Legend Reborn

Chapter 7: Confessions in the Dark

I struggle to see the city from over Gilbert's shoulder, so I have him put me down. I'm met with one of the most magnificent views I've ever seen. A gigantic city sprawls between two large mountain peaks and creates the illusion that the city is growing out if the earth itself. Even though the sun has already set, there is still a glow that I realize is coming from the light in the buildings. 

"Wow," I breathe. "That's amazing."

"Humph," Lovino snorts. "I've seen better."

"Just shut it for once will ya?" Gilbert says threateningly. "It's been a long day, so let's just find a place to crash, and West and I can give you a tour tomorrow."

"You've been here before?" I ask the two Bear brothers.

"Quite a bit," Ludwig answers as we begin our decent into Monteurbem. "We would always stop here before taking a trip into the mountains for training." There's that word again. I'm starting to think maybe that's all Bears think about.

We reach the bottom of the steep slope that leads into the city, and I look around at the oddly large buildings. Ludwig wasn't kidding about that. A few people give us with odd looks, but we're mostly ignored. I grin excitedly as Ludwig and Gilbert discuss where we should go.

"We could stay with some cousins of father's," Ludwig suggests. 

"Nah, they're way too annoying. I get a headache just thinking about them," Gilbert replies with a wince. "Let's just find an inn or a tavern that's cheap."

"Where do you suggest then? We have to find a place to accommodate all six of us." Ludwig raises a quizzical eyebrow at his older brother.

"The Dancing Bear is nearby," the albino suggests. "Or we could check out that one place with the giant tree we stayed at a few years back."

"You mean The Maple Manor?"

"Yeah! That place was pretty awesome," Gilbert says with a big grin.

"Alright if you've picked a place then let's go because I'm going to pass out again if I don't get in a bed soon," I tell the two.

We follow the Bears through the maze like city to a building with a wide, red roof. The thing that makes it stand out most is not the roof, but the fact that it's been built in the shade of a tall maple tree. I swear I've never seen one so big before. It puts the abnormally large buildings around it to shame.

"That tree is gigantic!" I exclaim.

"They think it's one of the first trees that ever started growing around here," Gilbert tells me. "That's pretty awesome when you think about how few trees there are up here to begin with."

I marvel at the tree for a while longer before following the group inside the inn. The interior is furnished with wooden furniture that contrasts the stone used in the building itself. There's a fire pit in the middle of the room that fights off the chill of the evening. Ludwig approaches the lady behind the counter while the rest of us look around.

"I never knew wooden benches could be so comfortable," Feliciano sighs contently as he sits down. Lovino sits next to him with folded arms, but he doesn't say anything.

"How lovely," Kiku comments as he admires a painting on the wall. It's an image of the huge tree in the fall. The tree's leaves have turned red and match the roof of the inn. 

"They have enough room for us, but it's going to be a bit crowded," Ludwig announces when he's done at the counter. He holds up two keys, and there's only one thing that can mean. "It's salmon season, so it's been very busy here, and I could only get two rooms."