Chapter 13: Secrets Told and Pasts Revealed

The rain came down harder as the carriage lurched to a stop in front of a small inn, the lit windows barely visible through the lashing rain. “We’re going to have to make a run for it!” Elric said as he threw the door open.
Laughing, Saffron joined him as they raced for the door. With a loud thud, they slammed it open and stood sodden at the entrance of the tavern. The few people sitting in the room turned to look at them but went back to their tankards. A small puddle began to form underneath them as they stood shivering.
“I’ll arrange rooms for us,” Elric said, still smiling at Saffron. Despite the chill and her sopping wet cloak, she was in high spirits. They had been traveling for a few days now and this sudden storm had broken the monotony of riding in the carriage.
She glanced around the large room while Elric spoke to the short man behind the bar. There were only about five others here and they appeared to be regulars, sharing a companionable silence in front of the fire. They shot her a few interested glances but quickly looked away when Elric returned to her side.
“I’ll have the men bring in our things before they stable the horses for the evening so we can change into dry clothing. Are you hungry? I can arrange for food to be brought up to your room,” he asked, his hand on her elbow. Saffron enjoyed the way that he always ensured that she was taken care of. For so long, she had been the one to take care of others, her own needs cast aside or completely forgotten.
“That would be lovely, thank you,” she said with a smile but wondered that he had gotten them two separate rooms. They had not yet shared a bed and she contemplated when it would be that they would. He hinted before they left that he had planned to but it had been nearly a week and still she slept alone.
He led her towards the back of the tavern to a staircase that rose behind the edge of the long bar top. The inn upstairs was plain but comfortable. Elric unlocked her door and she looked around her small room. There was a narrow bed and washstand with a small wardrobe leaning in the corner. Her window was latched shut against the storm raging outside. It smelled clean and faintly of cooked sausages. It would do for an evening’s respite.
“I’m in the room next door in case you should want for anything. I’ll go see if our clothing has been brought inside yet,” he said and left, closing the door behind him. She pulled off her dripping cloak and hung it on the hook near the door to dry. Her dress underneath was damp which caused a chill to settle into her bones. How she wished they could just lie together next to a roaring fire, preferably in their own home.
She knew they would be married soon but there was an ominous shadow lurking in her mind that told her otherwise. She couldn’t shake the lingering feeling of dread as if something horrible was waiting around the corner to devour them. She supposed it was just her imagination running off again. She had always been scolded for dreaming too much and always being lost in her thoughts. It was a habit that she had carried on from childhood. She believed it was the only thing that helped her carry on after her grandmother had passed and she was left with only her guardian, Wassa, to look after her.
Saffron wondered whether Wassa had been trouble when Elric’s men arrived to gather her things. She had sent a letter beforehand to warn her, but she hadn’t a clue if it had arrived in time or if Wassa had even bothered reading it. She was sure that Wassa was jealous that Saffron would be a princess. Wassa had worked her entire life trying to catch the eye of any noble.
Wassa had spent much of her adulthood visiting the kingdom, pushing her bosom underneath any nobleman’s face that she could. She had even been the mistress of some lower laird for a few years, but he had eventually cast her off and she returned, scorned and vengeful. Shortly after that time, she sold Saffron to the Baron. She probably spat on Saffron’s letter the second it arrived.
Oh well, Saffron thought. Wassa was probably only glad to be rid of her. Maybe now the Baron would marry her instead. A soft thump sounded outside the door and Elric came through a moment later, bearing a small traveling case.
“I come bearing gifts,” he said with an exaggerated bow and set her case down near the wardrobe. “Would you like to join me for dinner after we have had a chance to change?” he asked her. She smiled widely.
“I would love to,” she replied and he left with a smile.
Once dry and changed into clean clothes, Saffron knocked on Elric’s door. He opened it instantly and gestured for her to enter. Her heart leaped when she saw that he had arranged for a table to be brought to his room. Atop it sat a few candles, a bottle of wine, and two plates of food. She felt a small thrill at the thought of being alone with him for the first time in nearly a week.
“I figured this would be better than sitting downstairs.” He said and pulled out her chair. She sat and her stomach rumbled at the smell of the food in front of her. It was simple fare, but it reminded her of home. While the food was delicious in the palace, it was often served with heavy sauces and complex flavors. It was nice to get back to the pleasure of a simple meal.
