The Illyrian Series: The Oracle Of Rosedale

"I have an idea." She walks up to him and whispers something in his ear. I don't know what it is, but from the look on his face, it can't be good for me.

He leaves the hut and I'm left with Nora. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him that I tricked you into revealing things about yourself. For instance, no noble lady would travel alone. He and Jay will ride around, looking for your entourage."

"Did you just put my friends in trouble?" I ask.

"If I were you, I'd be hoping they're strong enough to protect themselves. My boys are ruthless." She produces her dagger and cuts the rope binding my hands and legs. "I'll tell them you cut yourself free and overcame me'.

"This feels like a trap, why are you helping me?"

"Because you came all this way to deliver a message. I don't know why you did it, but you did. Consider my debt repaid." I still look wary. She huffs. "I'm not a bad person, now go before I change my mind." She asks me to stop at the door. "What's the message?"

I remember my bag and go back to quickly pack it up. "Here." I hand her the letter when my stuff is safely stored.

She holds it tentatively and stares at the pretty cursive. She takes in a sharp breath and clears her throat. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She screams suddenly and my guard is up. "What was that?"

She screams again. "Has to be believable, now get out." She falls to the floor and screams again. I leave the hut and find Apple tied not too far away. I cut the rope and climb him as quickly as I can. The villagers gawk at me as I gallop away.

I ride as quickly as I can to my friends and see Violet riding towards me. She looks out of breath. "What happened? These men attacked us, we were so worried," she says.

"I'm fine, where's Malin?" She turns around and takes me to where I left them. I see the men lying on the ground, they're unconscious. Malin runs up to me.

I get down from my horse and hug him. "I was so worried, I thought they did something to you," he says.

"I'm fine, what happened here?"

"They attacked us, said they had you and we should surrender. Violet rode off to rescue you, I stayed and fought."

I look around again. The field looks the same as before, like there wasn't even a fight. "If you say so." I glance down at his new sword.

He catches my gaze. "I don't remember everything that happened. One second I was angry at them for doing something to you, the next, they were on the ground."

"What about your wound? You're not supposed to do anything strenuous."

"I'm alright, the injury is fine." He assures me. I don't see any blood at his side, so I believe him.

I reach into Gregor's pockets and search for my dagger.

"What about you, what happened to you? Your hand." Malin asks.

I shake it. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. I got captured by these bandits. Also, Nora is one of them."

"Typical," Violet says under her breath.

"She sent them away and released me, she's not too bad."

Violet nods. "Course she isn't, she just kills people, steals from them, and imprisons them."

"Not everything is black and white, Violet."

She groans. "Why do you have to add depth to everything, Adria? Can't we just agree that some people are terrible?"

"Can we finish this argument elsewhere?" Malin asks. "I don't want to be here when they wake up."

When he's done, we all climb our horses and ride away.

***

The next evening, we arrive at a town called Marrow. There are no places to set up camp, so I suggest we stay at an inn.

"Think about it, beds, a roof, a well-cooked breakfast in the morning. Don't tell me you don't miss it."

"Inns cost money, our money is for food." Violet argues.

"Violet, we have been travelling for a week. Why don't we vote?"

"No, Malin is going to vote for whatever you want. You two always do this, the point of votes is so things will be fair."

Malin shrugs. "I wouldn't mind a bed."

"Of course you'll say that. You're so in love with her, you'll do whatever she wants."

My body grow tense, why did she say that? I look at Malin and he's biting his lip. Violet looks between the two of us, I'm not sure if she's aware of what she said.

"Adria and I have been friends for years." He starts. "I've grown fond of her, I like and respect her."

I'm also confused. "What are you saying?"

He coughs. "Nothing, it doesn't matter."

"You know what, an inn sounds lovely." She goes ahead of us and walks into the only one in town. We follow her in silently. "Good evening, do you have any available rooms?"

The man nods. "How many do you need?"

"We're on a budget, so we'll like two please." She brings out her pouch and pays him. He takes us to the rooms.

"These two." He gestures at two side-by-side doors. "Breakfast will be served at 6 am tomorrow morning. You have to pay an extra fee for the third guest." He hands us the keys and goes back down the stairs.

Violet opens a door and tosses the other key to Malin. "Well, good night then." I try following her in, she blocks the passage. "What are you doing?"

"I'm spending the night with you." I say.

She shakes her head. "I would really like some privacy tonight, I was hoping you'd stay with Malin."

I look back at him, he's watching the two of us. "I can't."

"Why not, you two are such good friends. It shouldn't matter. Why don't you want to, is there a problem?"

"It's not funny, Violet."

She looks at Malin. "What do you think, should princess spend the night with you?"

"Take the room, I'll stay somewhere else." He tosses the keys to me.

"No, you won't." I toss it back to him. I push against the door and stumble in. "I'm staying here, see you tomorrow."

Violet laughs. "You two didn't have to make everything so uncomfortable."

I shut the door in Malin's face and turn to Violet. "What was that?"

"What was what?" She's putting her long black hair into a bun and walking around the room.

The room is bare except for a Queen sized bed and a wooden chair beside it. The only window here has a wooden sill, and a plastic bowl filled with water sits on it. The floors are covered with a beige carpet that holds mysterious stains. The walls are decorated with flowery wallpaper that's peeling all over. An unstable, rusted sconce holds the one candle in the room.

"Why did you insist I spend the night with him?"

"Why not? He's a man but it doesn't matter, because you two don't think of each other like that."

