Chapter 34:
Closing the Distance
Having passed through the gates at Cailith, Silas and Captain Laurent were able to easily enter the city. Being surrounded by so many people without his disguise on, Silas felt naked. One wrong move could take off his hood, and then he would be exposed to the people here. Most Yursineans hated elves with a passion that defied all, and their racism was especially prevalent in the large city. There was no trace of elven people, let alone any elven materials or items. There were even some wanted posters of elves hanging on the -outsides of wooden posters around town, making Silas feel more afraid.
"Just stay quiet, and nothing will happen to you." The captain said placatingly, feeling Silas's tense body in front of him. "No good will come of you being exposed now."
"I know." Silas responded coldly, keeping his head low.
Beau and Silas were still riding the horse, making their way through the wide stone streets as they walked down the middle of the path. With his armor and his horse, it was easy to tell he was a high-ranked knight of the castle. Townspeople saw him and parted the path ahead, many even waving and cheering towards Captain Laurent with ardent appreciation.
The pair did not stop until they found a large inn at the end of the main strip in the middle of the city. There were stables not far from the inn, and Beau was able to lower Silas down from the horse after he had jumped down himself. As his hands traced over Silas's waist, he found the man was thin, almost too thin for someone his size. Even after he had set Silas down and moved his hands, he still felt somewhat strange.
Do these elves not eat? How could a soldier be so thin? Beau thought to himself.
As Silas and the captain stood by the stables, Beau paying the stable hand to attend to the horse, Silas shifted his feet, wanting to move a little farther from the captain if he could. Beau saw this and interpreted it differently than Silas, and his eyes narrowed with a dark light.
"Run and I'll let the people here tear you apart." The captain warned under a thinly veiled smile. Silas looked over his shoulder at the captain and snorted, expressing his irritation. Seeing this, Beau wrapped his arm around Silas's waist and pulled him close to his chest with natural movements, as if he were bringing his lover into his arms.
"What are you doing?" Silas was angry, wanting to shrug off the man's grip, but his hand was like cement, and with his current strength he would not be able to shrug off his hand, let alone a fly.
"We should head to our room, dear. It's getting late, and you look so tired."
The stable hand saw the two standing close and hugging intimately. The young boy's freckled face was full of red, and he stuttered as he handed Beau back the change for the horse. The captain chuckled as he led Silas by the arms to the inn, smiling sarcastically as Silas did not attempt to hide the deep scowl on his face.
"Fuck you." Silas smiled as he said this quietly, just loud enough to reach the captain's ears.
"Is that an offer?" The captain said back, his voice low as he barely held back a laugh, "Relax, it's much more convenient to pretend we're lovers than an officer and his prisoner."
Silas forced himself to stay quiet and lowered his head as Beau led them into the inn, the captain's arm still wrapped around his waist like a lock. The inn itself was a large, stone building with tall, thin windows. There were some tables and chairs in the front of the house, while the desk at the front was fairly decorated, more so than the small inns Silas and Meredith had stayed at before. Even the wood counter was freshly polish, and it gleamed like gold coins as Silas and Beau approached the counter with heavy steps.
"We would like a room." Beau spared no words, and he spoke directly, frightening the male attendant at the desk.
The attendant was a thin, tall man. If anything, he looked as if a wind gust could blow him over, let alone the strong presence of the captain. Seeing the man holding onto his companion at his hip, the attendant nodded understandingly and said, "For a single room, it will be-" Before he could finish, Captain Laurent grabbed an item out of his coin purse with his free hand, tossing it onto the counter with a lazy throw of the hand.
Silas, with his head lowered and covered by the hood, was only able to see it was a decorated gold coin, one that must have belonged to the military. There were similar tokens in the Faelfier Kingdom, but only captains or higher had them, and he had never seen Adora's token other than when they had traveled through some towns. Using it here was like announcing your status, and seeing Beau use it so casually, he must have been used to throwing his weight around.
"Of course, we will prepare your room immediately. One of our workers will carry your bags upstairs." The attendant did not need to ask for payment, he instead bowed his head, picking up the token before passing it back to Captain Laurent, holding it carefully in both hands. The captain plucked the token from his hands and put it back in his bag, smiling at Silas with a smug grin that made Silas's blood boil with rage.
Pompous barbarian. Silas thought, feeling his headache worsen at the captain's actions. He wanted to cut the large thug's head off, but his body was still so weak, and his head was still spinning. Besides, doing such a thing would reveal his identity as an elf, which in an area such as this would be worse than a death sentence.
The captain nodded his head lightly as he responded, "No need. What time will dinner be served?"
"Dinner will be at six o'clock. One of our attendants will deliver your meal upstairs."
Tightening his grip on Silas's waist, the captain smiled brightly and said aloud, "Perfect. Please do not bother us until then."
Silas's eyes bulged for a moment as his hood-covered head turned to Beau, but Beau did not seem to react. The attendant froze and bowed his head, his face stiff as he tried to maintain his professional expression. The captain patted Silas and said in a low, gentle voice, "Come on, now. Let's rest for a while." He lowered his head next to Silas's ear and said, "Shall we, Serafina?"
Silas ground his teeth, hiding his furious expression with the cover of his hood. His face was flushed pink in anger, and Beau chuckled to himself quietly as he looked at Silas's face, enjoying teasing the expressive elf. It was a shame he would be sent to trial so fast. But, the reward was well worth the entertainment provided by the elf.
After grabbing their light baggage, Beau's hand stayed wrapped around Silas's waist as they walked up the stairwell to their room. While they walked up the wide wooden stairwell, Silas could hear the whispers of the inn workers, chattering amongst themselves of the captain's new, concealed companion. Their faces were pale with fright, some mischievous, as if they had found out a naughty secret, while others were disinterested in the information, preferring to serve the man until he left without a fuss.
