The Broken Briar

Chapter 6

I walked with Sorrel through the streets of Goldenseal, doing my best to keep to myself and avoid talking to any of its citizens. Sorrel had told me to wear a hooded cloak so then people wouldn't be able to recognize who I was. I knew that if I wanted to stay on the run and not get caught, I would have to do as he said, so reluctantly I did it.

"Don't worry." He had turned to whisper to me at one point. "Once we get to the inn you can take it off, but for now it's all we can do to keep your identity a secret."

"Yeah I understand that but it's so uncomfortable... and it's gonna make my hair all messy!" I argued quietly, letting out a soft sigh of defeat.

"Seriously? You have the royal guard hunting you down to bring you home and you're gonna worry about your hair..?" He responded, sounding slightly annoyed. I recoiled slightly at his tone and let out a soft sigh. "Listen you're really gonna have to start acting like a normal citi-" Sorrel was cut off when someone from behind us had shoved out of the way like we were just some brush back out in the forest.

"Get outta the way ya damn weeds!" He called out as he passed by. I went to say something but Sorrel had covered my mouth and watched the man walk off with a soft scowl on his face. Once the man had faded off into the distance Sorrel removed his hand from my mouth and let out a soft sigh.

"What was his problem? And why did he call us weeds?" I asked with a questionative, but also annoyed tone. Sorrel just shook his head.

"It's... nothing." Sorrel hesitated as he spoke. "Let's just keep going, don't worry about it, okay?" Reluctantly I gave a soft nod and we continued on our way to the closest inn. By the time we reached the inn at the northern part of Goldenseal, the sun was already setting. We walked in and compared to the inn that we had stayed at back in Sorrel's village, this one was much nicer. The lobby was much bigger and filled with many places to sit. The bar was at the back wall from the entrance and the stairs that lead to the rooms were on both sides of the bar. Off to the left of where we entered there was an amazing smell of meat cooking over a fire, only blocked by a single door which I could only assume lead to the kitchen. Sorrel and I sat down at one of the many tables and a woman, probably a little older than us, maybe 25 at most, came over to our table and handed us menus. She was wearing this adorable outfit that reminded me of the maids back in the castle. It was almost all green with small, vertical brown lines that went from the collar of the outfit down to her stomach. The outfit also had this brown skirt that looked to be made of a soft cloth material and in her hair was a white head band that she had used to keep her long black hair back out of her face, though it ran down free along her back, flowing peacefully as she walked.

"Welcome to our lovely inn! Can I get you two drinks to start off?" She had asked in this cutesy voice, a warm and welcoming smile on her face.

"Uhh yeah can we just get two waters for now please?" Sorrel had asked, an awkward smile on his face, he seemed as though he was trying to talk to a mythical creature or something.

"Sure~ My name is Vera by the way so when you're ready to order some food just head over to the bar and ask for me okay~?" She said happily, afterward walking off over to the bar. Sorrel let out a soft sigh, putting his arms on the table and resting his head on them.

"You alright..?" I had asked gently, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm, concerned that he wasn't feeling well.

"Yeah I'm fine... just not the best with people... especially out here in the more sophisticated towns and cities." He explained, sitting back and lifting his head. I felt bad, seeing I'm basically the one who dragged him out here, and now having to hide my identity made it so I couldn't talk to anyone.

"If you want I could just talk to people..." I offered, even though I knew he was probably going to say no due to the fact he was the one who suggested I hide my face in public. He sat for a moment, seemingly thinking about my proposal.

"Although that would be very nice, we still have to keep your identity a secret, we don't have any idea who will recognize you and where, so if someone on the side of the street or somewhere in the tavern were to figure out who you are, we'd have to run." He responded. It seems as though he already had figured out how to keep me safe while letting me wander around the kingdom. Although I was appreciative of this, it annoyed me because it felt like I was just with my parents again. Vera soon returned and set two cups of water down with a smile, glancing at Sorrel and then looking at me with her eyes the color of brilliant diamonds, before walking away and behind the bar again. As time passed more and more people began to filter into the inn, some travelers who seemed pretty beat up, the local knights and their captain, which made me a bit anxious and put Sorrel on edge, and even a priest. The priest seemed to be acting a bit odd though, after he had sat down he kept looking over at Sorrel and I, it was honestly kind of creepy. The priest was wearing an all black robe and his white undershirt was just barely visible at the collar of the robe. He had a big silver cross hanging from around his neck and he was starting to bald near the top of his head, what remained of his hair was already turning a greyish silver color. He had dark brown eyes that continued to glance over and stare at Sorrel, but mainly me.

"Sorrel..." I started quietly, talking at barely a whisper. "That priest over there keeps on staring at me.." Sorrel glanced over his shoulder at the old man, turning back and giving a soft shrug.

"Well then if you want you can just head up to our room, it's not that big of a deal. And if he tries to follow you then I'll step in." Sorrel said bluntly, not really thinking about how much of a scene that could possibly cause. I let out a quiet snicker.

"For a person who said they wanted to lay low, you really know how to cause a scene..." I responded, giving him a cheeky glance. Sorrel only rolled his eyes and sipped his water.

"Besides, I doubt it's anything weird, he's probably just looking at something past you or someone around you and it just happens to look like he's staring at you." Sorrel said, practically ignoring the situation as a whole. I puffed out my cheek in annoyance and rolled my eyes. Giving up trying to ask Sorrel for help with the situation. When I looked back over I noticed that the Priest had left at some point when me and Sorrel were talking, which helped me ease my nerves a bit. Every now and again Vera would come back around to our table and check up on Sorrel and I, though besides the occasional refill of a water or two we wouldn't be getting any food. We only had a limited supply of money and no way to make anymore so we couldn't really afford the luxury of an already prepared meal. Which I found both odd and fascinating. Odd in the fact that back home I was so used to having meals brought to me whenever I wanted and having it be no cost at all, but fascinating because I had always thought others had that luxury as well. So coming down here and finding out that wasn't the case was an eye opener. More hours passed and people began leaving the inn or renting our rooms, I stretched and rose to my feet.

"I'm heading up to the room and I'm probably gonna change and go to bed, I'm really sleepy..." I told Sorrel with a soft, almost childlike tone. He laughed at that.

"Alright, sleep well. I'll probably head up a bit myself." He said with a small smile. I returned the smile, though I started suddenly feeling very shy and quickly fled to our room. Shutting the door behind me I let out a soft sigh, unsure of why I felt so self conscious so suddenly. I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts and focused on heading to bed for now. I reached down into my small bag and grabbed a small nightgown someone back in Sorrel's village had given me before we left. It was all white and had a very lacy design, it felt as though it was made of velvet. I quickly changed into it and hopped into one of the two beds that were in the room, turning my back to the door and letting the warmth of the bed consume me, and letting it drag me into a deep, peaceful sleep.