Even the drinks were different in the south. Instead of the smooth, silver liquid in a crystal cup, they were served a dark, amber fluid in a roughly carved and decorated, wooden mug. The alcohol was stronger, and the taste was bitter. Anah sipped her drink slowly, not wanting to get as drunk as she had before, but wanting to drink enough to try to break through all the tension in their group.
Roze was still unconscious. Rendel had made her float upright as they were walking through town, and nobody even looked twice. In the bar she was sitting in a chair, head drooping and eyes shut, but still no one noticed. Felidy had assured them that she seemed in perfect health and it was probably mostly shock, but Anah really didn't think anyone was concerned. Roze was just being Roze: an overly dramatic burden on everyone. Her being unconscious was just an improvement.
"You've hardly had a sip!" Anah accused Jack. She's had enough of her own drink that she didn't care about any weirdness between them. He was going to talk to her, and he was going to enjoy it because she was an absolute delight.
"I don't drink." Jack shrugged.
Anah smacked her hand against the table in front of him. "Drink! You're being really annoying lately, and I can't stand it, and if this gets you to loosen up-"
Jack put his hand over Anah's mouth. "You're screaming," he told her. Her tongue pressed against the inside of his palm, making him pull his hand away. "Gross! Why would you do that?"
Anah laughed at the almost horrified expression on his face. "You very clearly didn't grow up with any siblings," she teased, dropping her voice to a near whisper.
"Anah has a volume control problem when she drinks!" Rendel announced, throwing his arm around her shoulders. His eyes were slightly out of focus, and he was leaning a bit too heavy on her. He put his lips right up against her ear. "Don't you, my love?"
"Ew." She pushed him away from her before Jack got the entirely wrong idea...again.
The bar was already full of loud, drunken Southerners, so Rendel blended right in with the perverted men and loose women that alcohol produced. The noise was somehow even louder than it had been in the streets, and the sun was only just starting to dip in the sky. That was another difference between Fair and Southern: the sheer volume
"This is very different from the Fair town!" Anah had to shout at Rendel though he was only sitting right across from her at the table.
Apparently she was overheard because a couple people at the next table stood up, raised their glasses in the air, and shouted, "Fairy-born is a waste of life!"
Many others in the bar, including Rendel, raised their glasses, shouting together a response. "And a Fairy death makes me smile bright!"
Rendel winked at Felidy before throwing back his drink with the rest of the bar. Felidy pulled her hair covering down further to make sure no hint of light hair was showing through. The crowd was clearly not welcoming toward Fair Folk.
The men who had shouted out before started singing a quiet, slow song. The words weren't in a language Anah recognized, and even if she did they were too slurred to make out clearly. The song spread like wildfire until the whole bar was slowly rocking on their stools, singing the melancholy tune. Felidy had a faint frown on her face as she listened, trying to distinguish the mutilated words. When she finally got it, her face contorted in disgust. She hit Rendel who was singing the song to her. "Shut up! That's terrible!" she hissed.
"What are they saying?" Jack asked, his curiosity as strong as Anah's.
"I am not interpreting that!" He cheeks were red. "It's vile!"
The song didn't stop. It grew steadily louder and faster until people were up out of their seats, stomping on the floor, banging on the tables, and shouting the apparently vile words as loud as they could.
"You're such a prude!" Rendel shouted at Felidy over the noise. The alcohol had soothed their relationship just slightly.
"You're disgusting!" she shouted back.
"Aye, but I think you already knew that!" He winked at her again.
A scowl returned to her face as hit him hard enough to send him stumbling. She stood, taking her drink with her as she disappeared into the crowd. Rendel sat down across from Anah, rubbing his face. "Did I deserve that?" he asked Anah, keeping his eye on Felidy.
"I think so."
A dark look crossed his face as he stood up again, pulling a knife from his belt. "I need you to duck, my love."
His voice was deep and dangerous, and there was a slightly crazed look in his eyes, so she complied without question. The knife whipped through the air above her head, and a loud scream of pain silenced the crowd as they looked about for the source of the commotion.
