Alvery sat in the Shrub Inn pub, a frothy mug of beer in hand, his left shoulder gently nudging Eugene who sat beside him at the table in front of the empty fireplace. Across from them sat Theo Tipping, and Luke Hoyle.

It had been a happy coincidence in Eugene’s words as they had entered the tavern and discovered it filled to the brim with the vacationers enjoying an after dinner drink. The room was hot and muggy with the packed bodies, and the smell of spilled ale and shepherd's pie permeating the air, but the farmer was deterred in the least. Though it had left the seating options quite limited, that is until Luke had waved down Eugene and his house guest.

However, after getting their drinks and exchanging greetings, the four men fell quiet. None of them certain about what to say…

Eugene cleared his throat. “I’ve really been enjoying having Robin here on the farm. Eliza hasn’t been this happy in ages,” he began complimentary.

Luke smiled at Alvery briefly before a wary frown descended over his brow. “I thought your last name was Robin?”

“Right. He didn’t like the idea of forgoing all formalities,” Eugene tried to wave off the observation, already sensing Alvery tensing beside him.

“What is your first name?” Theo asked directly.

“Oh… Uh… I-It’s Ma… Mark.”

Theo and Luke shared flat looks with each other, while Eugene winced at Robin’s terrible lie.

“Sure. Mark Robin,” Luke shook his head with a sigh and took a drink.

“Hey now, some people have business they like to keep to themselves,” Eugene scolded while sitting up straighter in his seat. “Like why you’ve not made an honest woman of Colleen all these years.”

Alvery looked with renewed interest at the older man.

He had already assumed Colleen was married to the father of her son…

Luke let out a grunt and drank his ale. Eugene glanced over at Theo and raised his eyebrows. Apparently whatever Theo Tipping was keeping private couldn’t even be mentioned…

Alvery took the opportunity to study Theo a little more closely, though it wasn’t easy in the dim light despite being seated below the lit chandelier above.

“Yes, well… Being private about a name is a lot stranger in my books… Anyway, there’s more vacationers here than ever before.” Luke shifted the conversation, keeping his eyes on the table in front of him.

“Everyone heard the inn’s open again,” Eugene supplied with a reasonable head tilt.

“I take it it was the inn that burned down a few years ago?” Alvery took an educated guess, and watched as all three men froze, then shifted uncomfortably.

“Yes. We had a room or two ready last year, but we had construction going down the hall, so no one stayed for long,” Luke explained carefully.

Alvery nodded along. “I’m surprised you didn’t add plumbing on the second floor when you had the chance.”

At the safer topic of renovations, the men gradually settled back into the conversation, and even started sharing more eye contact with each other.

However the group was interrupted by Luke and Colleen’s son, Devon.

The young man came out of the kitchen with his shoulders hunched, and taking shuffling steps through the crowd as he made his way over to where his father sat.

Luke eyed his son’s odd behavior curiously before Colleen appeared in the doorway to the kitchen with her hands on her hips and her stare murderous. He let out a weary breath.

“See, maybe the lad wouldn’t go getting into trouble every chance he gets if his parents were-” Eugene’s words were cut by the warning look Luke gave him.

“Hi Dad…” Devon gave a strained smile.

His father waited expectantly without saying a word.

“So… You see… Cyrus and I… we were thinking of maybe… joining the military in the fall, and-”

Luke leaned back in his seat and stared at Colleen.

He assessed the furious flush in her cheeks and neck and returned to his former position.

“I take it your mother is adamantly against this new idea of yours?”

“Well… there isn’t a military post here in Aniselle, and let’s be honest, that’s the only reason she’s against it,” the young man explained while scuffing his boot on the floor.

Luke fought off a smile as he pushed up from his seat and clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s a blessing and a curse to be loved so much by your mother, but tell you what, if by this winter you still think you want to be a soldier, I’ll try arguing your case for you.”

“I’m twenty-two, I don’t need permission from either of you,” Devon jerked back from his father angrily.

Surprised, Luke’s hand fell back to his side, and his good humored expression faded. “Diolla, is that how you put it to your mother?”

Devon rolled his eyes, and the trio of men still seated at the table winced.

“Sorry, but… Take it from me, you don’t want to join the military. Your first two years as a private you’re just a dog to the senior officers, and you’ll be lucky if you don’t get your nose broken,” Alvery volunteered with a shake of his head.

The lad’s attention snapped to the stranger. “I didn’t ask you for your opinion, did I?”

“Devon!” Luke exclaimed, his eyes wide in outrage. “Just what has gotten into you?!”

“Would this have something to do with a certain young woman upstairs who mentioned how handsome officers are…?” Colleen’s shrill voice that sounded from behind her son made him jump and instinctively cower.

He hadn’t been aware of her approach. However he wasn’t able to back away from his mother’s fury as his father remained rooted to the tavern floorboards with his hands on his hips.

