The night passed about as normally as it had every night for as long as Sera had been serving the residents and visitors of Revera. She served the sake and stew to the two Asunese rangers, who offered little more than a courteous nod of acknowledgement; the stew to the fur trader, who in turn asked for another ale; and Mr. Salter, who of course, asked for a follow-up ale soon after before falling asleep face-down on the table. She answered calls for ale and various foods that the tavern had to offer, turned down calls for food and drink that they didn’t. She laughed and gossipped with Chelsie as well as the two other girls, Marie and Grace. A perfectly average night.
As usual, the night passed in a blur. Before she knew it, Sera realized that closing time was near. Simon would begin pushing people out of the place in about two hours' time and the tavern was still just as lively as ever with the noise of singing, shouting, drinking men.
Sera made her way to the backmost long-table, twisting quickly out of the way of one of the stumbling patrons who seemed to have forgotten how legs work. She laughed along with several men who noticed and cheered her for her maneuver which not only kept her from colliding with the man, but also avoided spilling any of the precious liquid contained within the seven glass mugs which she was carrying. Sera passed by old men, who talked on and on of “the good ol’ days” and young men, who sought to prove their worth by how much alcohol they could drink. She offered smiles to tired merchants who had been on their feet all day, weary husbands seeking peace away from their nagging wives, and the many, many mercs who had just returned from their shifts keeping guard against any Chimera that wandered too close.
Sera set the glasses down with an audible thunk when she had reached the back table to a group of men who cheered with slightly more enthusiasm than the rest, as it was their drinks that she had avoided spilling, after all. She laughed a girly laugh and then composed herself and performed a cute curtsey before turning to get back to the bar where she would find another round of drinks to be delivered elsewhere. A series of chink’s could be heard behind her as the men celebrated the safe arrival of their drinks.
Sera smiled to herself. Another average night to end her perfectly average daily routine. She did not know that tonight would be different. Sera had no idea that in about three seconds, her life would change forever.
She was three tables away from the bar when an arm reached out. The merc wrapped his arm around her waist and roughly pulled her onto his lap.
“Hey thare sweetie. Why don'tcha take a break and spend some time with me, eh?” The man’s breath reeked of ale as he spoke vile things into her ear, so close that she could feel the rough stubble of his chin scraping her neck.
“Ha ha,” She laughed nervously, “Sorry, Sir but I have drinks that need to be served right away.”
The mercs were a rough type, but they were usually harmless, for the most part. In the past, Sera had experienced some rude ‘compliments’ or even the occasional inappropriate pinch. In those cases a slap on the hand and a wag of her finger or just a stern scowl from her father and an indication as to the direction of the door was enough to set them straight. Tonight was different, though. Something didn’t feel right about this particular man, and her father was nowhere to be seen.
The merc continued to breathe lewdly in her ear.
“Please, Sir. I have to go.” Sera protested.
“C’mon,” he pushed, “What’s your hurry?”
“Bet she’s nice and tight.” She heard from further down the bench.
“Oh-ho I bet she is. Said the merc who held her in his lap. Sera felt his hand close around her butt.
She was hot, her blood felt as if it were boiling. Without a thought, she spun around, but her rage immediately turned to mortification at the sound that silenced the tavern as her hand passed across his face. The laughing had stopped. All conversations had ended abruptly. Aside from the sound of a distant mug meeting a table, all Sera could hear was the ringing in her ears. She had made a mistake.
In a flash, the man was up from the bench and Sera found herself pinned backward over the end of the long table. “Just who the fuck do you think you are?” he shouted at her.
A red-face man stood up with a smile and approached them, ale in hand. He clapped a hand on the merc’s shoulder. “C’mon, man. Let the girl go and have a drink on m-”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The man was cut off as another merc swung a fist at him, throwing the well-meaning drunk back against a wall of on-lookers. Others stood to intervene, but retreated back when the merc’s friends stood up against them, blades at the ready.
Sera was in pain, her spine was being pushed to its limits. She felt her back pop and drew her legs up to try and straighten out. She instantly regretted that when she realized how it looked with her knees on either side of her attacker.
