What Lies Beyond the Ocean

Chapter 30

The stars dazzled in the night sky. The beautiful amber hues from the city lights guided us through the marshes, back towards the stables, where hopefully Father and Helivi still reside.

Fireflies flickered throughout the fields, farmers doing their nightly duties before getting their rare slumber. I closed my eyes and inhaled the sweet night air. Though I have enjoyed my time here in Zalfa, my heart was now yearning for Casa- the cottage, the ocean, crashing against the rocky shore. I felt warmth flutter through my veins as I envisioned our reunion with Casa, the relief and joy painted on her face.

Of course, as I was slightly expecting, there was a note left on the front seat, where Helivi sat, announcing that he and Father were getting a 'few' drinks at the pub down the street from the stables; Swithin's Barrel.

"You know," Alyard smirked as he fed the horses some leftover bread. "We should get some drinks ourselves. Kind of as a victory and before we head back towards home."

"I suppose we can treat ourselves to a few drinks," I replied, swatting a moth away from my face, the dust off it's wings rubbing onto my fingers.

~

The scent of lumbar overwhelmed me as I followed Alyard into the pub. Though you may have expected the city guards to retire to their barracks, a sea of them flocked the pub. Drunken laughter and smiles bounced around the spacious room.

"Hey!" a voice cracked. "Its Erline and her lover!"

I felt my cheeks go red as the guards turnt their heads in unison for a brief second, before returning to their nonsensical chatter.

"O'er here, kids!" the voice repeated. Helivi. Gods, I should have known.

A wasted Helivi stood up from the bar and greeted us with a befuddled smile, hints of froth of his beer hanging out in his sprouting whiskers.

"Didn't keep his fingers off of the drinks, huh, Gael?" Alyard laughed as he sat down next to Father, who was sipping his cider, and only appeared slightly out of it.

"I tried keeping him away from here," he slurred. "But he kept insisting that he would only drown one down... but he lied."

"Who are you accusing of lying?" Helivi suddenly spun around, the whites of his eyes now pink, almost red.

"You, Helivi! You promised you'd only get one, but you chugged down more than 3!"

Helivi slammed his fist on the bar, now truly capturing everyone's attention, including the slight barkeeper cleaning off his tankards.

I grasped his wrist, holding it down so he wouldn't potentially get arrested. He grunted as I forced a bit more pressure as he tried getting out of my grip.

"You're highly intoxicated," I softly said. "Mayhap its time you get some much needed shuteye..."

Helivi only shrugged and snorted, relaxing his shoulders. "That Swithin lad has some rooms available... why not just stay here for the night?"

I glanced over at Father, Alyard- both nodding in approval of Helivi's suggestion. I sighed, loosening my grip, only hoovering my hand over his. I was reluctant to keep him inside a pub, as he could easily slither down the stairs and sneak some booze. But since I myself was growing desperate for rest, I followed along.

"Fine," I concluded. "But Gael must accompany you to ensure you don't sneak down to the bar."

~

"Rise and shine!" Alyard exclaimed as he swayed me awake. Blinking away the groggy state of my eyes, I stretched and gazed out the vertical window, the sky was a sweet pale blue. The loudness of last night has withered away; the only sound to be heard was the sweeping of a broom and tankards clinking together as they were being propped up on the shelves.

I groaned as I at last emerged up from the bed, slipping on one of my dresses, this one a light yellow, and tying my hair up into a rather lousy braid. Alyard slipped on some boots and let out a sigh, his shoulders loosening up after being scrunched up on that cheap wooden bed all-night long.

"I hope they serve breakfast here as well," he declared, fumbling with the tie on his bag.

"Well," I regarded the archaic bed, which looked like it was about to crumble at any point. "Lets hope it's fresh from the nearby farms... as that bed has definitely seen better days."

"Definitely," he agreed as he cracked open the wooden door, eerily creaking. "Lets at least head down and hopefully get a bite to eat before we leave."

Voices reverberated the bar as we ventured out downstairs. The two somewhat sober men were conversing with the bartender, who was serving them some fresh cider. He glanced up from the jug he was pouring; startled as we creaked our way towards them.

"Ah, yes!" he sat the jug down, sliding the two tankards our direction. "The two other guests! As you probably have observed by now, we usually just cater drinks... it's quite uncommon we get people to stay the night due to that Inn within the city. Alas, our rooms are not quite up to par, but I thank you all for giving us the chance!"

The tankard slipped through my hands as I picked it up, warm from the freshly-made cider. I took a petite sip, savouring the golden flavours of the juice and cinnamon.

"Y'see lass and lad," Helivi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "This fella here has ties with me own family. The Swinthins tie back to Zalfa. They left Zalfa about a century or so ago due to the adventurous Velijic Swithin, who inherited the business after his pa passed on. He wanted a clean slate and so he met up with my grandfather Wilren, who ran a stables, and could provide transportation for the fella."

"It makes sense now," the young barkeeper sipped the remnants of the cider from the jug. "No wonder why I felt like you partially resembled Wilren. Why didn't you tell me last night, Mr. Zail?"

"Tell ya what?"

"Who you were and our connections?" the barkeeper raised an eyebrow, leaning on the counter.

"Bah," Helivi's voice lowered. "I ain't no special person or anythin'. Just an old coachman doing his labour and wanting to support old pals... or relatives of old pals, Kev. And call me Helivi, none of that 'mister' or 'sir' junk other old men like to claim themselves to be."

"Fair enough, Helivi. Ah! Before you guys do leave, no rush or anything, I would be happy to supply you guys with drinks and food... though the food doesn't quite mean meals... rather, just leftover apples that weren't used for the cider..."

"That would be very much appreciated, laddy!" Helivi smiled at the boy, revealing his crooked yet charming smile.

Kev smoothed back his hair off of his protruding forehead, revealing a unique constellation of freckles that resembled the Aquila constellation. He went back to the backroom to gather a sac to put the apples in, and a transportable jug to put some water in. He came back, the sac over his shoulder, and the jug trotting alongside his waist, sloshing away as he clumsily trotted towards the counter and setting both down.

"You take good care of yourself, now." Helivi grabbed a few coins from his pocket and slid them over to the barkeeper, whose eyes widened.

"Oh no," he exclaimed. "I... please keep your money. Your company and stay has been a pleasure. Please, take the supplies for free. Its on me."

Helivi closed his eyes, snickering away to himself. "Lad, I'm keeping the coins here whether you take 'em or not. Thank you for your hospitality, despite not having the ideal conditions. These coins, and of course saving 'em up, will help ya get there. Don't worry about it."

Kev smiled, reluctantly nodding, and sighed. "Okay, if you insist. Now, you better come back and visit!"

Helivi winked, and playfully flung a few more coins at Kev. "I'll be back many times. Guaranteed. Anyway, it's about time we hit the road, as we do still have some ways ahead of us."