The air in the Bronze Sword Tavern was hot and humid and smelt heavily of ale and sweat. There was a constant loud buzz as the occupants of the overfilled room engaged in their alcohol-fueled conversations. The patrons were a mix of sailors, soldiers and independent adventurers. The tavern was in the middle of the city, which made it not only one of the busiest places to eat, but also the one with the most diverse patronage. There was a reason the sailors, soldiers and adventurers tended to stay in the bars of their own districts; they rarely ever got along. If a patron came to the Bronze Sword Tavern it was for the refreshment of food and ale, and the excitement of an inevitable fight.
The rowdiness of the tavern was exactly why Perin L'reias was sitting at a table in the far corner of the large, crowded room. Perin looked up at the male in front of him and was pleased to see that the man was sweating. The man hadn't given his name, and Perin hadn't expected him to. They were there on business, and the man's line of work it was best if identities were kept hidden.
"So how long do you think this will take?" Perin asked in a deep voice that was at odds with his slender yet athletic build.
The man looked at Perin in what he assumed was supposed to be a cool and confident manner, but with sweat beading down his pale face and slicking his black hair to his forehead it was incredibly unconvincing.
"It will be done within three weeks if the price is right." The man said. It was obvious by his accent that he was from the West. The man lingered a little too long over his i's and his r's sounded strange to Perin.
Perin was from deep in the Southern reaches of the kingdom. Down South it was sweltering hot and unbearably humid. Therefore the temperature in the room wasn't foreign to Perin, the only thing bothering him was the stale stench of ale and too many people with poor hygiene practices. These people in the Middle Kingdom were a lot bulkier than his people; men with more muscles than brains, and skin as pale as fresh milk. Perin's own people had a deep olive complexion and were built lithe and athletic in order to survive their climate.
"Three weeks is too long." Perin stated firmly. Surrounded by so many people from the Middle Kingdom, he could hear that his voice was much deeper and more fluid than those around him.
"Any quicker is impossible."
"For you perhaps, but I have no doubts that there are others that could get the job done quicker." Perin said, gently fingering the food on his plate with distaste.
"Others?" The man snorted indignantly. "There are no others better than me."
"Yet you state that three weeks is the best you can do?" Perin pushed his plate away and gave the sweating Westerner a piercing glare.
"You want to talk time yet you have not talked price." The man said with a grimace.
"I have not yet heard anything impressive enough to warrant talk of a payment." Perin said with a bored shrug. The man's eyes flickered with anger and Perin was exceptionally pleased. The hot tavern combined with the typical Western inability to hide emotions meant that this man was as easy to read a child's book. He was good, Perin would give him that, but he fell far too easily into the habits of his culture.
"What you ask for is very complicated." The man told him through gritted teeth.
"If you think so then perhaps this is not the job for you." Perin told him, allowing a hint of derision slither into his tone.
"Two weeks." The man conceded angrily.
"One."
"One and a half, and the pay had better be bloody good." The man said through gritted teeth.
One and a half weeks was good. Much better than Perin had dared to hope for. To be honest the man's original quote of three weeks was on par with his expectations. However, Perin had heard that this man was the best, and he was hoping he could better it.
"Name your price."
The glint in the man's watery blue eyes told Perin that this was very close to being a done deal. As long as he could effectively negotiate price he and his Charge might just be able to achieve their goal before the end of the month.
~*~
Liliene sighed and slumped back in her seat as she watched the exchange from the other side of the crowded tavern. She had told Perin that it would be best if she negotiated this particular contract, but he had adamantly refused. What if she had been recognized? It was dangerous enough that she had to be here in the first place, but putting his Princess at extra risk was something that her Guardian was loathe to do.
Liliene pulled her cloak a little tighter around her despite the heat of the tavern and smiled as she watched Perin negotiating with the Western male. If she were the one striking the deal she would have had a firm contract with nothing but a light batting of her eyelashes and a flash of gold. Perin, however, seemed to have a bit of a harder time. The man was intimidated by him, but he hid it reasonably well.
Perin was attractive by almost anyone's standards; he had just enough muscle to add an erotic edge to his body, but not so much that he was weighed down by bulk. His jet black hair was smooth and tied back with a thick brown strap, his cerulean eyes were the colour of the exotic Southern oceans and thoroughly at odds with his dark complexion. His eyes were startling, and even Liliene with her confidence and commanding nature often found herself falling uncontrollably into their depths.
The man and Perin seemed to be close to striking a deal. The man, it seemed, was eager to be out of the crowded room and the stench inside of it. He was sweating profusely, and Liliene could only imagine that he was wondering what kind of creature Perin was to be able to remain perspiration free. Liliene watched as Perin's long slender fingers traced the outline of some shapes on the table, the man watching with as much interest as he would if he were studying a masterpiece.
