Denial of the Whisper

Chapter Four.

Chapter Four.

I was almost drunk.

When Caaln told me we would go to sleep upstairs, I got up, wavered and he grabbed my arm again, but gentler than before. He led me to the counter and gave the old man a – as far as I noticed – quite fair amount of coin, then he asked for a room.

The old man looked at Caaln, then at me. His eyes narrowed and he rummaged in his drawer, muttered something under his breath "Little whores everywhere, those are all the same, all the..."

Then, he looked up with a fake smile and handed Caaln a keychain. "Up the stairs, second room to the left. Have fun. Sleep tight."

When my slow, beer-filled brain realized his words, I went pale. Full of panic, I looked up at Caaln, who had led me through the inn towards the staircase.
"Just follow.", he murmured when I tried to get my arm out of his grasp. Suddenly, the promise he had made earlier that day when he had saved me, was forgotten.

Have fun.

Whores.

His grip got tighter when he literally dragged me up the stairs, completely ignoring my pathetic attempts to get away from him.

With a swift movement, he unlocked the door and shoved me inside, letting go of me instantly.

"Calm down", he hissed and locked the door again, the keys disappeared in the depths of his pants.

Panting heavily, I stumbled across the room, trying to find a way out.

My eyes found a door, and I rushed towards it.
But he was fast.

Faster than me.

He caught me, and pressed me against the next wall, his big hands pressing against my shoulders, keeping me an arm's length away from him, as he stared me down.

"Adriyele, calm down."

But I couldn't. With wide eyes I stared at him, my breath shaky.

"I will not hurt you; I will not touch you. But the inn-keeper has to believe that I would, what other reason could there be for a human-looking girl and a Lyrarn to travel together?"

I stopped trying to push his hands off my shoulders for a moment.

A Lyrarn? I had thought he was a Fleyr?

The question must have been apparent in my eyes, because he shook his head. "Yes. The rare breed of warriors, not common here. But in High Ilryn, there are quite a few of us."

"But... the magic. I felt the magic when you bound me...", I stammered.
Only the small widening of his eyes told me that he was surprised at that. "Against common knowledge, we possess magic. Not as much as Fleyrn, and different from Rhaayl."

I blinked, my brain slowly catching up all the information he provided.

He was a Lyrarn. And that was probably the reason he was so tall and...

"As long as we're in Assdirn Flen, we have to keep that up. This façade. Understood? Once we're in High Ilryn, nobody will believe you are a whore.", Caaln grimaced and spit the last word.

"Why is it different there?", I whispered.
He leaned back a bit, and slowly, his grip on my shoulders went lighter. "I won't say humans are treated equally. But they have areas, where they can live freely. Under the protection of the Lord."

"That's the same here.", I objected. In Assdirn Flen, humans also lived in their own areas. They had to obey to their Lord and pay their taxes to him.

"The difference is, that in Assdirn Flen and also in Myrna Bays, relations with humans are heavily looked down upon, always deeming the human part a whore who seeks some kind of advantage through that... union."