The menu of the little inn was humble. It was a little house with many rooms. Where there should have been a sign, there was only a wooden bar with the simple word "Inn" carved into it. Serving food came secondary to washing sheets and making beds.
It helped that the little selection available was good. A simple stew of meat, carrots, and potatoes became luxurious with a bit of bread and butter. Aureum was hungry, and that helped. Mendax, not caring to order anything else, had the same with a beer.
Her companion was polite, but quiet.
"Pass the butter."
Aureum slid it over.
The servings were large, but not large enough to excuse Mendax for staring only at his food. Aureum didn't know if she was flattered or insulted yet.
"Will you leave Fluentem now that Vitreum is gone?" Mendax asked.
"No? Why would I?" Aureum shook her head. "I need an answer from Spesavia first."
"How long will you wait here without any answer? Do you have any idea where you could go to find her?"
Aureum leaned back. This conversation was a bit unpleasant for her. Nothing she could give was a solid answer.
"I'll sit here until Spesavia comes," she said. "I don't have a list of options. She could be anywhere. I know you probably want to rat me out to my father, but maybe you could wait on that for me? If you haven't already."
Mendax hadn't sent Calces anything since they had arrived at Fluentem. The reminder was like the sliding of snow before an avalanche for him.
"Yes, I need to tell your father something to keep him off my back," Mendax said. "How else do you expect him not to send another blade after you? I doubt the ones after me will be so accommodating."
Aureum chuckled.
"That's you, Mr. Mendax. The accommodating one." She sponged a bit more stew with her bread and swallowed it. "You seem to have a sense of humor, but it's hard to tell. Everything's always business, business, business. Never pleasure."
Mendax gave a slow blink.
Was it a near miss or a near hit?
"Please don't call me Mr. Mendax."
This was fun. She'd seen other ladies at parties fluttering their skirts and eyes at men, but she'd never had the opportunity as a married woman. Not much inclination then either, barring a few incidents. Before that, she'd spent her time in leisure and hobbies. The few young men she'd come across hadn't struck much of a chord with her.
Those of wealthy and historied clans had ignored her, and the rest had been far too greedy for her father's money.
"I'll see about writing my father a letter," Aureum said. "Shall I give you a glowing recommendation?"
"Don't mention me at all," Mendax said. "I may have, ah, said I would be unnoticeable to you."
He, again, looked at his food.
All this work, and all I succeeded at was killing the conversation.
Well, if giving him some space didn't help, maybe the opposite would.
"As you like," as she spoke, she leaned forward and rested her chest on her arms.
Mendax raised an eyebrow.
Aureum felt her cheeks grow warm.
That was too much.
Not so much that she backed off or fled, however. She still wanted to see what would happen.
"I don't think there was beer in that stew," he said.
"Nope," Aureum said.
Mendax was the only one with a half-pint. Even that wasn't enough for much strange behavior.
He tapped his fingers across the table in one wave and stopped.
"Do you need something?"
"Well. Let's say I do."
Aureum didn't have anything specific in mind. She had felt like she was desired, and this compliment made her want to play with fire. But she wasn't trying to force anything.
Whether it was a few compliments, a kiss and a blush, or just an awkward meal, she was willing.
Not that she wasn't wondering what it would be like to go further. She knew from training that he had a very nice chest. It was just doubtful that Mendax would let things get that far.
Mendax gave a nod.
"I'm a bit busy," he said, "so you don't have to demean yourself for some favor. Just tell me."
That made anything warm and fuzzy in Aureum halt. She cocked her head.
"Demean myself?"
"I can't imagine you're enjoying flirting with me," Mendax said. "The only reason a woman like you would want anything with a man like me is because you need something. Or to toy with me."
Have I been toying with him?
Aureum considered. She'd been being stupid, not cruel. She wasn't expecting her first time flirting in a long time to land right, let alone with the sellsword hired by her father, but was it toying to try?
"Heh!" Aureum chuckled, a bitter emotion adding force to it. "You might want to reconsider your focus on your face. It's a real mood killer."
"Do you think anyone cares to look past my face?" Mendax wasn't angry, just morose.
Now he's fishing for compliments?
"Do I really have to tell you that you have a nice body? Forget it. I'm done toying with you for tonight. I'm going to bed."
