Wasted times

Arlyana took another deep breath as she was cleaning some cups with a piece of cloth, drying them off while keeping an eye on a few early customers. They were clearly already drunk, and the day had only just begun. Normally, there wouldn’t be any customers around at this time of day, which was probably the reason why she looked so slightly annoyed at them, because they had robbed her of a beautiful peaceful morning. Yet, when she heard some footsteps coming from upstairs, she looked away at the tavern owner, who seemed just as surprised as she was by the early visitors. He shortly motioned to her to get them out, and she quickly stuffed the piece of cloth in between her skirt and shirt.

”Alright now, you’ve all had enough, it’s time to go.” She said, turning her body around the bar and walking towards the drunken men. Her dress was certainly not as inviting as most of the dresses she wore at night, but it was still revealing some parts of her body just right. ”But we’re not done yet.” She heard one of the men say, turning to her and looking at her with a disguising smirk, one she recognized all too well. ”Yeah well, I think you are.” She said, taking a step closer and even grabbing the piece of cloth in a threatening way, prepared to hit them with it if she needed it. And they were fools if they thought she wasn’t going to use it. ”Go!” She eventually urged them, after which most of them walked towards the door willingly, except for that one. ”Why don’t you come with us?” He asked, stopping in the doorway and giving her another one of those smirks, to which she just sweetly smiled. ”I’m not going anywhere with you guys.” She responded, waving her hand towards the street, telling them to scurry off. However, he then decided to grab her wrist and pull her out onto the street with him. Her green eyes flared, now showing him a bit more temper. ”Now if you will just let me go.” She warned him, but he didn’t look like he was planning on it.

Arlyana understood why her boss didn't want these people to linger around any longer, even though they were officially already open. He didn’t want some drunkard people messing around with his other customers in the morning, since they could be quite annoying. Yet, she never wanted to make that decision herself, because it really wasn’t her place to throw people out, up until now it seemed. They did bring in at least some money, and it was still too early for any other customers to visit the tavern. She could have just as easily done something wrong by sending them away.

Now the only challenge was actually getting them out of the tavern without too much of a fuss. Which certainly failed when one of the men grabbed her wrist and pulled her out onto the streets. For a moment she looked at the man as if she was ready to stab him, though she wasn’t actually carrying a dagger at the moment, and well, she still didn’t want to make this any bigger than it had to be, honestly. Her eyes only moved away from the drunken men when someone with a trembling voice urged the man to let go of her. The group watched the young squire for a bit, unsure if they were willing to listen to him. Arlyana could see why, since it almost looked like the squire was shaking from fear. But her eyes quickly moved from the young boy to the other man, and the others seemed to notice him too. Suddenly they decided it wasn’t worth their time, and after letting go of Arlyana’s wrist, they ran. ”I could have just as easily dealt with that myself.” She said, giving both the men a stubborn look with a slightly playful smile. ”But thank you.” She continued, even if it didn’t actually sound like she was grateful for it.

Arlyana supposed the warnings of the squire hadn’t made such an impact on the men, even though he was certainly trying. They could all see that. The confident looking knight behind him looked far more intimidating, and maybe that was because he wasn’t doing anything. He was just watching, keeping an eye on the situation. Arlyana was looking at him as well, but maybe she had slightly different reasons to be looking at him. Beside that fact that he seemed rather intimidating, for those drunken bastards that was, he was rather good looking as well. She could certainly not deny it.

Soon enough the men holding her decided to make a run for it, which was probably the smartest option they had, if they didn’t want to get in trouble with the knight in shining armor behind the poor little squire. Arlyana wasn’t so eager to show her gratitude however, since she could have just as easily dealt with the situation herself. After all, she was able to defend herself, if need be. The squire wanted to react to her, but soon enough, the other came in between them, responding with a bit more decency. Arlyana softly tilted her head a little stubbornly, looking into his big dreamy brown eyes, before her eyes were drawn back to the squire.

Then the knight asked her if they were able to get themselves a drink, if they were open. Her eyes shortly moved to the tavern, where the tavern owner was now standing in the doorway, nodding to her, indirectly telling her to bring them inside. She smiled, trying to move past the awkwardness with the squire. ”Ofcourse, what can I get you two?” She asked, stepping back inside of the tavern and walking back to her spot behind the bar. Waiting for their answer.

