The Tavern Conversation

The next few days flew by. A large memorial was built for the fallen soldiers. A small dinner was held for those of us who fought to liberate the city from the rebels. The memorial was a giant black obsidian pillar. Carved In the obsidian was the name of each fallen soldier. Flowers sat at the base, mementos of the fallen surrounded the entire memorial. The queen Blessed it the day that it went up, giving inspiring words to the people who had gathered. I stood in the background in a black hood. I was tired, despite supposedly supposed to be relaxing, I was being called every which way by the queen. She refused to have me leave her sight, said something along the lines of having me around was comforting. The weirdest thing to me was no one was blaming me for their deaths. They cursed the demon king and Gustov for falling for the demon kings' plans. They praised me even for giving their kin a good death. The city seemed to return to normal. food stalls selling amazing food, goods were passing hands left and right. The queen had dressed up in disguise so we could walk around the city unbothered. She showed me the people's struggles, Their sadness, and their strength. She led me through the slums where the casualties had been the heaviest. Still, despite that They smiled, laughing with each other as they worked. She took me to a pub near the slums where we ordered food and drink. She sighed.

"It'll take a bit, but we will recover from this. My people are strong." Her voice was sad but steady.

"I agree. Hopefully, this will only strengthen their resolve and turn them away from any offer a demon might have." I replied hungrily eying the plates of food passing me by. The smell was driving me nuts. I felt starving. Serenity was staring off into space at my face. A slight smile as she stared. I was confused at why she wanted me. I tipped with excitement as a pile of steaming meat and veggies were sat down in front of me. I took a large swig of the beer sitting in front of me.

"What's next for you William?" She asked placing her elbow on the table.

"I must push on. Veronica won't let things settle as they are now, So I must take the fight to her doorstep. First, I'll stop by the mansion and make sure everything's good there. Then I'll head up the coast, probably stop at villages then hit a big city or two. I need to make sure I'm strong enough to fight her. That being said I want you to construct a big statue of the goddess." I said digging into a large steak.

"The goddess? I guess I can do that but that's kind of vague." She said scratching her head.

"There's a very good reason for that. I'm a follower of hers. I feel like she's been forgotten." I replied between mouthfuls.

She stared at me for a second then nodded.

"I'll have it done in the cities nature park. everyone spends a lot of time there. Maybe I'll even build a tiny temple for her there." She said pondering her options.

"Anything beyond the statue would be appreciated," I said almost choking on a piece of bread.

"No one's going to take that from you, you know?" Serenity said laughing.

"I would love to see someone even try!" The barmaid giggled as she put more food on the table.

I stopped eating long enough to thank her and dig into the next dish.

"I'm coming back here. I love this food!" I groaned.

The food was like heaven, every flavor was mind-blowing. I smashed through another plate of food before burping.

"Food is amazing. How can such tiny things make me so happy!" I laughed.

Serenity smiled as she daintily ate her salad. Suddenly two large arms clasped their hands on my shoulders. Serenity's smile faded as she looked at who was grabbing me. Fingers dug into my collar bone. I began feeling a heavy damp breath on the nape of my neck. I looked up to see a burly bearded man staring down at me.

"Move away boy. I want to talk to the beautiful lady." The man grunted.

His grizzled features normally would have intimidated most; however, I wasn't most or normal.

"A toad looks to devour a swan. Dog I'm in a good mood today go bark elsewhere." I replied unimpressed by his tactics.

He applied as much force as he could to his grip. I laughed slamming my chair backward into his knees. He howled as he stumbled backward. He pointed at me and yelled,

"You're a dead man!" He growled standing up straight.

I smiled and turned to face him; the whole room fell quiet as my hood fell. Whispers erupted as the man who once stood against me in anger now stood before me trembling in fear. His confident voice was now a low stammer.

"Sir William I am so sorry, if I had known I would never." His voice trailed off as I held up my hand.

"The fact you display this behavior towards those you perceived as weak is what's wrong with this whole situation. Man, you would crap yourself if you knew who the other person that you insulted was. Oh, darling show them please." I said turning towards Serenity.

She sighed and stood up. Her eyes narrowed at the man as her hood fell. Gasps erupted from every corner of the restaurant. The man fell backward stammering as he begged for mercy. I once again rose my hand to stop him. I walked over to him and grabbed him by the ankle. He hollered for help, begging for someone to stop me. I squeezed with my entire strength, turning his ankle into splinters. He screamed out in pain as I dropped him.

"Find a healer and let this pain remind you to not be a moron everywhere you go," I called back to the man as I escorted Serenity out of the restaurant. I stopped at the bar and handed the keep a large pile of coins.

"Your food is heavenly I will be back. Try to keep an eye on him please" I waved as we left.

Serenity smacked me a few times playfully.

"You are ruthless William." She giggled.

"I have to be," I replied.

We walked through the streets a while longer. every once in a while, someone would recognize Serenity and things would get awkward. Other than that, we had a good last day in the city. When I got back to my room Octavia and Kiosha were waiting.

"She hogs you; you realize this yes?" Kiosha asked.

"I promise you two plenty of date chances, ok? Now let's get some rest we leave at sunup." I brushed off the comment.

They nodded and Kiosha left to tell Elisa and Evelyn that we were heading home in the morning.