She stood up and haughtily as she could. Giving him a glare was unsatisfying. He looked up at her, confused.
"Tch."
Aureum stormed off slowly, as if she had all the time in the world. Mendax only watched until she was out of sight.
He sat with the half-eaten food in front of him. He ran the conversation through laps in his head.
So you don't have to demean yourself…
Do I really have to tell you…
Mood killer…
It was like looking at a trick knot. Someone else could untie it with one pull, but Mendax took a few good, long minutes trying to figure it out.
As it unwound before him, he felt a warmth radiate from his chest to his cheeks and ears.
She thinks I have a nice body? She was teasing me? Flirting. She was flirting.
"Haha."
He covered his face with a hand, hiding from no one in particular.
The fact that anyone would bother was a miracle. He continued to sit there, flushed.
———————————————————
The next day, Aureum decided to try to have a good morning since the night had been a bust. She stomped down the streets with the sun overhead, looking for distraction.
None made itself available. In fact, a few hid themselves away from her path.
"Demean myself?!"
Was he serious?
She wanted to spit on the street, but was trying to act unbothered. And failing.
The one time I try to flirt, I not only choose the worst option, but I also have to make a fool of myself!
She tried to kill the memories. Instead, she examined them like a map, burning the details into her memory.
The path they traced led her nowhere revolutionary.
That she was lonely, she knew. That she wanted a distraction, again, not news. That her sanity had felt like a rope stretched and frayed was a shock only in how much.
Throughout the night, she had jumped between embarrassment and frustrated rage. Sleeping it off hadn't worked, and neither did pounding the pavement into dust. Her right hand clenched the wrist of her left.
It was unreasonable. She didn't care about the results that much. As mean as it was, Mendax wasn't that pretty. The whole instinct had been thoughtless.
Maybe it's just my pride as a woman.
Yet, of her little prides, none had survived her life. There were many smarter, many stronger, and a lot of beautiful women out there. Flirting had never been a skill she'd taken pride in in the first place.
It still doesn't feel nice.
It's better this way.
He may have had a nice chest, broad shoulders, and always helped her out, even when she had the worst suspicions of him, but it was still sketchy to try anything with anyone paid to be her bodyguard.
When I think of it like that, I'm the bad guy.
She felt her face twist. The embarrassment was winning out over fury. She kicked at a nearby pebble.
I should have thought about it more. Slept on it.
Maybe he doesn't think like me. Could he have been flattered? After all that pity-party about his own looks, it might be possible.
She didn't quite get it. He was a bit ugly, not dead. With a lot of skills and confidence in those skills to boot. He didn't come across as unlovable to her.
That might be because she knew how much trouble a handsome face could cost.
She focused on putting herself in Mendax's shoes.
If somebody I had been paid to watch and guard started flirting with me…
After saving them from beasts…
Being stabbed by them…
Being accused of stalking them…
And then saving them from slavers…
Her expression sank further and further. Even if she was right about the stalking thing.
If he's thought anything good about me after all the trouble I caused him, flirting with him out of the blue would end it.
It didn't help her one bit. As stupid as she was, she at least had done it the night when she had her own place to sleep. Could she hide away from the evening training sessions?
Why?
Why did I do it?!
Can I pretend it was his mistake? Can I?
Maybe. Mendax might go along with it, but it's not like she would fool him. She went a bit too far for that.
Past me, burn into ash!
"AGH! Forget it. Maybe I should just hide."
Oh, yes. After all of that, I should further embarrass myself by hiding. And tomorrow, what am I gonna do then?
It was still tempting. Not facing it today was very tempting.
After some time aimlessly trailing around with much the defeated demeanor, she wandered to a bakery and got some cookies. She got extra for Vitreum before she realized she didn't need it.
As she ate her share, she stared at the extra one. That decided it. She even had a peace offering.
I guess I need to get back soon if I want to change.
When she arrived, Mendax stood in the center of the grounds, waiting. She stopped. It was ominous. Even the aura of mana around him felt different. Sharper, focused.
Though he held it tightly around him, as always.
Is he going to beat me up? I didn't think I was that bad.
