Lies Dressed In Lace

Untitled Part 24

I walk into the tavern and find Valtok sitting alone at a small table with a mug of ale. "Drowning sorrows or celebrating?" I ask sitting down at the table with him.

    "Neither just drinking." I nod.

    "The healer said I would have to wear these for a few more weeks and it no longer pains me perhaps I shall live after all." I joke making him smile for once, "So he does smile."

    "I suppose he does." For the rest of the night we joke and enjoy each others company like we use to.

    The next morning I find a sleeping Valtok laying in bed next to me with an arm thrown over his eyes to block out the sun. I jab him with my elbow earning a pain filled groan but he only rolls over and continues snoring softly. "Valtok, wake up." He snores louder. I smack the back of his head and watch Woflies head pop up over the side of the bed, his hair stuck up at odd angles and droopy sleep filled eyes. Valtok stretches but doesn't move. "Are you awake or should I hit you again?"

    "I'm awake." He says rolling over to face me. "You don't have to yell."

    "I'm whispering." I laugh when his face pinches up in pain. "Come on we have to get up I need food."

    "How are you not as hungover and I am?"

    "Because I didn't drink as much as you." His eyes widen.

    "Yeah, you drank more than me!" I laugh and get out of bed.

    "Come on, I heard the rebels are going to hold a meeting today, open to everyone in town." He groans and pulls the blankets over his head.

    "Later." I pull the blankets off of him and open the window more.

    "Come on its a beautiful day." He buries his head in the pillows curling into a ball. "I guess I will go alone then, maybe I'll kill them right there on the square. What do you think, poison dart or slitting their throats?" I ask as I stand up and hunt for a skirt to blend into the crowd a little.

    "Whatever you do don't draw the attention of their guards or their followers." He grumbles.

    "But that's the fun part." He opens his eyes to see if I'm serious then sighs and stands up.

    "Fine I'll go with you, but then we're coming back here and I'm going to teach you to pick locks for the rest of the day, it's the quietest task I can think of." He rubs his eyes and leaves my room. I find a simple dress stuffed in one of my bags but for a peasant dress it's too clean and the stitches are too straight and neat. I discard the dress for my pants and a long dirty tunic. I meet Valtok downstairs and grab a hunk of bread and cheese to split with him on the way there. The meeting is being held in the large clearing beside the tavern where I met Ak'balla. A large crowd forms around a set of boulders that lean heavily on each other band are just far enough away from the small stream to not get wet but you can hear the trickling water between the conversations. Valtok pulls his hat low over his face to hide his eyes from view but his full lips are quirked up in a handsome smile. I notice the stubble on his cheeks for the first time today noting that he's usually clean shaven. Without his piercing blue eyes and the stubble he looks handsome but rather ordinary. Any girl would look twice maybe even a third time, but they wouldn't be completely his until he turned his eyes on them. I shake my head when I notice his smile has turned into a smirk aimed at me.

    "Like what you see princess?"

    "Not particularly." I wave him off casually and turn my attention to the rocks just as ixir climbs them with Ak'balla beside him ever the dutiful sister. She looks over the crowd and her soft brown eyes find mine, we share a smile and then she moves on. I didn't tell valtok I heard about the meeting from her.