A/N - The awesome song that I shared on the side is by Petteri Sainio. It fits the story quite well, title and all. Give it a listen, for real. Also, I seem to be surprising quite a few people when I say this: Kayde represents a more serious Mushu, if you haven't picked up on it quite yet. Thought I'd let you guys know that.
Iris went back to Kayde, her face even paler than it was before. The word fearless was ringing through her mind. No one had ever referred to her as such... not her family, her ex-fiancé, or even herself. In fact, when she was still living at home, she saw herself as the opposite. She felt cowardice most of the time at Eda. Then, she deemed it acceptable to not be brave because women didn't have to be courageous, but now... now being referred to as spineless was so much more appalling.
"Why the face? Are you alright?" Kayde asked her.
"Just thinking," she told him vaguely, mind still ringing. Kayde stepped up to her and looked into her face.
"About what?" he asked, "Has something bad happened?"
"No, Kayde," Iris said, now smiling at his presumption, "Nothing bad has happened. I'm fine. Now, where are we headed? Do we want to just go to the inn and rent a room for the night or do we want to do something to explore the town while it's still daylight?"
"The second idea sounds like a good one," he said, "I'd like to talk to you about a couple of things, anyway."
"Very well," she paused for a moment, giving him a curious look, "Where do we go, then? From what I've seen of this town, there doesn't seem like there would be too many places that we can go. Do you have any suggestions?" This made Kayde stop and think for a moment. It only took a couple for him to figure something out.
"I'm sure there's some type of tavern here... we could go there. I'm sure that some of your scouting group will be there as well."
"Tavern?" her voice was innocent sounding when she said the word, even with the fruit's effects.
Immediately, a smile made its way onto Kayde's face. While it was a kind smile of sorts, Iris could detect a slight teasing in the depth of his eyes. In return, she huffed indignantly. This only made him smile more.
"Yes. Tavern. Where men go," he paused, and then added with a twinkle of his fingers, "and drink." Kayde sobered after a second.
This scared Iris a little bit, even more than going to war scared her anymore. Why? She had never even thought of drinking. After all, the act was considered very distasteful for women... especially in her town. Back then, her father would have given her a right scolding for even considering it. Now, though, she was pretending to be a man.
"Don't look so frightened," he sniffed at her, "even if I myself don't prefer it, it's not that bad."
"If you don't prefer it, why take me?" she had to ask.
Some sort of grin wisped to life on his face. "Reasons."
She gave him a pointed frown.
"Oh, don't make such a face. You got a few hours to prepare. After all, it isn't sundown yet." He began walking.
She followed in his steps out of the horse stable, confused by his previous words. What did sundown have to do with anything? Once she caught up with him, she asked him just that. This made him laugh a little.
"It's just not suggested to drink in the middle of the day," he gave her a once over, "I definitely wouldn't suggest it for you."
"Why not me?"
"Well, for beginners... you've never even tried it before. Not to mention how lightweight you are. Also, you don't want to already be looking sloppy if some of your companions arrive later. You want to wait that part of it out a little bit... make sure you're not the only one and all that," he told her.
This made her eyes widen a little bit, and she turned her gaze away from his face.
"Comforting..."
"You might want to go with the lighter stuff," he added.
In response, she gave him a rather enthusiastic nod.
"On another note, as we find this tavern, I'd like to discuss what happened this morning," his expression went somber.
"Wait, we're going now?" she interrupted him, "I thought you said that we shouldn't until later."
His mouth was open until she finished her sentence, and then he immediately snapped it shut. With a smirk that admittedly made a part of Iris want to punch Kayde, he began to badger her. When had he formed that habit?
"It is times like these when I remember that you're a girl," he goaded, "and I said we would wait until later for actually drinking. We can still go there to converse and eat. After all, like you said, there doesn't appear to be much else we can do here."
Iris huffed up a little bit, wanting to badger him about something right back, but kept silent. After all, what could she even say to him? She remained quiet until they entered a small, ramshackle building. Upon opening the door, she saw that there were several people there. Most of them were sitting at tables talking to others, and there were a couple of hardier looking men sitting up at a counter, gulping down mugs of what Iris assumed to be ale.
