Chapter 7: A Death in the Family

Our trio arrive at a destination and get some exciting news, while the youngest get a cultural experience.

 Chapter 7: A Death in the Family

 

The dew on the grass on either side of the wide road glistened in the rising sun. Andra bowed her head, stretching her neck and letting the blessed sun warm it. She sat Midnight, willing her excitement to subside. There was a wall ahead, a wall the size of six tall men atop each other. The stone looked worn, but as formidable as any storied fortification. They were here.

Eyrie led them to the gate, her chestnut trotting happily. There were only two men standing guard on the outside. They stood at attention, their helmed heads forward. Andra saw Eyrie eying them warily as they passed. She frowned at their backs, her brows furrowed. As they cleared the gate, though, Andra’s attention was no longer on Eyrie.

This place…Solanis was so big! The buildings were all stonewalled. Though some were of normal heights, many were taller than the two-storey inns Andra had come across.

And then there were all the people! So many...tall and short, with the dark hair of the north and the fair hair of the south. So many people that it was a little difficult to manoeuvre the horses.

Looking to Eyrie for guidance, Andra saw the older woman still frowned. Why? Now that Andra knew the frown was not a permanent part of Eyrie’s visage, she was concerned. She glanced at Gryphon, and was surprised to find him already looking at her.

Andra felt the heat rise to her face. Gryphon hadn’t seemed too upset by Andra’s...fiery outburst. Or, at least, he had taken it in stride. But what does he really think? Andra worried, even as she returned his smile. He was just as excited as she to have made it to a big city, it seemed.

The jingle of the horses’ tack and the clop of their hooves on the cobbled roads were very loud and painfully obvious as they moved through the city, despite the crowds of people. People turned to stare at them, and Andra felt every bit the horse-breeding clod. She wondered if she would feel the same discomfort if this had been the Almanian capital instead of Solvale’s.

While she pondered, there was a commotion behind her. Turning in her saddle, she saw a great procession coming towards them.

“Move out of their way,” Eyrie said tersely, kneeing her horse out of the street to stand next to yet another tall gray building. Andra and Gryphon obeyed and then watched the parade in awe. It was not, however, the gay affair she had anticipated. The people around stopped whatever they were doing and bowed their heads.

The procession was led by four majestic people, two men and two women, heads full of dark hair flowing in long straight locks, shining like silk in the morning sun. They were dressed every bit like warriors, baldrics on their backs, finely wrought vambraces, steel-studded cuirasses, and, Andra noted, tall handsome destriers. The men were broad of shoulder and hard of face, and even the women’s faces had a hollow leanness to them. Behind them followed soldiers, three rows of five, marching synchronised. There was little in the way of heraldry, but there was a red piece of cloth attached on every right shoulder.

“Eyrie,” Andra said, glancing at the older woman for answers. She was surprised to see Eyrie not only with her head bowed, but with her left arm across her chest, fist touching her right shoulder. Andra looked at Gryphon, who looked back and shrugged. Andra was about to emulate, but, by then, the stately group had passed, and Eyrie, who had lifted her head, slapped the girl’s arm down, rolling her eyes. Andra was almost sure she heard her mutter, “Fool girl,” before urging her horse back to the street.

They continued along the curving streets, Andra not sure what Eyrie was looking for. There were enough people in the streets that Andra was reminded of Marketday back in the village. The only difference was that no one was selling anything. And now, she began to notice other scraps of red; some people wore entire blouses of red, breeches even.

Eyrie branched of f the main curving road onto a smaller one that shot out straight about six paces and then began to curve again to the east. It was instantly less crowded.

“Here,” Eyrie said, stopping her horse and swinging off of it in front of an average looking building. There was a stable next to it; Andra could hear the horses’ whinnies. “Here” must have been an inn. “Wait.” And with that, Eyrie vanished into the shadowy entrance.

“What’s going on, Andra?” Gryphon asked quietly. It was the first thing he had said in days about any...of this. What they were doing.

