Chapter 2

he inn was filled with various drunken riffraff from all over the village. It was always lively when spring finally came. The place was busy when normally it was quiet, she hated it. The rough hands of little men, grabbing and touching her as she waited the tables.

"When will this accursed night be over?" she thought to herself as another man pinched her bottom as she passed his table. Her feet were swollen and sore. She longed to get off them, and sit in a warm bath, just to relax. She stumbled backward as another lug grabbed her and forced her onto his lap. She broke free of his grasp and brushed herself, muttering to herself.

She finally made it to the semi-safe conditions behind the bar, when she noticed a man sitting there, motionless. His features hidden beneath a wide brimmed hat he wore. "Finally a little sanity in this madness" she thought. She moved over to him.

"Can I get you something?" she asked politely. She could feel him staring at her although she could not see his eyes. It strangely excited her, but she held her composure.

"Some ale" he replied in a voice that commanded a deep respect yet was soft enough to peek her interests and stir something within her as she retrieved his drink.

She found herself staring at him while she poured the ale. She could not see his face clearly. It was as if the shadows had come alive to mask his features from her sight. She recalls how his voice penetrated her very essence. A loud voice called from the back of the room. Her attention diverted, she gave a sigh of wariness. She set the drink in front of the dark man, and stepped out from behind the bar to deal with the so called customer.

She approached the obnoxious cad who had summoned her from behind the bar. Without realizing what had happened, she found herself laying on her back upon the floor. She was surrounded by a growing crowd of of callused hands and drunken, slobbering faces.