Golden Child [Rewriting]

*Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

She didn't follow Suni back to the cottage, she ran back into the Capital, throwing her hood over her head. She made her way back to the bar where she had left Meri, and prayed to the Mother that she'd still be there. The dingy bar still smelt of smoke when she returned, but it was empty, no sign of Meri.

She swore inwardly, and looked for the bartender. He stood behind the counter, burly and big as she'd expect a Capital man to be, "excuse me, sir?" She asked with glittery eyes.

"The bar's closed, miss." He said politely.

"Oh, I'm simply looking for a friend of mine," she said with a slight giggle, "she has blonde hair and was wearing a blue cape? Perhaps you've seen her?"

"She got a room at the inn across the road," he replied, "I'm sure the innkeeper will tell you which one."

"Oh! Thank you!" She exclaimed and dashed out of the bar. The inn next door was small, but they didn't have much money, so Avani guessed it would have to do. She approached the innkeeper slowly, keeping a polite smile on her face.

"Excuse me I was wondering if a blonde haired girl wearing a blue cloak checked in earlier?" She asked the innkeeper, who smiled and handed her the resident's book. In neat penmanship, with a timestamp, stood Aro Meri. She read the room number, 72, and smiled back at the innkeeper, passing her the book.

"Thank you, will it be alright if I go up?" She asked politely, fluttering her eyelashes. The young man melted under her gaze, and nodded, getting out from behind the desk and leading her up the stairs, his cheeks burning with blush. Room seventy-two stood in front of her, and she thanked the innkeeper once more before knocking on the door. Meri's hair was up in a small ponytail on the top of her head, and she'd taken the kohl off her eyes.

"I thought you'd never come back." She said with a sarcastic tone to her voice.

"Sorry, it was sporadic. When I saw him in the bar, my plans changed." She apologized with a smile. Meri's face broke out into a smile as well as she stepped out of the way.

"I got us a two bed room." She said as she led Avani in, who thanked her for her effort.

"What would I do without you?" Avani asked jokingly, as Meri just smiled. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Avani was out like a light. She welcomed the sleep that seemed to want to last forever.

Avani awoke with purpose the next day, getting up out of the bed as soon as her eyes had opened. She freshened up in the bathroom quickly, tying her hair up into a single long ponytail that reached the middle of her back. Then she woke Meri up, and dragged her out of the inn, and into another one of the smoking contraptions they'd taken the previous night. This time it was a different person transporting them, but he was equally mesmerised by Avani as the previous one had been. She thanked him as he dropped them at the edge of town, and then started sprinting into the open fields leading out of the Sovereign Capital, which shone like a giant jewel behind them. They approached the thicket soon, and Avani guided Meri through it like she had done the previous night with Suni. The cottage still stood between all the other ones, the vegetable patch still full of healthy items that Suni would probably try feeding to William. Avani wondered how he'd take the news when he was sober, and hoped that he was at least level-headed enough to see the truth. She knocked on the door, and Sein opened it, he had trimmed his beard slightly, and still held that same warm smile she'd grown to love.

"How is he?" She asked as he let both of them in, and Suni offered them a cup of coffee.

"Sleeping." Suni replied, regarding Meri.