Page 25 of The Avowed
“Milady…”
I groan at the title. I’ve been trying to get them to cut that shit out since the day I first met them.
“For the thousandth time, you don’t need to be so formal,” I whine. “I know I look all milady and shit here,” I admit, picking up a strand of ghost white hair and running it just under my lavender eyes. “But I’m not.”
I turn to Dri.
“Don’t hold out on me. There has to be better things to do around here than read genealogy volumes. Don’t you guys have bars or something?” I ask.
“I don’t know if the Altern would approve,” she starts.
“Okay, but first of all, he’s not here. And second of all, the Altern doesn’t own me. I am my own woman, hear me roar,” I tell her, but she just looks at me funny.
“I’ll give you the rest of my Sazo,” I offer in a singsong tone.
“Done,” Sice announces, and I have to keep myself from bouncing up and down and clapping like a five-year-old that’s had too much sugar.
“Yaaaay!” I announce excitedly.
Dri just rolls her eyes, and Sice looks like he’s not sure what to make of any of this.
I just nod my head and waggle my eyebrows at them both.
“Let’s getwhite girl wasted!”
9
“To the before, the now, and the yet to come,” Sice toasts merrily, his stein thunking against Dri’s and then mine.
We all throw our heads back and take deep pulls of the tart liquid. I scrunch up my face, coming to terms with the fact that whatever this is doesn’t get better the more you drink it. I wipe a frothy mustache from my top lip and stare at the contents of the cup, wondering how I can get out of drinking anymore of what I suspect to be fermented milk. I try not to think of what kind of animal this could have come from and instead stare longingly at the bar.
I’d bet my left nipple that there was Meade somewhere behind the old wood counter. But I’m not supposed to know the things they drink in this world, and so I’ve kept my mouth shut. I swirl the thick off-white liquid in my stein and tell myself that I could probably convince them that we drink meade in my world and that’s why I know about it. That thought helps to perk me up. That could work actually, my requesting a drink I loved back home wouldn’t give anything away.
A sly smile sneaks across my face, and I look over at the bar area again. I watch as another patron orders something and then slides a coin to the barkeep. My excitement drops, forming a rock in the middle of my stomach, or maybe that’s just my body rejecting the nastiness in my stein. I don’t have any money. No money...no yummy meade. Sice chugs down the rest of his drink and then belches his approval. Dri rolls her eyes and then throws her head back and does the same thing. The belch she exercises blows Sice’s out of the water. I bark out a laugh, not able to contain it, when Sice looks stunned by the volume of her burp.
They both turn to me, and I try not to cringe. I drop my eyes down to the drink in my hand and then back up to make sure I’m reading their expressions correctly. Yep, they’re definitely waiting for me to go.
Fuck.
Pigeon sends a thread of amusement, and I internally roll my eyes.
“I am plenty aware that I got myself into this mess, thank you very much, you unhelpful chicken wing,”I snark, and Pigeon’s chuffing purr fills my mind.
I slowly bring the large metal cup to my lips and quickly give myself an internal pep talk.You got this, Falon, it’s just a little milk...that’s gone well past its expiration date...and probably came from a yak or something. Hold your breath and go for it. This is what I get for wanting to bond and make friends. Okay...ready set go. Crap. Go now. Their stares are filling with judgment. Don’t piss off your new besties. Go. How ’bout now? Or now…
I slam the stein down onto the tabletop.
“I can’t do it. Please don’t make me. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. I’m trying to be a cool kid and look tough and shit, but if you make me drink anymore of that yak jizz, I’m going to puke!”
I throw my hands up and lean back in my chair, my surrender clear.
Sice’s eyes narrow slightly, and I bristle, ready to be ejected from our newfound friendship. Dri’s snickering pulls my attention away, and then the next thing I know, the two of them are guffawing and slapping each other’s backs while wiping at laugh tears that are now streaming down their faces.
“You should see your face right now, milady,” Dri sputters out before another fit of laughter renders her unable to communicate past chortles and squeaks.
I watch the two of them completely lose it, and I’m baffled. What the hell is so funny? I have no fucking clue, and yet their guffaws are contagious even though I’m almost positive I’m the brunt of the joke.Sice pulls out several coins and hands them to Dri as he wipes at his eyes and shakes his head.
“You were right,” he cackles, “she at least tried.”
