Page 13 of Potions & Pints
“Why don’t we sit down?” Vir said kindly. “Sounds like this could be a while.”
“Vir…” Tan said.
He was busy calculating if the orc could battle the remaining soldiers and win. Vir, on the other hand, was too busy trying to make friends.
“May we sit?” Vir asked their captors, ever so politely.
The soldiers looked at each other. Tan could practically see what they were all thinking. Various variations of ‘Can you believe this guy?’
“Okay,” one said.
Vir pointed to a large crate and when the soldiers nodded, started towards it. Tan had no choice but to follow. He stumbled to keep up.
Then Vir picked Tan up like he was a small child and deposited him on the crate before hopping up and sitting next to him. The elf audience howled with laughter. Tan put his free hand over his eyes.
Beside him Vir muttered.
“What are you doing?” Tan finally asked, once the elves got bored of laughing at him and went back to being just plain bored.
“Shush, I’m writing.”
“Writing?”
Tan couldn’t believe it. They were chained together. The Prince was furious. He was probably sitting over his—most likely extravagant—dinner trying to decide what to do with them.
“What are you writing?” Tan asked Vir miserably.
“Oh, it’s good. Do you want to hear what I wrote so far?”
“Sure,” Tan said.
“I think I’m going to call it ‘The Hero’,” Vir said.
“What’s it about?”
“You, of course.”
“What?” Tan said, surprised.
“Well, you saw me with them. You could have walked away. You didn’t. Isn’t that what a hero does?”
“Thank you,” Tan said. “But I’m no hero.”
“When we get out of this, I’m going to ask my father to make you a special vest, for rescuing me.”
“We aren’t rescued,” Tan said. “We are both very much the opposite of rescued!”
He was losing patience. The orc was completely delusional. Maybe Tan should have left him to deal with the soldiers and Valar on his own.
“I meant you rescued me from being alone,” Vir said.
Tan resolved to keep quiet until Valar got back and told them their fate. It took a while. Tan was pretty sure Valar would linger over his meal and order more to drink just to drag it out.
He knows I’m sitting here waiting for him and he loves that,Tan thought miserably.
Finally, Valar did come back. Then he stalled some more organizing his soldiers into different groups to take turns getting their own dinner. Tan was sure that this was not something the Prince would bother with on a normal occasion.
“Okay, okay,” Valar said as he paced back and forth in front of Tan and Vir.