Their plan, of course, was a masterpiece. A few weeks ago they had left their home city of Heliose in the southern tropics to travel to Linkentrop in the East to negotiate a marriage contract for Liliene. Their party had been attacked and Liliene and Perin had been the only ones kept alive. It hadn't taken long for the pair to realize that the ambush was set by Liliene's twin brother, Caris the High Prince of the South. After their parents had died, the twins were both in line to inherit the throne. At their birth the midwives had claimed that Liliene was pulled from her mother first, but Caris was always the louder one- it was his raspy cries that had first filled the spacious room of the palace. It was Caris's lungs who filled with air and life while the midwives worked hard to bring Liliene back from death's doorstep.
Liliene, under counsel from her parents most trusted advisors, had agreed to negotiate a marriage contract with the Westerners in order to create a powerful alliance that her brother couldn't hope to match, thereby solidifying her claim to the throne. There were four other rulers in the land, but there was only one Princess. Her brother would have guessed at her plans as soon as she announced her trip, if some pretty little spy hadn't gotten around to telling him even before that. Despite the sibling rivalry, Liliene would never consider harming her brother. Clearly, Caris didn't feel the same.
Liliene and Perin's assailants had been little more than hired thugs. They had seriously underestimated Perin's strength due to his lack of extreme muscles, and one night her Guardian had broken free of his bonds and slain all but one of their kidnappers. That night he had questioned the final one until he had gotten everything he needed and done away with him too. The goal of the attack had been to capture Liliene and return her to Heliose, so that she could be married to some minor noble and sent away from court. It was for this reason that Perin planned to do the complete opposite. They had to get to Linkentrop, and they had to do it as quickly as possible. Liliene needed to arrange a marriage and then return home, showing Caris who was really more fit to be ruler.
Liliene had suggested to Perin that they drag the last kidnapper back to Heliose with them to expose Caris's deeds. After seeing his treachery he would surely be exiled. If they continued with the marriage contract they would still have him in a position of power. However, Perin was utterly convinced that it would be better to keep the High Prince around; it was easier to keep track of an enemy that you could see than one that was far from view.
As Liliene watched Perin negotiate the contract with the Westerner she couldn't help but think, again, that it would be great to forgo the marriage contract all together. She had no desire to marry some Eastern prince, as powerful as he was. She much preferred her own people to the pale and beefy sorts that the green pastures of the East bred.
Watching Perin winding this Western smuggler around his fingers was something that made her appreciate him that little bit more. Perin had been assigned as Liliene's Guardian from the moment he learned to wield a sword. Of course he had been in training at the time under the watchful eye of a seasoned warrior, but she had grown up knowing that he would be around her for as long as either one of them would live. She had watched Perin go from a ham-fisted child to one of her country's most adept warriors.
Perin had always taken his duty seriously, most of the time Liliene thought he took it far too seriously. He had always been distantly polite to her, ever the professional. Liliene, however, had spent most of her teenage years trying to steal his attention and catch him off guard. She was attracted to him, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, it was the truth. There had been one or two very rare occasions where Perin had let his determination waver, and those moments were emblazoned into her mind- the feeling of his lips on hers, the way he looked at her when he thought she wouldn't notice, a touch that lingered just a little too long.
The last week had been torture for Liliene. After freeing themselves from the clutches of her brother's paid minions they had spent a week traveling to the Central Kingdom so that they could find a fare to the East. Along the way they had kept off the roads, travelling up and down the Palisade Mountains through the dense forest that surrounded them. The days were crisp in the Central Kingdom but the nights were bitterly cold. That had meant that Perin had broken the boundaries of their official relationship and slept close to her out of necessity. It had been a long while since Liliene had taken a lover to her bed, and the feeling of his hot and warm body against hers, his strong arms wrapped around her protectively, was more than she could handle. She had tried to get his attention on multiple occasions, murmuring that there were much more efficient ways to warm up a sleeping roll than to just cuddle, but he had ignored her.
The look of pure concentration and determination on Perin's face as he negotiated the deal with the smuggler was intoxicating. Liliene could get lost in his eyes easily on a normal occasion, but when they were so full of passion it was impossible not to drown in the cerulean oceans. They would be spending the night in this city, at an inn on the outskirts of town. To appear less suspicious Perin had claimed that the two were husband and wife, so naturally they had been given a room with only one bed. Liliene knew that he would sleep on the floor, but she would much prefer that they continue the charade and play the role of a married couple inside of their room as well as outside.
With a mischevious half smile Liliene closed her eyes for a moment and whispered the words of a spell that she had learned as a child. It was called the Ghost Hand. In her younger years she had used it to tickle her brother when he had been at his weapon practice, or to tug on her tutor's beard when his lecture digressed from its topic. This time though, she focused her energy on Perin's upper thigh. The mischevious smile turned to a grin of triumph when she noticed his legs tense under the table when the Ghost Hand made contact.
