Chapter Eleven
> “Let me guess, we’ve slept for a grand total of four hours and now it’s time to see the two rogue assassin siblings who might have answers for us or who might just want to rob us.”
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> “Who is it?” Day asked, looking down at her nails.
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> “Hush, sister,” Night said curtly. He studied James with his cold, calculating, dark eyes, examining the crooked hat, the satiny robes, the beard and “staff.”
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> “He’s perfect,” he said in a low voice, his gaze intense. “Come with us, wizard.” His knives continued to spin, making a faint whistling noise James could hear perfectly with his magically enhanced hearing.
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> James shrugged his shoulders in response. He still couldn’t speak, but if this strange sibling duo could help them reach the Green Queen faster—and cut down on the walking time—he was happy to comply.
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> He looked over at the table where Gabriel was seated. His eyes were trained on the exchange taking place at the table where Night and Day were, a slight frown marring his perfect features. James shook his head, trying to tell Gabriel to stay where he was. If this “Night” turned out to be a rogue or crazy person, he didn’t want to endanger the boy. Only because Gabriel took such a load off James’ shoulders. Nothing to do with his kindness or good-natured attitude. Or his general excitement for life that was honestly contagious.
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> That had nothing to do with James’ decision. Not at all.
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> Gabriel’s hand went to the sword at his waist and James inwardly sighed. Night was still trying to convince his sister in hushed tones, so James risked looking over at Gabriel again and waggling his eyebrows as he covertly pointed at the siblings with one of his hands. With the other he used two fingers to mimic a pair of legs and walked his fingers across the table toward Night and Day. He then pointed at himself and nodded. Then James pointed at Gabriel and made another pair of finger legs and had them walk behind the first pair, a fair distance apart.
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> Gabriel’s bright-blue eyes lit up and the frown disappeared, replaced with a grin that looked vaguely mischievous. That was probably the closest the young man could get to “diabolical” or “scheming.”
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> Satisfied the young man would follow behind James when the time came, he returned his attention to the dark-haired pair at the table. Day had her arms folded across her chest, but she seemed relaxed. Maybe her brother had come up with something clever to convince her that having a mighty wizard with them on their journey to save the “Emerald Lady” would be useful after all. Or maybe she was just taking a nap with her eyes open.
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> “Of course,” Night finished with a grin that seemed completely at odds with his black clothing, spinning knives, and dark, wavy hair. The entire ensemble screamed “rogue assassin.” James thought he could even hear a tiny ethereal voice whispering “assassin” somewhere in the great room, although it might have just been the gentle hiss of the fire burning in the hearth next to them, letting off a pleasant warmth that had James feeling sleepy. He raised one of his hands to his mouth to hide a yawn, only to realize that his throat no longer felt funny. He strained his ears, but he couldn’t make out the conversations happening at the other inn tables any more.
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> The spell had broken. Or expired, or whatever.
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> “Final…” James started, only to be cut off by one of Night’s daggers, now held in Day’s slender fingers and brandished in his direction.
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> “Silence, old man. We will speak tomorrow.”
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> And right when James had gotten his voice back. Impeccable timing.
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> “I don’t think you understand the power of silence…”
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> “Tomorrow at dawn. In the yellow room, 23. Don’t be late,” Night said quietly before rising from the table, his dark cloak fluttering around him slightly. James blinked and the spinning knives were gone, hidden in the folds of the black fabric shrouding the man.
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> James fought back another yawn, and when he looked at the table once more, the pair were gone.
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> And they’d left two plates of untouched food. Smiling, he was helping himself to one of the platters, heaping with roasted vegetables and thin slices of chicken swimming in a creamy tan broth that was likely gravy when Gabriel came over to the table and sat down.
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> “Did they harm you, Just James?”
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> “Mmmm, mm hmmm.”
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> “They’ll pay for laying hands on a wizard,” the young man declared with righteous fury burning in his blue eyes.
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> James looked up from his meal, surprised by the turn the conversation had taken. “Laying hands on a wizard?” he asked.
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> “You said they harmed you.”
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> “No, no, I was just appreciating the food. Sure, it’s not as good as the Tavern on the Green, but it’s close.”
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> “What did the rogues want?” Gabriel asked.
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> “One of them, the man who goes by the name of Night, had mentioned an Emerald Lady, who I assume has to be the Green Queen we’re looking for.”
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> “You mean Queen of Life,” Gabriel said.
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> “Whoever this woman is, she has far too many names. But yes, the one our quest talks about. I was hoping to get answers, see if either of them knew exactly where the queen was being held so we don’t trek out to a castle in the middle of nowhere for nothing, but they just said they’d talk to me tomorrow at an unholy hour.”
