Between the Veil and Crown

Arvek 9

The rain pelted the streets of the town as they entered it. Dead leaves swirled in the little streams on the sides. It took all of Arvek's willpower not to dazedly watch the leaves in their little journey. Kendra had kept them riding all night, and his body was begging him to close his eyes and sleep. Having only brief moments off his horse, he knew that when he woke from any kind of rest, his body would then complain of the aches and pain. Glancing back at Cor, he saw that his brother had already given into the temptation. His eyes were glazed over and his horse was drifting all over the place from the lack of proper riding.

Kendra, however, seemed completely unbothered by the long ride. Not just unbothered, but she was perky, even. With her chipper attitude, Arvek was concerned that she would declare this town also not a good place to rest and continue on.

He was about to open his mouth and ask her if this was the case when she suddenly veered off the main path and down a side street. Arvek pulled his horse to a stop, waiting for Cor to catch up and then grabbing the bridle of Cor's horse, seeing that he had not noticed the change of direction. Cor slowly turned to face him, blinking in confused surprise. Sighing, Arvek pried the reigns from Cor's hands and lead the horse down the path Kendra was taking them. Cor made no protest. He barely seemed cognizant of the fact that he was no longer in control of his own horse.

Kendra was waiting for them at the end of the street, already dismounted. Smiling broadly, she gestured to the building next to her. "This is where we'll stay until morning."

Thank the heavens, Arvek thought in relief. He glanced up at the building. It was several stories tall, but unlike the other buildings around it, it did not have broken glass. Uncleaned, foggy glass, yes. But not broken.

When Arvek dismounted, Kendra handed him the reigns of her horse. In response to his puzzled expression, she said, "Bring the horses to the stable out back, and I'll get us all rooms. Sound good?" She didn't wait for an answer. Once the reigns were in his hands, she was already opening the door and stepping in.

The brief moment of puzzlement turned into one of annoyance. He saw Cor still sitting on his horse. "Are you hoping to sleep with the horses?" Arvek asked crossly.

Cor stared at him blankly. Then it registered what Arvek was telling him. "Oh." He hastily made to dismount, landing ungracefully on his feet and almost losing his balance. When Cor had stumbled a safe distance from the horses, Arvek led them to the back to the stables. When he returned, he found Cor right where he left him, blinking up at the tall buildings around him. Taking him by the elbow, he gently guided Cor into the inn.

Kendra was by the bar, leaning on the counter and laughing at something the barkeep had said. Arvek came up beside her, waiting for her to finish her laughing fit. After a few minutes she took a couple breaths and, without glancing at them, said, "Your room is up on the third floor, fifth door down on the right." She tossed Arvek a key and continued her conversation with the barkeep, involving some story about a farmer's cattle.

Resisting the urge to say something he knew he'd regret later, Arvek settled for a glare and head for the stairs.

The room was quite small, and that was being kind. There were two beds, so close together there wasn't even room to walk between them. The bed closest to the window had the luxury of a rickety bedside table, a cracked wash basin placed on top. This was all the furniture they were afforded. There was just enough walking spaced to get to the second bed and stand between it and the window, and some room to move around between the first bed and the door. But that was it.

Cor made no comment as he took two steps and immediately collapsed into the first bed accessible to him. In mere seconds, the sound of deep breathing indicated that he had fallen fast asleep. Arvek made his way to the other bed, stopping to stare out the window first. The rain was coming down harder now, making hypnotic soothing taps against the glass. Through the streams of water, he could vaguely make out Kendra's figure leaving the inn. She glanced around before hurrying around the building to the stables.