The Adventure on-board the Maria

The Big Bad Wolf

It had been a week since Flegel's attempted proposal. Melody stood ,tending the almost empty Rose Tavern, while the others had gone out on important business. Melody had noticed how worried they were behaving before they left, they had almost considered closing the tavern and bringing her with them, but she assured them she would be fine. Her father had also put a sign up before he left, though she didn't get a chance to see it yet, Melody was still curious on what it was for. The last weird thing was that Dot Pixis hadn't shown up today, Melody was actually concerned that the poor old man was sick. She shuffled in her spot nervously, not used to tending the bar by herself. The only people there were, herself, two men ,who sat in front of the bar, beside the poster Erwin put up, and five other people in the back. The two men at the front each looked rather tall and muscular. The one on the right had long, greasy black hair that he kept hidden behind a large brown hat, that went with his thick jacket and boots. His trousers were black and baggy, while his white shirt was wrinkled and stained. The man on the left had equally long, brown, curly hair, that he kept tied back in a pony. He wore a black jacket over a grey shirt. His brown trousers were torn at the bottom, overlapping the black buckled boots. Both men reeked, hence why Melody tried to stay away from them.

The people at the back consisted of three men, two women. The tallest of the two women, had long, dark, unkempt, brown hair, that she kept tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs parted down the middle. She wore, thin, oval shaped glasses over her wide, brown, slightly gold eyes. She had a yellow, buttoned up shirt and black pants with a yellow sword holder wrapped around them. The shorter woman, had short, ginger hair and amber eyes. She wore the same outfit as the other woman, replacing yellow with white. The tallest of the men, had a slightly dark skin tone. He wore a short crop of brown hair that was kept at a point on the back of his head. He had a light coloured shirt, black pants and a brown sword holder. The second tallest man, had brown eyes and long blonde hair which had a middle parting and a bun folded at the back to keep his hair tied. He also had a small beard. His eyes were small and he had a serious face. He wore the same outfit as the taller man. The final man, had a much older appearance than his peers, having more pronounced wrinkles. He had slightly curly light brown hair styled in an undercut and small hazel eyes. He wore the same outfit as the other men, with the exception of a cravat around his neck. His eyebrows were pulled down in a condescending manner.

Melody continued to fidget in her spot ,as she listened to the conversation the two men at the front were having. She could only catch a few words out of them. "I heard he's in town...". "Can't believe Erwin left her alone here...". "A pretty face like hers will definitely be snatched away.....". "I thought he didn't take prisoners....". "There's a first time for everything, besides there's not much he can gather here....". "Any idea what his crew look like?...". "No, not a clue...". "Is that why Dot Pixis wouldn't come out today?..." . "Yeah, both him and everyone else are too terrified to leave their homes, don't know why I'm here myself....". Melody zoned out for a while, wondering what they were talking about, it sounded pretty serious. She was snapped out of her thoughts, when the tavern doors swung open as a figure stepped through. Her eyes caught the doors motion, the two men went silent and turned to look at the mans shadow. Along with his black, tricorn hat, he had short, straight, raven hair, styled in an undercut, as well as narrow, intimidating grey eyes with dark circles under them and a deceptively youthful face. He was small, but not quiet as small as Melody. He wore a cravat along, with a buttoned up dress shirt, having a black tail jacket and black pants that were as clean as they could be. His sword holder was wrapped tightly around his waist, and his leather boots looked so brand new for their condition.

Melody's heart was beating fast, he was so terrifying, yet breathtakingly good looking at the same time. He walked towards the two men sitting at the bar, and ordered them to get their "filthy asses" out of the way. The two men obliged, Melody could sense their fear despite them being so much taller than him. He sat down on a stool, where the two men were previously sitting. Melody walked over to him, ready to take his order. She was too mortified to even speak. "Give me the best drink you have" his deep voice demanded. Melody nodded. "Of course, sir" she stammered, fetching a glass and filling it with what he requested. As she filled the glass, she noticed him staring at her, with a spark of interest in his eyes. This only caused her heart to beat faster, so fast that she thought she was going to have a heart attack at any moment. She handed over the glass, he took a few sips, holding the glass in a very weird manner with his hand over the top, before setting the glass down on the counter. He examined the well cleaned glass, Melody shifted, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his presence. "Melody!" called out one of the two men from earlier, they were both now sitting in a far corner of the bar. "How about you sing us a song?!". " Sure ,which one?" Melody asked, as she grabbed her guitar from beside the stage. "Don't really mind" the man answered. Melody climbed on stage and sat on the chair, that stood in the middle. She leaned down and pulled her small song book, out from her boot. She opened it at a random page and decided to play that one. "Oh, a song! Come on Petra lets go closer" the brown haired woman cheered, as she dragged the ginger one towards the front of the stage. Melody tuned her guitar, and then began to play