If anything, she knew she probably should have offered these two knights a drink, to show them some gratitude for what they had done. But, stubbornly as she was, she had not been willing to give them too much gratitude for something she could have dealt with herself. She did not want to appear weak, like some kind of damsel in distress, because she was not. If that man wouldn’t have eventually let go of her, she would have kicked him in the balls so hard that he would have felt it till the next morning. And these two knights had now spared him those blue balls.

Gracefully she moved her body around the bar, so that she was standing behind it again. Her eyes only shortly moved the tavern owner, who had spotted the slight stubbornness in her body language, and he was now slowly narrowing his eyes at her. She only gave him a quick glance before she nodded at the knight asking for some water or juice. ”Do you want some breakfast as well? It’s on the house.” She asked him, politely, even though she was still faking it a little bit. But it was enough for the tavern owner to turn his back and resume his own business, believing she was able to handle these to customers herself.

For a moment she turned her back to the two men, grabbing a jug with water and two cups. She placed the cups on the bar, filling one of them with water. Ofcourse, she made sure to pour it at the right height, right in front of her corset. After all, she wasn’t just working here to serve people drinks. ”Yes, apparently, they had stayed the entire night.” She told the man who asked the question, telling him she had not been serving them the entire time. No, Arlyana had taken over one of the other girls in the morning, so that she was able to get some sleep. Her eyes shortly met with his before she placed the cup with water in front of the squire. Then she turned around again to grab two oranges for the other man’s juice.

A smile showed when she caught the young squire looking down as she poured him a glass of water. Her eyes quickly moved to the other as well, noticing that he had seen it as well. But he stayed silent, and his eyes never dropped down to look, which certainly showed some strength. Her grin grew a bit before she asked them if they wanted to have some breakfast, it being on the house. ”No, not at all.” She told them with a slightly higher voice, still pretending a little bit so that the tavern owner would leave them be. But he was already leaving and Arlyana shortly eyed him when he did. ”We still have some leftover stew from last night.” She told him, knowing there was probably still a fire burning underneath the pot.

”Pretty much regulars, yes, but normally they behave a bit less .. like assholes.” She told him while she was making his juice, shortly waiting before she decided to give him that piece of mind. After all, there was no need to be dishonest, and he supposed he probably wouldn’t mind her choice of words, even if it was probably not such a good thing to say about regular customers. When she placed the cup with juice in front of the man on the bar she shortly locked eyes with him, showing a bit of surprise when he asked her if she was okay. ”Yes, I’m fine.” She said, but it was clear to see that she only said that because she didn’t want to talk about it. Then her attention was suddenly drawn back to the squire, who decided to ask her, very bluntly, if she was a whore. Not using those exact words, but it was clear where he wanted to go with that. ”Well, what do you think I am?” She then asked him, making it seem like it was a trick question. He didn’t know how to answer it and instead looked back at his companion. Arlyana did the same, curious about what he would say.

Arlyana never knew a man to say ‘no’ to a free meal, because from her experience, they were always hungry. Though, not always for food. It was clear to see that the squire now had other things on his mind as well, as he had watched her pour his drink. Her observing nature always found ways to gather those little hints, but I mean, she was also asking for it. After all, it was her way of earning a bit more extra on the side. ”No, I mean, it’s only fair. You helped us, so now let us help you with some breakfast.” Or well, that was at least the policy of the tavern owner, and she just had to make sure she was doing everything according to his rules. The stubborn look she gave him already warned him not to fight her on this one, because he wasn’t going to win.

As she walked to the back to get them both a bowl of stew, he began to speak again about the customers. Her eyes kept focussing on what she was doing even though she had heard him. ”It’s alright..” She said, turning back to him when she had filled two bowls, placing them on the bar in front of them. ”We can handle them.” She said, trying to make it seem like she was sure of it. Arlyana didn’t like accepting help, or even accepting things she couldn’t handle, surely when it was about men.

Then his sudden ask had caught her off-guard, and it showed. They locked eyes with each other and she could feel her breath quicken for a short moment. It wasn’t often that someone showed some genuine interest in her well-being, and maybe she wasn’t quite used to that. But then they got interrupted by the squire again, and Arlyana quickly redirected her eyes to rid herself of the feeling she had gotten. No, it never ended right if she allowed herself to feel something for someone. The knight then got angry at his squire for assuming she was a tavern wench, or better yet, a whore, telling him to apologize to her. She kept quiet, simply looking at the interaction between the two of them until nothing happened anymore. ”Well, there’s no need. He’s right.” She told them with a little smile, because she surely wasn’t going to hide what she was.