All that kept her from turning was the fact that he had seen her. She gritted her lip. She wasn't in the right, but she wasn't so wrong she deserved to be intimidated like this. The fury she'd whipped up during the walk fumed.
Before she knew it, she was facing him.
"What's your prob—
"I would like to apologize!"
They both started speaking at the same time, but the force of Mendax's words won out.
Why is he apologizing?
Then he did a full-bodied bow, till his body bent with his head facing the ground.
"I would like to apologize because I am not in a position to return any of your affections."
She looked at him in shock.
The formality of it, the seriousness of it, but most importantly, how far it strayed from her expectations. She was at a loss.
Do I need to tell him to stand up?
"I'd also like to say sorry. I. Uh. I have a cookie for you."
He peered up to look at her. She felt her face flush.
"It's a peace offering! I shouldn't have… done that while you're under pay by my father. Let's both just forget it already."
He stood back up.
"A cookie?"
She fished it out and handed it to him. He took it and slid it into a pocket. He had on his long coat today.
"Are we going to train still?"
"Yes," Mendax said.
He didn't move. He cleared his throat.
"I'll get ready, so you can go ahead and get started."
He turned away as he pulled off his coat. Aureum looked away. It felt rude to watch. She began, her boots sliding against the dirt.
Despite how jittery Aureum felt, she persisted and eventually succeeded in, slightly, smoothing out her movements.
"Loosen your grip."
"Ah!"
Aureum froze. She stood up guiltily. Mendax looked at her calmly.
It felt like he had a shared secret with her. Mendax smothered the fluttering emotion. It was completely inappropriate.
"Try again, and remember to loosen your grip."
Each time he watched her, as he had to watch her if he wanted to train her correctly. Aureum wasn't the only one with jitters.
Maybe it would have been better to call off training for the day instead. He would have if she hadn't shown, but as long as she was willing, he wanted to push through the awkwardness as quickly as possible.
They didn't have time for this. At least he didn't.
Worse than the fumbling beauty of her movements, which repetition by repetition crept their way to a solid foundation, was the whisper of the heart.
At least one woman in the world doesn't think I'm a monster. Or two.
Even Mendax had a mother who loved him.
At first, sitting alone last night, it had been euphoria. An impossibility proven true. There was hardly anything else that could have pleased him. Yet he awoke from it beneath the brutal sun.
Or maybe it would just be one. If she knew everything.
Or maybe it would be none, if my mother were around to see me now.
Mendax gripped his crossed arms hard.
What does any of that matter if she ends up getting killed?
"Loosen your knees. You're still stiff."
Imagining how bad all this could end did wonders for his focus. Her movements were the stiffest she'd been since they'd started. It strained him not to point out every flaw until she became a complete mess.
"Let me," he said, asking for the spear with his hand out.
She gave it to him, breathing a bit hard.
"Relax, if you can. As much as you can."
Aureum wanted to complain about the circumstances, but he started before she could speak.
What were jerky, disjointed steps for her, he did with ease. The shining tip moved like a flash before curving up to be smacked down. It didn't look like a tool for murder when he used it.
It looked like art.
Aureum watched much more closely than his previous examples. Not for any eye candy, but to see what she was doing wrong.
"See?" Mendax said as he finished.
"Maybe?"
It went by too quickly. She couldn't bring herself to ask him to show her again. He handed the spear back.
"Will I ever get that good?"
It was a murmur that slipped out of the heart. Mendax looked at her. He wanted to say she wouldn't need to, but couldn't.
"Yes, if you keep at it."
Training ended early with little more said. They survived the day.
Later that early morning, when he was alone in the room for the second time in weeks, with nothing to do and to hide, it was harder.
She wasn't all he ever wanted. He wanted a clean face, a purpose that wasn't mired in blood, and more recently, a home away from Nix. But she might have been a start. A real start towards his own happiness.
Yet he had had to reject it.
For countless reasons. Now was not the time for him to start a relationship, the woman he was lying to was not the one he should start a relationship with, and he had the feeling that what she wanted was not quite what he wanted. Despite that.
Maybe I could make it work. Maybe, if I just got her to flee from Fluentem to somewhere like Lapis, or even further—
He moved from his posture of a corpse and pulled the blanket around him as he curled fetal. What had begun with euphoria carried the taste of ashes with it now.