Happily Ever After.....Maybe

Chapter Two

       My head pounding like a thunderstorm I groaned and opened my eyes. Sunlight filtered in through a cracked glass window. I lifted my throbbing head to looked around the room. I was in a tiny room with wooden floors and walls. Two bed with straw mattresses sat opposite of each other. Underneath the broken window was a desk and a wooden chair that was missing the back. Where was I? Slowly it came back to me last night that I went into a pub and drank more rum than I should have. Slowly I climbed out of bed and made my way down the narrow wooden stair case to the pub.
      The waitress from last night was wiping tables off and putting the chairs on top of the round tables. Her long black hair was down and her ringlet curls bounced as she moved from table to table. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers and smiled, "The newbie is awake, how is your first hangover?"
   I groaned and collapsed in a bar stool nearest to the stairs, I rubbed my forehead, "It hurts like I just got thrown off a horse and ran over by a carriage." I grumbled.
    She laugh and went behind the bar. She grabbed a bottle of what looked like orange juice and mixed it up with something yellow then poured it into a glass and handed it to me, "Here this will help with the throbbing."
    I took the glass and gave her a grateful smile, "Thanks."
  "Don't mention it, this I was I'm paid to do, serve people rum and occasionally when I see a nice girl getting drunk help her the next morning." Her brown eyes held a hint of amusement as she wiped some more tables down. "Oh I'm Tallulah welcome to our small town of Capricious."
    "I'm Amaya..... Amaya Marx." I said blushing slightly after I used Hayden's last name. It was probably best not to mention that I'm a princess. My father might still have a reward for my return and I didn't know this waitress well. 
     "Nice to meet you Amaya, where are you from?" Tallulah returned the rag to a pail of water and took a bar stool next to me.
       I shrugged, "I just travel around."
      She sighed, "Must be lucky going wherever you want," she waved a hand at the empty pub.
     We sat in silence each lost in their own thought. With the silence between us and my throbbing handover fading thoughts of Hayden came creeping back. My heart tightened in my chest as I felt the forever pain losing him. Images of him dying in the meadow flashed in my mind and it took all my strength to fight back the tears that threaten to spill.
         Tallulah touched my arm gently, "Hey you okay?"
       I snapped back to reality remembering she was here. I needed something to get my mind off my broken heart and Tallulah seemed like a really sweet girl and she helped me to get my mind off Hayden a little bit, "Actually I've been looking for a place to settle down."
     Her brown eyes brightened up, "Really?" I nodded and she continued, "You could always work here with me if you want! I'm usually the only waitress and despite Capricious being a small town it gets pretty busy. There's a spare bed up stairs, it's yours if you want it, it's not much. But the pay is good and you get the early mornings free."
      My gaze traveled around the empty tavern. The five round tables gleamed from being freshly wiped down and the chairs sat on top of the tables making the room appear very bare. "Where is all the customers anyway?"
       "Oh the pub doesn't open till noon. Which reminds me if you want the job I have to start showing you all the ropes." Tallulah hopped off her bar stool and walked around so she stood behind it. "So you in?"
      I frown puzzled by what she said, "But there's no ropes in the pub!"
      She threw back her head and laughed making her curls bounce. "Oh newbie, you have a lot to learn!"
     "It's Amaya." I said as I hopped off my bar stool to join her.
    Tallulah reached down on a shelf and pulled out two ribbons. She threw one to me before tying her hair up with the other, "First off pull your hair up, bun, pointy tail whatever. Guys won't drink rum there's hair floating around in it. Second." She handed me a white apron, "Wear this apron, believe me you don't want the smell of rum on your clothes." She shuddered just thinking of it, then turned and observed me up and down.
     I looked down at my red leather pants, vest, and white cotton shirt that I still had on from yesterday. What was she staring at? Where my clothes that dirty?
     "Umm do you happen to have anything showing more... Ummmm skin?" She asked.
      I looked over at her green floor length dress that criss crossed and tied in the front showing cleavage, "Umm I have a red dress like yours."
     "Perfect change into that before we open. The more skin you show the more money you'll earn."
     I nodded and finished pulling my long blond hair into a bun and tied the apron around my waist. Tallulah pulled out a round serving platter and a couple tall clear glasses.
     First she showed me how to pour the rum and to stop a few inches from the top of the glass or other wise the rum would swish out when you carried it. I nailed that one easy. Next Tallulah placed three glasses filled with rum on the round platter and holding it in one hand she gracefully went around the room pretending to hand out the rum to thirsty customers.
     I watched her amazed, she danced from table to table not dropping or spilling a drop of rum. She was so fast and yet kept everything perfectly balanced on her hand. She smiled as she came back to me and handed the tray off to me, "Now you try and try to smile like you enjoy it."
      Picking up the tray I carefully walked towards the tables. The glasses of rum wobbled on the tray. I focused my eyes on the rum in the glossing pleading with my eyes for them to stop splashing over the sides. Next thing I knew my foot hit the leg of a chair and I toppled to the ground with a loud crash as the tray and glasses went flying out of my hand. I gasped as a flood of rum and shards of glass went everywhere on the floor, "I'm so so sorry." Frantically I tried picking up the broken glass.
     Tallulah quickly came over with a mop and wiped up all the rum while I gathered up the broken glasses. "Don't worry about it, I must have dropped hundreds of glasses when I started.  She glanced at a grandfather clock that stood against the wall over looking all the tables and grinned at me, "We have two hours to get you serve ready. So let's practice this again."