Realizing he was effectively trapped between his parents, Devon’s former haughtiness faltered.

“So you’re in the military!” Theo declared loudly, making Alvery flinch as he realized what he’d just revealed.

“Ah, no, no. My father was.” At last, a lie that sounded natural. “I don’t have any skills that’d be good for the military.” A complete truth.

Eugene nodded emphatically. “I’ll say. You look strong now, but I’ve never met anyone more uncoordinated in my entire life.”

During the men’s discussion, Devon saw his chance at escape and so he tried to slip around his father and mother who were staring at Alvery interestedly, however Luke had the peripheral vision of a hawk and seized the back of his son’s shirt.

“Get back in the kitchen. You’ve just given your mother the night off.”

“Wh-What?!” Devon scanned the crowded room with its mountains worth of dirty mugs, plates, and cutlery with dawning horror. “Dad, I-”

“Not another word or I’ll save the military the hassle and break your nose myself.”

Luke’s steely gaze cut to his son, and the lad gulped down the rest of his words.

When he released Devon, the young man hung his head in defeat, then made his way back to the kitchen.

“One of these days he isn’t going to listen no matter how you threaten him,” Eugene chortled while finishing off his pint.

Luke gave a humorless chuckle at his friend’s point, then turned to Colleen. “Joining the military isn’t his worst idea. It’s a decent job, and the empire is peaceful right now.

“It just means the senior officers have extra time to pick on their subordinates,” Alvery muttered bitterly.

“Was your father one of those senior officers?” Colleen guessed.

Alvery swallowed his drink, his gray eyes lost to memory. Luckily this lie didn’t bother him as he felt old anger resurface at the memory of his father. “Yes. He’s a nasty bully.”

“See? It’s a terrible idea! Besides, you know it’s just another phase of his,” Colleen reasoned while crossing her arms and squaring off with her sweetheart.

“Well maybe it’s time we let him try out a few of these phases. He’s never going to figure out what’s right for him unless he sees what they’re like,” Luke countered with a small shrug.

“I’d be happy to let him try out different jobs! But why can’t he pick any that make sense! Remember when he wanted to become a sailor to see the world?”

“It would be an efficient way of doing it without him spending an ungodly amount of coin,” Luke counteredt reasonably.

“He gets motion sickness on a swing!” Colleen threw her hands in the air in frustration.

“Pardon me, ma’am, might I get another ale?” One of the patrons in the crowded pub called out, pulling Colleen from the conversation.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

After casting one final scathing look at her husband that indicated the discussion was far from over, she made her way over to her customer with a smile brightening her face.

Luke meanwhile seated himself back down with a groan. “Guess I’m sleeping in the yard again.”

The men all gave sympathetic smiles.

“Sorry that I can’t offer you Robin’s bed,” Eugene toasted.

“Oh sure. Because you’ve offered every other time she and I have a fight,” Luke retorted sarcastically.

Eugene shrugged innocently.

Robin looked to Theo, not fully understanding the dynamic between the two men.

The cobbler smiled. “Eugene has always acted as Colleen’s champion. Pestering Luke to marry her, and the old bull here isn’t always fond of jabs.”

Alvery grinned back, and was forced to fight off the obvious question of why Luke hadn’t married the mother of his child, as he was the last person who deserved to pry into their personal affairs. Instead he took another drink from his cup.

“So, a military father… I’m surprised he didn’t force you to join him in the ranks,” Eugene turned to Alvery, his voice more boisterous than usual.

Alvery eyed Eugene’s ruddy complexion and gathered that the man had perhaps drunk his ale a mite too quickly.

“Ah. Well… as you said. I’m not the best when it comes to physical activity.”

“Ah, you can’t be that bad,” Luke waved his hand dismissively. “You’re built broad, I bet you could box as well as the rest of us.”

“Now there’s an idea!” Eugene burst out excitedly before turning to Alvery. “How ‘bout we go to the yard and take a few swings. It gets the blood pumping and the ale tastes even better after a good brawl!”

Both Theo and Luke grinned at Eugene. “Bold words from the man who uses any excuse in the book to sit on the sidelines.”

“What the- Luke Hoyle, are you saying I’m a coward?”

“No, no old man. We both know Eliza would give us an earful if we clobbered you too soundly,” Luke shot back while leaning forward.

“That’s it!” Eugene stood up from his seat and slapped his hands on the table, making one or two heads turn toward him. “To the yard we go!”

Theo and Luke stared up at the man still smiling in good fun, then drained their cups in unison and joined him in standing.

Alvery opened his mouth to object, but Eugene had seized his arm and hauled him up with impressive strength. “Come, lad! Time for you to see the natural strength of us farmers!”

“W-Wait, I-”

Eugene proceeded to drag Alvery over the bench they had been sitting on, making the younger man stumble before he was then yanked through the rest of the tavern, much to everyone’s great amusement.

