Page 46 of Gilded Crown

Fairs always brought money to a city or town since people would travel to see it if they could. Tavern and inn owners lined their pockets, and those who sold toys, trinkets, and food set up stalls to take advantage of the crowds. The various members of the fair group would set up collection boxes for tips, and taverns often supplied them with free food and drink. It was the last night, so it would likely go on until long past midnight.

They paused to watch acrobats who had set up frames with rope swings. A flier hovered overhead, and those with no wings had to trust that they’d be caught. They swung on the ropes, launched themselves up, and executed flips and spins that would leave Jari with a pulled muscle. The flier would catch them and fling them toward the other side of the frame.

It always made him think someone wouldn’t grasp the ropes, or the flier would get distracted and fuck up. Fortunately, no onewas splattered on the cobblestones below, and the crowd flung coins into the collection box.

Kids paid a couple of kops to be blindfolded and handed a stick so they could attempt to beat down a flimsy paper dragon and make him spill his candy-filled guts all over the street. It dangled from a rope, and someone lowered and raised it to make it harder for the kid.

Jari and Aurelius got a pastry to eat, and after a while, Aurelius suggested finding a tavern.

They could barely get into the largest one on Main Street. The odor of ale and cigs filled the smoky air. As soon as Aurelius and Jari made it in, a beefy man with horns hauled out two drunks and tossed them outside.

“Don’t come back!” he roared.

Half of the tavern busted out laughing, and things resumed with the troublemakers gone. Jari led Aurelius up to the second level that overlooked the first floor, and they joined a long table full of roistering men. Aurelius hastily took the end of the bench to avoid getting jostled, and Jari settled beside him, blocking anyone from scooting close. A lady came to shout at them and ask what they wanted.

“Two of your best vodkas with plam juice. Make them tall and strong with a Plavarian twist.” Aurelius pushed coins toward the edge of the table, and she snatched them before rushing off.

“Ooh, you’re spoiling me,” said Jari.

“Why not? We might as well drink something good after some of the shit ale that’s come with our dinners.”

The lady brought back two glasses of vodka and plam juice, which was clear and good for alcoholic drinks. Both were tinted orange with Plavarian liquor. No one drank that straight unless they wanted to be shit-faced and passed out on the floor within five minutes. Jari had never tried it before because it was pricey.

He took a sip of the smooth vodka that was almost as sweet as orange juice thanks to the extra ingredient. Good Elira, that went down easy. The guy next to Jari was only too happy to talk to a traveler who had been out of the loop.

Besides things that were more important to Wockston, Zylem was supposedly the King of Nova now because Aurelius had murdered his Father in cold blood with the help of some guard because he wanted to take the crown earlier. Eurig had been left in a huge puddle of blood after being run through in the gut. Like Jari wanted to remember that sight.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he dared to say.

“Huh?”

“If I was a royal brat, I decided I wanted to take over earlier, and I killed my Father, I think people would realize he’s dead. That’s kind of hard to hide, and it’d be pretty obvious. Even a Prince can’t get away with that and take the throne like nothing happened.”

The man squinted as he thought. He was kind of cute, roughly Jari’s age, had nice lips, and was probably a great fuck in bed, not that Jari would be doing anything with him. “I think the intention was to poison the King and make it seem like he got sick and died. The King must have found the guard in his rooms or something. That’s why it turned into a bloody mess.”

“Oh, so they tried to be sneaky?”

“Yeah, and the guard panicked or whatever, so he killed the King. He fled with the Crown Prince. They’re probably on the other side of the realm by now.” He shook his head.

“I’ve heard bad shit about the other Princes too,” said Jari.

“None of them are good.” He leaned in. “Did you hear about the other thing?”

“What?”

“Some are saying something lives in the Palace, and it made a few go insane and kill each other. Er, I think one killed himself, but the other three went at each other.”

Jari figured those tales of those two incidents would get around and end up twisted. “That sounds a bit wild.” He took another gulp of his drink. “Next, they’ll be saying ghosts are in the kitchen cellar and curdling the milk.”

“But it’s true. Four people died in total, and they were insane too. My cousin told me.”

Like his cousin had been there. “It was probably turf or something.”

“Also, everyone knows that the last two Kings have gone insane. The sons are clearly on their way too. Zylem supposedly has a whole harem of sex slaves now.”

“Ah yes, because there’s a Kingdom to run, but let’s try out as many assholes as possible.”

The man snorted as he inched a bit closer. “Maybe he’ll wear himself out and die.”

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