    Tallulah had me practice the whole two hours without stopping till I could carry glasses of rum in my sleep without breaking any.
    With a triumphant smile on my face I went upstairs to my new home to change into the red gown with swirls of blue in it. Seeing the gown Hayden had bought me in Agog brought tears to my eyes and I cried softly as I changed into the beautiful dress. Oh how I missed him so much. I hoped having this job will distract me from my heart ache and help me forget and move on. Smoothing the skirt down I went back down stairs to Tallulah who was hanging the open sign in the door.
      "Pretty dress," she remarked as she went behind the bar and started setting out empty glasses. She handed me a rag to wipe them with, "Now we just wait."
     We didn't have to wait long, our first customers came rolling in with hungry stomachs. Two men in their forties. They placed their weather worn hats on the bar and took two seats.
      With a bright smile at the fellas Tallulah struck up conversations with the men asking them how their fields were looking. They must have been farmers I thought to myself. They ordered some food and rum. I pour their glasses of rum for them making sure to leave a few inches off at the top while Tallulah cooked their fried onions and mush.
      The afternoon went by smoothly. Men came and went sometimes there was nothing to do at all and I was curious about my new friend who offered me a job and a place to stay and hardly knew me, "So Tallulah, do you have a family?"
        She shook her head, "Nope just an older brother who's married. Our parents died of scarlet fever."
        Scarlet fever, I heard and read about that horrible disease in books I found in the Royal Library. It caused a fever and a red rash all over the body and lots of times the victim died. "I'm so sorry."
        Tallulah shrugged, "It's okay, it was a long time ago. Lots of people didn't survive." She said quietly then she changed the topic to me, "What about you? Any family?"
      I should have known she'll flip it over to me, I bit tongue. How much should I tell this sweet girl my age? "I have no one, only child and my parents they well..... It's complicated."
      "I have all night."
     "They .... They didn't want me anymore." I said. I felt a little bad telling only half the truth, but I didn't know this girl that well and was scared if I could trust or her not. Thankfully she didn't ask me anymore questions and we continued serving the customers that came in.
     The Pub got really grounded in the evening with almost all the chairs and bar stools full the pub echoed with loud voices shouting to be heard over one another. Glasses clinked together as some cheered and laughter drifted out onto the dirt packed streets.  Tallulah and I bustled around the crowded travel fetching people rum, wiping up spills, and refilling glasses our feet never stopping to rest.
      I squeezed through the tables to hand some men more rum when a big rough hand reached down and squeezed my butt. Startled I jumped and twirled around to find myself looking up at a big tall guy who looked like he had too much to drink.
     His voice slurred, "Where have a pretty thing like you been hiding." He grabbed my butt again this time pulling me to him he held me close to him. His hand still on my butt. "I'll take you home any day."
     His body and his breath stunk of rum and I struggled to get away from him.
      "Hey idiot!" Tallulah marched up to him the crowd parting to make way for her. She threw a pitcher of rum on the guy who held me.
       He growled and let go of me to see who had done that.
      Tallulah gave him a hard shove making him stumble backwards, "Mess with my friend and you won't be getting drinks from here." She was shorter than him and much smaller, but her once soft brown eyes now glared back at him threatening. She knew her pub was the only one in town and all the men didn't dare disrespect her or she wouldn't serve them again.
    He laughed her off like her threat meant nothing, "Aww sweetie I was just playing around with the new one, where did you find her anyway? I'll keep her!" When he thought Tallulah wasn't looking he reached his hand down to grab her butt.
     She stepped back before he could though her eyes piercing his, "You touch me, and you won't have a hand anymore you hear me? Now there's the door. LEAVE." She pointed her finger at the double swinging oak doors not once taking her eyes off the rude man.
      His eyes narrowed, "You make me leave and you won't be making any money."
      She laughed sarcastically, "Oh I'm pretty sure we'll be just find without you."
    With feet stomping angrily the guy left. As soon as he did a loud cheer went up from the other guys and they shouted, "Hurray for Tallulah!"
        She waved off their cheers and started wiping down the bar. I walked over to her and sitting down the tray of glasses I threw my arms around her giving her a big hug, "Thank you for saving me back there."
  Tallulah returned the hug, "Don't mention it."
   "You were so brave standing up to that guy!"
     She smiled, "After working so long in a pub you kinda have to. Otherwise the guys would walk all over you treating you like crap like that guy did." She said with a roll off her eyes.
      Once the last customer staggered home on his drunken feet we closed up the pub washing all the glasses and cleaning what we could before retiring upstairs. Tallulah threw herself on her bed and was out in minutes exhausted from the long day.
      Tiredly I took my boots off and slipped out of my dress I changed into just my white cotton shirt, then I climbed into bed and hoped sleep would come quickly. Alone in the dark my heart was reminded of heavy burden and grief I carried. When I finally fell asleep I dreamt of Hayden.
      He wore his usually black cotton shirt, leather pants, and black boots. He grinned down at me as he held me in my arms. "What would I do without you, Princess?"
    I sobbed as I clung to his shirt, "Why did you have die?" I murmured into his cotton shirt, "Where do I go from here Hayden?"
     He kissed my hair softly, "You'll know when you see it." He whispered.