"Whatever." I mumble. I get ready for bed and scrub away at all the dirt and grime on my body. I use all the soaps Rainey packed for me and when I'm done, tie my hair up.

"So this is how a Princess prepares for the night, fascinating." Violet says from her side of the bed.

I ignore her and put my stuff away. When I'm done, I lie next to her. She frowns. "The smell of your soap is suffocating."

"Sorry," I say with no remorse. We eventually fall asleep, I can't remember the last time I felt so comfortable.

I wake up later than usual the next morning and stay in bed for a few minutes. I eventually get up and get ready for the day. I wear a white shirt and a light brown dress made of thick leather over it. The dress stops at my midthigh and I pair it with darker brown pants. I wear my black boots and stick my dagger in the left one.

"What time is it?" Violet yawns. She notices the sun and sprints up. "This is why you sleep outside on quests, we've already lost so much time."

I leave the room and go next door to Malin's. I knock and there's no reply. I knock again and there's some scuffling. He opens the door and he's fully dressed in a white dress shirt, black leather pants and a brown leather jacket.

"Morning." He sniffs. "You smell...good."

I smile. "Thank you, Rainey packed it for me. Do you want to go down for breakfast?"

He locks his door and deposits the key safely in his pocket. We walk down the stairs and pass a big door in the front room. Behind the door is a stuffy dining with old wooden tables and chairs that don't look very sturdy. The room is mostly empty and the tables have crumbs of food and dirty plates.

I go to the furthest corner of the room. Most of the food is gone and all that's left is porridge. "This is disappointing." I say.

He laughs. "We should have come earlier." I see a crusty spoon by the side of the table and shudder. "Why don't we go to town, I'm not eating this."

"What about Violet?"

"We'll get her something." We leave the sad inn and wander around till we find a market. "Excuse me miss, are there any taverns around that serve food."

"Food, I have oranges. Why don't you buy an orange?" She offers. "I'll give you and your husband a good price."

I clench my fists. "He's not my husband."

"Brother then?" I shake my head. She doesn't hide her disgust. "I don't know any places. Please leave, you're blocking the other customers."

Malin takes my hand and draws me away. I scoff. "Did she just?" He nods. "To a customer nonetheless."

He walks up to a woman selling fish and asks for directions. "Just down the street, take a turn, second building on your right."

We follow her directions and see the bar, it's a single storey stone structure with thatched roofs. We walk in, the place is surprisingly busy for 8 am. The interior is dimly lit and the floor creaks if you step on particular planks. The tables are all chipped and the counter is abnormally sticky. We walk up to the barmaid. "Hello, do you serve food here?"

She nods. "What can I get for you, we have eggs, bacon, hot tea, bread. Whatever you want."

Malin and I order and she leaves to package the food. I look around the bar and take in the interior. "This is my first time in one." I announce.

Malin nods. "Of course it is." He then frowns. "It doesn't count if you don't drink."

I squeeze my face. "No, I already don't like alcohol. I don't think I can stomach cheap one"

"How condescending." He turns to the other barmaid and signals for her attention. "We'll take two pints of your most popular drink, please."

"I'm not going to take it, you're wasting your money."

The barmaid takes two not-so-clean glasses and fills them with a brown liquid from a big barrel. I shake my head. "No."

"We'll take it together." He chides. "One sip."

"You're too invested in getting me drunk, should I be worried?"

He shrugs. "It's just, over the years, I would come into bars and drink by myself. I used to wish I could do it with my best friend."

I clap my hands slowly. "Emotional manipulation is not a good colour on you."

He hands me the glass. "To friendship."

I sigh and clink my glass against his. "I hate you." I take a tiny sip and squeeze my face. "No."

He downs his glass. "Why did you look like that?"

"I wasn't built for this life, I have never been more grateful for my upbringing." I drop the glass. He reaches for it and I stop him. "One is enough, we don't need you drunk today."

His eyes flit to my hands on his and I retract it. Luckily, the barmaid comes back with our food wrapped in brown paper. Malin pays her and takes the parcel. The walk back to the inn is quiet. My room is locked so we go to the dining room, we find Violet there.

"Where did you two go?" She notices the food in our arms and smiles. "Nice, I couldn't take another spoon of this." She pushes her porridge away, that movement creates a bubble.

We sit down and eat the food. "Why does this taste so good?" I bite off half a sausage and smile.

Malin chews his food slowly. "Does the tea taste familiar, like Larsan?"

"From Illyria, maybe." I frown. "Why are they serving it here?"

"It's tea, Princess. It isn't exclusive to just one country."

After breakfast, we pack our things and return the keys to the owner. "Excuse me, sir, can I ask you something?" He doesn't move. "Do any Illyrians live here?"

"Last I checked, Illyria wasn't a country." He folds his arms across his chest. "Illyrian refugees maybe, some settled here a few years ago. A lot of them stay in a hostel on the other side of town."

I force a smile and nod. "Thank you." I meet the rest outside the inn. "He said that Illyrians live here."

"Some people ran, they're scattered around everywhere." Malin tells me.

"Should we... go see them?"

"And reveal our identities? No." Violet argues. "We should leave, we don't have time for this."

"It will only take a minute." I leave them standing there and ride to the other side of town. I ask a little boy for directions and he shows me the building.

I smell it before I see it.

The building has a distict rotten smell, it's a mixture of excrement, waste and decaying wood.The front is littered with stones, broken bottles, and debris. The main building is a two-story structure that's crumbling at the sides. I get down from Apple and walk up to the front door.