Heart of Ice • The Witcher

Chapter 1 • A Companion

   People had always warned her to stay away from the shadowy figures of men that lurked in the darkest corners of rooms, however, sitting there alone in the tavern on one of the more isolated tables with a heavy cloak over her head, Anaya had become one of those shadowy figures. A tavern wasn't the smartest place the be, especially not since it was places like this where knights and soldiers came to forget about their worries by drowning themselves in pools of ale and deep in the depths of a warm woman, but Anaya was starving. So, for a plate of dried bread, a couple of slices of lamb and for a pitcher of ale, she had risked exposing her true identity to those who wished her dead.

   Anaya ate hungrily like an animal, it had been days since her last meal so she wasn't too concerned about proper etiquette. The Queen wasn't here to patronize her. The Queen could shove her patronizing up her ass for all Anaya cared.

   "You know if you're trying to hide you're not doing a very good job," said a man, taking a seat next to her at the table. Anaya lowered her head, hoping the cloak was enough to conceal most of her face.

   "I don't believe I asked for your opinion," Anaya said.

   "Well, you've got it," the man strained and reached for her pitcher of untouched ale. She hadn't seen his face, but judging by his small hands the man was a dwarf. If she hadn't already drawn attention to herself then this man would definitely do the trick.

   "What are you doing?" She said, listening to him pour a rather alarming amount of ale into an empty cup.

   "Do you know what is more suspicious than a woman in a tavern?" The man said before pausing to drink the entire cup of ale in a single breath. After he'd finished, he slammed the cup down to pour himself another. "A woman in a tavern who doesn't drink ale."

   "I suppose I should start then," Anaya smiled.

   "Ah, I adore being the cause of a person's alcoholism," the man slurred before letting out a loud burp. "However, you might want to order another pitcher. I'm afraid this one's empty."

   "Are you going to pay for it?"

   "Fair maiden, as lovely as you probably are, I'm afraid I must bid you adieu," the man said, sliding his chair back. Anaya rolled her eyes.

   "Where are you headed?" she asked, solely out of curiosity. She hadn't ever seen a dwarf without a master, especially not one who talked and drank so freely.

   "To my death," the man said before the doors of the tavern burst open and what sounded like a stampede came running in. Anaya pulled the cloak as far as it could go over her head and prayed whoever had just come in wasn't one of the Queen's men. She had been lucky enough to avoid them by restlessly moving from village to village, and thankfully her luck hadn't run out just yet. These men were not here for her.

   "There you are you fucking imp," a man growled, storming towards the drunken man by her table.

   "I'm big where it matters," the man slurred.

   "You thought you could swindle us with that rigged coin toss?!"

   "It was not rigged. The odds were fifty-fifty."

   "Grab him," the man who had stormed in said. Anaya didn't look up, but from what she heard the dwarf was carried out by a few men.

   She knew she shouldn't get up. She knew what she wanted to do was stupid and would only risk her safety. She tried to convince herself to stay put by telling herself things like he was just a dwarf, he wasn't even a real man, but those were just words other people liked to say. They weren't words she believed in. So, she found herself packing up the food she hadn't touched yet and walking out of the tavern to find the man. What she would do when she found him she didn't know yet.

   It didn't take long to find her drunken man. She'd followed his drunken shouting until she came across what he'd meant by his death. The men he had supposedly swindled had him down on the ground with a sword pointed to his neck, but the dwarf was too intoxicated to even care at that point.

   "Any last words, dwarf?" the man with the sword said. The dwarf opened his mouth to speak, but his face quickly fell and he rolled onto one side to vomit. "Great choice of words." The man with the sword raised it high in the air, but before he could bring it down to decapitate his victim, Anaya spoke up.

   "Wait!" she said, drawing all the attention onto her. She immediately looked down and hoped they hadn't gotten a good look at her face.

   "What do you want, wench?" the man with the sword said.

   "I'll pay you whatever coin you lost to the dwarf, just spare his life," Anaya said.

   "You'd waste your coin on this half-man?" The men laughed.

   "He uh, he'll make a good house pet," she said. "How much for him?"

   "Six crowns," the man with the sword said.

   "I believe it was four," slurred the dwarf before receiving a kick to the face.

   "Alright, six crowns," Anaya said, reaching into her cloak and taking out six of her remaining twelve crowns. She clutched them between her fingers one last time before placing them on the ground. She was smarter than to get too close to these men, especially if they were willing to kill for four crowns. "Come, dwarf," she said, turning to leave.

   "Fair maiden," the drunken man groaned as he forced himself off the ground and hurried towards her. "I believe the roles of the distressed damsel and gallant knight have been reversed here."

   "No, I believe they stand correct," she smiled from under her cloak.

   "Now that I am indebted to you for life, may ask who my savior is?"

   Anaya peaked at the man who was struggling to walk. "You're indebted to me?"

   "Until my last breath."

   "You'll do whatever I say?"

   "My, my, what are you implying?" he smirked. Anaya rolled her eyes and pulled him into a dimly lit back alley where he proceeded to undo his belt. "I didn't think this would happen so soon."

   "Stop," she blushed. "I've brought you here to reveal my true identity."

   "Oh... right," he said, dropping his hands. Anaya sighed. This was probably a mistake, but a traveling companion would be nice, especially one who knew how to behave like the rest.

   "Do you promise to keep my identity a secret?" she said, grasping the edge of her cloak.

   "You have my word," he said. With one deep breath, Ayana let her uncertainties go and lifted the cloak off her head to reveal her face. She expected the man to shout in surprise or maybe even vomit again, but all she got was a confused look. "Uh, apologies, but... who are you?"

   "I'm Princess Anaya Taiza," she said, wondering how he hadn't recognized her. Maybe the ale had been stronger than she'd thought. Maybe it was impeding his memory.

   "Ooh!" the man finally said with so much fake enthusiasm it almost hurt Anaya. "Most people have never actually seen the royal family."

   "Good to know. You may refer to me as Aya."

   "Well, Aya," the man said, holding a hand up to her to shake. "The name's Garrison, Garrison Toly."