The World Wanderer Chronicles

Chapter 3 (or the one where she wishes her crew weren't behaving like drunkards)

'Princess! There you are!' A loud, booming voice called out for her. She didn't even have time to sit down before a tall guy with a dark complexion hurried to her side. As she saw his attempt to hug her, she held up her hand.

'Don't you dare touch me, Seth. You reek of alcohol.'

'Princess is grumpy.'

'I'm always grumpy,' she countered. Sethin sulked, but she pretended not to see it. Instead, she looked past him, hoping that someone from her crew would help her out, but they were occupied with a drinking game.

'Princess being grumpy means piling corpses.'

'You want to be a part of that pile?' Despite her best efforts to look threatening, it didn't work. Not for him at least. Every other person would have left her alone, but her childhood friend had the tendency to ignore danger. To be more precise, he was the type to hurl himself into every existing crisis. His amber eyes would sparkle mischievously, like a flaring fire that couldn't wait to spread out. Liliana couldn't believe that he was actually a Spider, one of the six leaders that helped coordinate her spy ring. It wasn't that he was bad; Sethin was, in fact, an expert in his field of seduction and deception, but he was also very reckless and unfocused. Liliana did try to demote him to an Ant, after he nearly drunk-married a target, but that didn't last long.

'I'm too pretty to waste away like that.'

'Of course you are,' she replied sarcastically. Finally, a small figure appeared next to them.

'S-Sir,' she whispered, 'I-We didn't expect you. I thought, I thought you would come tomorrow.'

'You thought right, Del. But there is an emergency. Gather the other Spiders and help them get less wasted.' Liliana knew that Delya wasn't the best for the task. She was too sweet and shy to order someone around. Her talent for being unnoticeable was a perfect quality for a spy catcher, but amidst the other Spiders, she was as dangerous as a fly in a net. Still, she was the better option. Letting Sethin handle the group would result in them getting even more drunk.

'Yes, Sir,' before she could disappear into thin air again, Liliana stopped her.

'Ask your brother to help you. I know how Ruth and Warren get when they are in the middle of a drinking session.' Delya nodded thankfully and slipped away. Without making a single noise on the creaky tavern floor, she moved through the occupied tables with ease. Her wispy white hair glimmered translucently, billowing behind her like a veil even though there were no drafts at all. On the contrary, the air was moist and sticky.

'Someday, I'm gonna make her scream.' Sethin had slid behind Liliana and hovered over her small frame. His warm breath tickled her neck as he bent down and whispered his proclamation into her ear.

'Seth,' she warned him.

'Don't say you're not curious what innocent little Del is like, when she is finally blowing up.' She knew he wanted to taunt her. Everyone was waiting for that moment, but she would rather down a full barrel of beer than admit it to Sethin.

'I'm not. Let her be. Not everyone gets born with an asshole for a heart like you.'

'Liliana Ariondale! I'm utterly mortified by such words. A respectable princess like yourself wouldn't dare speak of such matters.' He pressed his palm dramatically against his chest.

'It's clear that your presence is at fault for that.' Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Warren waving at her to come over. The meeting can officially start.

'Let's go, you dramatic fool.'

When they arrived at the round table in the far corner of the tavern, she nodded at every single member. Warren, gatherer of information, pounded his right fist against his leather vest and mumbled 'Sir' under his breath. He was the oldest and grumpiest of them all. The voice of reason and preventer of chaos. Her closest advisor. But only when he was sober, which didn't happen a lot these days. Sitting next to him was Ruthelia, a Madam who got accepted into court thanks to her late husband. As the master of disguises, she and her ladies worked closely with Warren, an arrangement that was very likely to put him to an early grave. Instead of a proper greeting, she raised a glass of whiskey towards her leader and downed it in one go. Snagging the half-emptied bottle from Warren, she smirked at her Boss. Liliana knew that she was being challenged to say something, while her master of disguises poured the glass to the rim. She decided to ignore it. After all, she wouldn't be the one who had to deal with a hangover in the morning, and as long as the job gets done, she couldn't care less. Arguing with Ruthelia about alcohol is like pleasing her father. A fruitless encounter. When she turned to the next member, Delya greeted her with a shy smile. Her brother Bellard on the other hand, the persecutor of the group, waved enthusiastically. Only Kleandra didn't seem to notice her presence yet, as she was scribbling on multiple pages. Being not only the analytical and cryptological expert, but also Liliana's second in command, she never had any free time to spare.