The Runaway Princess

"Zierra!" I stood out of my seat and offered my hand to her. Much like the previous night she grabbed my forearm the slid her fingers down my arm before grasping our hands together. Must be an elven greeting. "You ended up staying?"

"I didn't think I was going to," she admitted as we sat down. "I had every intention of going to the next town but something pulled me back here."

"Yeah Saph here has that effect on people," Kari smirked from her eavesdropping place as she cleaned a glass, filled it with ale, and slid it to Zierra. "Real lady-killer this one."

Kari winked at me and I glared back, motioning for her to find something else to do. "Sorry about her," I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "She's been trying to pawn me off on whoever spares me a two second glance."

"I don't mind," Zierra laughed around her mug. "I think it's cute."

"And I think that I am incredibly out of the loop," we both looked to our right where Lyon was still sitting next to me. "Care to introduce me to your friend here?"

I sighed and motioned between them. "Lyon this is Zierra, the woman I saved last night from Hart's men. Zierra this is Lyon, my best friend and co-owner of the Wolf's Den."

Lyon offered his hand and Zierra took it with a smile, opting to give him a regular handshake as opposed to the one she gave me. "Surviving a run in with Hart's guys isn't common around here. You got lucky."

"I wouldn't have been so lucky if Sapphyre didn't find me," her smile fell and she slid a few crowns to Kari for her drink. "Actually there's something I need to talk to you about Sapphyre. Preferably where prying eyes or ears couldn't hear us?"

Her sudden seriousness threw me off but I nodded. "We can talk in my office, it's safe there," I placed a hand in Lyon's shoulder as I passed him. "If anything happens come and get me, especially if our new friend shows up."

He gave me a quick nod and I led Zierra upstairs and into my office. The door was cracked open slightly and my hand rested on the hilt of the dagger I kept on my side but when I opened the door all I found was Shade sleeping by the fireplace. He lifted his head lazily and huffed at me before stretching out.

"So this is where you've been hiding," I tapped my leg and gave him a few soft pats when he greeted me. I turned to introduce him to Zierra and found her with the dagger I gave her held defensively in front of her. "Easy now!" I chuckled and gently lowered the blade with my hand. "This is Shade. He's a friend."

Her eyes darted from me to Shade and back again a few times before she sheathed the weapon and held her hand out. Shade gave her fingers a quick sniff before nudging her hand so she would scratch his ears. A bright smile flashed on her face. "I didn't know you held Auryon's favor."

I made my way to my desk and leaned back in my chair. "Never thought of it that way."

She took the chair across from me and Shade laid down at her feet. "How did you befriend him?"

"I'll tell you," I leaned forward with a smirk, "if you answer some of my questions first."

We stared at each other for a moment, like we were challenging each other to see if someone would cave. Finally, she sighed and held her hands up in surrender. "Alright, fine. We'll play by your rules Sapphyre."

"Well, I mean, it is my tavern. So I would hope it would be my rules."

"Are you going to ask your questions or not?"

"Where are you from?"

She gave me a strange look. "That's what you want to know?"

"I have a guess but I want to make sure I'm correct."

"I'm from the Ferox Woods at the base of the northern mountains."

So I was right. "That's at least a weeks ride from here, a week and half if you take proper breaks. Which clan are you from?"

She shook a finger at me, like an adult chastising a child. "Nuh uh! You asked a question. Its my turn."

"I thought we were playing by my rules?"

She shrugged. "I was never good at following rules."

"I bet," I smirked. "Go for it!"

"Why a tavern? I mean this town has several of them. So why put a new one up?"

"Because drunk people talk a lot. In my line of work information is important and you'd be surprised how much someone is willing to share after a few rounds."

"You must not get many elf customers."

"I don't. Aside from you, Kari is one of only five elves in this town, you finally brought us up to an even six. But why does that matter?"

"Because you wouldn't be able to get information out of us from alcohol. Elves-"

"Can't get drunk on human alcohol," I winked as I finished her sentence for her. "Why do you think my bartender is an elf?"

"Clever. Your turn."

"Which clan are you from?"

"The Aeris clan," she grumbled.

I tried to hide the look of shock on my face. "That's a very powerful clan."

"It is. Have I satisfied your questions?"

"All but one. Why did you seek me out?"

She let out a long huff of air and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "You told me yesterday you knew almost everyone in town right?

"I did, and I do."

"Does the name Robert Hart mean anything to you?"

I coughed to hide the sudden laughter that erupted from me. "You're joking right?" The look on her face told me she was completely serious. "He leads the gang that attacked you last night."

"Yes but what of him specifically? No one ever seems to know where he is."

"Hold on," I held my hand up. "You knew those guys were Hart's men?"

"Not originally," she scoffed. "But shortly after blindfolding me they talked about needing to meet some sort of quota for Hart. It's why they wanted my necklace."

"Zierra why didn't you tell me last night? I could have helped you?"

"Because last night you killed three men in thirty seconds but introduced yourself as a tavern owner. You saved my life and you were sweet to me and I was grateful but you can understand why I was still suspicious of you."

"So why come back?"

She gave me a teasing smile. "Because you can kill three men in thirty seconds and you were sweet to me."

I returned her smile. "Flattery isn't going to make me forget that you knew they were Hart's men, or that you are looking for Hart in specific. Which reminds me! Why are you looking for Hart?"

"I'm not," she shuffled in her seat uncomfortably, "he's looking for me."

"What? Why?" I couldn't help the concern that crossed my face.

"Because my mother hired him to."

"Your mother? What reason does she have to hire a thug to hunt down her daughter?"

"Because I left. We had a disagreement, a very loud disagreement, and I left."

I leaned back in my chair again, disbelief still on my face. "She sounds controlling as all hells."

"Yeah well, comes with the job I suppose."

"The mother job?"

"No," Zierra sighed and looked up at me. She looked tired and almost ashamed. "The queen job. My mother is Izafera Aeris, ruler of the Aeris clan."

My mouth fell open. "Which makes you..."

She held her hand out, like we were meeting for the first time. "Zierra Aeris, princess of the Aeris wood elf clan."