While he wasn’t proud of it, Alvery couldn’t help but wish that Eliza Cremont were present, as he knew there was no chance in Kir that she would permit her husband to take part in casual violence. Better yet, if the kindly older woman was present, she might be able to spare Alvery embarrassing himself soundly… A fate that without her present, was, sadly, guaranteed.

*

There was a lone apple tree that grew in the right corner of the square walled yard of the inn, with a small wooden shed beside it, and stretching from the shed to the opposite end of the yard, a clothesline. A lovely arched, pale blue door with a black latch lay closed to Alvery’s immediate right, and from what he could see, it led out into the alley between the inn and someone’s home.

The only light for the men came from behind where Alvery and Theo stood, from the glow of the kitchen window and the door that remained propped open to let a breeze into its sweltering confines.

“Have you ever been in a fight?” Theo wondered aloud while glancing at Alvery as Eugene Cremont kept rolling his shoulders and Luke set to cracking his knuckles.

“More than I care to count.”

“How many times have you had your nose broken?” Theo smiled.

“Amazingly, none. Though after the first time I got punched in the face I had regular nosebleeds for two years…”

Theo nodded sympathetically. “My older brother was born a cripple, and being the son of a cobbler, we used to get teased a lot as a result… So I was no stranger to scuffles myself.”

“I don’t think I’ve met your brother,” Alvery noted idly while Eugene kept brandishing his fists then dropping them as Luke took his time stretching his legs.

“Ah, he died long ago. He was always sickly, and one winter he sadly caught pneumonia and passed away.”

“Was it the same winter Tia’s mother passed away?”

Theo’s good natured expression fell, and he turned, his gaze sharp. Every inch of him looked as though he were the one ready for a fight.

“No. My brother died eight years before Leonor died.”

Alvery held up his hands in surrender, he should’ve known better…

“Sorry, I had just heard from some of the vacationers about how she died of a fever and I wondered if it was an epidemic at the time.”

Theo didn’t look fully convinced by the explanation. Alvery decided that if he was already in the hole, he may as well say what he had hoped he’d get the chance to say when he’d discovered he’d be drinking with Theo and Luke as well that evening.

“Look, whatever odd family and town secrets there are with Tia, aren’t my business, and I’ll be leaving Aniselle eventually. I will just say though… she isn’t doing well.”

Theo’s anger fell away in an instant, and was replaced with telling concern. Encouraged by this response, Alvery plundered on.

“I ran into her in the woods the other day, and she’s starving… She said the tourists are chasing away any game she can hunt, and they aren’t letting her in town. I’d say she has one bad week away from starving to death.”

Theo looked away, his jaw flexing.

At the very least, he didn’t look like he was going to strangle Alvery during his next breath.

Despite this, the younger man casually slid an extra few inches away from the cobbler, not trusting the tentative reception to his words.

Thankfully, Eugene was impatient and provided distraction from the conversation.

“Stop buyin’ yourself time! Box with me!” Eugene was bouncing up and down, his fists in the air. Alvery had never seen the older man with so much energy before, and he felt the corners of his mouth pull up as a result.

Luke sighed, and released the arm he was stretching. “Alright, alright… only because this time I have two witnesses to save me from your wife.”

Putting his fists up in the air, Luke’s gaze homed in on Eugene, and Alvery suddenly had the sense that this might not be just a normal bit of tavern scuffling, when Devon’s head popped out of the kitchen doorway.

“Dad, mom says you better come inside. Apparently a rough group just came in and they’re demanding rooms.”

Both Luke and Eugene turned toward the young man, and at first, Alvery wondered if Eugene was going to complain, but one look at the seriousness in Devon’s features told them both that it wasn’t an excuse from Colleen to stop the fight.

“Alright.” Luke hurried over to the kitchen steps. “Do they look like thieves? Peris?”

“No… More like mercenaries.”

Alvery felt as though he had been dunked in icy water as Luke and Devon disappeared back inside.

“Ah… what a pity. Next time I’ll have to show you what good fun a bit of brawling can be- something wrong?” Eugene had made his way over to Theo and Alvery, but upon doing so, discovered that the younger man’s eyes remained glued in terror on the doorway.

Theo looked to Eugene, and the two shared a wordless conversation.

“Robin… lad… Do you want to head back to the farm?” Eugene asked quietly.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Alvery forced his mind to free itself from its haze of panic.

“Yes I… I think the ale isn’t sitting right with me. Have a good night,” Alvery bobbed his head vaguely in Theo’s direction, and forced himself to amble slowly beside Eugene who had thrown his arm around Alvery’s shoulders as they strode away.

Only after they’d stepped outside of the side door to the alley and were completely hidden in the shadows could Alvery hear his thoughts over the white noise that blared in his head.

I have to leave tonight.

Otherwise, I’ll be discovered in no time, and then…

I’ll be shipped right back to Duke Gestov’s estate where I’ll rot for the rest of my life.