Ire Taverness's Arc

Chapter 7 of 19

Ire woke before dawn out of habit. Kael's arm was still around her. She slid out from under it, pulled on a clean shift, and went downstairs to open the tavern. The new cook was already at the stove. The floor girl was setting benches. The widow's boy was hauling water from the well without being asked. Ire stopped in the doorway and watched them work. "Morning," the cook said, not looking up. "Bread's on. You want eggs?" "I want the ledger." "After eggs." Ire ate at the counter. She watched the room fill. Travelers came in muddy and left fed. The floor girl kept the mugs moving. The boy ran plates without dropping one. Ire caught herself reaching for a rag twice, and both times someone else got there first. By the end of the second week, she trusted them enough to sit down during the rush. By the end of the third, she trusted them enough to leave the counter for an hour and not check on it. The new cook argued with her about the stew salt and won. Ire wrote it down in the ledger like a debt she was glad to owe. On the morning of the fourth week, Kael came downstairs with a pack on his shoulder and a smaller one in his hand. He set the small one at Ire's feet. "Pack a shift and boots," he said. "We're going." She stared at the pack. "Going where." "Anywhere that isn't here. Four days." "Kael. The tavern." "Is covered." He nodded at the cook, who did not turn around. "I asked her last week. She said take a month if you want. I said four days." "The boy—" "Knows the cellar count." "The floor—" "She knows the tabs." He crouched and started lacing her boots himself when she didn't move. "They don't need you today, baby. They need you rested next month." Ire looked at the room. The cook was scraping the griddle. The floor girl was chalking the board. The boy was carrying a crate to the cellar without asking where it went. No one was watching Ire. That was the thing that undid her. "Four days," she said. "Four days." She went upstairs. She packed the shift and a comb and the small knife she kept under the bed. Her tail flicked against the doorframe on the way out. It felt lighter than it had in a year. Kael was waiting by the door. He'd bolted the cellar and left the ledger closed on the counter. The cook lifted a hand without turning. The floor girl grinned. The boy said, "Bring Kael back in one piece," and ducked before Kael could cuff him. Ire stepped out into the road. The tavern kept running behind her without her hand on it. She heard the door shut. She did not turn around. Kael took her hand and smiled widely, “You’re in for a big treat baby.” Ire blushed and bit her lip, “N-no one will be around. Only us.”