The Untold

Uninvited Guests

Seren heard footsteps coming from behind the cellar door, and it slowly opened. Out came the bartender with two filled glasses. He walked back behind the bar and placed the glasses in front of Juliet and Seren.

"Thank you." Seren said, carefully lifting up the glass to her lips.

As Seren took her first sips, her eyes widened. She looked over to Juliet and took the glass from her.

"Um, what was that for?" Juliet scoffed.

"Err, I don't think you'd like this, it's probably too bitter for you." Seren said quietly, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

"How do you know I won't like it, I haven't even tried it yet!" Juliet reached for the glass, but Seren pulled it out of her reach.

Juliet kept trying to snatch the glass from Seren, the bartender watching the whole time.

"You should really let her try it." he said, "You never know, she could like it."

Juliet and Seren continued to bicker until Seren threw the glass onto the floor, the shattering sound echoed throughout the tavern, making everyone stare at the two.

Just as the room went quiet, the front door swung open. Two men walked it. They both wore sandy tricornes, their long and gold embroidered coats reeked of sea salt and sweat. Both of them had long black beards, along with rough scars on their faces.

"Where is Errapel?!" one of them yelled, unsheathing a long, shiny scimitar with a golden handle from under his coat, pointing it at customers angrily.

"I'm right here." the bartender said calmly, with a stern look on his face. "Whatever you are here for, we can talk it out. Just not here."

The pirate glared at him, and sheathed his sword.

Without breaking eye contact with the pirates, he opened the door to the cellar, motioning for them to go in. The pirates slowly walked inside, the floorboards creaking under their weight. When they had both started going down the staircase, he followed.

Juliet watched the whole thing play out in horror. In Calnifier, everything was always calm and perfect. Nothing like this ever happened there. Juliet gulped nervously and turned around to face Seren.

Seren was holding her head in her hand, her eyes closed and her brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Juliet asked, "Don't you, like, kill people all the time? This is nothing compared to what you witness on a daily basis!"

Seren squinted her eyes at Juliet in a frustrated manner, and then quickly glanced over to the broken glass on the ground, the drink seeping into the wooden floorboards.

"Dwale." Seren muttered, "That's why you couldn't drink it."

"Err," Juliet bit her lip, "What's that?"

"An anesthetic used by surgeons." Seren mumbled. "An unusual choice for putting in a drink, but it works."

Juliet looked over at the cellar door. It hadn't been closed properly, and it had just barely opened. She could hear yelling from within the cellar.

"Hey, I think that guy's in trouble." Juliet said worryingly.

"Why do you care?! He tried to intoxicate us both." Seren spat out.

Seren had a point. A wave of realization blew over Juliet. He was probably trying to take her back to her father for the money. Still, leaving someone to get hurt didn't sit right with her.

"We're going down there." Juliet said confidently. She grabbed Seren's wrist and quickly walked over to the door.