Archives: The Golden Egg
Chapter 21: The Inn
Naclia and Talen led the horses behind the inn, following Wil, and brought them into the stable yard. It was as empty and dilapidated as the rest of the town seemed to be. The two led their horses into stalls, but they decided against unsaddling them as they didn’t know how long they would be staying—or if they may need to leave in a hurry.
Wil brought the horse as close as the stables before releasing the reigns and running off to the bush to vomit. As Wil ran off a middle aged man came out of the inn and stood in the entrance. “Visitors? This is an uncommon—nay, rare—sight. Welcome to the Mage’s Guild. This is the dormitories, although we have a few rooms open if you’re needing a place to stay. We don’t get many visitors out here—except those elves, but that’s another story,” the man stated jovially.
Naclia’s ears perked at the greeting. Elves? she wondered, she would have to ask about that later. “Thanks for the welcome,” Naclia said with a smile. “I don’t suppose we’ll be staying too long, but at least through the night,” she explained.
“Sounds good. I’ll get the beds cleaned and rooms prepared. How many are staying the night?” the jovial man asked politely.
“Umm...” Naclia did a quick head count in her mind. “Six people, though we do have a centaur friend along with us. I suppose he might want... a stall in the stable?” Naclia hoped that Rylan would not be offended.
The centaur slowly made his way into the stable yard almost on cue. “A stall is fine,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion as usual. Not only was the inn out of the question for his size, he would have preferred the solitude of the stable.
“Very well then, I’ll get the rooms ready,” the pleasant man assured. “The stables are there for use, and I’ll have your keys when the rooms are prepared. Please be a little patient.” He spun on his heel and returned inside the inn to quickly go about making accommodations for the lot of them.
Wil slunk out of the bushes having already lost most of what he ate for breakfast. With a defeated sigh he flopped down beside the inn’s entrance so not to block the way. His face, drained of color, was also drenched in sweat from the heaving.
“Thank you,” Naclia smiled brightly, cheered by the mage’s pleasant manner. The elf turned around to face Talen. “Let’s get the horses taken care of before we go in,” she said to him, and headed back to the stable to first start unsaddling her own horse.
“Thank you,” Naclia smiled brightly, cheered by the mage’s pleasant manner. The elf turned around to face Talen. “Let’s get the horses taken care of before we go in,” she said to him, and headed back to the stable. “I’ll handle your horse, Wil, you just sit there and rest, alright?” she called back to the minstrel as he sat on the steps. She wasn’t exactly sure what had upset his stomach so badly, but she’d see to him once the horses were tended to.
The elf headed back to the stables with Talen, leading the horses along behind them. After they got them all led into their stalls, they began to unsaddle their own mounts, which they had conveniently placed beside each other in stalls. Naclia was not entirely familiar with the tack, as she had never owned a horse before, but the buckles and straps looked rather straight-forward, at least, in getting off. Leaning down next to her horse, she unbuckled the cinch strap for the saddle and began to pull it off. As she took the saddle into her arms, she gave an “oof!” and staggered at the weight of it. “Damn, these things are heavy! I feel sorry for the poor horses...” she commented to Talen as she carried the saddle to a nearby rack outside the stall.
Talen smiled at her comment, watching as she carried the heavy saddle. After giving his own horse a pat, he quickly stepped over to her, his hands moving under the saddle to assist her. “Yes, they tend to be pretty heavy, but it seems to me like the horses get used to it,” he said with a smile across his lips, carrying the saddle over to a rack nearby.
Naclia smiled as Talen stepped in to help her. Honestly, she was overacting a bit just to get his attention. “Thanks,” she said, then turned back to her horse to unbuckle the bridle from behind its ears. “I guess as a knight you’re probably pretty used to horses, huh?”
Smiling and nodding at her thanks, he was happy that they were finally able to be alone, even for a moment. Even though he was nervous around her, he felt a strange sense of comfort around her too. “I suppose you could say that,” he said, watching her tend to her horse.
Naclia pulled the bridle down her horse’s head and gently removed the bit from its mouth. Giving the mare an affectionate pat on her nose, she considered a name for the animal. “What’s your horse’s name?” she asked.
“Seinna. Seinna is her name,” he said smiling, approaching her horse and giving it a pat as well. “What’s the name of yours?” he asked curiously.
Naclia continued petting her mare, and she thought of an elven name that rhymed with Seinna as she did. “I haven’t named her yet, but I think I’ll call her Neinna,” she replied with a grin. “Seeeinna and Neeeinna,” she added with a giggle, stressing the similar pronunciation.
Talen laughed, patting Naclia on the shoulder. “Heh, well that’s a good name for her. Seinna and Neinna,” he said, smiling at her. This was quite a moment for the two of them, perhaps some bonding and private time would be good for them.
