If Stratagor Ziras doesn't kill me, my training program will!
Every day I wake up and go through the motions, but they've figured out that I'm not a Knight. I can't ride, I can't fight, I can't do magic, and worst of all, I can't see whatever it is...
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I find The Brewer's Daft on my own after several dead-ends and wrong turns. It's a lot more crowded than the last time I was here. Everyone looks my way when I enter so I dash to the nearest table, keeping my gaze to the floor. Hopefully, they'll lose interest. I don't move the table to the corner where I'd like to be because it makes me self-conscious.
I haven't been sitting long when a fat man with an extraordinarily long nose walks up to my table. He has pointy ears like an elf, but he's too tall to be one. His nose juts out from his face a good six inches and I can see clearly up his vast, hairy nostrils. I assume he's either the cook or the owner because he's wearing a red apron and tall, red rubber boots.
He's speaking excitedly in Naga-Nuru, so I smile uncomfortably at him. He claps me hard on my sore back and continues on with his story, then he holds up a finger and leaves.
I glance around the room to see if anyone witnessed the awkward exchange, but they're busy with their own business. I take a deep breath and relax my shoulders. I hate my inability to speak Naga-Nuru, but it's a difficult language and apparently, I'm not gifted in languages.
The fat man reappears with a large tray of food. He sets each plate down in front of me with a flourish and more words. I'm guessing that he's explaining the food to me. However, he doesn't even try to slow his speech or gesture in order to help me understand him. I keep smiling and nodding, and pray he'll be done soon. He puts a stein of foaming yellow liquid down, abruptly stops speaking, and looks at me expectantly.
I'm so embarrassed by this man's behavior. He's placed five plates on the table and I pick up the spoon and try the purple soup. It tastes like the bottom of a sundae after all the ice cream is gone.
I glance up at the man and smile. "Very good. Thank you. Esterri."
The man responds with a joyful clap of his hands and shouts, "Labva!" He says something else that I don't understand and runs off.
I'm enjoying the soup and liking my little bit of freedom. I'm definitely feeling better. Maybe some free time was a good idea.
"Would you be happy for me to join you?" a female voice says over my shoulder.
I turn and almost drop my spoon when I see Princess Elaeria standing over me. I haven't seen her since the first few nights I was here.
It's weird seeing a princess outside of a castle. She's out by herself, too, in a pub. There's not even a bodyguard with her. I agree to let her join me, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to bow or stand or something, so I just nod and point to the chair across from me.
"How are you feel?" Princess Elaeria asks in broken English.
"Good. Good," I say with more nodding. I have no idea how to make conversation with royalty.
Elaeria picks up a fork, grabs the plate of rainbow-colored eggs and begins eating. It irks me that she would eat my food without a word to me. It must be another human thing, I guess. I know enough about human history to know that there has always been competition for food. In Ashra, food is abundant, so maybe they don't have the same feelings of ownership toward their plate. Trelix certainly has no compunction about stealing food from me.
