The barmaid returned with a tray full of mead and the men cheered, causing her to smile.
When she left, one of the hunters flicked his gaze to the hunting blade at my waist. “Have you used that hunting knife, young one?” he asked as he sat down and grasped the handle of his giant mug. His knuckles were scarred, as was the rest of him. He was at least forty winters old, and his skin looked like tanned leather. He’d spent years out in the sun no doubt.
Young one?
Adaline was a young one, not me. I pulled out my hunting knife and slammed it onto the table so that it stuck into the dented and chipped wood. There was still some blood crusted on it from my cougarin kill. “Just yesterday in fact.” I grinned and he sat up a little straighter.
Another one of the guards slapped him on the back. “Never underestimate a pretty young woman. My ex-wife taught me that.”
The whole table burst into laughter and I relaxed a little.
“Alright, you can put your knife away, young one. I respect you,” the scarred man said with a grin, and downed his entire mug of mead.
I pulled the knife from the wood and slid it back into my sheath before joining Kendal at the end of the table.
I noticed she was sitting right across from the king, and from the way she was blabbing on she had no idea. He kept his deep hood up, obscuring his face, and listened to her as she jabbered on about the raids we’d had this year and how dreadful it was the king did nothing about them.
I grinned, enjoying this very much as I pulled out the only empty chair left. It was at the head of the table, next to Kendal and the king. I peered at Drae Valdren, or attempted to, as his face was shrouded.
“It’s almost like the king doesn’t even consider Cinder his lands. He certainly doesn’t protect us as he does the other territories,” I said, agreeing with Kendal.
The king’s entire body stiffened and I had to fight a grin.
“Of course we don’t blame you. You just do as he says,” Kendal told him, and then turned to the guard next to her and asked him about horseback riding.
The king leaned forward on his elbows to get closer to me and I stiffened, swallowing hard to wet my throat.
“The king sent his most elite Royal Guard to look for a wife in Cinder Village. If that doesn’t show a love of the people of Cinder, I don’t know what does,” he declared.
I narrowed my eyes at him and leaned forward as well. “A love of the people of Cinder? How about visiting us every once in a while? The king never comes, and we know it’s because the ashes of Cinder are too dirty for his privileged boots.”
The table fell silent. I wanted to drown myself in mead. Where was this hostility coming from? He’d lost his wife and child only a winter ago and I was being a total witch. But it was true. Cinder was the dirty, poor, least desirable portion of Embergate, and he never came.
“Do you know what is required of the people of Cinder to host the visiting king?” he asked me coldly.
My heart hammered in my chest and I regretted starting this conversation. The other guards were softly talking, but I also knew many were listening on.
I shook my head.
“The streets must be lined with fresh flowers. Fresh breads, fruits, meats, and cheeses must be offered to him and his entire Royal Guard. A private bathhouse must be emptied and made ready. An inn with an entire floor just for him. The people must greet him by bringing him gifts and lavish him with praise. For the king to visit a poor village like Cinder would be selfish. It would empty their reserves and harden their hearts to him.”
I hadn’t moved, hadn’t breathed while he spoke.
That’s why he stayed outside the walls? He didn’t want anyone to know that it was him so they wouldn’t be obligated by centuries-old rules to welcome him in an extravagant way?
I wanted to die.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, hanging my head low with shame.
The saloon doors swung open then and the barmaid entered with a huge pot of stew and a pile of bowls.
“Alright, loves, fresh rabbit stew for the road weary.” She set the giant pot down and then waved her hand over it. A burst of fire erupted from her palm, heating up the stew, and I watched in fascination. Only a day’s journey away from Cinder Village and already I could see the common people here had more magic than we did.
As she started to serve us, I couldn’t help but mull over what the king had said. How many people in Cinder thought the king hated our little village, when in reality he’d spared us an inconvenience this entire time?
Still, he could help with the raids.