Sleeping w/Strangers
Posted: January 4th, 2020, 6:03 pm
Early Fall, 288AON
There was a pig in her room.
Blotched with white and grey skin, its hooves clicked with each step and snot smeared across the old wood floor, snorting and grunting in feverish hunger. It was looking for food, crunching on a head of lettuce and scraps sprinkled around. In the corner was a pile of hay and Yeva couldn't tell if she felt sick from the betrayal or the smell.
"You bought a pig?" she asked her mother, trying to stop the accusation in her voice, "Momma, that's my bed!"
"You're brother won a pig," Camira muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she regarded her daughter with a tired expression. How had they allowed this? "We had it outside but it got sick. It's only temporary, I promise."
Yeva stared in horrified disbelief, rage building as a howl of laughter echoed from her brother's room, "Shut up!" she screamed, only amplifying her sibling;'s mirth. She took a deep breath to remind herself she was an adult, that this wasn't a dream. Each of her knuckles were white as she clutched the suitcase in her hand, "Where am i supposed to sleep? I can't stay in there."
"Darling, you didn't write. We had assumed..."
Assumed.
Assumed that she had found arrangements in Fellsgard. That she was an independent woman now; That she had a career and a future, but it didn't feel fair. It didn't; It should have. They had only believed in her success, not her return to Verdant Row or her home, the only place she felt she could study magic in safety; the only place she could be herself. She had only needed to visit, to remind herself where she came from and what she was working towards There would be plenty of time before going back to the big city, where more employers could turn her away from a lack of experience.
Where am I supposed to sleep? I can't stay in there."
"Oh, Yeva, you'll think of something. You're such a smart girl."
She walked up to the front counter of the Heartbroken Socks Inn, glancing at the window where she had found that note so many years ago and smiled politely at the inn keep. He recognized her, commented on her growth since last he saw her and asked her about her family, "They're doing well," she answered, pointing towards the stairs leading up to the sleeping quarters in an effort to shift the conversation, "I was actually wanting to stay here tonight, if you have any availability."
He whistled, hands working on polishing the rim of an old mug, "Busy tonight and all. My men are running ragged. It's a full house."
"Please-" their eyes met from the sharp desperation in her voice, "I.. I had a disagreement with my brothers. I just really don't want to go home right now."
Behind her, the piano began to play and a few of the patrons cheered, some getting up to dance beside the staircase leading to nowhere. Scratching his neck, he sighed and went to pull his record book from under the bar. Her flipped a page, ran a finger down the ledger, "I might have an extra bed," he commented, "It ain't much.... How bad do you need it?"
"Bad," she answered without hesitation, then cleared her throat, "H-how much?"
He hesitated, "Five copper."
"I'll take it."
Yeva reached for her bag and began rummaging for the money, missing the look exchanged between the barkeep and one of the servers, "Room's upstairs," he said, "Second floor, third on your right." He slid he key across the counter and turned quickly, nodding to himself when she showered him with 'thank-yous.'.
"Don't thank me yet," he whispered, too low for Yeva to hear over the sound of jaunty music.
Key and luggage in hand, Yeva bounded up the spiral stairs and slipped the key into the lock. A perfect fit, it swung open and she leaned over to gather her things. Inside was a spare bed. Two in total. One safely on the floor and another, suspending on the wall in strange whimsy. More shocking than that, however, was the man already inside.
There was a pig in her room.
Blotched with white and grey skin, its hooves clicked with each step and snot smeared across the old wood floor, snorting and grunting in feverish hunger. It was looking for food, crunching on a head of lettuce and scraps sprinkled around. In the corner was a pile of hay and Yeva couldn't tell if she felt sick from the betrayal or the smell.
"You bought a pig?" she asked her mother, trying to stop the accusation in her voice, "Momma, that's my bed!"
"You're brother won a pig," Camira muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as she regarded her daughter with a tired expression. How had they allowed this? "We had it outside but it got sick. It's only temporary, I promise."
Yeva stared in horrified disbelief, rage building as a howl of laughter echoed from her brother's room, "Shut up!" she screamed, only amplifying her sibling;'s mirth. She took a deep breath to remind herself she was an adult, that this wasn't a dream. Each of her knuckles were white as she clutched the suitcase in her hand, "Where am i supposed to sleep? I can't stay in there."
"Darling, you didn't write. We had assumed..."
Assumed.
Assumed that she had found arrangements in Fellsgard. That she was an independent woman now; That she had a career and a future, but it didn't feel fair. It didn't; It should have. They had only believed in her success, not her return to Verdant Row or her home, the only place she felt she could study magic in safety; the only place she could be herself. She had only needed to visit, to remind herself where she came from and what she was working towards There would be plenty of time before going back to the big city, where more employers could turn her away from a lack of experience.
Where am I supposed to sleep? I can't stay in there."
"Oh, Yeva, you'll think of something. You're such a smart girl."
She walked up to the front counter of the Heartbroken Socks Inn, glancing at the window where she had found that note so many years ago and smiled politely at the inn keep. He recognized her, commented on her growth since last he saw her and asked her about her family, "They're doing well," she answered, pointing towards the stairs leading up to the sleeping quarters in an effort to shift the conversation, "I was actually wanting to stay here tonight, if you have any availability."
He whistled, hands working on polishing the rim of an old mug, "Busy tonight and all. My men are running ragged. It's a full house."
"Please-" their eyes met from the sharp desperation in her voice, "I.. I had a disagreement with my brothers. I just really don't want to go home right now."
Behind her, the piano began to play and a few of the patrons cheered, some getting up to dance beside the staircase leading to nowhere. Scratching his neck, he sighed and went to pull his record book from under the bar. Her flipped a page, ran a finger down the ledger, "I might have an extra bed," he commented, "It ain't much.... How bad do you need it?"
"Bad," she answered without hesitation, then cleared her throat, "H-how much?"
He hesitated, "Five copper."
"I'll take it."
Yeva reached for her bag and began rummaging for the money, missing the look exchanged between the barkeep and one of the servers, "Room's upstairs," he said, "Second floor, third on your right." He slid he key across the counter and turned quickly, nodding to himself when she showered him with 'thank-yous.'.
"Don't thank me yet," he whispered, too low for Yeva to hear over the sound of jaunty music.
Key and luggage in hand, Yeva bounded up the spiral stairs and slipped the key into the lock. A perfect fit, it swung open and she leaned over to gather her things. Inside was a spare bed. Two in total. One safely on the floor and another, suspending on the wall in strange whimsy. More shocking than that, however, was the man already inside.