“Gryphon,” Andra started, preparing to hedge him off. She still hadn’t told Gryph what her mother had told her before she died. “I don’t know what is happening to me. I almost killed you and Eyrie when I was sleeping. Eyrie had to make you take the horses and camp somewhere else every night. If I bloody knew what was going on, I would not worry about waking up to my hair ablaze,” she finished tersely, almost petulant, but then regretted her harshness.

“Gryph.” Andra dismounted and stood next to his stirrup. Leaning her head against his calf, she sighed. “We’re following Eyrie. I think she knows what is happening. A far cry more than I know, so I’m going to follow her lead. I can think of worse things to do.”

She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and nodded.

“There are definitely worse things,” he agreed.

At that moment, Eyrie came back out, her left hand resting easily on the hilt of her sword.

Andra quickly pushed herself off of Gryphon’s leg.

“We’ll stop here, for now,” Eyrie said. To say her hand rested easily might have been a bit of an overstatement, Andra realised. Eyrie’s hand rested calmly, but Andra noticed how tense the woman seemed. That is, her lips were in a thinner line than usual.

“What’s ‘here’?” Gryphon asked.

“’Tis an inn,” Eyrie said. “I have stayed here often when I travelled through Solanis. The inn keep is a friend of mine. Done him a couple a favours,” she finished with a wry crook of her lips and a pat on her sword hilt.

After they all chuckled for a moment, though, Eyrie’s face was grave again. “What are you waiting for?” she asked the youths. “Get your horses to the stable.”

Andra nodded and hurried to Midnight as Gryphon dismounted, but then she balked.

“Eyrie, we don’t have the coin—” she started.

“It has been taken care of,” Eyrie cut in sharply.

“But—”

“’Tis taken care of, child,” she repeated more gently.

Pursing her lips, Andra nodded. Fine. For now. But Andra could not help cursing herself for this oversight. Why had she and Gryphon not thought to take any money with them? Now they would have to fend off of generosity and foraging. This was fine in a small village, but would it pass well in a city like Solanis? Villagers who had travelled had always been as quick with a word about stingy city-dwellers as they were with grand buildings. This would have to be remedied somehow.

The stables were warm with the heat of the horses, and had the too-sweet smell of hay and horse dung. It made her smile and look back at Gryphon. “Just like home, is it?” he said, grinning.

She swatted him on the arm before leading Midnight into an empty stall. Most of the stalls were full. The inn keep was probably doing good business tonight.

Inside, the inn was quiet. The people talked in their cups, and while no one seemed particularly upset, the place was...subdued. Walking through the tables of patrons, Andra and Gryphon followed Eyrie up a long flight of stairs and into a corridor. Stopping at the second door on the left, Eyrie opened it with a small key.

“Here, for you two,” she said. She hesitated a moment before giving the key to Gryphon. Then a moment later, she said, “No, you’ll take my room, now that I think about it.” Grabbing the key back, she stuck it in the pocket of her breeches and fished out another one. “Here.” She pointed to the room next door, the last one in the row.

Andra frowned as she went into her room. Eyrie still felt the need to watch over her. Not as if it mattered, of course. If she started Casting fire here, everyone would be in danger whatever room they were in. Fire is fire and wood is wood, after all.

“Don’ look a’ me like that,” Eyrie said tersely. “We will see if my friend is still here in Solanis and perhaps he can help you. I have done him some favours as well.”

“And if not? If he’s not here?” Andra retorted.

“Then we’ll try som’ere else.”

Andra scowled and threw her saddlebags against her bed before laying down on it herself.

“Child.”

Starting at the gentleness in the older woman’s voice, Andra turned. Eyrie was no longer just grim. Now the corners of her eyes were downturned and she looked almost...sad?

With the smallest bitter upward tilt of the corners of her lips, she said, “Go get a meal from the inn keep. You and the boy have got to be half-starved.”