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> “When?”
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> “Dawn. Well before any self-respecting person would be up.”
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> “We must be there,” Gabriel insisted. The early hour didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.
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> “We will, boy, we will. But first we need to acquire beds to sleep in.”
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> “Already taken care of,” Gabriel said with a smile.
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> James nodded in the young man’s direction, impressed. “Lead the way then,” he said, having finished eating. He brushed crumbs out of his beard impatiently. He’d always thought growing a beard would be fun, back when his best attempts and four years had amounted to a one-inch beard. But this three-foot long creature strapped to his face was way more maintenance than he was comfortable with.
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> Gabriel got up and began weaving through the crowded room with ease. The performers were still dancing with seemingly endless energy. Day was perched on the circular platform once more, her legs dangling over the edge, juggling seven or eight oranges, the fruit a blur in front of her. She looked at him with bright purple eyes filled with… curiosity? Then her gaze fell on Gabriel and she looked away abruptly, calling for one of the cooks working in the middle of the circular platform to throw her another orange.
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> James did his best to follow, only bumping into three waiters and two waitresses before they reached a large set of double doors leading out of the great room. He was shuffling even slower. Sitting down had done his joints no favors, and convincing his body to move once more could have been going better.
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> Going through the double doors, James and Gabriel were greeted by a tall, skeletal woman with short blonde hair cut into a bob, emphasizing her extreme cheekbones.
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> “Are you Gabriel?” she asked. To say the woman seemed out of place in the inn would be a severe understatement. She would have been more at home at one of Diane’s social functions.
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> “Yes, miss—”
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> “Mrs. Hamlet,” the woman said, her gray eyes sharp as she gazed down on the two of them. “My husband, who you talked with earlier, is the innkeeper.”
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> “Is the town named after you?” James asked.
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> “How presumptuous.” The woman huffed. “I am named after the town.”
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> “Sorry,” James said. “I didn’t mean to cause offense. Young Gabriel here was just telling me what wonderful, downy beds your inn has.”
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> “Is that so?” she said, turning abruptly, her blonde hair flying as she started walking at a near sprint down one of the inn’s long hallways. It seemed like the great room where people ate and the entertainers performed was in the center of the massive structure, with four wings leading off the great room to long hallways with multiple rooms in each.
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> “Did her husband mention anything about the beds?” James asked under his breath as he hurried to keep up with Mrs. Hamlet killer pace.
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> “I mentioned being low on coin and had asked Mr. Hamlet if there was anywhere we could lodge for two silver. He assured me he’d give me the best room they have for two silver in the entire inn.”
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> “But nothing about the beds?” James could see Mrs. Hamlet at the very end of the long hall, tapping on of her heeled shoes into the wooden floorboards impatiently as she waited for James to shuffle-jog over to her, his entire body snapping and popping, the broom handle the only thing keeping him from falling over from such a demanding pace.
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> “I didn’t think to ask,” Gabriel said.
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> “I hope this room suits your needs,” the blonde woman said with forced politeness. “Breakfast will be served at eight in the great room. And here is your key.” Mrs. Hamlet reached for a ring of keys hanging from the belt cinching her starched dress around her bony hips and selected one that looked quite a bit smaller than its siblings.
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> “Thank you, Mrs. Hamlet,” James said politely as the woman handed Gabriel the key with a smirk on her face that disappeared as quickly as it had formed.
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> The door they stood in front of seemed more weathered than the others they had passed, but James was getting too tired to care. Mrs. Hamlet flew down the hall as quickly as she had traveled up it, her low-heeled shoes clacking as she vanished through the double doors leading to the great room.
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> “Well, lead the way, young hero,” James said.
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> Gabriel fit the key into the lock and turned, opening the door. The inside of the room was dark, too dark to make out anything, but that didn’t bother James. So long as there was somewhere to sleep, the darkness would actually make his rest more peaceful.
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> James followed the young man in. Gabriel had knelt down and pulled out a candle from his pack, which he had somehow lit and was now holding out in front of him, illuminating their room.
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> It looked more like a cupboard. James had never considered his Chelsea apartment roomy… until now. There were two beds, but they were the smallest, thinnest mattresses he’d ever seen, crammed on either wall. The middle of the “room” housed two tiny nightstands. Gabriel looked around the tiny room, searching for somewhere to set his large bag in vain. After turning in a circle several times, the young man gave up and put the pack on his sad excuse for a bed and sat down next to it. There was barely room for Gabriel and the bag, and James had no idea how the young man planned on sleeping.
