The Crown cannot Help You

Chapter 12: The Inn

It had been a fair few days since Audelia had been allowed to ride the horse by herself, and it was all she could think about.

She wanted to do it again and possibly never stop. She wanted to continue exploring the kingdom she had once been set to rule and make a new life for herself. But instead, she was stuck, perched on the front of the horse with Flynn sat behind her, ensuring that she couldn't go anywhere.

"What's with the sour face, Princess?" Flynn said in a teasing tone, his warm chest gently rubbing against Audelia back with every word he grumbled.

"Is there a reason you constantly ask this question despite my always giving the same answer?" Audelia quickly bit back, tired of Flynn charade. Yet the moment she asked, she knew despite not seeing him, that he was smirking.

Flynn gave a sarcastic scoff as an introduction to his sarcastic answer. "I just love being reminded of the fact that I've ruined your life."

"Right." Audelia said bluntly, her mind was too focused elsewhere to begin bickering with him. There was a singular thought which Audelia couldn't seem to shake since realising Flynn had hired to kill her and her father. And with them having continued to ride in silence for the past while, the thought had taken over entirely.

"Who hired you to kill my dad and me?" Audelia found her mouth was moving without it meaning to and the words came tumbling out.

"We don't get told."

Audelia gave a few slow blinks to Flynn's answer. He'd said it in an extremely rushed manner with very little emotion to it and this made it seem a prepared response. One he was trained to give, if ever asked a question such as Audelia's.

Audelia allowed a few seconds of silence to pass as she rephrased her question. "So, you do not know who hired you?"

Flynn was silent. Which gave Audelia the answer she was seeking.

"Drop it." Flynn managed to spit out as he clenched the reins of the horse tighter. He should have known that Audelia would find a way around the answer he was always trained to give. As while the answer was formed purposely by his agency to throw off most people when they began to question an assassin, Audelia wasn't most people.

"Why are you not telling me?" Audelia asked, her tone changing the conversation from a light inquisitive sharing of words to an demanding interrogating.

Flynn however, happily ignored her change in mood. "I said, drop it."

Audelia narrowed her eyes as a buzzing sensation swam its way through her blood. She now breathed determination and would die before simply 'dropping it'. "Maybe you aren't as good of an assassin as I thought you were."

Flynn's body came to life as Audelia opened up another chance at a back and forth. "Oh, you wound me, Princess. But it does bring to light how truly awful you are at saving yourself if you can't escape a terrible assassin.

Audelia crossed her arms tightly across her chest and Flynn smiled, knowing he'd set a fire.

"Maybe I'm simply planning for something big that you'll never see coming."

"I'm sure I can handle you." Flynn looked at the way her shoulders tensed up under the ugly wooden jumper he'd given to her and he knew that even with his change of topic, she was determined to know who'd hired him.

"Whatever." Audelia stuttered. "Just wait till I get another chance to kill you in your sleep, I won't hesitate a second time."

Flynn wasn't sure of how to proceed after that comment and so he just listened as Audelia made a few unintelligible angry mumbling sounds before finally going silent. He'd have to begin weighing up how he should answer her question in the future as it was a conversation she'd be sure to continue.

~

After a few hours, the journey was paused once again as Flynn started to lead the horse from the dirt road.

Audelia had just assumed they were heading towards another cave for the night, but suddenly, a small village came into view.

"Where are we?" She asked Flynn excitedly as she stared at the umber bricked houses with thatched roofs. They stood proudly on either side of a worn cobble road and had farms interwoven around them.

"We're almost at my agency," Flynn responded coldly, "And you said wanted to stay in an actual bed before we got there."

Audelia did not forget what getting to the agency meant, but she was happy regardless. She did really want to stay in a bed, even if it meant they were one step closer to her death being achieved.

They continued down this cobbled road until they reached its end, where one of the larger buildings in the village stood.

Next to the buildings' entrance stood a large wooden sign that was well looked after. Upon the sign read, 'The Hart Inn', which made Audelia smile slightly. She liked that name. It reminded her of a place from an old fairy-tale, the type of story her father used to read to her when she was a child.

"An old friend of mine runs this inn which is why I trust it enough to allow us to stay there, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep our heads down," Flynn said with seriousness to his voice. He needed her to understand that what he was doing risked both of their lives.

Audelia nodded along to what he was saying, only half listening to him as she focused upon the inn. Her mind was already running wild thinking up of all the different ways the interior could look. But before she knew it, they were walking inside, leaving the horse tied up behind them.

The door swung open and immediately they were greeted by a lively atmosphere that you couldn't have guessed from the building's exterior. The inside was well lit with orange-tinted lanterns that were sat across the wall. The colour gave the inn a warm feel that matched the deeply rooted sense of community the people gave off. It wasn't what Audelia had imagined but nothing could live up to the fantasy that was inside her head.

Flynn matched Audelia up to the bar, where a tall and beautiful woman was stood. Audelia couldn't stop staring at her, she was unlike most people she'd seen within the palace walls. The woman's skin was a colour as dark as night and it appeared to shine in the light. She also had deep brown hair that ran in ringlets from her head but was kept away from her face by a piece of red cloth that wrapped across her forehead and behind her ears.

She had a warm smile that matched the inn but the moment her eyes met Flynn's, it dropped from her face. In its place was an expression that admittedly made goosebumps raise up Audelia's neck. It was so cold and anger that Audelia began to feel they were in danger.

"What do you want, Flynn?" She seethed in an icy manner.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend, Tabitha?" Flynn joked with his signature fake smile upon his face.

Her face grew angrier. "We are not friends." She said bluntly.

Flynn nodded. "Whatever you want, but I hope I can rely on your discrepancy anyway."

The woman's eyes flicked from Flynn to Audelia as she pondered what situation Flynn had gotten himself into.

"I can pay." He said, trying to sweeten the deal.

"Fine." The woman finally relented.

Audelia didn't say a word, she didn't know what to say.

Flynn placed one hand on the small of Audelia's back, ensuring she would stay still. "One room, please."

Tabitha raised a singular well-groomed eyebrow but went about her business anyway. "That will be 50."

"Sure," Flynn responded without any arguments, promptly placing the money upon the bar in front of him.

In return, Tabitha pulled a key off one of the hooks behind her and slid it across the bar. "We serve breakfast at 8."

"Thanks". Flynn said, ending the conversation as he began to drag Audelia towards the set of stairs next to the bar.

As she was being dragged, Audelia made eye contact with Tabitha. They stared at one another curiously, wondering the other's story. But the eye contact was forcibly broken as Audelia was shoved up the stairs.

"Good girl." Audelia heard Flynn whisper once they were out of sight.