The Shadows Of The Vale

One

Evangeline Tanker - written in perfect cursive on the soft cream envelope of the royal post. It was nothing more than a mass invitation to the coronation of Princess Alea Torsys, letters would have been sent to everyone living in the Aldmoor empire but even so, Evangeline - or simply Eve to her friends - felt special as she traced her name with her fingertip. She'd never been to Esterlyn before - the capital of the empire. The buildings were all made of polished stone, the streets were wide and everything was spotless - just the way the elves liked it. Eve was in awe of the city around her as she clutched the letter tight to her chest, picked up her luggage and marched through the crowds to find the Tavern she had been told to go to.

The Sleeping Harpy wasn't the grandest business in the city centre, but it was where Eve's aunt could afford for her to stay when she insisted on going. Eve had never left her small town in the south of Steelacre so being a week's boat ride away was a bit unsettling. Nevertheless, she loved the thought of adventure and always wanted to travel as soon as she got the chance.

Eve stepped through the heavy door of the inn and the smell of ale smacked her in the face almost immediately. It was loud and chaotic, four elven ladies were walking from table to table, in short, red dresses and tall-heeled shoes, carrying trays of drink and winking at patrons as they passed. There was a fifth elf behind the bar, this one a man with short black hair, leaning against a pillar, with crossed arms, beside shelves upon shelves of bottles of alcohol. This must have been Goren, the owner, he was known to keep to himself and watch the bar from the back, making sure no one touches his girls - well - not without paying first. Eve held her luggage out in front of her as she weaved through the patrons, being shoved from either side and made her way to the bar. Goren turned to face her and lifted his chin, intrigued by the petite framed young lady walking towards him who seemed very out of place amongst the brutes and opportunist young men that frequent here.
"Hi, Goren?" She smiled cheerily and held out her free hand towards him as an introduction, he pushed away from the pillar keeping his arms crossed and looked down at her. Eve instinctively moved her hand away and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "I.. uh, I'm here about the room, my aunt said she'd already paid in advance."
"So, you're Sheena's girl? I expected someone more... well not you." He reached under the bar with a sigh and presented her with a ring of two silver keys. "The smaller one is for the quarters on the top floor, the bar closes at two in the morning and opens again at noon, I'm not going to be around always to lock up after you come and go, the bigger key is for the back door if you get caught outside, takes you straight to the stairwell you won't be able to come through here."
Eve looked puzzled as she took the keys, "Quarters on the top floor? You mean you don't rent rooms?"
"Hosting you here is a favour I owe to your aunt, you will use my quarters, you will clean up after yourself and you will not overstay your welcome. Any questions?" He looked tired of this conversation, Eve shook her head, she thought it was best that if she did have any questions she should ask them at a later time. He lifted part of the counter at the side of the bar and gestured towards a door marked PRIVATE. Eve walked past the counter and pushed the door open but stopped and turned before walking through it completely.
"Well, It's nice meeting you, Goren, my name is Evangeline. I'll be out of your hair before you know it." She nodded and carried on walking.

As the door shut behind her the chaos of the tavern became quieter. In front of Eve was a tall, thin U-shaped staircase made of wood that she knew would creek before she even needed to test it. There was a small window on the landing which was open a crack, and through it was a low roof, Eve wondered if she was small enough to fit through the window if she opened it fully, the roof seemed like a nice place to sit if you needed to clear your mind.

Eve fumbled with the keys and used the smaller of the two to open the only door upstairs, it led into a single room, on the left there was a desk and soft leather chair next to bookshelves that lined the wall, at the back of the room there was a dresser with another window above it -  this one looking out onto the street in front of the tavern, and on the right, there was a bed with an end table on either side. The bed was very neatly made and the rest of the room was spotless, Eve could only assume that Goren had cleaned - or had gotten someone to clean - especially for Eve to stay here for a few nights. She put her luggage on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, letter in hand, and traced over her name on the envelope one last time. She was here in the capital, and she was ready to explore, make friends and see parts of the empire she'd only ever read about in books or heard about from far travellers.

After a few minutes of disbelief Eve started to unpack her belongings. She placed folded piles of skirts and blouses on top of the trunk at the end of the bed and neatly spread out a soft, light green dress on the leather chair on the other side of the room, it was probably the only nice piece of clothing she owned, it was a hand me down from her mother and was always far too big for her but with a corset and few sewing adjustments she made it work for this occasion, it's not every day there's a royal coronation.