Beyond The Night - Bronze

XII. Elizabeth

   After breakfast Caira and Griff had followed Liz to her room, sat on her bed without speaking a word and started sulking.
   "Alright," Liz said as she clapped her hands. "If you have something to complain about, do it now. I can't deal with you the whole day."
   "I don't have any complaints," said Griff in a voice Liz didn't find convincing at all.
   Liz decided not to insist and turned to Caira.
   Caira shrugged. "I don't either."
   Liz put her hands on her waist and lifted a brow.
   Caira sighed and started talking. "I don't know how much of it Delphi told you, but do you know what happened when Alvis and I were returning from Centhepha?"
   Liz caught Griff's eye and they both nodded. As far as Liz knew, the ship Caira and Alvis was on burned and sank.
   "I don't think there is a ship that would take us as passengers in the Sphellend harbour. And since we can't swim all the way to Centhepha..."
   "Speak for yourself." Liz was sure she would reach there in two days if she could swim without stopping. And she could.
   "And I could fly there," Griff said. "But it's not like I can carry you or Alvis all the way to Centhepha."
   "Then we have two choices," Caira said in a grim tone. "We either go back to Riwelter to find a ship there and take the long way to Centhepha or we take the only ship in the Sphellend harbour that would take us." It was obvious he didn't like either of the choices.
   "But you just said there wasn't one," Liz remembered.
   "Not right now, no. But it should be here in no time."
   "Okay. So why are you acting like this ship is the literal worst thing that can happen to us?" Griff's voice was full of concern.
   "Because it probably is."
   Griff looked at Liz like he was asking for her help.
   Liz took the card deck from the small table next to the bed while she shook her head. "Why don't we get some rest today and leave this conversation for tomorrow?"
   Griff scooted over on the bed to give Liz more space as she sat down.
   "The breakfast was really tense already. We have a long way till Centhepha. Let's be a little lazy today, huh?" No one talked as she dealt the deck.
   After winning a few hands, Caira's frowning face was replaced by a less frowning face.
   Since they skipped lunch and kept playing cards, they decided to have an early dinner. While Griff and Liz bought roasted meat and some vegetables, Caira went to on his own and came back with a couple of bottles of wine.
   As they filled the table in Liz's room together she said, "Let's call Alvis and Aristide, too." She was prepared for Caira to protest but it was Griff who spoke.
   "I thought we were resting today. You can't expect Caira to rest when Alvis is around."
   Liz glared at him.
   Griff held up his hands in surrender.
   "Go, call them," Liz ordered.
   Griff headed for the door without arguing this time. "Don't start without me," he warned over his shoulder as he walked out the room.
   "Okay, okay," Liz rolled her eyes. As soon as the door closed she turned to Caira. "Spill."
   "Spill?" Caira repeated with a brow raised.
   "I know you hate Centhepha. And we have the ship problem on top of it. So why did you accept to help Aristide? And why are you willing to go to Centhepha?"
   Caira nodded as if he was digesting her questions but Liz was aware he was trying to stall until Griff came back.
   "Griff asked me the same questions today."
   "I know. I told him to ask them."
   Caira glanced at her. "You sly thing."
   "You still haven't answered me," Liz reminded.
   "Maybe I don't have an answer to give you."
   Just when Liz opened her mouth to argue, the door opened and Griff walked in with Alvis and Aristide in tow.
   "Thank god," Caira said with fake relief.
   "Was Liz interrogating you?" Griff asked, grinning. Liz's glare wiped the grin off his face.
   "You guessed it," Caira answered as he filled glasses with wine.
   When Liz noticed he was filling the fourth glass, she warned him. "That's four.
   "I know." Caira didn't look up from the table when he handed the fourth glass to Atistide.
   Aristide took the glass and said, "Thank you," in a voice so quiet, Liz barely heard it.
   "Can you even drink?" Liz asked. From his sharp fanged grin at the breakfast and the way he didn't touch anything on the table other than his teacup, it wasn’t hard to figure out he was a vampire.
   "Yes, I can," Aristide answered. "I can also drink black tea and I like sherbet."
   "I thought vampires only drank blood," Griff confessed.
   "You're a vampire?" said Alvis.
   Liz turned to stare at him like everyone else was doing.
   "You have known me for months," Aristide said in a calm voice. "We were together almost every night."
   "So?"
   "You've seen me drink blood before. Several times."
   "I thought it was wine."
   Liz shook her head in disbelief.
   Alvis was already focused on the vegetables on the table.
   "If there are things you can drink, is there anything you can eat?" Griff asked.
   Although Liz didn't approve of the question, she found herself waiting to hear Aristide's answer.
   "Oh, yes. Of course there is. For instance, I can eat fish. I-"
   Liz, Caira and Griff all gasped at the same time. Their sudden reaction interrupted Aristide.
   Shocked by the reaction his words got, Aristide asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
   Liz spared a glance to Alvis but he looked uninterested in this conversation.
   "Well, uh. We..." Griff stuttered.
   When he didn't finish his sentence Liz took over. "We don't eat fish."
   Apparently, this wasn't enough of an explanation for Aristide because his frown git deeper. "Can I...ask why?"
   "Because Alvis's girlfriend is a mermaid."
   "Huh?" Alvis's interest in the conversation was back. "What does that have to do with anything?"
   "Well, uh..." Griff stuttered again.
   "Estella is a mermaid, not a fish. Merfolk are more human than they are fish," Alvis explained. "You should know that," he said looking at Griff.
   Griff's eyebrows pulled together. "What's that supposed to mean?"
   "Well, you're a bird but you still eat chicken."
   "I'm not a bird," Griff said incredulously.
   "Half bird," Caira said.
   "Quarter," Liz corrected.
   Griff looked from Caira to Liz. "No," he said slowly. "I'm half griffin."
   "Oh," Caira said as if he just remembered.
   "One eighth," Liz whispered.
   "No!"
   "That doesn't matter anyway because chickens aren't birds."
   This time everyone turned to stare at Caira.
   "What?" Aristide asked before Liz could.
   "Yeah," Caira said with the attitude of someone stating a known fact. "They can't fly or anything."
   "Penguens can't fly either but they are birds," Liz countered.
   "What's that?"
   "You don't know what a penguin is?"
   "Am I supposed to?"
   "My girlfriend eats penguins," Alvis said with a smile.
   Caira sighed loudly and drank all the wine in his glass in one go.
   "I'll go bring more chairs," Griff said.
   When everyone was sat down, Alvis was finished with the vegetables and starting to talk too much for everyone's sake.
   "Griff also eats eggs."
   "What's that has to do with anything?" Griff asked in a weary tone.
   "Birds come from eggs."
   "I'm not a bird," Griff insisted.
   "Penguins also come from eggs," Liz said looking at Caira.
   "Fish also come from eggs," Caira said in return.
   "Now, what does that has to do with anything?" Alvis asked.
   "Dinosaurs," Liz said.
   "What about them?" Caira asked.
   "They come from eggs too."
   Caira rolled his eyes. "You can't know that."
   "I do!" Alvis said cheerfully.
   Liz slowly put her glass down on the table and asked, "How old are you, Alvis?"
   "He doesn't know that," Caira answered.
   When they were done with dinner, everyone separated to their own rooms, leaving Liz alone with her thoughts. She fell asleep thinking about Lotys waiting for her in Riverend and the things she had to do when they returned.