During all her movements she kept looking at the older handsome stranger in his knight armor, who was clearly trying to teach his squire some manners. Her interest laid more in him, even if his squire surely was more interested in her then he was. But the thing was, Arlyana never liked the simplest of men, the ones who were very often clear with what they wanted. She knew too many of those men, because in places like this, they weren’t exactly rare at all. Most men knew well how to get whatever they wanted, and where to find it. But Arlyana knew that too. Or at least, that was what she liked to believe.

When he asked her if she was doing alright, she lied, as she almost always did. Not that she was really hurt or anything, and I mean, surely she was going to get over this. But deep down, she never liked to be treated like garbage. Somewhere she believed she deserved better than that, but working as a tavern wench, it was what she could have expected. And she just needed to accept that reality. There was no need for hiding it either, since the squire had already been able to see right through her. It was pretty clear what she was.

Her eyes moved back to the man when he began to explain, saying that it didn’t matter if he had been right or not, but that he should have treated her with respect. ”I don’t see any disrespect, for I do know my place as well.” She told him, though, she understood that he probably shouldn’t have asked that to any other woman. Her eyes shortly moved back down to a cup she started cleaning from last night. No matter how confident she tried to look while saying it, something showed that she didn’t want to be there. ”How is the stew?” She then asked, to direct her attention to something else.

The older gentleman was clearly frustrated by the behavior of his younger student, and Arlyana was almost certain there was going to be an aftermath to this. He seemed quite set on making an example out of this, even if Arlyana tried her best to defend the squire. Her eyes quickly glanced at him, giving him a ‘well, I tried’ look. But he already seemed to be very well aware of the trouble he was in. ”That is very noble of you, but I don’t think many people believe tavern wenches are even worth the tiniest bit of respect.” She responded to the knight, turning herself away to place a few of the cleaned cups back into the cupboard. Showing them her back with the long dark hair falling over it.

When she turned back to them, she asked them about the stew, to change the subject. Truth be told, while Arlyana had accepted that this was her current profession, she never actually wanted to be in this position. For her, this life had only been a means to survive and feed herself, having not been particularly good at anything else. They both responded, saying it was delicious, and the squire even offered her his apologies. ”Apology accepted.” She said, giving him a soft and gentle smile, before taking up another cup to clean.

Yet, then, the sounds from the street began to rise again, almost making it seem like there was another riot about to happen. But, before she was even able to look at the window, a stone was being thrown right through it. Shattering the glass with a whole lot of noise while she could feel something hitting against her head. It had probably been the stone, and quickly she moved her hand to the place where it hurted, even if she was too distracted to even notice her doing that. Her eyes were pointed at the men she met earlier, who refused to leave the tavern and wanted to bring her with them. Holding her breath for a moment, because she had never seen this coming. Looking down at her hand when she moved it down from her forehead, seeing the color of blood on her fingers.

It quickly became obvious to her that this man was not like most men, since he was actually rather quick to defend women in her profession. Something she had not expected to find, but nevertheless, it was still a pleasant surprise. Most of them simply saw them as pretty things they could own for one night, possibly more if that person decided to come back and become a regular. But he called it wrong to disrespect them.. And if only more thought like him, then maybe, she wouldn’t have even minded the place she ended up in.

There was no way any of them could have predicted what happened next, as a stone was being thrown, shattering the glass in the window she had been standing close to. Feeling something hit her head, before she moved her hand to the place where she felt it. The knight and the squire quickly rose to their feet, all while the knight ordered the squire to help her, and make sure she was okay. The boy quickly turned to her, grabbing her by the arm as he wanted to take her away from the shattered window. The sound of heels clearly audible on the wooden floor as she followed him willingly. ”No, I’m fine.” She told him when he eventually wanted to take a look at the cut on her forehead as well. Mainly because she did not want to keep her eyes from what was happening, and her attention was more focused on the other knight.

His words didn’t do much to the angry group of drunken men, who were clearly willing to pick a fight with him over such a stupid argument. Probably because they were still drunk, and not thinking straight. People on the streets seemed to be running in all kinds of directions now, trying to get away from the fight or call more guards. Arlyana took a few steps forward again, till she was almost standing next to the knight, but still behind him. ”These people are drunk.” She told him, trying to be the sound of reason, in an effort to calm him down. Having seen the anger in his eyes. But before she was even able to wait for a response from him, the group had already decided to enter the tavern with their gathered weapons.