Glyph

Chapter 10

Dirk walked into the crowded inn. Although there were many restaurants around, he had decided the delectable smell emanated from this one. He was right. As he walked in, he was met by a fresh wave of the aroma.

"Mmmm", he hummed with contentment. The place was utterly packed, unsurprisingly, given the smell. With Brooke in tow, he muscled his way to the counter. A man looked up.

"Can I help you?", he asked with a bright smile.

"Uh, yes, " Dirk said. "We would like a table, please."

Quickly he looked behind to make sure Brooke was still there. She was.

"Excellent", said the man. "There is a table available for two right now."

He led them to a small table in one of the alcoves and handed them menus. Here the noise was muffled to a dull roar.

Dirk smiled at Brooke. She smiled back. Dirk hesitated unsure of what to do or say. His brain felt slow, as if it was thinking it's way through molasses. He could think of absolutely nothing to say. He saw Brooke had looked down and was studying the menu. Quickly he did the same.

A couple minutes later, a waitress made her way to them.

"An' what would you fine folk be havin' today?" the girl asked them with a thick accent.

Dirk cleared his throat. "I will have the pork and greens with a mug of ale."

The waitress looked at Brooke.

"Can I have the roast chicken and vegetable soup with ale?," she asked.

"All righ', that'll be a half a gold sovereign altogether, " said the waitress. "It'll be out inna second."

She swept off to wait on the other customers.

Dirk and Brooke were left alone, sitting silent and awkward. Or at least Dirk felt awkward. What did you even say to some one like Brooke? Dirk caught himself staring at her face. She was so pretty, so full of laughter and life, even after she had been tried as a witch. He could hardly imagine what that must've been like. He was still staring at her. He felt his cheeks go red and he ducked his head down.

The silence stretched and Dirk felt like a complete disaster. Brooke didn't seem to notice anything wrong. She sat humming quietly, still looking at the menu. 

Finally Dirk could take no more. Though Brooke didn't seem bothered, he had to break the silence.

"So what have you been up to here?," he asked. Mentally he smacked himself in the head; they had already had this discussion at the castle.

 Brooke smiled. "Well, aside from the tutoring, I have been in a lot of conferences with Surd and Gilthas. Surd's much more involved than he seemed. Apparently he served as Gilthas' father's bodyguard, but when Lord Vaubin died, he retired to Lesser Highridge. I also found out that my father is all right. For a while he was under pressure to tell them where I went, but they have eased off now. Probably because they know where we are." She laughed, but Dirk could tell she was worried. He stayed silent to see if she would reveal anything else. When she spoke again a couple seconds later, it was quieter. "He doesn't think they're done, though. They're probably investigating how he is connected to Redvale. And if they find anything, I'm sure they would just carry him off in the night and.... and I would never.... get to see... him..o-or...." She broke down into sobs.

In an instant, Dirk was around the table and comforting her. "It's okay, it's fine, " he soothed. "He'll be all right, they won't find anything."

She gave him a watery smile. "It's probably silly of me to get so worried. I mean, he knows how to take care of himself. But I can't help thinking this is somehow my fault. If I hadn't been arrested for being a witch..."