Page 16 of Prince of Never

Sarah waved a hand in front her of her face with an awkward laugh.‘We were a bit slower to get ready, but we’re meeting them in the village.I thought I’d show our newest maid around a bit first.’

Aiden’s gaze turned back to me and I wondered what he was thinking.Sarah was being careful with her words, but how much had this guard heard of me?I couldn’t know for sure.‘Must be difficult serving the prince,’ Aiden finally said.

‘That’s one way to put it,’ I said before I could stop myself, but Aiden turned his attention back to Sarah.‘Be careful out there, and don’t come back too late,’ he said and then he waved us through, just like that.

I followed Sarah through the small gate off to the side—no doubt also designed for the servants who didn’t warrant the grandiosity of the enormous main entrance gate—and let her lead me to whatever place she thought was about to make me enjoy my time in captivity.

‘You brought me to a pub,’ I said as we pushed through a lopsided door into a bedraggled little building attached to a funny little town a stone’s throw from the castle.The building itself was like something out of a movie—a medieval movie.A worn timber bar, thatched roof, exposed beams overhead.A large painting of a bowl of decaying fruit hung on the wall, and it didn’t quite cover the hole behind it.There was a roaring fire on the back wall, rowdy chatter filled the air, as did the smell of ale and roasting meat.

‘It’s a great place,’ Sarah said, leading me through the crowd.No one spared us a second glance, as if they were used to seeing humans in there all the time.As I looked around, I realised there were, in fact, a number of humans, some of who I recognised from the castle, as well as creatures I assumed were fae, though they looked different to Tarian and the other fae I’d seen so far.Some of them had long, lethal-looking claws or abnormally pointed teeth or tusks or iridescent wings fluttering at their back.One even had skin that seemed to glitter in the firelight.

‘Try not to stare,’ Sarah said, nudging me in the side when I didn’t respond.I quickly averted my eyes.How was I supposed to do that when so many of the beings in that room were so foreign to me?It stirred a curiosity in me, my academic mind wondering what each species was, what myths and stories lay around them, and how they were unique from humans.If I focused just on my curiosity and ignored the fact that I was being held here against my will, this place was fascinating.Though I doubted the fae would be interested in letting me study them or ask intrusive questions.

‘Sarah!’the man behind the bar said with a beaming smile.He was rather short and wide in build with a ruddy face, the kind of man who looked a little rough around the edges but had a kind soul.‘Got a new one with you tonight?’

‘Is it that obvious?’I asked sheepishly.

‘Aye,’ he said, amusement in his eyes.‘But don’t fret none, most of us don’t offend easy.’He leaned over the bar, eyes scrutinising me.‘You’re a bonnie wee thing, aren’t you?’The tone in his voice made me uncomfortable.It was as if he was looking into my soul to see what lay there.

‘Uh… thank you?’I said, my eyes darting to Sarah in a clear plea for help.

‘Ah, sorry,’ the bartender said, his ruddy cheeks flushing redder.‘Unusual for one of your age to be brought here.She working with you at Dreadhold?’

‘Dreadhold?’I asked.‘Is that the castle?’I hadn’t heard the name before, but it was fitting for a place housing a pretentious prince with an attitude problem and a propensity for kidnapping people.

One of the other patrons at the bar—a tall man with long, scraggly hair threaded through with leaves—huffed a breath.‘Working for the prince?My condolences, lamb.That’s some rotten luck that is,’ he said, his nose almost entirely in his mug.

‘Well, if this was supposed to cheer me up, Sarah, it’s not working,’ I said with an awkward laugh.‘Is he really as bad as all that?’I asked, as if I expected the answer to be any different than I had already seen for myself.Perhaps I shouldn’t be digging for information on Tarian.It was probably the sort of thing I’d rather not know.Ignorance is bliss, my mother always said when I asked questions she didn’t think I should.Of course, I’d never believed that rubbish, but it might actually apply here.

‘Stop scaring her, you lot,’ Sarah scolded, wagging a finger at them.

‘Alright, alright.Two on the house for your troubles then,’ the bartender said with a smile as he slid two mugs across the bar.

‘Thank you,’ Sarah said, taking the drinks and leading me through the crowd once more to a table along the wall.She placed the drink in front of me and I sniffed at the strange liquid.It certainly didn’tsmelllike beer.It smelled sweet and strangely floral.

‘What is it?’

‘Ale, of course,’ Sarah said.‘Don’t you have ale in the human world?’

‘We do, but it’s awful,’ I said.I brought the drink to my lips, taking a tentative sip.It tasted like it smelled, sweet with honey, and not at all like any beer I’d ever tried.‘Wow, this is incredible!’

We lapsed into a silence, and I was drawn again to her features.They were so familiar it was nagging at me.I felt like I’d seen those hazel eyes before, those cheekbones.‘Are you sure you’ve never been to the human world?’I finally asked.

‘Not since I was taken from it.Why?’she asked.

‘Nothing, it’s probably just my imagination,’ I said with a shrug.Maybe she just had one of those faces, or perhaps she had a doppelgänger.I realised that I actually had no idea how changelings worked.Perhaps they looked similar to the fae who would take their place.But I wasn’t sure how sensitive a subject that was, so I opted for a safer topic of conversation.‘So, you come to the pub for fun?’

‘Sometimes.The high fae don’t bother us here.’

‘High fae?’

‘Those snobs that call themselves lords and ladies of the realm, like your princely overlord,’ another patron piped up from the table next to ours.He was smaller than any person I’d ever known, with scraggly orange hair and a tall hat.Like a leprechaun, though I didn’t dare say that out loud.‘They don’t mix with the likes of us.’

‘Us?’I asked, shooting Sarah a quizzical look.

‘The high fae call them lesser fae, or lessers,’ she answered quietly.‘And Branwin, you need to mind your own business.Imogen has enough to get her head around without adding your political agenda to the mix,’ she scolded the fae.

Branwin grumbled something into his mug before sauntering back to the bar to fetch another drink.

---