Page 35 of Scourged

A bell jangled above them as the door closed, and the barkeep glanced up, surprise on her comely face.

"Sorry," Ciana stammered, twisting her hands. "I thought … if you're closed, we can come back--"

"Nonsense!" The barkeep set her glass on the ledge behind her. "The hours before shift change are always slow, but I’m very much open. Please, come in."

Hanging their coats on the rack by the door, Ciana and Delaynie strode to the bar, perching themselves on two cushioned stools. Their host leaned against the bar, peering at them both with sharp gray eyes only a shade darker than her hair.

"What can I get you ladies? Perhaps some warm mulled wine to ward away the chill?"

"Do you have gin?" Ciana blurted. She loved mulled wine, but … for some reason, she craved her favorite liquor. Wanted something that would burn the entire way down, like it was cleansing her from the inside out.

The barkeep nodded. "Certainly." She pulled a bottle from beneath the bar, uncorking it and emptying a finger of its clear contents into a glass. She glanced at Delaynie. "And for you?"

"Just wine, please. White, if you have it." Del folded her hands in her lap, looking entirely out of place in the dark, rustic tavern.

"Of course." The barkeep poured the wine, pushing it across the bar, before affixing that sharp-eyed stare back on them.

"Why don't you drink with us?" Ciana toyed with the rim of her glass. She didn't know why she asked it; only that the woman's stare was too bright, like she knew something Ciana did not, but wanted to.

The barkeep looked around her tavern. "Normally, I'd say no. But … seeing as it is quite the slow day, I suppose I could." She turned, pushing a mug beneath a tap and pulling the lever. Rich amber ale filled the glass, a frosty white foam forming at the top. The barkeep returned to them, smacking her lips.

"I'd been craving an ale all day." She raised the glass to her mouth, taking a long sip. Setting it back on the bar, she extended her hand to Ciana.

"I don't drink with strangers, so … the name's Beva. Owner of this establishment."

Ciana clasped Beva's offered hand. "I'm Ciana. And this is Delaynie."

She gestured to her friend, who watched behind glimmering blue eyes as she politely inclined her head.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ciana and Delaynie." Beva took another sip from her ale. "Now that we're no longer strangers, why don't you tell me what two ladies from the Queen Apparent's court are doing drinking at a tavern away from the palace?"

Ciana's mouth popped open, clammy hands slipping on her glass of gin. Despite her own frantic surprise, Delaynie still held that practiced neutral expression, watching the barkeep with renewed interest.

Ciana raised her glass to her lips, hands shaking slightly. She sipped the gin, the burning liquor carving a path through her chest before landing in her gut. She coughed slightly, then cleared her throat.

"We aren't sure we understand what you mean, Beva." Play dumb. That's what she'd decided. Feigned ignorance.

Beva chuckled. "I saw those horses you rode up on. It's hard to miss palace insignia when they put it everywhere."

Ciana opened her mouth, searching for an excuse.

"You're right. We are Mariah's ladies."

Ciana's mouth snapped closed as she whipped her head to Delaynie, who took a delicate sip of her white wine.

Beva hmphed. “That’s what I thought.” Her gray eyes danced with warm humor between Ciana and Delaynie. “You are looking for something?”

"Information. We want to know what the city folk are talking about," Delaynie said evenly.

"Let me guess," Beva said, "the people you met today haven't exactly been forthcoming."

Ciana narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "We don't understand. We only wish to help."

"Certainly. I believe you do. But they don't know that." Beva sipped her ale. "They hardly know their new queen-to-be, and when they heard she'd absconded in the middle of the night, just before pirates attacked the city … well, surely you can imagine their distrust."

"That isn't what happened!" Ciana blurted. Delaynie shot her a warning glare, and Ciana's cheeks flushed. She reached for her glass, downing a gulp, before wringing her hands in her lap.

Beva watched her shrewdly, taking another sip. "I know, child. Not a single piece of me believes that Mariah Salis willingly abandoned this city or her friends."

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