“Hoo-hoo!” The man crowed, his rage having dissolved back to a disgusting kind of lust. “Lookie boys, I think she wants it!”
Sera pleaded as she struggled with all her might against the large man, managing to push back a few inches before being pushed back down.
“Woo-hoo! You’re pretty strong! A real fighter!” He said in genuine surprise before leaning in close. “I like that.”
A few men stepped forward, opposed to the display that they were bearing witness to, but the other mercs who had taken up to defend their friend’s deviance dissuaded any action against him. At the bar, the three other barmaids stood frozen with horror before one whispered in another’s ear, sending her off to find Simon.
As Sera struggled against her captor, a circle of dangerous men had formed around them. They stood against the encircling crowd, bearing weapons and murderous expressions daring anyone to make a move against them.
By now, nearly every occupant of the room was on their feet. The majority stood against the assault on the young barmaid. Only a handful of men defended the drunk merc’s disgraceful activity, but they were armed and seemed to have no reservations against taking a life.
The sound of metal sang through the air as one of the Asunese rangers took notice of the situation and drew his blade before making his way towards the epicenter of the night’s disturbance. His companion joined him bearing her own exotic curved weapon.
The fur trader drew a large thick knife and stood, but made no further action as he began to second-guess himself.
A few noble souls contemplated charging, regardless of the risk. There were even several mercs who wouldn’t stand for the offense, carefully brandishing their own weapons. Some pacifists attempted to convince themselves that they were being smart and waiting for a better option to present itself, while others cowardly hoped to be able to get out of the way in time. The atmosphere was tense. The scene was about a minute away from becoming a bloodbath.
Sera screamed. His chest was pushed against her chest. His breath was inescapable. His vile tongue waggled disgustingly in her face. She begged for him to stop. She sobbed as he groped her. She cried for her father, for Chelsie, Marie, Grace, anybody.
“Someone help me! Please! Help!”
He propped himself against her. With one arm, he pinned down her shoulders while the other went to her waist, her hip, her butt. Then he reached down her leg, his hand ran under her dress. His rough clumsy fingers glided up her inner thigh.
“No!” Sera screamed.
In that moment, before the act could cross that line, someone lifted the man off of her and he was heaved across the room. Exclamations sounded as the surrounding onlookers scrambled to get out of the way.
Sera was on her feet immediately, her back against a heavy wooden pillar.
“Thank you!” She blurted. Tears were streaming down her face as she frantically searched for her rescuer. “Thank you, so much!”
The mercs who stood in defense of their comrade and his intent to do such despicable things to her stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring at her in shock. Then, they fled from her in a desperate sort of fear.
Words like “Don’t hurt us!” and “We’re sorry!” were shouted as they scrambled to push through the crowd and out the door. As the villains fought to escape, pleading for their lives, Sera stood, legs shaking, she felt lost and confused.
Just moments before, these hardened killers were ready to take on a whole crowd of men. What could such men be scared of? It was as if they were scared of her. Sera would have laughed if not for what almost just happened to her. The idea was just so ridiculous.
“He’s dead!”
The words shook Sera from her shock. She turned her gaze to the source of the grim announcement.
To her horror, the man who had just been pressed on top of her laid back against a table on the other side of the aisle, his neck bent at an awkward angle, his eyes rolled up, staring at nothing.
The man who knelt at his side, looked up at Sera in shock. “She killed him!”
Another dumbfounded man pointed his finger at her. “Magic…” he said. “She used magic.”
Sera’s whole body shook. Her mind was spinning. Nothing made sense. She didn’t kill this man. Magic? This was ridiculous, impossible. Someone had saved her, right? That must be what happened!
But no one was there to claim responsibility for her rescue. All around her, Sera only heard the murmurings of dumbstruck men.
“Magic.”
“That was magic, if I ever seen it.”
“I must have drank too much.”
“We all saw that, right?”
The word echoed around her like a voice in a cave.
“Magic.”
“Magic.”
“Magic.”
Just then, Simon burst through the crowd. He paid no regard to the dead man on his floor as he quickly scooped up his petrified daughter into his massive arms. No one stood in his way as he rushed her off to the back room, slamming the door behind him.