"Can you—"
Rey was all ears and attentive to listen to the request which Princess Citrea wanted to make of him.
As long as it was not an outrageous demand or something that was beyond his capabilities as a person, Rey was open to considering it as an act of good will to her.
The princess now hid her hands behind her back, fiddling with them in embarrassment.
She was slightly ashamed to be making such a request of Rey who was supposed to be a guest under their rocky roofs but she felt the need to do so.
Princess Citrea didn't like that she was marking their first meeting with a plea but Rey's voice had been so captivating and his song so touching that she couldn't hold back the urge.
"What is it you want to ask me, princess?" Rey repeated himself a second time.
Princess Citrea averted her gaze, her cheek turning picking much to the half-elf's surprise.
'I can't believe she is a shy person. Wasn't she laughing to her fill when I was singing?'
Rey seemed to be taken aback by the dwarven princess' sudden timid behaviour in front of him.
"Can you sing on my birthday?"
Rey froze, his face becoming deadpan and almost pale.
He did a mechanical turn of his face towards the princess, somehow disappoint that this was the request that had gotten stuck in her throat for minutes.
'Is that what she found difficult to ask me?' Rey wondered.
"I'd really love it if you will," Princess Citrea added with her warm smile.
The duo were soon joined by two hefty dwarves with mohawk-style deep reddish-brown hair.
A glance at them and Rey could tell, from how their faces were practically the same, that these two dwarves were twins.
Their presence drew the attention of the half-elf as well as the princess' toward them.
In each of their right hand was a spear, one for each twin, that served as their weapon.
It was crude and the edges of the metal points were a tad bit jagged.
"Princess…" the twin dwarves greeted and bowed their heads to Princess Citrea.
Lifting their heads, they also recognised Rey's presence and place as the guest of the Brownbeard Royalty by bowing to him as well albeit shorter than they had done for the princess.
"Torin. Lorin," Princess Citrea pointed out as she noticed them.
"We have to go now, princess," the slightly taller of the two brothers informed the dwarven princess.
"Is it already time to go, Torin," she tried to protest but the twins remained unreactive and rooted to the spot.
From Rey's point of view as he watched, it was as if Torin and Lorin already knew what to expect; as though they could read and see right through the princess.
The taller twin, Torin, scratched his cheeks, drawing Rey's attention to the cross- pattern scar over his right cheek.
'That's some very deep cuts,' he assessed with mere eyes alone.
"Yes, princess. You know how worried His Majesty can get if you return late," Torin reminded her as his twin brother, Lorin, bobbed his head in support of the former's assertion.
The image of King Albedo halfway to fainting from worrying about his daughter, or pacing back and forth while muttering to himself, formed inside the princess' head.
She puffed and exhaled while giving her two assigned guards a protestant glare.
It was as though she was commending them for managing to win her this time and at the same time, warning them that they won't always win.
She then turned her eyes to Rey, waiting for his answer as Torin and Lorin dabbed each other behind her back, celebrating the fact that they managed to convince the princess of something on their first try.
It was the first time in a long time that they have managed to do so.
Rey rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the three dwarves, almost like he was looking down from a tower.
"It's cool. I will, if I stick around that long."
Princess Citrea became sombre after hearing Rey's reply.
It simply passed the message that his time with the Brownbeard Dwarf Clan was numbered and he would have to leave them sooner or later.
However, she took solace in his affirmative response. Rey had assured her that he would give her a birthday rendition if he was still with them by then, causing her to clap and smile.
Satisfied with the response to her request, Princess Citrea waved the half-elf goodbye and returned to her quarters in the company of her twin guards.
"Byeeee!" she waved excitedly, grinning until they stopped seeing each other.
Rey simply stood with his right hand dangling from side to side as he looked at the young princess depart.
After she was gone, he exhaled. Now he was back to another problem he needed to solve — Uncas.
"Hey…!" someone called out to Rey but he was too focused on Uncas to hear.
"Psst! Eyes Always Shut!"
Rey's long pointy ears tingled at the sound of that name, prompting him to turn around.
He hissed, disappointed in himself that he reacted to the name.
He didn't like it and he hated it even more that he was responding to it on instinct.
Rey turned and saw Malindar coming closer while swiping her palms together as if cleaning off dust and dirt.
She hung a piece of cloth on her shoulder and marched towards him with heavy steps.
"Hello, Malindar."
"I'm surprised to see you here. Thought you would have gone."
Rey shook his eyes and then pointed to a snoring Uncas.
"Well, I can't leave Uncas here and go."
Malindar laughed. "His mischievous ass would have left you. But that's fine."
The plumpy elf turned and started to leave. "Well, I'm closing up already and everybody is leaving. You best figure it out quickly."
"Yeah. I will," Rey replied to her as he moved to stand behind Uncas.
"Aha! One more thing, elf…"
Rey's attention piqued. "What's that?"
Malindar expressed a wide smile with an undertone of mischief. "Just wanted to say that you are welcome to drink here anytime you want. Got that?"
The half-elf's eyes furrowed and the facial expression on the barmaid's face had him a tad worried.
'What is this one up to now?' Rey thought to himself.