“It is indeed. Despite our many hours of travel together I feel as if we have barely had a chance to speak without someone else present,” she said and took a small bite of the roasted duck, savoring the buttery flavor.
Elric nodded and took a large swig of his wine. “It does seem strange does it not that we have spent nearly a week together but I feel as if we have barely spoken. I will be happy when this entire ordeal is over. I quite look forward to showing you the estate when this is all said and done,” he replied, smiling at her over the rim of his goblet.
“I am looking forward to it as well. It will be nice to be settled and not have to sleep in an attic. I don’t have to sleep in an attic, do I?” she replied teasingly.
“Of course not! You had to sleep in an attic?” he asked, aghast. She nodded, sipping her own wine. The taste of berries exploded on her tongue pleasantly.
“I had my own bedroom when I lived with my grandmother but after she passed and I moved in with Wassa, my guardian, I was sent to the attic. It wasn’t the worst place to sleep but I had to crouch to get to my bed,” she said with a shrug of her narrow shoulders. Elric stared at her, his eyes wide.
“To think I preferred to sleep in the stables instead of my own bedroom and here you were forced into a dusty attic,” he said. Saffron laughed aloud.
“I never said it was dusty!” she exclaimed. He shrugged his shoulders.
“All attics are wrought with dust. It’s a rule. Haven’t you ever heard fairytales? Attics are always dusty and old women are usually an evil queen that have glamoured themselves to appear frail,” he said, a mock-serious expression upon his face. She just shook her head at him and smiled.
“So, aside from haunting attics and healing wounded creatures you stumble upon in the forest, what else did you partake in back in Gilramore?” he asked, leaning forward on his arms, his food forgotten.
“There wasn’t much time for anything else. I inherited my grandmother’s apothecary when she passed so that is where I spent much of my time growing up as well as after. My parents passed when I was very young. I have no recollection of them.” She replied. He stretched his hand across the table and placed his on top of hers.
“I’m deeply sorry for your loss. My mother passed soon after I was born.” He said, his own eyes sad.
“You’ve never really spoken of your mother. What do you know about her?” Saffron asked, cradling her wine. His eyes looked out over her head, but she knew that he wasn’t seeing the room.
“I know she was exceptionally beautiful, as most women in fairytales are. When my father chose her as his second bride, there was an uproar, for she did not come from completely noble standing. She was a bookseller’s daughter and my grandfather thought she was an unfit match. My father didn’t care. He had fallen in love with her and would have no one else. So, they married.
She took to being a stepmother to my elder brothers quickly or, so I have been told. She fell pregnant with me shortly after she married my father. While she was pregnant with me, he built her the estate. She had missed the country and he had hoped that time away from the stress of the court would help. After my birth, my father was called away on royal business. My mother was suddenly ill, she had a fever for three days. I was told she rambled nonsense about being haunted and that a lady in white was the cause of her illness.”
He paused, his lips twisted in a grimace. “She died shortly after. My father kept me at her estate until I was a boy of about thirteen. Then I returned to the castle. He had remarried Ishild by then.”
“I’m so sorry. It seems we are both orphans,” she said sadly and caressed the back of his hand.
“It seems so. I look like her, I’ve been told. I have her eyes as well as…” he paused and looked into Saffron’s eyes.
“As well as?” she asked, curious why he suddenly stopped speaking.
“Æðelfrið, the overseer of my mother’s estate and the one who raised me, said that I got my fiery spirit from her as well,” he replied, his eyebrow cocked.
“Ah,” Saffron replied. So, it wasn’t a curse? Could this be inherited? How badly her fingers itched for her journal.
“I believe she was a wonderful woman, to produce such a specimen of a son,” Saffron replied and patted his hand. They finished eating, their food now cooled.
After they cleared the table, Elric walked her back to her room. He leaned against the door frame as she opened the door and turned back to face him.
“I would invite you in, but I don’t suppose tonight is the appropriate night,” she said, a coy smile dancing on her lips. He laughed with a slight groan.
“You don’t know the torture I will endure this evening with a wall between us,” he said and kissed her lips softly. “Soon we will be in Udril and after that, we will head to our home.”