𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅

chapter twenty-six

"Woah, what's a tiger doing here?" He exclaimed arrogantly as he laughed with his friends while looking in my direction. I blushed and looked away.

"Don't mind him," Jareth said to the guy as he came to stand behind me.

"He better not cause any trouble because if he does, you pay, little girl," I frowned at what he called me but nodded, not wanting to irritate him.

I followed Dana and Gathar inside while Jareth stayed behind me. I tried to ignore all the watchful eyes that fell on me as we walked down the stairs into the main part of the tavern.

The flickering candles on the wall lantern provided enough light for us to see well. The air felt thick and warm. It was cramped with people. Some gathered around tables further back while some talked, standing up. I noticed a stage on the right of the room where two men and one woman played instruments I had never seen. The sound blended with the loud voices of the people.

I followed Dana as she led us to an empty table, and I awkwardly took a seat, holding Akira between my legs. This was a bad idea to bring him here. There were too many people. I was afraid he would hurt them.

I flinched as a woman not too far from me yelled loudly at the man next to her. He banged on the table as they argued in a foreign language. I wondered why I'd been brought here. This was clearly not a place for me to be.

"I'll be right back," Dana said before disappearing amongst the crowd. I opened my mouth to call for her, but it was too late. She was long gone.

Jareth took a seat on my right, and Gathar sat beside him.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it?" Jareth said.

Will I? Cause it certainly didn't feel like it right now.

I waited for a while, looking out for any sign of Dana as she hadn't come back from wherever she had gone to. I gripped Akira's fur to calm my nerves as he pressed into me. Gathar suddenly stood up as well, and walked over to a guy I'd never seen before. They shook hands, throwing a glance my way before disappearing into the crowd.

"Where is everyone going?" I asked Jareth, and he shrugged.

"Who knows?"

I bit my lips, tempted to tell him I would head back to the castle, but I was embarrassed. I didn't want him to think that I was too soft for these kinds of things. I didn't need another person seeing me like a child as Roza had.

The music was actually not that bad, but I would've enjoyed it a lot more if Dana had been here. I felt bad for Jareth. He looked really bored. I didn't say anything when he stood up, saying he would look for the others. That left me alone. Great.

The seat dipped, and I watched as a boy around my age sat down next to me. His dark auburn hair was slicked to the back but what really caught my eyes was the scar that went from the right side of his forehead all the way down to his cheek.

"Hey," he said, and I smiled politely.

"Why are you alone?" He asked after a moment of silence passed between us.

"I'm waiting for some friends to come back," he hummed at my words.

"Oh, I see," he observed the people in front of us moving around, some swinging along the music while others were laughing intently with each other.

"I know this will sound crazy, but I feel like I've seen you before. What's your name?" He asked.

"Emriana, what about you?" I returned the question. I didn't miss the way his eyes slightly widened at my name.