Alistar pushed all weighted thoughts from his mind as the others began to make a game of racing to finish their ale. Joining in with fervour, he entertained the reckless competition until he was well and drunk, the Lawsons constantly retrieving the jugs from the table in order to refill them in the cold room at the back end of the tavern where the ale was stored.
A short while after their reckless game had come to an end, a red-faced Zech spoke up in a boisterous voice. “Aren’t we forgetting something?” Raising his cup, which he didn’t seem to realize was empty, he said, “Lessa was just promoted to a sixth-tier apprentice mage. That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”
“You were?” perked up Rosa, pride in her usually timid eyes. “That’s amazing, Lessa! That means you’ll be a full-fledged mage before long.”
Lessa abruptly lowered her head, her mood deteriorating in an instant. Seeing this, Anice threw a grape at Zech’s head. Normally, such an accomplishment would have been worthy of the highest praise, but under Lessa’s circumstances it simply meant that she was destined to leave for the arcannia in Valay sooner rather than later. After all, the moment she became a full-fledged mage, her father would send her off to become acquainted with the aged noble that was destined to be her future husband. After her most recent advancement, this would happen after her next promotion.
As the atmosphere around the table became quiet and cold, Alistar raised his cup with a gentle smile and gave Lessa an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Don’t be so gloomy, everyone. It’s a rare thing for someone her age to make such an achievement, so we should be proud of her.”
Seeing that he of all people had spoken up in regards to the sensitive matter, the others followed suit and raised their cups to toast their friend’s impressive accomplishment.
“All things aside,” he said to Lessa in a quiet voice, “You should be proud of yourself, too.”
She gave him a meek nod, thanking him with half-hearted words.
Seeing how the mood had shifted, Zech took it upon himself to refill everyone’s cups and flagons with fumbling hands before reinitiating their previous game in the hopes of moving on from the unwitting awkwardness that he had so callously created. The others welcomed the idea, and once again the Dozen began to drink the Lawson’s homemade ale with enthusiasm.
Alistar and his friends hung around until the later hours of the evening, at which point they had no choice but to call an end to the festivities as the majority of the group were too inebriated to continue on.
“Alie,” mumbled Anice as everyone gathered outside of the tavern in the cold autumn air. “I don’t want to go to the triplets’ house. I want to go home…”
“You’re too drunk,” he sighed, supporting her with a hand around her slender waist while she leaned against his shoulders with nearly all of her weight. “I need to walk Lessa home, so I can’t just carry you along.”
“Get”—she hiccupped—“get Zech to walk her home.”
“Zech’s inside,” he said, a bit dizzy. “He fell asleep at the table.”
“Wake him up…”
“I don’t think that’s possible right now.”
“Then make Jaden do it.”
“He’s sleeping.”
“Woods then!”
“Come along now, Anne,” said a red-faced Lily, who wrapped Anice’s other arm around her shoulder and then nodded at Alistar to back away from her. “You can sleep in my bed tonight. You’ve always loved sleeping over, haven’t you?” Her sisters hurried to help her support the other girl’s weight, all appearing light-headed and heavy-footed.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“But I want to sleep in Alie’s room…”
Alistar felt his face heat up at his cousin’s insistence, though he could only scratch at his head in an awkward manner as he felt Lessa’s silent gaze settle in his direction.
“Keep an eye on everyone,” he said to Corrie, who had drunk the least of the lot. “At the end of the day, you’re the most reliable one in the group.”
Corrie nodded, both of them glancing at the entrance to the tavern where the other three boys were likely still snoring loudly with their drooling faces plastered against the cluttered tabletop.
“Let’s get going now,” yawned Helen, whose eyes were drooping precariously. “The orphanage is pretty far from the flower shop, and it’s quite cold.”
“Want to hold Ms. Parsnip?” offered Emely, who proffered the docile rabbit with a pretty, innocent smile. “She’s like a portable furnace, you know.”
Helen accepted the little critter with careful hands, sighing in comfort as she pulled the rabbit close to her chest. “Oh, how lovely. I just might fall asleep standing here.”
As everyone said their farewells, Anice muttered about wanting a goodbye kiss from Alistar before she fell asleep in the arms of her friends. This left him in quite the precarious position, for now that he and Lessa had been left alone in front of the tavern, there was no avoiding the girl’s level, silver stare.
“Do you kiss Anne often?”
He cleared his throat and began leading the way toward West Street. “Well, she kisses me. I mean, it happens sometimes.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Lessa…”
She turned her head with a dismissive sniffle, hugging herself in the face of an abrupt, cold breeze. Seeing this, he took off his cloak and draped it around her shoulders, activating his swordsman’s aura to keep himself warm.
They didn’t talk for a time, the two of them walking down the empty, lamp-lit street with measured steps amidst the warm light that spilled from countless, partially fogged-over windows. Not many people tended to frequent the streets during the colder times of the year, especially at such a late hour. Thanks to this, the two of them shared a quaint stretch of privacy throughout the duration of their walk.
Once they had made it midway down West Street, Alistar made to turn onto one of the smaller, branching streets that led to the Silvus estate, a whitewashed, rectangular mansion on the northwest outskirts of town that was similar in size to Caedmon’s and not far off from his own home.
“Wait,” said Lessa, who reached out with a tentative hand. “Things are quite uneasy at my place. I don’t want to go home right now.”
“Uneasy? How so?”
“I’ve hardly spoken to Father ever since he made the decision to send me away. If I’m being honest, I don’t ever want to speak to him again.”
After a moment’s quiet, Alistar said, “How long do you think until you become a first-tier mage?” How long until you have to leave, he’d had almost asked.
“A couple of months, if I keep up with my current pace.”
They shared a mutual look of unwillingness, forlorn as if they had already been separated by hundreds of leagues. No matter how badly he wished it were so, there was no chance that she would stay in Distan. Her father had already made his decision and thus she was destined to leave the county within the near future regardless of her thoughts on the matter. Even if she wound up staying, Alistar still had his obligations toward Kaila and Talon—neither of which were likely to have survived to this day—obligations which would force him to leave here for many years, if not the rest of his life.
“Let’s not think of that right now,” he eventually said, going to great lengths to adopt a playfully impatient tone. “No matter what, we still have many weeks left to us, so we should make the most of that time rather than brooding over things that we can’t change.”
“You’re right,” she said, forcing a smile as her slender shoulders sagged in submission beneath his all-encompassing cloak. “Let’s not think about that.”
Light, whispering winds created a calming backdrop, enhanced by the lack of other pedestrians and the warm lights that spilled onto the street from the surrounding buildings. Neither seemed to know what to say at this point in the conversation, though the hopeful looks that Lessa sent Alistar didn’t go unnoticed.
Heartrate quickening, he said, “Do you want to stay the night at our place?”
“Would that be okay?”
“Uncle’s staying at the collegia, which means Alder probably is too. Since Anne’s out, I figure that means it’s up to me to decide.”
They shared a quiet smile, their gazes containing thousands of things that they wished to express to one another, including current aspirations and future regrets. An odd feeling settled in his stomach, his heart hammering and his face heated. In this precious instant, Alistar felt a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices that his parents and his uncle Raidon had made on his behalf, selfless expenditures that had made the moment possible.
“Let’s head back, then.”