Chapter 20: Beneath The Ribs
The sunlight beamed through the blinds. Not the familiar city clinic like Ian had hoped to wake up in.
Rather, a half-assed inn somewhere at the outskirts of a creepy forest.
As Ian sat up, Fen who had been lying on the carpet rose too.
Looking around, he found that both Charlotte and Ryn were already awake, sitting on their own beds.
There was condensation on the windows, hinting that it had rained during the night.
"Morning." Ian muttered as he stretched, followed by a long yawn.
"Slept well?" Ryn responded.
Despite waking up just a minute ago, Ryn was formal and awake as ever.
Ian rubbed at his eyes, stifling the last of his yawn.
"Yeah. You?" Ian finally responded.
"Yes, I have." Ryn said before standing up and grasping the hilt of his sheathed sword that rested against the wooden wall.
'Must be tough sleeping in a new bed...' Ian glanced at Charlotte with a slight frown, who unusually hadn't said a word yet.
As he looked at Ryn who had also gone quiet, he saw that his eyes had reached Charlotte's sorry silence as well.
Sensing the tense mood, Ian decided to switch the focus. "Anyone up for some becky?" He stood up as well, stepping into his shoes by the bed.
"Becky? Who is that?" Ryn responded in a confused tone.
Ian chuckled as he reached for his. "You're hopeless, you know that? It means breakfast."
Charlotte let out a chuckle of her own. "Dumbass."
She said, before getting out of bed.
20.1 Breakfast
As the three of them sat around the same table they had picked last night, the waiter walked up to them.
"Could we get a menu please?" Ryn smiled politely.
The waitress nodded. "Of course. And thanks for yesterday, with the brawl." She smiled back.
"No problem." Ian nodded back respectfully, for some odd reason.
The waitress giggled. "Alright, a menu. Just a moment."
The waitress ran off into the kitchen, well, more like walking fast than running.
She then returned with a fancy menu. "As thanks, breakfast is on us."
Ian's eyes instantly lit up as he heard the mention of food, and it being free as well.
"How much would count exactly?" Ian looked up from the menu slowly, his shining eyes making her regret saying anything.
Charlotte slapped the back of Ian's head. "Calm down you glutton."
"Fine, fine..." Ian grumbled as he rubbed his neck.
"What do you recommend?" Ryn looked up from his own menu.
The waitress thought for a second. "I'd probably recommend the standard, since its the cheapest for us to make."
Ryn chuckled. "Of course. Then, from your personal opinion?"
The waitress thought a second longer. "Then I'd pick the one over basic. The last one is way too much and takes a while."
Charlotte nodded. "Sounds good. Give us a round of that please."
The waitress wrote it down on a notebook. "Drinks?" The waitress looked at Charlotte again.
Charlotte looked at the menu. "blackcurrant tea for me."
"One cup for me as well." Ryn looked up from his own menu.
"Two blackcurrant tea..." the waitress spoke as she wrote. "And lastly?"
Ian looked down at the menu once again, scanning through the drinks quickly before closing it. "A big glass of milk, please."
"Shall do. I'll be back shortly with the drinks. Food won't be long either." The waitress wrote down the last letters before going to the kitchen.
"Milk, seriously?" Charlotte looked mildly amused.
"What? I like milk, and it's good for your bones." Ian said, straight face.
"Fair point." Charlotte chuckled.
The food came a minute or two after the drinks. The group quietly eating.
The food included some kind of meat, a bunch of bread and butter and then some sauce.
'I expected more.' Ian thought.
Endure.
Ian visibly flinched.
He quickly looked around, his smile wiped off like it was never there.
Charlotte looked up from her food with a confused look. Ryn did the same.
"You alright?" Charlotte put her fork down.
Ian nodded. "Yeah. Just fine. I just gotta take a leak." Ian stood up, his stool dragging against the floor as he scooted out.
He felt Charlotte's and Ryn's eyes on him as he walked to the restroom.
As he stepped inside, he felt a pair of eyes on him. As he looked up into the mirror, only he was there.
"What does that mean? What am I meant to endure?!" Ian questioned.
He didn't even know what he was questioning anymore. Neither what answer he was looking for.
"I wanna know." Ian looked into his own eyes in the mirror.
"Answer me." Ian broke the eye contact with himself. "Please."
"Veyra, answer me...please." His gaze sloped deeper, down into the faucet.
...
'No answer, huh. I see.' Ian thought, looking up again.
The reflection staring back at him was a tired one.
Not injured, or broken.
Just tired.
A half smile played on his face before splashing some water on it.
The droplets slid down his cheeks and dripped slowly into the sink.
Ian reached for the small towel by the side of the faucet, dragging it across his face before hanging it back.
Despite the water, the same tired eyes glared into Ian's soul.
His eyes. No one else's.
Ian looked like a kid who didn't get what they wanted for their birthday.
Disappointed.
He wanted an answer, but only got more questions in return.
...
"Why?" He whispered to himself, before turning off the still running faucet.
Ian shook the rest off, with only the words "endure" remaining as an echo in his mind.
He opened the door he just entered and returned to the other two.
As Ian relinked with the group, they had already finished their food.
Looking at his own plate, Ian saw that he hadn't even touched his own.
He sat down once again, this time in silence as he slowly began eating.
20.2 Departure
After a while, Ian's plate was empty as well. The waitress came by once and picked up the other empty plates, but now she's returning.
"Hope it tasted." The waitress smiled.
Ian nodded. "It did." He didn't smile back though. Didn't even meet her gaze as his were glued to the empty plate.
"That's good." The waitress took his plate as she then left for the kitchen again.
An uncomfortable silence was created with the lack of someone speaking.
Neither Charlotte, Ryn or Ian had said a word since Ian came back from the restroom.
Charlotte and Ryn exchanged a worried glance at Ian's sudden moodswing, but neither of them decided to dig deeper.
Charlotte opened her mouth, but closed it as nothing escaped her.
Ryn's eyes were glued to the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
The one who broke the silence, was Ian.
"Well? What now?" Ian asked, looking out the window to their parked carriage outside. "This was a temporary stop right?"
Ryn looked up hesitantly. "Correct. We'll get moving again shortly now that the Summitstrider is well-rested."
Charlotte only nodded, before drinking the last of her most likely cold tea.
"Alright."Ian nodded, before pushing off his chair and heading to their room.
The other two weren't far behind. Fen trotted by seemingly oblivious like the idea of him sharing Ian's emotions wasn't true.
Returning to their room, the group began packing down any remaining things, before walking out and loading up the carriage.
Before long, the wheels rolled out of the parking plot they had taken, and back out on the seemingly endless gravel road ahead of them.