The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Chapter 3

The tavern slowly filled with men and women, their slow bodies slumping down on the creaking wooden chairs, some kicking their feet up on their desks before waving down one of your family members. Warriors settled around the fire crackling in the center, farmers and miners huddling in the back of the tavern, looking out at the horizon and the large mountain sitting still, the elderly staying by the door while the young wandered around as the bards danced and plucked at their instruments.

You stayed behind the bar, wiping and polishing the aging wood as some of the older drunks sat before you. You set up steins of ale, tankards of mead, bottles of wine and wooden cups of water, handing them off as your family members retreated towards you for refills.

You peered back every now and again to Jesse who stood by the opening, just barely in your view. He smiled down at you and would tip his hat to you every time you look up to him, his honey-brown eyes warming up.

You looked back at the crowds forming in the tavern, noting your family had started to slow down. Everything was starting to come together, Jesse would merge back in with the crowd... He'll be off on his next quest.

You would have motioned for him to drop down, but your mother was hovering nearby the bar, her eyes scanning the crowd and then back to you with her wrinkled lips pressed into a firm frown.

You eyed a new face in the bar, a man clad in armor sitting by himself, a tankard empty and his dark eyes open yet not there as well. You slid away from the bar and took up a bottle of mead, uncorking it as you neared the warrior until the man looked up at you. He sat up, reaching into his pocket to retrieve golden coins to repay you only for you to wave him off.

"It is my last drink before I must ride back home. Please," he offered you a few gold coins.

"It is on me. For a favor," you cocked a brow.

"What is it you need me to do?" he eyed you questionably.

"I need you to distract my mother. Flirt with her, pull her aside and compliment her. I just need her distracted for a minute and not a second more. Maybe spill something on her apron?"

You poured the golden mead into his tankard, eyeing him carefully. The man only nodded, his eyes looking back up to you.

"I will do it," he hummed.

You retreated back to the bar quickly and snatched up your dirty rag, you kept your eyes on the warrior. He grasped his tankard and with a few large gulps, he dropped his tankard to the wooden table and stood up, eyeing your mother. With gold coins still in his metal gauntlet, he stumbled over to her and grabbed her attention. Your mother's back was to you now and you didn't hesitate to motion Jesse to climb down.

But instead of climbing, Jesse simply dropped down and slipped into the crowd, but he was still in your line of sight. He looked back to you, smirking before strutting up to you, sitting in the empty stool and tipping his hat to you just in time for your mother to turn away from the warrior with a palm full of gold coins.

She eyed Jesse and simply shrugged, walking back and weaving through the crowd of drunks.

"Hello there," Jesse drawled as he lifted his hat off of his head.

He placed his hat on the bar counter next to him. A smirk curled up on his bearded face, his eyes heavy with love.

"What can I get for you, traveler?" you questioned him.

"How do you know I ain't from here?" Jesse scoffed.

"I know everyone in this village, and you are not from here at all."