35 Chapter Thirty-Five (1/2)

2 years ago

Romeo sat down at the bar and drew the bartender's attention with a raised hand, a silver coin held between two fingers.

”Hey there! Name's Zachary. Welcome to my restaurant. What can I get for you?” Zachary spread his arms wide.

”Surprise me, but make sure it's strong.” Romeo set the coin down on the bar and slid it towards Zachary. The bartender held it up to his eye.

”Dumas, yeah? You're a bit of a ways from home,” Zachary said as he pocketed the coin and grabbed a bottle of dark blue liquor. He poured Romeo a short glass.

”Exploring the world before I have to settle down. You know how it is.” Romeo said with a shrug before taking the glass and downing it in a single gulp. He signaled for another. ”So, what is exciting around here? This place seems more dead than the last town I stopped at.”

”Ah, you just missed the lunch rush actually.” Zachary poured another glass that Romeo took down easy. Zachary refilled the glass. ”But this is a pretty quiet place. Cept for the guild, we don't have much to see around here. People mostly keep to themselves these days.”

”Guild?” Romeo paused, the glass at his lips. ”Like a magic guild?”

”Used to be,” Zachary said. ”Not much magic going around these days, but they get still get some interesting jobs from time to time.”

”Well that's something at least. I guess.” Romeo drained his glass and glanced around the restaurant. Beside him, there were only a handful of patrons, most of them old, and likely boring. He almost dropped his head down in despair until the front door opened and a slender young woman walked in, a black scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face. Zachary gave her a cheery wave that she returned with a curt nod.

Romeo straightened up in his chair.

Finally! Someone worthy of his interest.

”Excuse me for a moment.” Zachary bowed out from behind the bar and made for the kitchen. After a moment he returned with a plate of berries and a large bowl of whipped cream that he placed before the girl.

”Just got them in today from Verla. Just like you asked,” Zachary said, rapping the edge of the plate with his knuckles. ”Whipped the cream fresh for you too. Thanks for taking care of that issue for me.”

The girl gave another silent nod and Zachary returned to his place behind the bar.

”So,” Romeo allowed Zachary to pour him another drink as he watched the girl dip one of the plump berries into the cream. ”What's that ones story?”

”Lexi? Ah, she's a member of the guild.”

”Really? Well, she looks interesting.”

”Ah, you'll want to be careful there, friend.” Zachary gave him an uneasy smile. ”She's a… well, let's just say she is a feisty one.”

”Perfect.” Romeo grinned, pushing off from the bar and tossing Zachary another coin. He ran a hand through his tawny hair and swaggered over to Lexi's table.

”Hey there.” Romeo gave her his most striking smile. ”Sorry to bother you, but I saw you come in and I just had to tell you, you are without a doubt one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, though I'm sure you hear that a lot.”

Lexi looked up. She had loosened her scarf to eat, but it still hid her face, leaving only her large, dark eyes exposed. She stared at Romeo for a moment before dropping her eyes back down and continuing to eat.

Romeo's smile didn't falter. ”Would you mind if I sat down?”

Lexi looked up at him again before giving a non-committal shrug with one shoulder.

”So, you're part of the guild,” Romeo said, trying to start any form of conversation with the girl in front of him as he slid into the chair across from her. ”What do you do?”

Lexi sat back and stared at Romeo for a long time before answering. ”Hunter.”

”Like animals?”

”People.”.

”Oh.” Romeo ran an eye over the girl. ”You seem a bit delicate for that line of work.”

There was a glint in Lexi's eye that would have sent most people fleeing in terror from the table.

Romeo was not most people.

From the bar Zachary sent Lexi a pleading look.

”The guild has given me adequate training.” Lexi managed to say, though it came through clenched teeth. She grabbed another berry and slowly ate it, her eyes closing as she relished the sweet and tangy flavor.

”Really now?” Romeo said, leaning forward. ”You know I've been traveling for almost three months since I left Dumas. I stopped over Gorin, then Romiatii, and this is the first guild I've heard of that still operating. I would love to see what someone trained by a guild can do.”

Lexi blinked, her hand pausing as she lifted another berry to her mouth.

”That is to say…” Romeo rested his chin on his hand. ”I wouldn't mind a sparring session. Just to see how your guild stacks up to the Dumas standard of training.”

Lexi blinked again before a very small smile formed on her lips, hidden beneath the scarf. She popped the berry into her mouth and chewed on it a length before answering. ”I believe that can be arranged.”

Without another word, Lexi stood up and made for the door. Romeo watched her for a moment before throwing Zachary a roguish grin and chasing after her.

”Welp, there goes another customer,” he sighed as he went to retrieve Lexi's plate.

xXx

”So this is it, huh?” Romeo said, looking up at the building. ”Looks more like city housing than a guild.”

”A guild is a home, the form does not matter,” Lexi replied, leading Romeo through the doors and into the guild. He followed her to a table where a dark haired, and extremely tired looking, young man sat alone at a table with a plate of untouched food sitting in front of him. One hand rubbed idly at his temple as the other drummed against the table. He looked up as they approached.

”Lex,” he greeted. His eyes flicked towards Romeo, but they did not linger.

”Cross,” Lexi replied. ”Up for a sparring match?”

Cross let out a scoff. ”Not with you.”

Lexi tilted her head towards Romeo. ”Him.”

”Him?” Cross gave Lexi a blank look.

”Him.” Lexi said with a touch more force.

Behind Lexi, Romeo's eyebrows rose. ”Wait, I thought I was going to be… with you… or something.”

Lexi turned to face him. ”Beat him first, then you can try me.”

Romeo looked at Lexi, then at Cross, then back at Lexi. Lexi was staring down at Cross and Cross had gone back to staring at his food, hand on his head.

The two didn't seem particularly fond of each other.

Romeo leaned down towards Lexi and lowered his voice. ”Do you uh, want to see this guy beat up or something?”

”Very much so,” Lexi replied before turning to Cross. ”Cross?”

”Right, then, let's get this over with, princess.” Cross sighed, pushing himself up from his chair and ambling away from the pair. Lexi followed after him with Romeo in tow. The trio made their way down a flight of stairs and into the basement sparring area where Cross broke away and headed to a rack holding training equipment.

”Don't hurt him too much,” Lexi called as she walked over to the wall and leaned comfortably against it, tilting her head to the side.

”Don't worry, I won't,” Romeo gave her a cocky grin and cracked his knuckles.

Cross didn't say anything as he took a pair of sparing gloves and threw them to Romeo. Romeo caught them deftly and pressed his fingers against the leather padding. They weren't particularly soft. Nothing like what he had trained with at home. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, which must have been mirrored on his face as Cross let out a sniff of amusement.

”They're designed to keep your hands from breaking,” Cross said as he pulled his own gloves on and cinched them in place. ”Getting punched hurts pretty bad still.”

”Perfect,” Romeo said with more bravado than he felt as he pulled his gloves on and stepped onto the sparring floor. He tossed a look towards Lexi and gave her a wink. ”How about after I finish up here, we do some more private sparring? I'm sure I can show you some things you've never tried before.”

Lexi tilted her head slightly and lifted a finger, pointing over Romeo's shoulder. Following her gesture, Romeo turned his head just in time to receive a brutal punch to the face courtesy of Cross.

He was sent down to the floor with a curse.

”What the hell was that?” Romeo cawed as he staggered back to his feet.

Cross dropped down to one knee and tapped the padded floor. ”Fight starts when you step onto the mat.”

Romeo glared at Cross before brining his fists up. ”Alright, fine. I'll give you that one. Call it a handicap.”

”Whenever you're ready, then.” Cross rose back to his feet and spread his arms wide.