What am I?

**CREAK.**

**The tavern door groans.**

A wave of laughter, clinking mugs and sizzling meat blows past me.**

Aiden strides in as if he owns the place, then spins on his heel with a roguish grin.

**"Welcome to the Rusty Blade!"** he declares, throwing his arms wide. **"Where the drinks taste like piss and the food even worse"**

**THWACK.**

Julianne's boot connects with his.

**"You idiot you're gonna make Aaron think we dragged him to a pigs Stein!"**

**"Ow! *Ow!* Fine, gods I'm sorry—!"** He clutches his leg, shooting me a pained smirk. **"I'm kidding… Mostly."**

Julianne sighs before steering us toward a corner table. The old oak bench creaks under our weight as she flags down a passing barmaid—a wiry woman with ale-stained sleeves.

**"Evenin',"** the woman drawls, wiping her hands on her apron. **"What'll it be for tonight?.

**"We'll have two pints of ale, a water, and give us whatever the special is for tonight."**

The barmaid nods. **"Okay, I'll go place your order now."**

As she walks away, I lean forward. **"Hey Julianne, Aiden—what's *in* the special?"**

Aiden grins and lays back in his chair **"Probably whatever leftovers they scraped off the floor."**

**THWACK!** Julianne's boot, nails Aiden's leg under the table.

**"Stop trying to gross him out!"** She turns to me **"Don't worry, Aaron. The special's usually just two meals combined—like soup and bread with steak."**

Aiden scoots closer and stage-whispers: **"She's *lying*. Don't trust her."**

Julianne sighs. **"Whatever. *You're* paying anyway."**

**"Hey, I never sa—"**

**THUD!** The barmaid slams their order onto the table. **"Here's your three drinks and the specials."**

**"Oh damn, that was quick,"** Aiden says, blinking at the food.

The plate's a masterpiece - **juicy pork chops,crispy potatoes all drowning in glossy gravy**.

**I can only stare**, saliva pooling in my mouth.

**WHACK!** Aiden slaps my back. *"Don't worry kid, the food's probably not poisoned."*

My fork **sinks into** the gravy-drenched pork chop. That first bite—**an explosion of salty, smoky perfection. Before I know it, my fork's moving on its own, stabbing, scooping, shoveling.

**"Slow down Aaron, you're gonna choke if you go that fast."**

**"I can't, it's way too good,"** I mumble through a mouthful of potatoes. Gravy drips off my chin.

Aiden can't help but laugh, tapping his hand on the table. **"Come on, Julianne—let the little hero enjoy his food!"**

**I demolish the plate** until not a single crumb remains, then slump back - my stomach feels like an overstuffed sack.

Looking up, I see **Julianne and Aiden already chugging their third pints**, foam dripping down their chins.

**"Ready to give in yet, Julie?"** Aiden taunts, slamming his empty tankard down.

**GULP.** Julianne finishes hers in one final swallow, face flushed crimson. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and glares.

**"Never in your dreams!"**

Aiden's grin turns feral. **"Alright! Bring us another round!"** His roar shakes the tavern walls.

**With that, a crowd slowly formed**

Aiden and Julianne **slam pint after pint**, each chug met with **roaring bets**:

*"5 silver on the brute!"*

*"2 on the one-eyed devil!"*

**On the 7th pint—**

**GULP.** Julianne's eyelids flutter and then

**THUD!!**her face meets the table

Aiden stands a bit wobbly and raises his arm . **"I AM THE CHAMPION!"**

**The tavern erupts**—cheers, curses, and the clatter of changing coins.

Aiden hoists Julianne over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

**"Hey Aaron,"** he slurs, **"gonna dump Sleeping Beauty in her room. Be back for you in—"**

**"Wai' nooo… hic…"** Julianne's arm flops weakly. **"I can… hic… still win…"**

Aiden rolls his eyes. **"Yeah, yeah."**

Watching Julianne and Aiden disappear upstairs, warmth blooms in my chest. *Because of them, I'm here. Because of them, I remember my name.* I should—

**"Hans did you hear what's going on in the capital? The drunk's loud slurred voice cuts through my thoughts.

No?

Well apparently the entire capital is on full lockdown!"** .

**"What? Why?"**

**"Apparently the heavenly dungeon opened up."**

**"Did something like a demon crawl out from there"**

**"Who knows?"** He shrugs. **"But they've slapped up the magic barriers on the whole capital so no one or thing can go in or out."**

*Damn something seriously dangerous must have escaped...*

The words send ice down my spine. Suddenly, I'm back **in that glass tube surrounded by light blue water, pounding on the walls, watching the red light flash—**

**"Hey! Aaron, you okay?"** Aiden's calloused hand shakes my shoulder, snapping me back to reality.

I blink up at him as cold sweat running down my spine. **"Huh? Wha—"**

**"You look wrecked,"** he laughs, poking my forehead. **"Steal some ale when I wasn't looking?"**

**"What? No! I was just..."** My voice trails off as the tavern's noise rushes back in—the clinking glasses, the drunk singing, the lingering dread about the capital.

Aiden's grin falters. **"Kid you okay?"**

**"Yeah... I'm just tired. Could you show me our room?"**

Aiden studies me, suspicion flickering behind his eyes. **"Okay, I guess. Today was... a lot."**

The hallway stretches **too quiet**, our boots thumping against worn floorboards. All I see behind my eyelids: **that glass tube. The red light. The dungeon rumors.**

**Aiden stops dead.** When he turns, his usual grin is gone. **"Aaron. What's *really* eating you?"**

My throat tightens. **"W-what's... a dungeon?"**

Aiden exhales, ruffling my hair like I'm a scared dog. **"Dungeons are like treasure vaults from 700 years ago. Full of artifacts—and *things* that shouldn't exist anymore."**

**"Are they dangerous?"** My voice trembles

His smile dies. **"Yes... Humans and demons built them as war bunkers 700 years ago but now they are just the Demons nests and prison."**

**"Prison?"** I gulp, the image of **that glass tube** flashing behind my eyes—**cold, suffocating, the red light blinking like a warning.**

Aiden's face darkens, his usual grin gone. **"Seriously, kid. What's got you all spooked about dungeons? You overhear something?"**

My fingers dig into my sleeves. **"I just..."**

The words stick in my throat like spoiled meat. *How do I explain I might've crawled out of one?*

Aiden pulls me into his chest. **"If you're scared about demons escaping... I can promise you that's impossible."**

His heartbeat steadies mine. **"Why can't they?"** I mumble into his shirt.

**"Every dungeon's has been sealed with holy barriers,"** he says, voice uncharacteristically soft. **"Not one demon's escaped in 700 years."**

Relief washes over me. Without thinking, my arms wrap around him. **"...Thanks."**

Aiden ruffles my hair roughly. **"Ugh. Don't go gettin' mushy on me now. Anyway, we're at the room—so let's get some damn sleep tonight okay"**

The door clicks shut behind him.

I sink into a real bed—**with feathers and not straw. my bones turn to liquid as the blanket swallow me whole.

The world seems to **still** as Aiden's voice cuts through the tavern's noise—**unusually soft**, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.

**"Hey Aaron..."** He rubs his neck, calloused fingers catching on his scarf. **"Don't really know how to say this but..."** A breath. **"Thank you. For saving Jules. I... owe you one."**

His words **hang in the air**, weighty and warm. For once, the ever-loud Aiden speaks like he's afraid to shatter something.

**"Yeah. No problem,"** I whisper back like a mouse, As a warm exhaustion pulls me in like I am sinking into a sun-warmed quilt. My eyelids grow heavy, the edges of my vision blurring with.