The two days Crystal, Scott and Alex needed in order to arrive at the palace, passed faster than they anticipated. Soon, they had arrived at the capital of the kingdom.
It was night when they finally reached the city and they didn't want to disturb the King that late (which roughly translated to they weren't ready to return to the palace), so Crystal and Scott led Alex to that one inn that had stayed at the last time they visited.
"The owner was really hospitable.", Crystal commented as they knocked on the door.
"Who is it at this hour--", the old innkeeper abruptly stopped his angry complaint as he opened the door. "You're back!", he grinned.
"Indeed we are.", Scott smiled back.
"Turns out the ball wasn't so bad after all, huh? You two are back together.", the old man let them in.
"Oh, the ball was terrible.", Crystal shuddered. "I disappeared for a month."
"Yeah, I found her near my house in a bloodstained dress. Pretty terrifying, if you ask me.", Alex grimaced.
"Who are you? I haven't seen you around before."
"I'm a friend. My name's Alex.", he extended an arm to Mr Fawn.
"Teddy Fawn.", the innkeeper shook it. "Anastasia and Teresa are going to be thrilled to have you back, you know? Will you be staying long?"
"I'm sorry, but no... We have to pay yet another visit to the palace. We'll be leaving at noon, but I'd love to see the girls before we go!", Crystal replied.
"Well, you're always welcome back. You saved me from a lifetime of whining by letting them give you a makeover, you know...", Teddy chuckled.
"Glad to be of assistance.", Crystal laughed.
"You must be exhausted. Do you want your old room?"
"We're up by one number this time, so we're going to need room for one more person this time.", Scott replied.
"Right, my bad. One double and one single or three singles?", Teddy asked again.
When Crystal and Scott took too long to reply, Alex took initiative. "One double and one single."
"Alright, then!", the innkeeper handed him the key. "Second floor to the left. Last room down the hall. Sleep tight, kids."
"Thank you, sir.", Alex fiddled with the key.
"And thank you for taking us in so late again.", Crystal smiled apologetically.
"Don't worry about it.", Teddy waved them off and went back to his room.
The three teenagers went upstairs to their room. Crystal and Scott shared the double bed and let Alex have the single one, because they weren't going to make the mistake of sharing with him ever again.
The next morning they all woke up early, due to the sound of frantic knocks on their door. Crystal and Scott, having spent months as fugitives, shot up in terror, but Alex reassured them that it was probably nothing to be afraid of and opened the door despite their protests and much to their dismay.
Once they saw who was visiting them, though, they let out a breath they hadn't realised they had been holding and got out of bed to greet Anastasia and Teresa, Mr Fawn's granddaughters.
"Grandpa told us it was a little too early to wake you and that you arrived pretty late last night, but we couldn't resist.", Anastasia laughed.
"Yeah, he's probably going to kill us when he finds out...", Teresa grimaced.
YOU ARE READING
Crystal Hearts • Book 2 Of The Crystal Trilogy • ⏸
Fantasy➳ THIS BOOK IS A SEQUEL TO "CRYSTAL KINGDOMS" AND CANNOT BE READ AS A STAND-ALONE BOOK ➳ THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION CONTAINS HUGE SPOILERS ABOUT BOOK ONE ~ After everything that took place at the night of the ball, everyone is trying to recover in t...