"Welcome," the man behind the counter after he noticed them, "Can I get you anything?"
"Food, if you don't mind... for both of us."
After saying that, Kayde led the still silent Iris to a mildly dilapidated table nearby and they both had a seat. Even though the place seemed to be a little worn down, Iris noted that it had a rather warm feeling about it. She couldn't pinpoint the exact definition of the tavern's aura, but she closely related it to cheer and relaxation. After a few moments of taking in the musty smell and lively atmosphere, Iris finally spoke to Kayde.
"So... do you ever forget that I am a woman?" she referred to his earlier statement.
This made him look at her strangely for a few seconds before remembering what he had said.
"Not likely," was all he said. Then, he went on. "I actually wanted to talk to you about your spar earlier."
"What of it?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Nice trick," he complimented. "Where'd you learn it?"
Immediately, her stomach turned. It was as if she was waiting on him to reprimand her for bad technique or something of the sort. When she stammered, he smiled.
"Oh, don't make that face, girl. I only wanted to tell you that it was a job well done. Good feint. Did Kelgar teach you?"
"Err, no. I improvised," she answered awkwardly, not sure if that was the answer that he wanted to hear.
This made him widen his eyes a little bit, and she hoped it was because he was impressed rather than offended. He didn't get the chance to say anything else before the server came to their table with their food. The server was a younger woman with rich brown hair. Iris looked over her, noting that she was pretty even though she looked a little rough and overworked. Upon placing the meal in front of them, she gave them both a smile before she began speaking.
"Are you one of the soldiers that arrived today?" she asked Iris, smiling sweetly at her.
"I am," Iris replied.
"I was looking out the window and saw all of you coming. Quite an impressive sight," she remarked, and then added glibly, "still an impressive sight."
Iris nodded in thanks, and gave her a small smile. The waitress got a little closer to their table, still chatting animatedly, showering Iris with nice compliments. Listening to this, Iris barely noticed the leery smile Kayde was giving her. That wasn't the only thing that Iris didn't notice.
"Such a shame that such a stunning face has to be marred by battle," the waitress stated boldly. At this declaration, Iris then looked over at a very amused looking Kayde.
Then she understood.
The woman was coquetting with her. Immediately, Iris's cheeks went red and she managed to stutter out a thank you. This made the server smile even bigger.
"Freda!" came a voice from behind the counter. The waitress took a quick glance in the direction of the voice, and then quickly spoke.
"By the by, I am Freda. If you need anything at all, you just let me know."
With a final wink at Iris, she fluttered off quickly. After a few seconds, Iris looked at Kayde. He was looking away from her, trying to hide his enormous grin by propping his hand against his chin. Iris cleared her throat, causing him to look back at her.
"Don't fault me for wanting to laugh," he said.
Her cheeks went even darker.
"I don't fault you. I can't believe how forthright that girl was! Back when I lived at home, I would have never..." she trailed off, not sure what else to add.
This made Kayde chuckle a little.
"Welcome to a tavern. There are more women just like her," he told her, "Not all girls are quite like the soft-spoken, well-mannered Iris Gwenneth."
"Ah."
"In fact, I'd wager that no other girl in the entire country... maybe even the world, is much like Iris at all. I'd go so far as to say that she is probably one of the bravest people that I know," he said with a newfound kindness, gesturing at her armor. This made Iris smile a little, but she didn't reply to it.
"She is a friend to me, you know. A good friend. A person I care for a lot. And I am very glad that I got the opportunity to help her find her courage."
"You are a friend to me too," she told him, "Thank you."
----
Kayde was right when he told Iris that she might see some of her scouting group at the tavern. At sunset, the entire lot of them walked in together... including General Zayn. Seeing that the tavern was nearly full, she motioned for them to come join her at her and Kayde's table. Upon seeing her, they came and each took a seat.
"How has the town been treating you, Ingred?" Ra asked, "I haven't seen you around all day. Have you just been sitting here?"
"Yeah. I couldn't find much else to do," she admitted.
"Ah, you got that right. Sure is a small town."
