Utterly confused from her statement, Raghnall couldn't help but pry more into it. And so, he accidentally let out his thoughts.
"Why can't you? Even if it was a faraway place, you had a way coming here. So, why can't you just go back the same way? Unless… you've done something and now you're hiding?"
Inna frowned when she heard his cautious tone. Then, with irritation clear in her voice, she suddenly stood up from the bench with furrowed brows as she spoke to Raghnall.
"Are you suspecting me of something? Do you think I am capable of doing something bad? And why are you insisting on me leaving? Do you want me to leave so badly?"
Raghnall's eyebrows shot to the roof when he was caught unaware by the sudden twist of the conversation. And he hurriedly tried to answer any misconceptions she held, hoping it would make the hurt in her tone disappear.
"No! No, I mean I would believe it though if you did something because you know… you kinda have a tiny loose screw on your head--BUT! I'm not suspecting you at all! And I wasn't thinking of anything bad! I-I wasn't… I swear… I'm just… Just curious, yknow? And I'm not asking you to leave! Stay! Please stay! I was just… I-I was… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
Raghnall sighed as he felt his mind go blank. He didn't know what else to say so he just stood up and grabbed her sleeve while apologizing again and again. Then, he covered his face with his hand as he tried to regain his calm.
This girl is probably the only one in the whole world that could ever make him stumble on his words like that.
Or even make him apologize without a fight.
Realizing that, he held on his grip tighter as he whispered.
"Don't go…"
Inna caught his whisper and couldn't help but feel bad for him. She was getting irritated from her own frustrations and she ended up taking it out on him.
She's pissed at the fact that she's trapped in this world, unable to see her minions. But at the same time, she felt that hating this world would be cruel to the people living in it, like Solomon, Raghnall, Rhys, Ulima, and to everyone that made her abnormal existence feel a bit normal.
But she really didn't want to talk further unless she wasn't sober. And so, she gently grabbed the hand that was latched onto her sleeves as she slowly asked.
"Do you have alcohol?"
Raghnall froze at the abrupt and unexpected question.
Here he was, apologizing his heart out to her and she asked that?!
Raghnall found the situation so ridiculous and strange that he couldn't help but release a small laugh. But he smothered it immediately with his hand, fearing it might make Inna misunderstand.
Inna's glare got darker as she suddenly gripped his hand tightly.
"I swear to god, I will break your hand in a flash if you're laughing at me."
Raghnall went into a fit of coughs as he tried his hardest to stop his laughter from escaping. Then, after a few seconds, he swallowed all the laughter he was holding back as he smiled charmingly at her.
"You seem so obsessed with alcohol, huh. I didn't take you for an alcoholic."
Inna released her grip of his hand as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm not. It's just that I know I get chatty when I'm tipsy so… If you give me, I can answer your questions to your heart's content."
Raghnall immediately withdrew his hand as he gave her an incredulous look.
"Chatty? No way are you anywhere near being just 'chatty' when you drink. You are also violent, loud, childish, unreasonable, scary, unpredictable, and--big emphasis on this one--crazy!"
Inna gave him a flat look while crossing her arms.
"No. That was me drunk, not tipsy."
Raghnall narrowed his eyes at her as he too crossed his arms childishly.
"Drunk. Tipsy. Whatever. They're the same."
Inna clicked her tongue in irritation.
"Okay fine, Mr. Protective Parent. If you don't want to give me the alcohol, I'm leaving."
Inna turned around and was about to wall down the little stairs of the pavilion when Raghnall suddenly appeared in front of her with a bottle in his hand.
He held a reluctant face as though he was saying it couldn't be helped as he gingerly gave it to her.
"Fine. Okay, I'll give this to you. So, just stay. It's the lightest wine I could grab but it still is quite strong for you so don't drink too much."
Inna took the wine bottle carefully with a grateful smile. Then, she opened it to try and smell its aroma all the while asking him what its name was.
"Fairies in the Flower. Its meant for women to drink when they're with their mothers in their homes hence the name. But men can drink it too for leisure although not many men would like its sweet aftertaste."
Inna's eyes showed surprise when she learned that it was sweet. Then, with an eager smile on her face, she hurriedly tried to take a sip straight from the bottle.
"Oh! It really is sweet! It tastes like sweetened honey but less dense."
Raghnall nodded as he slowly guided them back to the bench.
"Yeah, its made from fermented flowers and a few their oils and poisons."
Inna spat out the wine in her mouth.
"Poison?!"
Raghnall chuckled at her reaction.
"Don't worry. It's in small doses. It wouldn't harm anyone unless you drink a whole lake filled with it."
Inna sighed in relief at that. Then, she continued to drink the sweet wine while talking about various stuff relating to wines.
It seems that Raghnall was a sort of wine aficionado. He loves collecting them and tasting them since he claimed that it was his lifelong dream to find a wine that can make him dead drunk in one cup.
And so, while engrossed in Raghnall's talk regarding the best wines in Anemoly, Inna just kept taking sip after sip of wine until she soon began to feel chatty herself.