Saudade (Published under Indie Pop)

Chapter 14: Sunset

Chapter 14: Sunset

After the encounter with the mean man and the lost egg, I never dared leave Threy's side while in Borgian Island. I couldn't find Erasmus and that left me with no choice but to stay inside Threy's protection. With all the nasty glares and malicious glances I was receiving, there was no way I would be able to safely walk around this island alone.

The problem was that Threy decided to stay in the noisy, chaotic bar, drinking tons of ale and anything that would probably burn all the insides of my stomach. I stayed with him on his table while watching the pirates and locals partying their own way inside the bar. There were so many of them getting wasted. Some were even publicly making out in every corner of the place. When one man started to rip a woman's clothes off, I tore my eyes away from them. I blushed when I met Threy's.

"I didn't see that. I– I'm not watching them." I started to defend myself but he dismissed me by drinking from his glass.

I watched him as he emptied it and grabbed another one. I wondered if he was a machine that needed fuel to run. It seemed that his need for liquor was never-ending. He had been drinking for hours now and still, he didn't get drunk.

"Don't you want to go to a quiet place like a library? Or a decent diner?" I asked.

He turned to me and I blushed again when I met his eyes. Why do you always have to blush, Primrose? I wanted to slap my own cheeks and punish them for blushing without my permission. This was a major treachery! He looked at the couple making out and I followed his gaze. I felt my cheeks become warmer as I realized what he was probably thinking.

"It would take more to get me drunk," he said.

"No! It's not like that–" He thought I was sending him a message with my question but as I sputter, I realized that there was no sense defending myself from him. So I simply sulked on my chair and said, "Staying here is probably better."

He continued drinking until the service boy came and asked if he could serve us some lunch. That was when I lighted up. This was my chance to eat a proper meal. I wouldn't let this go.

"Something that's not bread and fish!" I answered a little bit quicker than I supposed to. The service boy nodded and left.

I was feeling hopeful and happy by then and waited eagerly for him to come back. Right at the moment, the service boy looked like an angel to me. He was a savior and a knight in shining armor. I wouldn't move an inch and would just wait for him patiently. I saw a short, thin smile forming on Threy's lips and I wondered what I did that amused him.

"I just–I just want to eat something that's not bread and fish," I started to defend myself.

But his smile faded instantly and turned into his usually serious face. I decided to stay silent and wait for the serviceman to come back. People started to sit on their stools as some of them rested and ordered food for lunch. The stage was cleared of the dancers and the band started to play a mellow song. I listened to it as a woman sang about her lover who was a pirate. Her voice was cold and haunting. It was the first time I had ever heard of this song. Well, mainly because in our land, it was prohibited to patronize pirates. Making a song for the love of a pirate would definitely send you to jail. I didn't know if they were too secluded or our land just created walls that were too high to even consider this kind of thing. But I wasn't in the four lands and the law obviously didn't reach this side of the world. I continued listening to the sad song and welcomed the heaviness I was starting to feel in my chest.