"I'm so sorry!" Rendel shouted, standing up on his chair with surprising ease for such an obviously inebriated man. As the crowd got even quieter, he lowered his voice so he didn't have to yell. "You see, I was aiming for the girl, but as your hands were all over her, you must've gotten in the way."
Anah searched through the crowd and saw a man next to Felidy who had Rendel's knife sticking out of his hand, brilliant, orange blood dripping to the floor. "I have an idea!" Rendel exclaimed with his practiced sarcasm. "How about you keep your filthy hands off of her, you fat, perverted bag of scum, and we can avoid this little mistake from happening again?"
The man was nearly as large as Kellen, and he and his five large friends looked furious. He pulled the knife from his hand, throwing it back at Rendel who dodged easily. "You're a dead little bastard!"
"Technically, no. My parents were legally married unlike your whore of a mum, and dirt-bag criminal of a father. I think that makes you the bastard, if I'm not mistaken." Rendel's voice was light on the surface, but there was an undertone of danger that would've paralyzed Anah with fear had he been talking to her.
The man was an unnatural shade of red as he shot a ball of blue magic in Rendel's direction. "I'll kill you!"
Rendel leaped to the tabletop, curtsying to his new friend. "If you want to dance, we'll dance!" He called as his hands flared in green magic.
The half of the crowd that recognized it gasped and moved away from him, sudden fear in their eyes. The other half figured out it was bad news from their reactions. The room had never been quieter.
Rendel's face now betrayed his threatening fury. "Don't let me catch you touching her like that again. Or any of these lovely ladies unless they so invite you to. Understand?"
His face was purple. "I don't take orders from any filthy Shriians!"
A cold smile crossed his face. "Me? I'm not Shriian. Just an enthusiast of dark magic, and man who can easily kick your exceedingly, large ass. How about you get out of this bar, and leave everyone to enjoy their night before your blood becomes a wall covering?"
The man scowled, grumbling about how, "this isn't over," and, "next time you're dead," as he left with his big friends.
A quiet stayed over the room, even as the green magic faded from his hands. The bartender finally spoke up. "Are you Shriian? We don't want any trouble."
Rendel held his hands up in a sign of surrender. "Shritaum be damned. I'm not Shriian. I just happened to be aware of the old ways for my own, personal reasons. I assure you I want no more trouble than you do. Just protecting a friend from a scoundrel. A round for everyone on me!"
This was greeted by cheers as everyone decided Rendel wasn't a threat to them. After all, how could a man giving out free alcohol ever be evil?
"Liar," Anah accused as he dropped to the floor, stumbling a bit in his drunken stupor.
"They don't need to know my whole life story," Rendel hissed. "Besides, I'm not anymore, so I don't see a problem with it." He looked up to Felidy as she approached them. "How are you?" Rendel asked with a bit of sincerity that put a little smile on Anah's face. She knew he still loved her.
"Fine...thank you. I would've handled it on my own, but-"
"Don't worry about it." He interrupted her.
Felidy turned to Jack. Upon inspection, Anah could see that he'd taken her advice and a bit of his drink was gone. It made her smile. "I'm going up to sleep." Felidy told him. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. It could've just been to annoy Rendel, but Jack had insisted that he and Felidy were together. Maybe that was true. Either way it wiped the smile right off Anah's face.
"I'm putting Roze with you," Rendel told her. "We don't want her waking up on her own. I have no idea what kind of state she'll be in. I'd put her with Anah, but there's a chance the girl will suffocate her in her sleep." Anah shrugged in agreement. That was always a possibility when it came to her and her sister.
"Fine. Bring her up," Felidy told him shortly.
----RENDEL----
Roze was arranged on a cot. It didn't look entirely comfortable, and Felidy had offered to take the cot in her stead, but Rendel had insisted. Felidy was the one who needed the comfort of a bed the most. She'd gone too long without one.
