The name Myrmurrian kept ringing in James’ head, followed by intense pain and memories of his parents. James vigorously rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes tight.

Come to me, a deep and dark voice said to James in his head.

Leave me alone, James thought.

That dreaded name had been ringing in his head for months, along with that voice. That strange, evil voice.

“James? Are you alright?” Alaris, James’ lifelong friend, asked him.

James was sucked out of his head and back into reality with those words.

“Yes.”

He had forgotten where he was or what was going on when he opened his eyes.

He sat in the Lion Claw Tavern, the most visited Tavern in Rosepost, where he agreed to meet Alaris. It’d been years since they last saw each other and he, when he wasn’t battling random headaches, couldn’t have been happier. After James’ parents vanished, Alaris’ father, Merlis, who was a close friend of James’ father, took James in and raised him as his own son. Raised as brothers, James and Alaris grew a bond unbreakable with even the strongest of swords, as though they were two pieces of metal melted to create something stronger, forever welded.

The tavern was a big wooden building filled with tables and chairs which always had people sitting in them. Winter or not, the tavern never saw a shortage in customers.

“When was the last time you slept? You look drained.” Alaris stated.

“I haven’t slept since the King began sending me all over Rosepost to his work.” James answered.

In contrast to James, Alaris’ curly hair was honey blonde and his eyes were bright green. A single diamond earring was pierced through his left ear, twinking in the light of the chandelier swinging above. A small depiction of the sun was tattooed on the pale skin of his right hand.

“You do know that you can tell him no, don’t you?” Alaris questioned. “It’s not like he will actually do something to you.”

“Maybe not,” James replied, “but I’m sure it’ll be the one time he’ll make his knights do something.” James sighed. “I don’t understand why he won’t send his guards to do anything. First he sent me to get the Princess back, then to help the elves, and now collecting taxes. These things are literally what his knights are for.”

“You know how he is. He thinks his knights are ‘worth more’ than us. It’s shocking that anybody can be that cruel.” stated Alaris.

“I’m honestly shocked nobody has overthrown him yet.”

A waitress, wearing a brown apron with various stains on it, approached their table and placed a wooden cup filled with ale in front of James, next to the small sack of gold coins, and one in front of Alaris.

“Thank you.” James said as the waitress nodded and walked away.

“How have you been holding up?” James asked. “Regarding your mom.”

Alaris sighed and grabbed the wooden cup. “I’ve been okay, surprisingly,” he said. “I know it’s been years since it happened, but it still hurts.”

“You know it wasn’t your fault, right?” James questioned as Alaris sipped the ale from the cup.

“Do you really think that? She became depressed after I was born. And there was nothing I could do to help her.” Alaris answered.

“If that’s the case, then it’s my fault and Merlis’ fault as well. Neither of us could help her either.” James stated.

“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about this, James,” Alaris quickly said, shrugging his shoulders and scratching his neck. “Why did you even bring that up?”

“We haven’t talked since her funeral. I just-”

“I’m fine, James. Please don’t bring it up anymore.”

“Sorry.”

An awkward silence fell over their table like thick fog. They both looked everywhere else except at each other, pondering what to say or if they should just not say anything at all.

“So,” Alaris began, rapidly tapping the table with his fingers. “Are you going to the Evergreen Festival tonight?”

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“I thought about it, but I don’t know.” James replied, sipping his ale.

“You’re going. You need a break.” Alaris said.

“A break from what?” James laughingly asked.

“Life.”

“Are you and Merlis going too?”

“I am, but I think Dad is too busy finding a new bed buddy at his church to replace Mom.” Alaris joked.

“Merlis is way too old to be on the prowl.”

“Do you not remember when he tried talking to that lady shortly after Mom’s funeral? I don’t think he understands that he’s too old.” Alaris grinned.

Briefly turning, James looked through all the heads of all the other people enjoying their drinks and saw, through a window, that the sun was going down, the sky painted beautiful, dark shades of orange, blue, and purple.

“Should we go visit him before it gets too late?” James happily suggested.

James could immediately tell Alaris didn’t want to, given that his bright smile quickly faded.

“Honestly, James,” Alaris began, “I just want to spend the rest of the day with you. Not him.”