Andra held Eyrie’s gaze for a moment before nodding sombrely and leaving the room. She knocked once on Gryphon’s door before he opened it. He was grinning.

“I’ve never had my own room in an inn before!” he said excitedly.

Rolling her eyes, Andra swatted him on his hard shoulder. “Let’s go eat.”

Down in the common room, the mood had not changed. To her chagrin, Gryphon chose a table in the middle of the room. At least I’ll get a good look at all these city types, she thought. Then another voice in her head said, Aye, and they’ll get a look at a countryside horsebreeder from Almania. Andra scowled at the voice.

“You know, that look hardly becomes you,” Gryphon said, smirking.

“And of course you of all people would know?” Andra teased.

“W-Ah—” She had caught him off his guard, and she laughed.

The serving maid with dark blond hair pulled back on her neck interrupted them before Gryphon could extract himself. “An’ are you twos what are with Eyrie?”

She spoke fast, her words blending together to make a barely comprehensible sentence, but Andra understood enough to nod.

“I’m Maighen, at your service. Eyrie used to come round here when I was nought but a lass in short shoes. We gots roast chicken right now, and there’ll be stew or somewhat for supper. D’you want you some chicken now?”

She hardly let them get a word in, but Andra nodded again at the mention of food. Now that Eyrie had mentioned it, she realised she was famished. Not that Gryphon was bad at cooking, but dried fish only tasted good for so long.

“Alright, lass, I thought as you might be hungry. And I’ll bring you two out some wine as well, shall I?”  And with that, she bustled away, her buxom hips swaying around chairs and tables with practiced ease.

“Keep your eyes in your head, boy.”

Andra and Gryphon spun around in their seats, startled as Eyrie dropped herself into a chair. Andra was still awed at how the woman could manage to look graceful and dangerous all at once.

Gryphon blushed under his tan cheeks.

“That’s Ghenny, the inn keep’s daughter. He’ll have any man’s eyes—or worse—pending on what sort of looks he’s givin’ ‘er.”

Andra smiled, despite the strange feeling in her stomach. It wasn’t jealousy. It couldn’t possibly be.

“I need to be leaving soon. I want you two to stay here until I get back, do you understand me?”

The youths nodded their acquiescence.

            “Can I have the key to our room, then?” Andra asked.

            Eyrie looked at her, considering, before pulling the key out and placing it in Andra’s hand. Before she let go, she repeated, “Stay. Here.” Again, Andra nodded, and then stuck the key in the small pouch on her belt.

 In their waiting silence, Andra scanned the other patrons. None of them seemed particularly poor. Most had well-made clothes from what Andra could see. No one was raucously drunk, either. But everyone in here had something red on, as well. When Maighen came back around with their food, Andra even noticed that her hair was even tied back with a red ribbon.

“Here y’are,” she said, placing their plates down.

“Maighen, what is all the red for?” Andra asked abruptly.

The young woman’s eyebrows rose. “You en’t from round heres, are you? I wondered where you picked ‘em up, Eyrie.”

Eyrie’s jaw was clenched, her pale brows low over her eyes as she frowned.

Abruptly, she stood up. “There are three days of mourning and everyone in the country wears red when a member of the royal family dies,” she said through her teeth. Then she turned and strode out of the inn.

When Maighen clicked her tongue and shook her head, Gryphon and Andra turned back to her.

“Who died?” Gryphon asked, his chicken hanging loosely in his hands.

“Why, ‘twas the king, it was, Solanis rest his eyes. What with the queen already been dead this past year, we knew it wouldn’t be much longer for ‘im. ‘E loved her so, he did.” She shook her head again sadly. “The throne will go to their oldest daughter, Princess Meril.”

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[Chris]

There isn't really much else for me to add other than the things I've already said, and I'm sure you'd probably get annoyed of me saying the same thing over and over again. Anyway...

"Eyrie branched of f the main curving road..."

There shouldn't be a space between the two f's lol.