Eva's Adventures As : Bride of The Dragon

Chapter 02 : Bard's Tale

Meanwhile, in Lowtown, Burton frantically searches the town for his son Benedict, whom he refers to as his "employee," as he does not want to acknowledge him as his son.

"Excuse me, has anyone seen Benedict?" Burton yells out to the residents of Lowtown, but he receives no response. Frustrated, he continues his search, shouting even louder.

"Burton, calm down. Your voice sounds like a sick bird," the Blacksmith's wife comments as she passes by.

"It's not my fault, my voice is rustier than your swords," Burton retorts. The Blacksmith's wife corrects him, clarifying that her husband is the actual blacksmith and not her brother.

"Listen, Benedict is back at the Inn, and he told us not to discuss anything," she reveals.

"The Inn again? I warned that boy to never step foot in there, unless he's drunk, which he never does," Burton grumbles as he storms off to the Inn.

Meanwhile, inside the Inn, Benedict and his friends are celebrating and performing for the foreign females who have come to town. As Benedict sings, the crowd cheers and applauds his performance, and the celebration continues.

However, when Burton bursts into the Inn, he becomes worried about the loud noises and commotion. He shouts for Benedict to stop singing, causing a disturbance in the room.

Benedict's friend Tim, a little person, comes to his defense and jumps onto Burton's face, causing him to fall to the ground. The celebration continues, but Burton's search for his son remains ongoing."Get off me, you stupid weasel!" Burton shouted as he struggled to break free from Tim's grasp. "Captain, captain, I'm losing control!" Tim muttered as Burton shoved him aside and got up. Just as he did, Benedict tapped on the plate near his foot and threw it down on Burton, knocking him over and causing him to fall unconscious. Benedict then concluded his performance, causing the entire audience to shout for him in appreciation.

"Thank you, thank you, everybody," Benedict murmured. Suddenly, Burton tried to stand up, but the guards burst in, knocking him down again.

The arrival of the guards made everyone anxious, and the females quickly covered themselves. However, the Innkeeper's daughter stumbled into one of the guards accidentally. "Oh snap, sorry, sir," she murmured. The guard laughed, gazing at her beauty with a lustful expression and grabbing her hand.

"You're going with us," the guard said as the other guards smirked at her. The rest of the customers didn't even bother to argue against the guards, except for the Innkeeper. "Sir, please let my daughter go. I implore you," he pleaded.

"What fun could I have with you?" the guard said, and Benedict stepped in, despite his friend's attempts to stop him. "Unhand her, you pigs!" Benedict shouted.

"What did you just say?" the guard asked as he focused his attention on Benedict.

"I said unhand her. Don't make me say it again," Benedict replied as he approached the guard.

"Or what?" the guard challenged. Benedict stood silently in front of him and surveyed the Inn and its customers.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" the guard shouted. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for some rock and roll," Benedict remarked as he picked up a rock and tossed it directly into the guard's eye.

"Ow..." the guard muttered as he released the Innkeeper's daughter. She then dealt a devastating assault on the guard's testicles and fled the Inn.As the chaos outside settled down, Benedict and his friends gathered around the Innkeeper's daughter to discuss their next move. They knew that they had just made enemies with the guardians of the royal palace, and that their actions could have severe consequences.

"I understand your concern, Ryia, but we couldn't just stand by and let them take you," Benedict said firmly. "We'll figure out a way to deal with the repercussions."

"I hope so," Ryia replied, her hand still sore from where the guard had grasped it.

Burton, who had just woken up, looked around at the group with a confused expression. "What's going on? Did I miss something?"

Benedict quickly filled him in on the events that had just transpired, and Burton's eyes widened in shock. "Wow, I had no idea things could get so intense around here."

Tim the small piped up from the corner of the room, "Did you just call him an a*s?" The peasant who had offered his support to Benedict glared at Tim, clearly offended, but managed to restrain himself from saying anything.

Benedict turned to the peasant and thanked him for his offer of help. "We appreciate your support. We'll need all the help we can get in the coming days."

As they continued to discuss their next move, the group could hear the sound of approaching footsteps outside. Benedict quickly gestured for everyone to hide, and they huddled behind tables and chairs as a group of guards burst into the Inn.

"Alright, nobody move! We're looking for a group of troublemakers who caused a disturbance earlier," one of the guards barked.