They stood in silence for the longest length of time. Felidy perhaps wanted him gone so she could sleep, but he had an odd, stupid bravery fueled by too many sips of his drink. "Well goodnight," Felidy said finally.
He didn't move. "You really never felt anything for me?" He'd wanted to ask her for days, but she'd been nothing but annoying on their travels South, and he wanted to get an answer out of her while they were still on speaking terms.
Felidy sighed, sounding more tired than annoyed. "We're not doing this now."
"Yes, we are." He shut the door, blocking her way out. A quick look of panic crossed her eyes, and it bothered Rendel. "I'm not going to hurt you, Fe." He said softly, hoping that she'd believe him.
"I don't trust you. I never will."
That hit hard, but he pushed the hurt away. He was good at repressing his emotions like that. Years with Shritaum taught him to live off of hatred and anger, and block everything else out. It was a hard habit to break. "I know. I'm..."
"Shritaum's son?" she offered icily.
"Not by blood!" He bit his tongue. And then there was his temper. He wasn't making it difficult for her to hate him. "Sorry." A deep breath allowed him to regain control of his exposure. "You just don't know what you're talking about when it comes to that."
"Then tell me," she challenged. Suddenly, she didn't look tired anymore. She looked determined.
Rendel could've smiled. Though he hated the idea of talking about his childhood, he was still happy to at least be talking to her, civilly. "If you answer my question."
Felidy sat down on the edge of her bed, crossing her arms. "Did I ever feel anything for you? No." He leaned back against the door, letting that sink in. "I was just rebelling against Lina, and you're very attractive so that didn't hurt. But you were nothing more than a friend on the best of days. I thought about it once, but you got on my nerves more than I liked for any sort of healthy relationship. All we did was fight unless we were half drunk."
Rendel leaned his back against the door. He didn't like what she was saying. "That's not true. We'd get along fine sometimes. And I-uh..." He let out a long sigh. "I didn't mean most of the things I said to you. I was trying to keep you at a distance. But the last year, you just didn't annoy me as much as you used to. And I should..." He squirmed uncomfortably like the sentiment was making him itch. "I should apologize for some of the things I said about you and some of the things I called you."
She blinked in surprise. It wasn't like him to apologize. "Well that's...uncharacteristically nice of you."
He spread his arms. "I'm a nice guy! Just with a dark, twisted past, an anger management issue, and a skewed moral compass."
At least that got Felidy to laugh. It was a short laugh, but sounded genuine, and Rendel counted it as a victory. "I think that makes you not a nice guy."
"Then we're perfect together 'cause you're not a nice girl," he retorted.
"We're not perfect together, and we'll never be together." Leave it to Fe to ruin what he considered a perfectly good moment between them. "Now you have to tell me more about your past."
Rendel slid down the door to the ground, knowing the conversation would take a while. If that was what it would take to get Felidy to at least not hate him, he'd take it. "What do you want to know?"
"I don't know." She curled her feet up under her. "But you keep saying I don't understand...so make me understand."
"Okay." He copied her, pulling his legs close and resting his chin on his knees. The liquor made the exchange easier for him, and words flowed out like he never expected them to. "When I was younger, I had no concept of what normal was, or what a family was supposed to be. In the mornings, I'd wake up in a cave with a cot for a bed. I'd practice fighting, swordplay, magic, words, or strategy...whatever Shritaum had decided was important that day. At lunch I'd hear reports of successful attacks. Or failed attacks in which case Shritaum would send whoever made the reports away, and I wouldn't see them for a long time, if ever again. Dinner was my favorite time of the day. It was just Shritaum and I, and he'd sell me his propaganda. And...it made sense, Fe. Some of it still does.
"He spun tales of a world united. Where there wasn't any difference between Fair and Southern. He'd rule over Elvita people as one, cohesive group, and there would be peace. No more civil wars, or deadly feuds. But he told me that there were people who stood in his way. He needed to cleanse the world of people who already had these preconceived ideas about Fair and Southern. In order to bring the groups together, he needed fresh minds with no bias, or it would always fail. Racism isn't something you can unlearn so easily. He convinced me that he'd tried convincing both sides to come together, but the Fair had stubbornly refused. They thought they were superior to us. They claimed they could never be civil to such an uncivil people. The Fair, and their superiority complex stood in our way. Don't you see the brilliance of that?"
