"I should have knocked the fucker out with that gold pole" Raven huffed .
It wasn't a question , it was a statement. So River kept hush and followed him.
This was an unfavorable situation. A King beating the living daylight out of a tax officer in public is only going to put him in a negative light. It seemed South was yet to adjust to its new ruler and Raven Alistair acting exactly like the tryant he is rumored to be , might stir unrest within civillians.
On the other hand , this was boarderline power harassment. The right procedure would be to put the man under trial and charge him accordingly. Although that would result in a much , much severe punishment, that was the acceptable method.
But how Raven Alistair ruled was none of River's business. He had other worries concerning his own life.
They next stopped infront of a wine store to River's .. no it didn't spark anything in him. He had more or less arrived at the conclusion that this man was a raging alchoholic.
He purchased a bottle of Softberry wine and pulled the cork open with his teeth . He shot the cork out from between his teeth with a loud pah! and slugged half of the bottle down.
"Open up " He turn to River .
River tilted his head in confusion.
Raven rolled his eyes. He grabbed River's face and pinched his cheeks, like he was force feeding a brat and poured wine in his mouth .
The bottle clanked painfully against River's teeth and he choked violently. His throat burned, his eyes and nose burned too.
"You are such a fucking baby." Raven tipped the bottle ,emptying the remaining wine.
River felt a rare desire to cuss. He was now sticky all over . That was so unnecessary.
He might have displayed his inner thoughts on his face because Raven huffed. He then rubbed his sleeve across River's face rough enough to wipe his lips off.
"There! All clean . Stop fucking glaring at me like I cursed your mother "
He then walked away , cussing all tax officers and their ancestors . River silently followed , still disoriented from being force fed wine.
Their next stop was a little run down boutique. The old shopkeeper, who was a kind looking lady , came running from behind the shop. She smiled warmly at her customers.
"What are we looking for today, gentlemen?
Raven pointed an accusatory finger at River. "Do you have boots that fits his tiny ass chicken feet?"
My legs are fine !
The lady looked down at his feet and gasped "my !my !"
River was still wearing the wooden sandles he had worn to the banquet. They had straps to hold them in place and they were painfully cutting in to the skin between his big toe and longtoe, making him bleed a little. He was running around all day on them and now his feet was red and slightly swollen.
They found a pair of black boots that fits and Raven haggled for a good half an hour until the lady took three coins off the price.
"My lord shouldn't have gone through the trouble , Thank you"
Raven looked down at him and rolled his eyes, which he seemed to be doing a lot around River.
"Boots are cheaper than what it would take to amputate an infected leg or fix a broken bone if you fell "
he pointed out "dont fucking make trouble for me "
"My lord is indeed far sighted"
They walked the remaining distance to the tavern in silence.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes were keeping watch on them from the dark shadows.
* * * * * *
River stayed up past midnight, examining two gold rods they aquired .
Proving his suspicions correct, the rod was indeed contaminated with some kind of evil energy or spirit. The more he stayed in the presence of them ,he felt increasingly unwell and irritated.
Surface of the rods were embossed with some kind of ancient texts and symbols. Upon inspection River discovered both rods were identically embossed. The characters were not familiar to him , however.
The rods must have been cleaned before storing at the tax office but the bottom inches were slightly less discolored than rest. River's brows furrowed in confusion.
Someone tapped softly on his door and River went to open it. Aithan stood there , looming over the treshold .
His red hair was neatly combed in to a single braid that fell over his shoulder. He was out of his important looking day clothes and was only wearing a lose set of white night garment. He looked down at River over the silver rims of his glasses. Aithan had same brown eyes Raven did, only they looked closer to amber.
"Why are you still up ?" He asked .
River glanced at the golden rods over his shoulders . " Sorry if I disturbed your rest ,Lord Aithan "
"You dont look well " Aithan pointed out . "Rest "
"Its nothing Lord Aithan , just an upset stomach"
Aithan nodded and silently left. River watched his giant figure dissapear around the corner and went back in .
River flopped on to his bed and removed his boots to inspect his swelling. Not even five minutes later , there was yet another tap on the door .
Aithan Alistair walked in , tray in hand. "Come eat"
"I've troubled My Lord" River apologized.
"Not at all. Dont go to sleep on an empty stomach. It will worsen "
River sat at the table and picked up a bowl of rice porridge. Aithan sat beside him and watched him eat.
"I heard what happened at the tax office " he said in a matter of factly voice. "Dont let his antics upset you."
River silently kept eating his porridge . Raven Alistair and his temper tantrums was not something River minded. Southern king was a walking tornado and River just wanted to shun him.
"He is not a bad person at heart" Aithan dumped some more porridge in to his bowl. " Half the time he isn't even angry"
River involuntarily thought back on Officer Cao's messed up face.
"Ill try to be on good terms with His Majesty" River promised. Aithan gave him a tight lipped smile. When the bowl was cleared, he pushed him a small cup of Softberry wine .
"Drink it all up. Its good for indigestion "
He rested a hand on River's head , like Valour would do sometimes. "Good night"
Then he was out the door .
River was left alone in the small room, with a lone cup of wine and his thoughts.
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Author procastinated writting this book for 3 months.