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> Neither bed came with sheets or pillows, but James’ internal clock had struck nine and his body had struck exhaustion. Shrugging his shoulders, he used his own smaller pack as a pillow, took out an extra set of robes Gabriel had packed for him as a blanket, and was soon drifting off, oblivious to his loud snoring that rocked the small room.
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> ***
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> If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
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>
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> “Just James? James sir? Wizard James? High Wizard James the Just, the…”
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> James startled awake and put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder before the titles got any longer. Faint, soft beams of sunlight were gently streaming into the closet-sized room from an actual crack in the ceiling. VIP treatment indeed. Gabriel must have failed to mention to the innkeeper and his wife that James was a terrifying wizard with magic and such.
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> “Let me guess, we’ve slept for a grand total of four hours and now it’s time to see the two rogue assassin siblings who might have answers for us or who might just want to rob us.”
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> “They won’t be able to rob us,” Gabriel said with confidence.
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> James looked over at the young man. “Oh? I’m glad to hear you’re so confident with that sword of yours!”
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> “My sword?” Gabriel looked down at the blade tucked in its sheath protectively for a moment, as though worried it had been stolen in the night. Unlikely, given that the muscular man slept with it strapped on. “I… I haven’t had a chance to practice with it yet. But that’s not why they won’t be able to rob us.”
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> The pair were happy to leave the room, making their way down the hallway as they searched for a yellow room or the number 23. Their room hadn’t had a number at all, which only confirmed James’ suspicions that poor Gabriel had been swindled by Mr. and Mrs. Hamlet. They had lodged next to number 13 and 14, and as they walked down the hall, James turned to Gabriel and asked, “So why won’t they be able to rob us? I know, my wizardly powers would easily be able to keep them at bay, but you can’t use magic to solve all your problems,” he said in his best gruff voice. James highly doubted he’d be able to stop Day and Night if they decided to rob them. The siblings seemed highly skilled and mobile, and James was decidedly less mobile. And not quite skilled in the use of magic.
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> Not quite.
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> “Because I used the last of my coin last night to buy dinner and our room,” Gabriel said, eternally optimistic as he declared their financial state. “We don’t have anything to steal.”
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> “I suppose not,” James said dryly. They were just approaching room 22 when a lithe figure quickly pushed them into the room next door.
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> “Hasn’t anyone taught you manners?” James chided, stumbling into the room and almost tripping on his robes before righting himself with his walking stick.
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> “Hush,” a female voice said as the door closed behind them. True to the Night’s word, the room was truly “yellow” in every sense of the word. Instead of a stone wall like the rest of the inn, the room they found themselves in was mostly window, large panes of glass that looked down on the Hamlet below. Bright beams of sunlight cascaded in, and James had to narrow his eyes, the bright light doing its best to blind him.
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> “Finally,” a male voice said from behind them. Night. James wasn’t sure why they bothered with the theatrics of pushing them into the room and hiding behind them. It’s not like he and Gabriel didn’t know who was staying in room 23.
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> He turned around slowly, still squinting as his eyes slowly adjusted to the flood of light. He could pick out the slightly blurry figures of Night and Day, who stood out in the bright room with their dark, formfitting clothing and black hair.
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> “My name is James, and this is my companion, Gabriel. We’re also searching for the Green Queen,” James said, hoping to get introductions out of the way as quickly as possible so they could continue with their quest. At this point, he’d learned to keep moving during the day to avoid his joints from catching up and realizing how much shock and pain they were in. So far, it seemed to be working. He was definitely sleeping better than he had in years. One of the perks of sheer exhaustion.
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> Maybe he would like the farmer life.
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> “Just James is a wizard,” Gabriel said proudly.
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> “And Gabriel is a hero… farmer,” James said, unsure of how to introduce the blond man.
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> “A wizard and a heroic farmer,” Day said slowly. The night before she had been clad in simple black clothing that didn’t call attention to her and allowed her enthused audience to focus on her juggling prowess, but she was now dressed in the same attire as her brother. The two each wore black tunics and leggings with knee-high boots, although most of their outfit was obscured by a cloak fastened at the neck. Night’s cloak was as black as his namesake, but Day’s was pure white, like freshly fallen snow. Her vibrant purple eyes studied them for a moment before she turned to face her brother.
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> “We can trust them,” she said.
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> Night didn’t question her, just nodded. All of a sudden he grinned, revealing a similar smile to Gabriel’s. Now that the man wasn’t twirling knives with abandon and had a smile on his face, he reminded James of Gabriel. Who reminded him of little James, if he was being honest.
