The Chronicle Keeper (Formally - Destiny)

CHAPTER SIX | aislin

*** SURPRISE! Aislin is back. I thought long and hard about whether I should have progressed with Nolan or Aislin. And because Aislin is technically more the main focus of the story, and I thought it was better suited, so I went with Aislin. Don't worry, Nolan will have his turn. Hope you enjoy and please don't forget to comment, as I love hearing your feedback, vote if you like and want to support, and also share and add Forever to your reading list :D All this helps Forever reach other potential readers. Thanks! And without further wait...

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The door threw itself aside, crashing against the wall. I froze, my feet cemented to the porch floor, right outside the entry into the tavern. My muscles tensed in agitation and the rest of my body fell victim to the numbing sensation of my senses becoming overwhelmed with too many bodies in one place. Apprehension boiled inside of me, causing my breathing to come in short, ragged, gasps as I fought to keep my composure. The tavern had exceeded its maximum head count, and the only person I knew was...

"Nolan!"

My head snapped in the direction the bass vocals had trumpeted from. The man, with the booming voice, smiled in our direction from behind the bar, beyond the crowd that blocked our path. He resembled Nolan, was that his name? A lot. So, the man behind the bar must be...

"Greyson!"

Really guys!? I couldn't even finish my own thoughts without being rudely interrupted with these two brothers around.  Since my hands were still filled with my shopping bags, Nolan slipped his rugged fingers around the small circumference of my arm and led the way. Clearing a path for the two of us, dragging me with him, we made our way to the back of the tavern.

There were wooden tables and chairs that crowded the space to the right of me. Crammed with men and women of all shapes and sizes. There were those who were stinky and on occasion, those that had an appealing fragrance, which was immediately overpowered with another stinky person. Great, I fit right in. There was an abundance of drunken townspeople and visitors causing a lot of ruckus and all I wanted to do was drown out their noise.

Laughter came from a couple of booths hidden in the back of the tavern, separated by a tall wooden divider that nearly reached the ceiling. To the left of these two booths, from whence the laughter came, rose a grand old stone fireplace. It was centered against the back wall and spit forth a large fire that burned as if it was alive. Its sunset colored flames licked at the dry, thickly chopped logs, and leapt higher and higher, until it disappeared within the heights of the chimney.

Next to the majestic fireplace, rested another corner booth, halfway underneath the staircase that wound its way to the second floor. The booth was dark and foreboding. Maybe it was because of the semblance given off from the people who occupied it. Their beady eyes were ever watching and ever present in my mind. Shivers pricked the surface of my naked skin and I moved closer to Nolan, his body's warmth enveloping me in safety.

I quickly disengaged eye contact and redirected my focus to the wooden tables and chairs that continued their parade to my left, though they were fewer in numbers. But it was just as crammed as it had been to the right of me. Within two more strides, we reached our destination: the bar. It was situated against the left wall. The only thing separating the two, besides the booth and staircase, was a long and narrow hallway. A sign hung above the entrance, and read: Restrooms. An arrow pointing down the long corridor.

Every pair of staring eyes made me flinch under their scrutiny. My feelings were a mixed mess of wanting to sink deeper into the abyss of my mind's safety net, or glare back at every pair of ogling eyes because I was so infuriated with the disrespect of these people. But, alas, I couldn't do anything. I was brought back to the present by the steady gaze of Nolan's brother, Greyson. These two reminded me of the look-a-like Hemsworth brothers. That crazy DNA that made these brothers look so similar to each other, they could have passed for twins, had the age difference not been so noticeable.