Upon seeing the addition to their table, Freda quickly maneuvered over. Iris saw that the waitress's eyes were intent upon her. This made her duck her head a little bit, still embarrassed about the earlier occurrence.
"More soldiers I see," she still watched Iris, "You lot don't look as quiet as he does. Can I get you anything?"
The general ordered ale for all of them, and that made Iris become very nervous. The few minutes it took to get the drinks felt like a lifetime to her. She wondered how it would taste, and more importantly, the effect it would have on her. When the mugs were placed at the table, Iris couldn't help but notice that she had received more than the others.
"Thank you, ma'am. That will be all," the general dismissed her.
With another sly smile at Iris, she was off again. The general then looked at Iris, slowly sipping at his drink. She wondered what he was thinking.
"Your plan may just work, Ingred," he spoke, setting down his mug, "I spoke with one of my contacts that lives here in town. By his account, none in his group checked the entire vicinity for another entrance. While his group certainly wasn't the only one to patrol that area, he did mention that it wasn't for lack of trying that they didn't get around to all of it. For all intents and purposes, the place is guarded."
Iris nodded at his words, and then, with shaky hands, lifted her own tankard.
She drank one sip of it, and had to force herself not to recoil at the flavor. It was extraordinarily bitter and felt like fire as it went down her throat. Giving a quick, startled look at Kayde, she took another cautious sip. He was staring at her in thorough amusement. After a few seconds, Zayn started laughing.
"You should see your face, Ingred. Have you never had ale before?"
"Is it that obvious?" she said gruffly, and tried drinking more of it. This had everyone laughing at her.
"I would have to say yes, it is quite obvious. You don't have to drink it, if you wish. After all, it is an acquired taste," he smiled. Iris had never seen him so cheerful. Maybe it was the atmosphere. With a determined look, she kept drinking it, trying her best to look unfazed. By the way the table still chuckled at her, she figured she wasn't successful.
"You oughta have an interesting night," Ra intercepted, and then looked off into the distance, "I remember my first drink..."
As the night went on, Iris became more and more used to the ale. In fact, by the end of the night, she didn't flinch at all from the flavor. Given, she was too busy running amok and doing a multitude of other things that she knew, even in her inebriated state, Kayde -and possibly the others- would definitely not let her forget. She only had enough sense to keep to her voice and hold up her ruse.
"Should we cut him off, general?" Dregar said quietly to the general after a while, who was clearly entertained by Ingred.
"Nah. Let him have it, for experience's sake."
"He's such a lightweight, isn't he? More talkative too." Dregar added with a grin, as if he were agreeing with Zayn, "On the way here, he seemed so reserved."
"I know one thing, he's sure to feel this in the morning," the general finished off his drink, "I will feel sorry for him tomorrow."
"I don't envy the headache that's going to come from that either," the swordsman said with a gesture toward the rogue. Then, he switched subjects. "When are we leaving out?"
"Not until tomorrow evening, at the very least. There's still a couple of things that I have to do here before we go."
"Very well."
Iris didn't notice that everyone in their group seemed to be talking about her now, laughing at her words, even though their teasing was very obvious. Kayde had joined in as well, as he was not at all effected by the drinks he was brought.
Iris didn't even notice that Kayde had to cradle her body and carry her from the tavern to where they were staying for the night.
When they got to the inn, they were immediately granted a room. The general was the only one who got a room to himself. The others had to share. Luckily, Iris and Kayde were assigned a room together.
Kayde, after the innkeeper unlocked their door, carried her in and sat her on one of the beds. It didn't take long at all for her to fall into a deep slumber. He laid down in the other bed, still chuckling at her. He had expected the night to go just as it had.
What a night it had been.
After a few minutes, he himself fall asleep as well.
It wasn't long before he woke up, though.
He expected to be roused by sun's first light, but he wasn't that lucky. Getting to his feet quickly after waking up, he knew that the other soldiers were likely doing the same thing --not counting the still-snoring Iris. No, she slept right through the loud toll that seem to ring right through the very walls. Kayde knew by the following shouts outside, that this was an alarm bell.
The town of Morthrior was under attack.