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> “It’s an honor to meet an esteemed wizard!” Night gushed, walking in a slow circle around James and studying the crooked hat and spell book hanging from his waist before stopping on the walking stick.
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> Oh no, another fan. James had hoped the rogue assassin fellow would be, well, a little bit less enthusiastic and outgoing than Gabriel, but it seemed his young companion had just found a kindred spirit. At least Day wasn’t oohing and ahhing over a broom handle like her brother currently was.
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> “I pledge myself to your service,” Night said gravely, getting down on one knee and extending one of his knives toward James, his long, wavy dark hair falling in his face and obscuring his expression. James backed up, wary of the pointy end, as the dark-haired man continued, “you have my knives.”
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> “Correction. You have your knives. I have my… staff,” James said. “And Gabriel has his sword. And I guess your sister Day has her oranges… tankards?” The woman gave him a fierce glare.
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> “Whatever it is she juggles. Now, can we move on to the part where you tell us what you know about the Green Queen and her whereabouts? She’s in the castle, right?”
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> Night, who was still down on one knee with his knife extended, fluidly jumped back to his feet, the blade disappearing faster than James could follow.
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> “How did you know?” Night asked, awestruck. James couldn’t help it—he rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like his mother was there to critique him on it anyway.
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> “Call it a wizard’s intuition.”
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> Gabriel had remained silent during the entire conversation, which shocked James until he looked at the handsome young man and saw him trying and failing to hide the shy gaze he had trained on Day.
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> So, I guess he wasn’t enthralled with all the performers last night, James thought to himself, feeling a strange pang swell up within him as the young man looked at Day with interest.
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> He missed Bel.
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> “Most honorable Just James, I have dedicated my life to restoring the Emerald Lady to her throne and rescuing her from the clutches of the Red Lord. Our parents work the land of Hamlet, and the drought has destroyed their fields. If there’s anything me and my sister can do to restore life to the kingdom, we will go to the ends of the world if need be!”
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> “Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that,” Day said, flipping a single blade in between her fingers with ease.
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> “I, Nigel Stormwarden, pledge myself to your quest to rescue the Queen of Life,” Night said solemnly, bowing deeply in the direction of James.
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> “I don’t think that was necessary,” Day said under her breath, but when her brother looked over at her and raised his eyebrows expressively, she sighed and dipped her head slightly before saying, “And I’ll come along to make sure my darling brother doesn’t get himself killed.”
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> “Should we be on our way?” Gabriel asked, looking over at James, who had remained quiet during the exchange.
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> “Hmm, what?” He shook his head, willing himself to return to the moment at hand. One thing at a time. He had to get through this quest first before he could consider the far more terrifying quest of deciding what to do about Bel.
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> Deciding what to do about her garden party, he corrected himself. He still wasn’t sure if he should go or not. Hopefully this strange fantasy world didn’t follow the same cycle of time as Earth. He wanted to choose whether or not to attend, and that wouldn’t be possible if the same amount of time had passed back home and it was now several days later.
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> That would be embarrassing.
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> “Yes, yes, let’s get going,” he said gruffly, pushing his beard out of the way and shuffling for the door. The first thing he would do when he got back home would be to shave. This much facial hair was unrealistic. And stressful.
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> “Wonderful,” Gabriel said, beaming. He turned to the siblings and said, “Do either of you need to pack anything before we set off?”
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> “We’ve got everything we need right here!” Night proclaimed, rushing over to a corner of the sunny room and returning with a pack almost identical in look and size to the one on Gabriel’s back.
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> “Perfect, let’s go,” Day said, striding over to the door, opening it, and rushing out into the hallway.
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> James sighed and shuffled after her. The first order of business was obvious to him now—he needed a car. Or a bike. Or, given the reality of En, a horse or pony. Anything that would save him the need to walk the countless miles to reach the castle on the other side of the kingdom.
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> The group made their way into the great room once more. It wasn’t nearly as busy and crowded as it had been the night before, but there were still plenty of people sitting at the various tables, digging into eggs and hash-browns and something that smelled like bacon.
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> Even if the innkeeper and his wife were conniving in giving him and Gabriel the smallest accommodations available, James had to admit they knew how to make a delicious breakfast. He usually wasn’t very hungry in the morning, or ever, but the constant exertion and questing had given him a decent appetite, and he was just as excited as Gabriel to dig in.
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> Except they were broke.
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> James sat down at the table with a huff, readjusted his robes, and reluctantly reached for his tome of mysteries. Surely Harold had some kind of spell for making money appear out of thin air. Or, at the very least, a decent breakfast.
