It had now been five days since their arrival in Verzstani and Laevon was quite restless at the fact no further word had come from the castle.
Every night the guardsmen had attended to another tavern, but after that first evening Laevon had completely withdrawn from them all. Their company was not worth keeping. He had quickly realized that he had nothing in common with this overly indulgent group.
Schuyler however felt torn between his new comrade and the troop of soldiers he so desperately sought acceptance from. He had truthfully enjoyed all of the frivolity and apparent favor they had been showing him lately, but had refrained since that initial night for the sake of Laevon’s approval. Schuyler had tried his very best to not upset him after that first embarrassing scene.
The young man realized that Laevon had an honest interest in him and was the only one he could call an actual friend.
It was a night much like any other now. Schuyler and Laevon were wandering the streets together at dusk and taking in the lay of the city. Due to its rather large size there was always something new to see. The balmy summer evenings were quite pleasant to be out in and both men enjoyed this uninhibited freedom.
It was not long though before they were passing another tavern where they saw multiple guardsmen assembled. The Andarian and Verzstani troops intermingled together as though they were all one unit.
Laevon would have kept right on walking, but Schuyler had paused outside the window.
The warm, inviting light spilled out into the streets and seemed to cast its alluring spell on the young, impressionable guard. He could smell the strong brew and enticing aroma of roasted meats wafting out of the opened door.
He looked melancholy and Laevon was getting rather tired of his moodiness about it. Even though Schuyler never said anything, Laevon knew how badly the young man wanted to participate.
“Go on, Schuyler,” he sighed slightly. “Do not worry about me.”
Schuyler looked over at him eagerly and asked, “Oh, but you can come in too, Laevon? I promise not to shame you in any way.” His warm eyes were lit with expectation.
“I really would rather not,” Laevon admitted, “but you feel free to enjoy yourself - within reason.”
Laevon seemed sincere, so with an eager smile Schuyler nodded and began to hurry towards the entrance. “I will not be out late!” he called over his shoulder and walked into the tavern.
Laevon shook his head with a wry smile as he knew this would be a miracle if accomplished. How on earth did he get stuck with this boy?
He continued his slow walk through the streets. Most of the merchants had closed their shops and market stands for the evening. The quiet glow of evening lamps could be seen filtering through the shuttered windows of the humble homes. It was peaceful and seemed quite wonderful here. All of the excessive praise of this city had surely not been unfounded.
After living in such an isolated village all of his life a place like Verzstani was something entirely unknown to Laevon. He had never imagined cities like this truly existed except in the fairy tales that Laeleth loved to read. They had all seemed so far away and unreal.
He then contemplated how drastically his life had changed, and so suddenly. It felt like he was living in a fairy tale.
Laevon wondered if or when they would be called to the royal court again. He really could not bear this waiting around and no one else seemed to be concerned by it. Was this all the Guard was really good for - pretense?
He continued to roam about the darkening streets. His mind was full of many things - memories and fears mostly. Would he ever know what fate had intended for him?
Now that Laeleth was not his ever present and only concern there was a whole new way to look at life. Any opportunity was now open to him. What did he even want?