Felidy shook her head, her face a mask.
"He's tearing the country apart under guise of bringing it together. Shritaum claims to want peace, but is setting both sides against each other, increasing prejudice and hatred. He feeds off of anger, and war, and hate, but to his followers, he's a savior who will bring prosperity to the world. He has a sincerity, and a way of speaking that makes you believe him. But underneath that, he is the most sick, twisted creature that has ever lived. I don't know what his final goal is, but I see now it can't be good.
"After dinner he'd usually beat me, or hold my head under water until I passed out, or burned me with pokers until I stopped reacting to the searing pain."
Realization crossed over her beautiful features. "That's what those scars on your torso are?"
He smiled grimly. "I certainly wasn't caught in any fire. He called it endurance training. A life without pain made Elvita weak. By pushing me to my physical and mental limits, he claimed to make me stronger. He said the tests would stop when I learned to master my pain. I got good at it. I can hold my breath for fifteen minutes. I can completely remove my mind from my body to not feel pain. I can sprint up a mountain and not lose speed. Well I'm a little bit out of practice, but I'm sure I haven't fallen too far behind."
"That's twisted," she spat. Despite her hatred of Rendel, he knew he was starting to earn her pity.
"Fe, I really don't want you feeling bad for me. That's just annoying. All I want is for you to understand why I did what I did." He cracked his knuckles.
"When I was around five or six, he started teaching me dark magic. And...well you know the emotional toll that takes." They both cringed slightly at the sobs that accompanied each of her attempts. "By the time Shritaum gave me the assignment to spy on Anah, I was filled with hatred, and propaganda, and a very twisted sense of reality. And I desperately wanted to kill you and Lina.
"As I grew up alongside Anah, and got closer to you two, I slowly started to straighten out all the bullshit that was in my head. As Shritaum realized that, he became much colder to me. Eventually he turned to threats on my life and yours if I didn't continue doing my job."
Rendel was silent long enough that Felidy looked back up at him, and he could meet her eyes. "He never knew about us, and he would've been furious had I told him. I love you. And I know you don't like hearing it, but it's true."
"Why?" she breathed.
He had asked himself that question enough times that he had the answer etched into his mind. "Because I think that of all the people I've met, you're the one I can relate to the most, and who can actually understand some of what I've been through. You're witty, and a hell of a tough Elvita, and you're really, incredibly hot. All of my fondest memories are of you, and I'm not just talking about in bed- though I could. I know our arguments were annoying for you, but they really helped me change my perspective on life and on Fair in general. I owe my relative sanity to you. And I will probably never say all that again because it's disgustingly sappy, but I'm drunk so what the hell."
Felidy frowned suspiciously. "You don't sound drunk."
Rendel laughed. Of his whole speech, that's what she got out of it? "I have a high tolerance for a lot of things, but believe me, I've had enough to put down a man twice my size. Did that answer all your questions?"
She thought on it for a bit, biting her lip, her orange hair flickering like fire in the dimly lit room. He would've had her right there if it weren't for Roze sleeping in a corner, and the complete disdain she felt for him. Rendel shook those thoughts from his mind before he said or did something that would get him in even more trouble.
"Almost, but I have to ask about Anah. You're sure you never felt anything for her?"
Rendel laughed again at her question. He half suspected she hadn't been listening to him at all. "I never said that. I half thought her the love of my life a couple years ago. But Anah's a little too nice, a little too naïve, and a little too young for my tastes. I prefer older women." He winked at her earning himself a roll of her pale eyes in return.
"I'm ten months older than you; that hardly counts. And if you keep winking at me, I'll cut your eyelids off."
"Harsh."
A loud, distant crash brought them both out of their own little world. Rendel jumped to his feet and Felidy wasn't far behind him as they raced back down to the bar.