."
Mrs Rivers just shrugged. "Then stay wherever you've been these nights you claim you weren't there."
The few people quit their chats and watched the scene.
"But, please-"
"You can stay with me," she heard a voice behind her. It was Kayden. And he was mad too. What did she do?
Mrs Rivers turned on her heel and disappeared somewhere behind the bar. Keira turned to Kayden.
"You mean that? That would be-"
"Where the hell were you yesterday?" He took her by the shoulders and shook her with such a vigour she almost tripped.
"What?"
"You disappeared!" He almost shouted at her. "Were you with him?"
Wait a minute. Who the hell thought he was to shout at her? In front of other people? No. He could be a son of a devil and she still wouldn't let him speak to her that way.
"What exactly do you accuse me of?" She shouted back. If he wanted to make a scene, he would get a scene.
"I was worried sick!"
"Why?" She threw her hands in the air. "What's the worse that could've happened?"
He didn't reply but she saw how much he wanted to bite her back. He took her hand and strolled outside, with her unwillingly following.
"Stop! What's wrong with-"
"You cannot be around him!"
They were in the open street but his voice still resonated as if they were surrounded by walls.
"Why the hell not? And who says I am around him?"
He ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. "He's dangerous, Keira. Really dangerous."
"Why?" She pleaded. "Tell me."
He seemed to almost agree to that but then shook his head. "It's not my place to talk about it."
"To the hell with that, seriously." She threw him a look of disgust. "You didn't tell me about magic, you're not saying anything now. It seems you just don't want to."
"I want to," he said and squeezed her hand. It forced her to look at him. His eyes were wide and full of worry. "Trust me. I want you to know as much as I do. But your safety is more important."
Her reply got caught in her throat. She gulped, suddenly feeling stupid. He was truly worried.
"I'm okay," she said after a while, her voice tiny. His grip on her hand softened. "But I won't apologize for how I chose to spend my time. Or with whom."
He closed his eyes and bit his lip. Then he shook his head, giving up. "Just promise me you'll stay safe."
She nodded and he let her go.
As she collected her belongings and went outside, she wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Mrs Rivers. She knew the deal was two days. She planned to solve this problem on the go. But she was so preoccupied she simply forgot.
Again, what would be the problem to let her stay for the rest of the week? It's not like there were more visitors. She stood a moment in the doorway, contemplating. Then she stepped outside without looking back.