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[ "I didn't save you," her voice came out in a stern tone, her expression as serious as ever as she started to walk away. "I was doing my job." ]
Leanne dismounted her mare and tied her leash to a post, the other only one that wasn't occupied by a horse. She looked at the other horse while she gave her black mare a few pats on her head. She had to admit, the horse was beautiful, its brown fur was impeccable and it shinned as the sun rained on it.
"Behave, Mist." her stubborn mare pushed her playfully with her snout, to which Leanne let out a faint smile.
The knives and the small sword she had hidden on her body, under all the layers of clothes, clinked with each step she took while walking across the floating wooden bridge to get to the tavern in Posada.
As she entered, she immediately made her way towards the bartender to ask for any kind of ale they had there, she didn't mind if it was more sweet or sour than all the others she had tasted, she just wanted to soothe her dry throat to compensate for all the hours she had ridden her horse and walked in the sun.
Leanne sat down in a secluded corner like she always did and took a big sip from her drink, a grateful sigh spilling from her lips. As she relaxed in her chair, she heard a bard singing. The blonde girl had heard him when she entered but she hadn't paid attention until then. From where she was seated, a column got in the way of her sight, so she could only listen to him. The singing wasn't particularly good enough for her liking but she didn't mind it, but it seemed like the rest of the patrons in that tavern did mind it because as soon as he finished they started throwing bread and other kinds of food at him.
The bard rounded the column and she finally looked at his face. He was the bard that she had "saved" a while before. She lowered her head, trying to not get recognized but it was too late as the bard had already seen her and was walking towards her.
He uninvitedly took a seat in front of Leanne, "Hello," after the greeting, the blonde girl lifted her head, knowing that keeping t down wouldn't change anything now, but she still didn't greet him back, "do you remember me?"
Even though he had a smile on his face, she noticed the nervousness in his movements, the way he was playing with his hand, the one that was not occupied by his drink; the tenseness in his back. She made him nervous.
Seeing how she didn't answer, he asked again looking at her face but not her eyes, "Uh, oh, what happened to your face?"
His question made her notice how the drying blood on her face was actually bothering her more than she wanted to admit and the scratches that were slightly open dripped small drops of blood; still, she didn't dare comment on it, "Do people ever tell you that you have such a charming way of talking to women?"
Unlike hers, his response came out rapidly, "Actually, yes they do."
"Look, I came here to drink alone, I'm not looking for company." Leanne sighed after a pause, "I do remember you if that's the answer that you need to leave me alone."
The bard didn't seem to catch the clear message as he kept speaking until he finished analysing the whole tavern with his eyes, turning on his chair without any kind of embarrassment, looking at the patrons and trying to find one more interesting, maybe one that would make his monologues turn into actual conversations and stood up, now looking back at Leanne, "I'm really glad we had this little chat, but I have to go now. We'll see each other again, my friend!"
After bidding her farewell with a smile, he left his seat at her table and walked towards the other end of the bar. A man was sitting in the shadows (at least as many shadows as what that hour of the day would let him) in a secluded corner, just like her. Leanne sighed again, this time the sigh was full of relief. She didn't need anyone that would follow her around. By being alone she only had to look after herself, she didn't need another person to worry about.
