They were being served wine this time. There was a cup for Tahlen as well though Zelli doubted Tahlen would do more than sip anything poured for him. The mayor sat at their table, also acting as though the other tables in the inn weren’t filling up with people trying to listen in.
“It shouldn’t take long for your room to be ready. Business is slow, of late. No one wants to travel these days unless it’s unavoidable, not even to visit family across the valley.” Mayor Sar paused in pouring their wine to look at Zelli significantly. “If they do travel, they cut through the fields instead of taking the roads. The only ones on the roads are those buying wine for other towns, and they now travel with hired guards.”
Tahlen made a quiet sound of scorn for the idea of hired guards. Zelli patted the air soothingly in his direction while keeping his focus on the mayor.
“Has there been a threat? Any sort of attack?” Zelli lowered his voice. “Have they heard rumors that there might be?”
Mayor Sar hesitated. “Not exactly rumors. Stories about seeing strangers in the fields. But people are afraid and fearful people can imagine things. It’s going to hurt us in a few weeks. Workers will need to move with the harvests but they won’t want to use the roads.”
The mention of the harvest, as Zelli had been taught, meant taking a moment to discuss the weather no matter what else was under discussion. The weather was critical in knowing which grapes would ripen first. “It’s predicted that it will stay sunny and dry for some time yet, but the fog has returned early.”
Mayor Sar gave Zelli a wide smile, then stood back up, taking her wine with her. “I’ll go attend to your things and send in some food for you. This time of day, it will be light, but it should hold you until dinner.”
“And food for Tahlen too, please,” Zelli requested with firm politeness. “He’ll need to rest soon as well.”
“I’m not leaving you here alone.” Tahlen had yet to touch his wine. Neither had Zelli, but that was because Zelli was going to start feeling his first drink any moment now.
Zelli settled in to give Tahlen an unimpressed look. Tahlen gazed back, so blank he might as well have been a wall. Zelli gave in with a huff. “Very well,” he conceded. “But you still must eat. Please. If only so your sister will not poison my apples in the future. A jest,” he turned to explain to Mayor Sar, who observed the two of them with her eyebrows raised high.
But after the mayor nodded and stepped away, Zelli released a deep breath. “I do not speak for The Tialttyrin. Why would you…?” He stopped there. “Thank you.” He stopped there too. “I don’t understand you.”
“What is there to understand?” Tahlen asked. His eyes widened slightly when Zelli lifted his chin but he didn’t look away.
Eventually, Zelli was the one to do it. His cheeks were hot and it was not from his cup of warmth, not entirely. He should try not to look at Tahlen directly, he decided, already knowing he would fail in the attempt.
He cautiously turned to consider the room and the countless people suddenly looking elsewhere except for the children standing beside their parents while their parents judged Zelli’s lack of retinue or finery.
At least they could not claim Zelli was not a Tialttyrin; Tahlen was correct again. Some of the children were taller than Zelli, and there was no telling what Zelli’s hair was doing, but he suspected enough strands had escaped that the streams of sunlight from the windows had set his hair aflame. He was unmistakably of the fae, even at a distance.
But he was not much of a display of Tialttyrin dignity or might. Zell was in well-made but comfortable clothes, had not styled his hair, and hadn’t even been graceful in front of them. He’d have to put more of an effort into his appearance for the judgments and for the rest of his travels, limited though they were.
“They’re not going to listen to me,” he murmured, sighing a little.
Tahlen answered as if that sigh had been directed at him. “You know you’re persuasive, Zelli.”
Zelli flicked Tahlen a puzzled look. “I know no such thing.”
The warmth was starting to make his vision blur and shimmer at the edges. Tahlen fairly twinkled in the inn’s sunny main room. His gaze was almost hot, perhaps with anger.
But Tahlen said, “You come in with arguments that consider nearly everything, except yourself, and you speak with conviction. If she didn’t love you so much, your grandmother would have you as The Tialttyrin after her.” Tahlen closed his eyes as if that was something to terrify even him. Zelli’s heart thudded against his ribs. Then Tahlen opened his eyes again. “But she wants to spare you that.”
Zelli shook his head, not fully believing it, although Tahlen had no reason to lie. “So she is sending me away.” He reached for his wine and had a large swallow. “I would not make a good Tialttyrin. I have no discretion.” He looked back up to Tahlen’s fiery gaze and fiercely drawn eyebrows. “But it was kind of you to say so.”
“Ah, Mizel,” Mayor Sar greeted Zelli as she came up to their table. “I expect we can get things in enough order to hold the judgments tomorrow, if that suits you.”
Zelli gave her a polite smile and raised his voice to be heard although the hushed conversations around them had stopped at her approach. “We gave you no notice and even this appearance is late by over a year. Tomorrow is more than acceptable, as this situation is our fault. The Tialttyrin is not well, though she’d hoped to be strong enough this summer to continue on. Only when it was clear that she couldn’t manage the journey was it decided that I should come in her stead.”
Tahlen said nothing.
Zelli went on, just for those at his table. “You sent word of a prisoner?” That would normally have been the sort of matter handled by the Outguard, if a village could not solve the issue themselves and no one could bring the prisoner to the Tialttyrin fortress. But they must not have seen outguards in some time. “Then I suppose even slightly rushed judgments is better than nothing. In the meantime, once we eat, I will need to rest. Our journey began early.”
Tahlen again did not comment on Zelli’s evasions.
“A way to clean up would also be welcome,” Zelli added.
Mayor Sar was the most helpful of innkeepers. “There’s a small hot house for bathing not far down the road, or we can bring some basins of heated water to your room. There’s also the cold-water bath in the back of the inn.”
Zelli hid a shudder. “To my room, if you don’t mind. But rest first… for me, at least.” He glanced to Tahlen in question. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay put,” Zelli said in answer to Tahlen’s unhappy silence. “You need sleep too. You can’t protect me if you’re tired, can you?”