Benedict and his friends held their breath, praying that they wouldn't be discovered. After a tense moment, the guards seemed satisfied that nobody in the Inn fit the description of the troublemakers they were looking for, and they left the building.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief, but they knew that they couldn't stay in the Inn forever. They would have to come up with a plan to deal with the guardians of the royal palace, and fast."I understand that the guards have been harassing us for months, if not years, and we are all tired of it. However, today they have crossed a line," the peasant stated before being interrupted by Tim.

"If it were me, I would have rushed in the first second," Tim remarked.

"Please, Tim, let me talk," the peasant said with a sigh. "What I mean to say is, if you choose to take action, know that you won't stand alone. We will all stand with you. Isn't that right, everyone?" The townspeople applauded in agreement.

"See, there is no need to worry," the peasant said, patting Benedict's head before standing up. As Benedict and Ryia leaned in closer, Tim sat in the peasant's spot and whispered in Benedict's ear.

"Don't trust that person. He'll flee at the first sight of trouble," Tim warned.

"That's exactly why we have him," Benedict replied, pointing to Burton, who was approaching them angrily.

"Benedict, you little moron, what were you thinking?" Burton exclaimed.

"A lot of things, actually. What about you?" Benedict retorted.

"Nothing, except for you! You don't show up for breakfast, go to the Inn despite my orders not to, and sing a song so terrible that even the guards came to give you a lesson. And then you threw rocks at them!" Burton shouted.

"It's called rock and roll, where we toss rocks and actually roll on them. Benedict and I have been working on it for a while," Tim chimed in.

"You small little weasel, you leapt on my face! Why?" Burton demanded.

"Because I told him to," Benedict replied.

"What?" Burton questioned.

"Look, Mr. Burton, just because you don't like to come here doesn't mean Benedict has to follow suit. He is not a little boy anymore. Benedict is young, but he has ambitions to fulfill, much like you did in your youth. Don't you want to feel like you did when you were young?" Ryia interjected.

"Let me ask you something, Daughter of the Innkeeper. Your greatest goal a long time ago was to find your mother, wasn't it? Did you find her yet?" Burton asked, causing Ryia to become upset and silent while Benedict became outraged.

"Oh snap, this is horrible," Tim exclaimed.

"Burton, shut up, you thick-headed pig! Do you have any idea what she's going through?" Benedict screamed, shocking Burton.

"I...I didn't mean to..." Burton stuttered.

"You didn't mean to do anything bad, is that it? Let me educate you. Your overpriced time led her to lose her head, and now..." Benedict muttered before Ryia smacked him to silence.

"Don't you dare speak to your father like that. Apologize to him immediately!" Ryia shouted at Benedict.

"He's not my father, and neither are you!" Benedict shouted as he stormed out of the inn, leaving Burton and Ryia standing there in stunned silence.

Benedict's outburst had caught everyone off guard, especially Burton who had always seen Benedict as his own son. He couldn't understand why Benedict had suddenly turned on him, but he knew that he needed to give him space to cool off.

"I don't understand what's going on," Burton said to Ryia, his voice trembling slightly. "I've never said anything against Benedict, not even once. Why would he say something like that?"

Ryia looked at Burton with a mixture of sympathy and concern. She knew that Benedict was going through a tough time, but she also knew that Burton had always been there for him. She didn't want to see their relationship fall apart over a misunderstanding.

"Please don't worry, Mr. Burton," Ryia said, trying to comfort him. "Benedict is just going through a difficult time. He'll come around and apologize to you soon enough. I promise."

Burton nodded, still looking bewildered. "I hope you're right," he said quietly.

Then, Burton asked Ryia the question that had been weighing on his mind for years. "Is it true, Ryia? Was I the cause of your mother's disappearance?"

Ryia took a deep breath before answering. She had never talked about her mother's disappearance with anyone before, not even Benedict. But she knew that she owed it to Burton to tell him the truth.

"No, Mr. Burton," she said firmly. "You were not the cause of my mother's disappearance. I was."

Burton looked at Ryia, his eyes full of sadness and regret. "I'm so sorry, Ryia," he said softly. "I had no idea."

Ryia nodded, feeling a sense of closure as she finally shared the truth with someone who had been a father figure to her for so many years. She knew that it was time to move on from the past and focus on the future, both for herself and for Benedict.