“Alright,” James answered slowly, head tilted. “Did you guys get into an argument?”

“No,” Alaris briefly looked down at the table before raising his head to face James again. “After Mom died,” he began, his eyes becoming glossy, “I went to his house because I felt alone and I guess I wanted comfort and he told me to stop acting like it wasn’t my fault and that I should be happy because she’s finally rid of me.”

His eyebrows raised and eyes widened, James couldn’t believe what he’d just been told.

“You know, I’ve never understood why he treated me like I wasn’t his son,” Alaris stated, briefly smiling as though it would block the tears rushing to his eyes. “He always said that I was the spawn of the Devil.”

“You both always seemed so close when we were growing up.” James said in disbelief.

“That was an act, James. He did everything he could to make it seem like he had the ‘perfect son’ because he didn’t want to be embarrassed at his church.”

The scream-laughter from a man somewhere in the tavern startled both James and Alaris, causing James to turn his head briefly. While he wasn’t looking, Alaris quickly took the chance to wipe his eyes dry.

“You’re not the spawn of the Devil. Given that he thinks it’s fine to speak to his son like that, I’m sure the Devil is a much better person than he is. I’m sorry you had to go through that,” James said. “You do know that you can always talk to me about anything at any time, don’t you?”

“You’re always busy with your farm. I don’t want to bother you.”

“I’m never too busy to not want to see you, Alaris. You were always there for me when we were younger, so of course I’m going to be there for you.”

“Enough about me,” Alaris said, taking another sip from his cup. “Let’s talk about you.”

“What about me, exactly?” James asked with a slight smile, his eyes narrowed.

“That girl you were looking at before we came here,” Alaris began, motioning his head over to the door of the tavern, “you like her?”

James smiled and looked down at the table.

Before he and Alaris arrived at the tavern, they were having a rather pleasant conversation in front of a building. And then, as Alaris walked away thinking he was following, he saw her. A girl. The most beautiful, in his eyes. Something about her clear, light brown skin, her long, curly brown hair, her shiny, dark brown eyes, glistening in the afternoon sun, and her bright, infectious smile made him nervous. But in a good way.

Had Alaris not regained his attention as he walked away and had she not been standing next to a man which James assumed to be her husband, he would have spoken to her. Even if it was just a simple “Hello,” he would have said it.

“Maybe,” James answered, lifting his head. “But I’m quite sure the man with the gray eyes was her lover.”

“They looked too much alike to be lovers.” Alaris stated.

“That’s not always true. Sometimes people look exactly the same and aren’t related at all.” James answered.

“I know that,” said Alaris. “Remember when you were nine and I chased that boy with a rock because I thought he was you?”

“I still don’t understand why you were chasing me, well, him, in the first place.” James chuckled.

“I thought you stole that wooden knight that I had.” Alaris laughed.

“Anyway,” Alaris began, briefly peeking through all the heads behind James to look out the window. “You’ll neve know unless you talk to her. Which you will be doing at the Evergreen Festival tonight.”

“I think she just moved here. She probably won’t even be there.”

“She might.” Alaris said, eyebrows raised.

“Why are you pushing this so hard?” James asked.

“Because I’m your older brother and that’s what older brothers do,” Alaris joked. “And you’re nineteen and have never even been close to a girl.”

“Maybe because I don’t waste myself on prostitutes.”

Alaris’ gaped mouth slowly became a small laugh. “Remind me not to tell you where I occasionally go after work ever again.”

“Speaking of work,” James started, taking a sip of his ale. “Do you still work at that smithing place?”

“No,” Alaris happily answered. “I quit it because I got sick of the knights and their rudeness. I work at a woodworking place now. Which didn’t make much of a difference since it’s uptown and that’s where all the knights live. It pays more though. So I don’t have to constantly worry about the taxes on my house.”

“You live uptown now?” James asked.

“Of course not.”

“Speaking of taxes,” James sadly said as he grabbed the small sack of gold coins on the table and stood up. “I should probably go take these to the King before he loses his mind.”

“Oh alright,” Alaris said as he stood up. “We should really meet up more often.”

“We really should. At least once a week,” James replied. “I’ll see you tonight.” he said as he and Alaris hugged.

“See you then.”