Page 24 of Pregnant With Their Babes

“Tomorrow, we go to a white witch… to confirm what you’ve said,” Dagr said—seconds before a barmaid arrived with a tray full of food. By that point, Llyr’s appetite was quite diminished.

“Sorry ‘bout tha delay, gents. Tha cook sent sum extra bread ‘n wine ta warsh it all down wiff.” She placed the tray on the table before offering Llyr a glowering glare. “I hope ye kept yerselves entertained.”

“Something like that,” Oz said before tossing her a shining, golden coin.

The woman caught it with ease and tucked it into her ample bosom.

Llyr rubbed his hands together. “Is there somewhere I could clean my hands?”

The woman looked at him oddly. “What fer?”

“Before I eat,” Llyr said, confused. Did humans not clean before a meal?

“Shall I bring sum’tin fer warshinhis majesty’shands?”

Llyr froze. Did she realize he was royal? How could she?

“Yes, please,” Oz answered.

“Be right back,” the barmaid spat before disappearing.

“What did she mean by calling me ‘his majesty’?” Llyr asked, worried to hear the answer. Did they all know?

“She’s calling you a pain in the arse,” Oz replied.

“For desiring my hands to be clean before I eat? Do yourealizeall the things I’ve touched today?” Llyr asked, shocked at their indifference. “Do you not clean first?”

Oz and Dagr glanced at one another. “We do. Sometimes. In a place like this there usually are no options without putting people to a lot of trouble and causing distrust. Sometimes we must do as the natives do.”

Llyr sat back, worried he’d transgressed some unspoken rule. “I did not wish to cause trouble.”

Dagr and Oz stared at him strangely.

“I can tell you weren’t trying to cause trouble,” Oz said.

Soon enough the barmaid returned with a steaming wooden bowl. She handed it to Llyr along with a couple of cloths and a chunk of something she called soap. The woman departed with a huff. He sat the hot water down before him, then washed his hands and face off in the water. Taking a towel, he offered the water to Oz. He took the bowl and did the same before handing it to Dagr.

Llyr dried his hands. “I feel better now. You?”

As soon as they were cleaned up, the humans spread the deliciously scented food from the tray to the table. Dagr filled something they called a trencher for Llyr. When he first beheld the strips of pale-colored meat and chunks of orange mush, he worried another meal might be ruined for him.

“It’s roast chicken and sweet potatoes. Can’t go wrong with that,” Dagr said before tossing a piece of meat into his mouth.

Llyr lifted a tiny piece of the chicken before sniffing it. Then he licked it… and the hint of flavor was promising. He popped the small bite into his mouth and chewed… before a delighted sigh came to his lips. After that, he dug in with gusto, not realizing how hungry he was. The last he’d eaten was early the morning before. Not long after he started, Llyr swallowed the last of the roast chicken. He licked the juices from his fingers. “Oh my…that was thebestthing I’ve ever eaten in myentirelife. Do you think we could get another?”

The two men across the table eyed him with odd expressions on their faces.

“What?” Llyr asked, his whole body tensing. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Oz said. “No… I’ve simply never seen anyone eat… with such…vigor.”

Llyr had to admit he’d barely been eating the last few days—worry over Alphonse, his father, his potential escape—it had left him too anxious to eat more than a few bites. Add in his long swim to the surface and the energy he’d used up… well, he’d apparently been starving. He had seemed to inhale his supper.

“No, that’s not true,” Dagr murmured, his deep voice enough to send chills down Llyr’s spine. “Ambassador some-such from Aissia. He ate enough for twenty men.”

Oz shook his head. “Oh, I remember him. And he was reed thin. I don’t know where he put it all! His legs must have been hollow.”

Dagr smiled. “I was fearful he might end up eating his own fingers before he was done, confusing them for little sausages.”

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