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> Night immediately launched into a conversation with Gabriel, asking him about what it meant to be a heroic farmer. For someone who dressed so clearly like a rogue, Night seemed about as dangerous as a butterfly. At least he’d had the presence of mind to change his name from Nigel to Night—the name Nigel didn’t strike fear into anyone’s heart.
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> Day, on the other hand, was reserved and only spoke when absolutely necessary. She was intently searching for a waiter or waitress to wave over. She seemed eager to be on the road as soon as possible, although James didn’t know why. For all that Night was an open book, Day was the opposite. She was impossible to read, and James already didn’t have much experience even just having a casual conversation with the opposite sex.
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> Except with Bel.
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> James was still flipping through the spell book, searching for anything that would lead to him eating breakfast, when a large man with broad shoulders and a big belly strode over to their table.
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> “Ahh, my esteemed guests!” the man boomed. “Welcome, welcome.” He looked at Gabriel with recognition, then glanced at James with surprise, followed quickly by horror.
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> “My… my name is John. John Hamlet. I run this humble inn. I didn’t know we had the honor of housing a wizard. I… I hope your accommodations were acceptable.”
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> James could easily read the guilt in the big man’s eyes and decided to have some fun. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could weasel a free breakfast out of the man. And even a horse!
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> “I think you and I both know my accommodations were severely lacking,” James said gravely, puffing up his chest and tilting his crooked hat slightly to partially hide his eyes. He stroked the book in front of him with one hand, the other resting on his broom handle. “Is this how you treat every wizard who enters your inn?”
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> The man blanched, his tan, leathered features turning pale for a moment.
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> “I… we…. I had no idea, esteemed wizard. Please forgive us for any discomfort you might have experienced.”
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> “Might have experienced?” James said softly, studying his walking stick with exaggerated attention, as though he were contemplating the best way to use his powerful magic to inflict the innkeeper. “Honesty is always best, John. Especially when dealing with magical beings…” he left his sentence unfinished. John’s creativity would be more effective than any silly nonsense James could come up with on the spot.
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> “You’re right, of course. Of course. I humbly apologize, mighty wizard. When your companion approached me about renting a room for the night I saw only a farm boy. If I had known he was your friend…”
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> James felt a strange flame kindle within him as John attempted to extract himself from the precarious situation.
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> “So you treat all young men the way you treated young Gabriel? I find that hard to believe.”
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> “I… I didn’t mean…” John stuttered, but James knew exactly what he was feeling now. Indignation.
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> “Young Gabriel is not only a farm boy. He is on the path to becoming a hero. If you’re so shortsighted that you only see things right in front of your nose, perhaps I should remedy that.” James patted the spell book in front of him as a threat. Even though he didn’t have a single spell in his repertoire. Why study the tome of mysteries when he could pretend like he had and get the same results?
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> “That won’t be necessary,” John insisted. Night was looking at James with what looked like disguised fear, while Day just seemed intent on getting something to eat and leaving as quickly as possible.
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> “That’s what I thought. I think compensation is in order…” James said, closing his spell book dramatically. His dad wouldn’t have been able to hide his amusement if he were watching this scene unfold. James was about as threatening as yesterday’s newspaper, but John didn’t have to know that.
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> “Of course.” The man hid a sigh of relief behind one of his giant hands and straightened, all smiles once more. “What can we do for you, dear wizard? Just say the word.”
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> “Complimentary breakfast for me and my companions. And a horse or mount of some kind for me.”
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> “Jasmin! Come here please,” John shouted over the din of the great room, and in mere moments a young woman with dark hair pulled into a braid materialized, followed by two young men with large serving platters featuring all sorts of food.
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> The young woman wasted no time briefly talking to each of James’ companions, asking them what they wanted and then instructing her two companions, who served up heaping helpings.
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> Being a pretend wizard had some wonderful perks.
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> Once all of them had been served, John, who had been watching his servers with a careful eye, politely asked, “Is everything to your liking?”
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> “Yes, thank you,” James said, eyeing his plate eagerly.
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> “As for your mount, I regret to inform you we don’t have any horses.”
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> John looked genuinely upset at this, so James figured he was likely telling the truth.
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> “That’s a shame. How about a pony? Or donkey?”
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> “Our inn doesn’t have any proper mounts, since most people who visit the Hamlet come on foot, but I’ll see what we can do.”
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> James nodded and John rushed off, moving far faster than James thought a big man like him would be able to travel.
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> As he disappeared through the double doors that led into the rest of the inn, Night looked up from his generous helping of eggs and said quietly, “That was awesome.”
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> “Perks of being a wizard,” James said with a smile before starting on his own breakfast.