As he listened to their whispers, Silas grew more irritated. While Beau led him into the room, Silas tried to pull away from him and his death grip, but Beau held firm.
"What's wrong, dear?" Beau asked sarcastically.
"It's not like I can run anywhere, so you don't need to hold me like this." Silas shot back coldly.
"Hmm? Is that so?" Beau asked before suddenly releasing his tight grip on Silas. Silas was not expecting this, and, with a loud gasp, fell to the floor.
"You bastard!" Silas hissed, pulling his hood back slightly to glare up at Beau, who was laughing uncontrollably. Silas attempted to get up, but his legs were shaky and unable to hold his weight as he tried to stand up. Beau watched for a moment, amused, as he said,
"Want a hand up?"
Silas attempted to stand up again, but it only succeeded in making him nauseous and still sitting on the ground. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his swimming vision, before he said, "You put me down here, you barbarian, so help me up!"
Beau laughed again before he bent over and grasped Silas firmly at the waist. In one swift motion, Beau picked up Silas and put him back on his feet.
"Better?" Beau asked, trying to control his laughter as he slipped his hand around Silas's waist again, keeping Silas upright, "Why do you think I didn't tie you up? It wasn't because of my infinite kindness."
Silas glared at Beau for a moment, before he whispered to himself, "If I hadn't used up all my mana, you would've never caught me."
Beau smirked lightly before continuing to drag Silas forward.
After making their way up the stairs, Beau and Silas entered a small room at the top floor of the large inn, resting just on the third floor. The room itself was neutral, but the size reminded Silas of his apartment that he had lived in with Emmeline in the Faelfier Kingdom. When they walked inside, it was decorated simply with quiet pieces, including paintings and woven rugs by local artists, displaying the simple chicness of the Yursinean style.
There were three rooms in the suite: the bathroom, the main sitting room, and the small bedroom on the side, the door wide open, revealing a full bed. They were standing in the middle of the sitting room, looking at the simple decorations and furniture. There was a large couch and an armchair to the side. Seeing the plush chair, Silas could not stop himself from eyeing the chair closely. Following Silas's gaze, he saw the chair. With the shake of his head, he picked up Silas, who protested loudly, before he plopped his wiggling prisoner down into the chair with a dramatic sigh. Beau watched the elf with careful eyes as he moved over to the door, locked it, and placed the key inside of his clothes.
"You seem calm." Captain Laurent asked with a teasing smile, pressing his back against the door and crossing his arms.
Silas did not respond, only huffing with his eyes shut, his dark circles becoming more pronounced on his face. His head stopped spinning as roughly, and he was able to lower his tough act and rest momentarily. For now, he would have to rest before he could plan any escape. Trying to escape now would be beyond foolish. Even Adora, the most uninhibited person he knew, would chastise him for his momentary impulsiveness.
As Beau watched Silas close his eyes, Beau walked over to him and placed his bags down next to the sofa, out of Silas's short reach. Beau then sat down in the middle of the wide seat of the sofa, positioning himself so he could watch for Silas, in case he were to try anything. Beau waited for the elf to do something, watching him closely, but when he heard a slight snore escape from Silas, Beau gawked slightly before shaking his head.
I've seen mana-deprived elves, but one that falls asleep in front of an enemy? That's bold. Beau thought to himself, raising his eyebrow.
When Beau heard the quiet, continuous breaths from the elf, he stood up and checked up on the elf, lowering his finger to Silas's nose, where he felt a weak breath. Shaking his head again, he removed the cape from Silas's body and placed it on the back of the chair, moving Silas only slightly in order to not wake him up.
Picking up Silas, Beau put his arms behind Silas's back and under his knees, trying carefully not to wake up the little rebel. Beau found the man was as light as he was tall. Beau's mind flashed back to when he had his arm around his waist previously. Beau felt a trace of pity, and something else he was unfamiliar with, maybe guilt? The elf was young. It was a shame his life would end so quickly. Silas's head lolled back as Beau stepped through the sitting room, opening the door to the bedroom the rest of the way with a light push of his foot.
There was a large white bed in the room, taking up the majority of the space in the room. Looking at it, Beau lifted the quilt from the top and put Silas down inside with care unlike him. Grabbing the quilt, Beau stopped for a second, looking at the frail, pale elf in the bed and scoffed to himself, throwing the quilt on somewhat haphazardly over the elf as he turned on his heel and walked towards the door, shaking his head at his own stupid actions.
"Some of us are hoping for forgiveness in the afterlife." Beau muttered to himself, feeling somewhat guilty, "Maybe this will be redeeming." Leaving the door cracked, Beau sat on the couch in the middle of the room, crossing his arms as he rested his own sore joints, waiting for the elf to waken before he could begin his interrogation.
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Woop woop! Full chapter of only Beau and Silas (￢‿￢ ) Next chapter will be Holland Joey and Meredith mostly~! What do you guys think of Beau? He's kinda' spicy, I have to say. Thanks so much to Hunny for fixing this for me ♥ Thanks all for reading~!!
Unfortunately, Hunny and my work schedule is going to become very hectic in the next two weeks, so we may be slow to respond to stuff ;; But good news is that I'm working on the YMtK webtoon finally~! I'm still learning how to use EX, so pardon the messiness. See that here! Hunny and I will be working together on that (again haha). I'll keep progress shots up occasionally too!
And, if you want to help keep us extra motivated while we work, send us a ko-fi or leave a comment ♥ And don't forget to stay active on discord for CG (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ or even... see our spotify list?