Welcome To My Dark Side

Chapter 9 Drunk Again

When Lyria got back and sat down in the tavern that evening, she was frozen and in an incredible amount of pain. Initially she thought she was going mad with all the weird stuff that had been going on lately but now she was deciding if everyone else was going mad instead of her. She took a sip of her tea to try and warm up while she continued eating her dinner. "Don't slouch at the table!" Lyria suddenly heard someone bark from behind her. Looking over her shoulder she could see that Commander Hilda was the person who had said this and the commander was now standing right behind her. Lyria felt a shiver run down her spine when she realised that she was being watched by the very person she desperately wanted to get away from. She was scared of what Commander Hilda was going to do.

To Lyria's horror, she pulled out the chair and sat down next to her. "Why are you sitting like that?" Fractureverse Hilda asked accusingly. "C..cause I...I'm in a lot of pain." Lyria mumbled nervously not making eye contact but kept her eyes on the tea mug that she had her hands wrapped around. "Then why don't you have a drink?" Was Fractureverse Hilda's response. Lyria was somewhat shocked by this which caused her to look up at the commander. "Be..cause I wanted something warm to drink?" She said slowly, slightly unsure of herself. The conversation became even more uncomfortable when she felt Commander Hilda's icy glare piece through her. "Well if you want the pain to die down then have a drink." Said the commander as she got up to fetch Lyria a drink.

When she came back, she set a pint of beer down on the table in front of Lyria. Lyria felt pressured by Commander Hilda and decided she would just drink the beer in order to avoid any more conflicts and problems with the commander. "Ok I'll have one." She exclaimed. The whole time Lyria was drinking the beer, Fractureverse Hilda stood next to her watching intently without saying anything which only made Lyria even more edgy. She put the empty glass down hoping that this would satisfy the commander enough to now leave her alone. "Have another one." Fractureverse Hilda suggested however Lyria could hear the subtle forcefulness in her voice. "One is more than enough for me Commander as I am not feeling well." Lyria said in the hope that this would be a good enough excuse. Her excuse was clearly ineffective when Fractureverse Hilda walked over to the bar and returned with a tray full of beer glasses in her hand and placed down another beer again in front of Lyria.

On the one hand Lyria did not wish to be rude to Commander Hilda but seeing as no one was reaching to the commander's peer pressure and abuse of her rank, Lyria got up to leave. Fractureverse Hilda put her hand on Lyria's shoulder and shoved her back into her seat. "Drink." She said bluntly. "I shouldn't have another one Commander as I'm still on duty." Lyria tried to point out. "Nonsense. Everyone drinks while they're on duty. Why, even King Patrick himself drinks on the job. Now drink up." Was Fractureverse Hilda's bizarre response. Lyria refused to comply and tried to remove herself from the situation however she found that the commander's grip on her shoulder was too strong. Before she could escape Fractureverse Hilda tipped her head up with one hand and with the hand that was holding Lyria, picked up the glass and began pouring beer down her throat. Lyria ended up choking by attempting to resist drinking the beer given since she wasn't able to just spit it out.

Due to her being worn out from a day of extreme hard work, Lyria did not have enough strength to squirm out of the commander's tight grip. More beer seemed to go down into her lungs than it did her throat. When Fractureverse Hilda stopped pouring, Lyria was desperately trying to get air into her lungs. She hadn't even recovered from this, when the commander emptied another glass down her throat, followed by another and another. Lyria quickly lost count of how much she had drunk. She had given up on trying to fight against Fractureverse Hilda because the more of a struggle she put up then the more she would choke. It was just easier if she swallowed the alcohol straight away. Some of the beer had been spilt onto her jacket as well as the table.