Naclia smiled a little more at his approval of the matching names, then gave Neinna one more pat before stepping out of her stall. The elf shut the stall door behind her, then hung the bridle on the saddle rack. “Well, onto the next horse, I guess,” she stated as she headed to the next stall where Tiash was stabled. Entering his stall, she gave the gray stallion a friendly and familiar petting before moving to unfasten his saddle.
Talen nodded, following behind her, unable to help but look at her admiringly as he strode close behind her. “Ah, this is... Aiden’s horse, am I correct?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes,” Naclia giggled, then pulled off Tiash’s saddle with a grunt and pushed into Talen’s arms for him to carry to the stand. “You wouldn’t have to ask if you paid more attention,” she chided, lightly poking his nose after she let go of the saddle.
Talen grunted slightly as he was handed the heavy saddle, though he was used to it, there was always a heaviness that came with first taking it off. He smiled at the poke. She seemed to be playful right now, which he was happy about, it was rare that they had time alone like this. He turned, heading to the stand, saddle in arms. “Well, I have been paying attention,” he said with a playful laugh. “To that and many other things...” he added under his breath.
“I think I know what you’ve been paying attention to,” Naclia said with a grin, putting her hands on her round hips. Her pose wasn’t chastising though, in fact she seemed to be posing.
Blushing as he put the saddle on the stand, he smiled and turned to see her position. He paused as his eyes locked on her figure. “Well...” he said, his jaw almost hanging open.
Pleased by his reaction, Naclia turned around nonchalantly and went to take off Tiash’s bridle. “Perhaps you should see to Lyassa—err... Well, Wil’s horse now,” Naclia suggested.
Talen nodded, her words snapping him out of the trance he was in from staring at her. “Yes, you’re right!” he said nervously.
Naclia giggled as she pulled off Tiash’s reins and gave the horse a gentle pat. Talen was fun to tease, and there was no longer any questions as to their attraction to each other. It was no doubt that as soon as they had an opportunity that a relationship would begin to bloom from this. Naclia had no issues with being with a human, despite their difference in lifespans; she believed that it was better to love and lose than it was to never love.
Talen smiled and approached her from behind, moving to her side to give Tiash a gentle pat as well. Feeling Talen behind her, Naclia’s heart fluttered. “Aren’t you going to see to Landia?” she asked. What are you up to? she thought.
Leaning down a little bit, Talen’s face was near the back of her head. “In a little bit...” he whispered. Maybe he was lost in the moment, but something was telling him to do this. His hands gently laid upon her shoulders, turning her to face him. It was overly obvious what there was between the two of them, considering each other’s reactions. His hand drifted from her shoulder, fingers gently stroking her cheek before he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a soft kiss.
Naclia was surprised—pleasantly, but still quite shocked just the same. The elf didn’t resist and her knees weakened, but she wrapped her arms around Talen, reaching up behind his arms to grip his armored shoulders, and returned the kiss. After a moment, she drew back, her cheeks red, and she took a step back. Reaching up to straighten her hair, she glanced to the side, avoiding Talen’s eyes for the moment. “What...what was that for?” she asked.
Talen lips tugged up into a smile, his body tensing as he felt her arms wrap around him in the midst of the kiss. At feeling her pull away, his eyes opened, looking at her, flushed cheeks painting her face. Did...I...just? he thought to himself, a part of him wanted to act further on what he just did, but he couldn’t help but feel overly nervous at what just took place between the two of them. He watched her for a few moments, then blushed a little himself. This was certainly breaking the ice between the two of them. “I..I just felt...” he said nervously, his gaze turning downwards as his heart fluttered.
As wonderful as the kiss was, the moment following was awkward for the both of them. Naclia wrapped her arm around herself, rubbing her other arm, expressing her discomfort. “It was... just so sudden,” she said. She wouldn’t have minded taking the kiss forward, doing more, but they had duties to attend to. “We need to hurry and go help Aiden and Eliamn still,” she reminded him. Avoiding his eyes for a moment, she glanced down at the ground, then at Tiash’s hindquarters.
“We can try to get more time together tonight, alright?” Naclia suggested, looking up at him with a small, accommodating smile.
Talen sighed inwardly, her reaction to the kiss seemed awkward and uncomfortable. “I...I apologize...” he said nervously, a worried tone in his voice, but his mood brightened at the promise of more time alone with her. With a nod, he smiled at her. “Yes, if...that is what you wish, then I wouldn’t mind spending time together,” he said happily.
“Great,” Naclia said with a shy smile, then turned back to caring for Tiash. Her heart was light with joy, but she felt a little guilty at the same time. They had such greater concerns than romance.
A little uncomfortably, Naclia and Talen finished with the horses, then went to check on Wil. He had been taken to one of the rooms that had been set aside for them, and Kima, noticing his poor state, seemed to tag along like a concerned puppy. Naclia and Talen found his room, where he laid on his bed, Kima curled up next to him. The bard was still feeling poorly after the ride, so the elf and knight continued on to the guild alone... wherever it was.
