Kingdom Fallen

Volume 1 Part 7: Sweet Taste of Freedom

"Huh..,"

"Is there something I can help you with? You have been staring at me for quite a while," she said. This was the bar maiden, a young woman around the age of sixteen, she had brown hair and hazel eyes and bright smile. Her face was cute and slightly chubby. Just from looking at her I could tell she was about 165 cm (5'5"). She seemed to have built up some muscles, probably from her job in the tavern. She was of marriageable age, yet had no ring on her finger.

"Um....are you okay?" she repeated

"Huh, yeah," I finally let out a word

"So, you can talk. You've just been staring at me I almost thought you were a mute," she chuckled

"Sorry," I sheepishly apologized. This has been a habit that Mister had developed within me. He told me to make note of everything I could whenever I interacted with someone, especially for the first time

"Where are your parents, little guy?" she asked

"Um I don't know," I responded

"Are you lost?" she asked concerned

"Not really. I came to see the banquet," I responded

"The banquet. I see. Then have you already eaten?" she chuckled

"Um...." I said before my stomach growled in betrayal

"I guess not. Would you like some of this?" she asked showing me the tray

"No," I quickly responded, however my eyes had not even left the tray once

"Are you sure?" she asked, knowing I was lying

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any coins," I said before she burst out in another fit of giggling

"Is that what you're worried about? There's no need to worry about that. All food tonight has been paid for by the lord,"

"Really?" I excitedly asked

"Yes, so please eat to your heart's content," she offered. No longer having a reason to hold back, I grabbed what I could place on a plate before indulging my gluttony

"Wow kid, you really do eat a lot?" she chuckled

"I'm so sorry...it's just so.....good," I said in-between bites

"Still take your time. You might bite your tongue," she said still chuckling cutely

"So good... I can't stop," I said as I continued to devour the food ravenously

"I guess I should thank you for complimenting my cooking," she chuckled before I froze

"You made this?" I asked surprised

"Is it that hard to believe?" she said

"No, it's not that. It's just that you're a really great cook," I said, wiping the juices of the meat off my mouth

"Thank you, do you need something to wash it down with?" she asked,

"Um.." I said thinking about it. Looking around everyone seemed to be drinking, I didn't really want to be the odd one out and plus I was really curious as to the taste of the beer

"Sorry, but Mister does not allow me to drink," I refused. Though I was curious, the thought of what could happen if I were to become inebriated and what scared me even worse was imagining Mister's reaction if I did

"Don't worry, I'm sure whoever you are talking about won't mind," she laughed

"Are you sure?" I asked

"Of course, I would never lie to anyone, especially not someone as cute as you," she said

"..okay," I said choosing to believe her

"Alright follow me," she said standing up

"Okay," I said

"Don't go too far away from me, This crowd can get a bit rowdy when they're drunk," she chuckled and walking away. I followed her closely. I watched as she effortlessly glided through the crowd of drunken townsfolk while simultaneously providing food for those that needed it. It was amazing watching as she moved with the utmost skill, obviously gained from a long time of experience. Eventually we made our way to a tavern, this was named Red's Tavern, a local tavern that was quite famous among the Redwood lumberjacks, who frequented it after work. Mister had never gone there and certainly would never tolerate me even looking at such a place, not that I was much interested in it either way, so despite us passing it frequently it was never topic of discussion unless Ms. Mary was talking about information she had gathered.

"Okay, we're here," she said

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah, you wait here and I'll go inside and get the drink," she said

"Okay," I said before she went inside.

Having nothing to do, but wait. I looked around again and admired all the people that were enjoying the banquet. This was the first time I had ever seen such a lively environment. Everyone had smile on their face as they merrily moved about in the crowd. Just watching them had brought a smile to my face

"Hey I'm back," the barmaid said walking out with a wooden mug filled to the brim

"Is that for me?" I asked

"Yes, it is," she said putting in my hands.

I looked down into the mug and looked at the dark purple liquid that filled in my cup with the exception of small chunks of ice bobbing up and down in the mug. I was undecided on whether or not, I would be actually willing to return home in a drunken state

"Is something wrong?" she asked noticing my hesitation

"Are you sure I'll be able to drink this?" I asked, my voice shaking a bit

"Huh-uh," she nodded with cheeky smile

"Um...okay," I said before putting the mug to my head in an attempt to drink it in a single gulp. I didn't want anyone to see her allowing me to drink beer.

As I chug down the liquid, I found out it tasted different from what I had initially expected. Instead, it was sweet and smelled like fruit. It was a familiar taste, but I couldn't quite place where I had tasted it

"Ah," I said letting out a refreshed sigh

"How was it?" she asked still smiling

"It's different than I expected," I replied honestly

"What do you mean?" she pretended to be confused

"I'm not saying it's bad or anything. Far from it," I said worried she had misunderstood me

"No offense was taken," she chuckled

"It's just not what I was expecting," continued

"And what exactly were you expecting?" she coyly asked with a head tilt

"Well, I was expecting that I would become a bit irate, unable to stand or at least feel a bit dizzy," I said confused

"Really? Why so?" she asked

"Isn't that usually what happens when you drink? Or is the problem that I have not drank enough?" I asked and was met again with a violent laughter from the barmaid

"You're a funny kid," she laughed

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked confused

"No, and you don't need to worry. I've never heard of any getting tipsy off of juneberry juice," she giggled and a blush immediately spread across my face. No wondered it tasted familiar, it was juneberry

"Oh," I softly said, avoiding eye contact with her

"Come-on, there's no need to be embarrassed ," she said

"You did that on purpose," I pouted+

"I'm sorry," she apologized

"That was mean," I pouted

"I'm sorry, you were just too cute. I couldn't resist," she chuckled and I could only huff in embarrassment

"Are you angry with me?" she asked with a saddened look on her face. She looked so hurt at the thought of me being angry with her. It seemed to cause me discomfort so I couldn't be mad at her

"No," I gave in and a bright fall spread across her face which caused a small smile to appear on my own as well

"Okay, my shift is ending soon. Would you like me to make it up to you?" she asked

"Make it up to me?" I said confused as to how she would do such a thing

"Yeah, I can show you around and play games with you until it's time for you to go," she said

"Yeah!" I excitedly agreed

"That's good, just let me finish up here and then we can go,"

"Okay, can I have some more juice," I asked

"Sure, kid," she said before going inside.