The Tragedy of Yinx - 6. Tea and Pie

Laneer

The marketplace seems rather empty today. I guess everyone has run home for lunch.

Maybe I should eat at the Unicorn’s Blood with Yinx! That could be a perfect time for Beatrix and him to get to know each other.

I am pretty sure they would get along. Yinx is nice and Beatrix is...can be nice.

If Yinx can handle seeing a werewolf creeping at his window, then I am positive that he can handle Beatrix.

A bunch of sellers at their stalls stare off with bored expressions. A few notice me and nod in my direction before standing at attention. I just smile and keep walking past.

Maybe I should buy something. I am sure they all want something to do. I just don’t know what I would need to visit a food vendor for.

A jeweler perhaps?

I would not mind taking a small peek. It is always nice to see the work those people put into their craft.

“Ah, Welcome, my Prince! May I offer you a one of a kind set of earrings?” The man says as he pulls out a pair of earrings that has colorful beads and feathers.

It is pretty, but not at all for me.

Would Yinx wear earrings? I did not really look to see if they were pierced.

I look through all the bracelets and necklaces.

Halfway through, I realize I am looking for something. Already I am trying to bring gifts to Yinx. I am about to walk away and smack myself for being too forward until I see a pretty necklace that I know I must have.

There is a pendant that shows a pearly white crescent moon that has strings of silver swirling around the tips of the moon. The strings connect the tips to each other and a diamond sits in the middle. It is almost as if the diamond is a star. The moon itself has beautiful details of little lillies.

I need this.

“How much would this be?” I ask, pointing at the beautiful pendant.

The jeweler picks the pendant up and inspects it in his hand before looking up at me.

“80 gold.” He smirks. “90 if you wish for the matching silver chain.”

I reach for my belt and count out the coin. I drop 90 onto the table and hold my hand out for my purchase.

The man looks at me in surprise before placing the pendant and necklace in my hand.

Sure it is a bit expensive, and I am pretty positive that he raised the price simply because I am the prince, but I could care less.

Sure, I thought it may have been too forward before, but Yinx needs this. It would not fit anyone else better than him.

I walk off and search for Beatrix.

She would not be home, would she? I hope she did not accept a contract without me. I love going on little adventures with her.

Wait a minute. I should invite Yinx to join us! It could be so much fun. If he is not comfortable with handling the bandits, we can do the smaller contracts. Then again, he killed those four men last night so I am pretty positive that he could care less for killing some random bandits.

Just how often has he killed if he did not care for those hunters?

I am not going to lie. The thought of Yinx being the mysterious killer just slipped into my mind and I do not like it one bit.

He seems too nice to be the killer, but being too nice can also be a bad thing, right?

Yinx lives by himself and away from the city, He goes missing for days, but I learned he stays in his cabin. He is good with his bow but let's not forget that he is also a mage. Mages are sketchy enough.

Now that I am thinking about it, that all does seem rather suspicious.

Maybe the racial abuse has gotten to him and ignited his need to kill innocents? Wouldn’t he have killed me?

I am my father’s son after all. What better way to get to the king’s head than to kill his own son?

Perhaps Yinx already knows about the family troubles and saw no reason to?

No don’t be stupid. The only one that cares or really knows about all that is Beatrix.

Yinx is good person. He saved me when he did not need to. I am just overthinking everything as always.

I honestly just need some food right now. Maybe my hunger is just making me think too much.

Yinx being the killer? That is ridiculous. He is blind, a bit of a loner, but he is incredibly sweet.

I get shoved from my side and almost fall over. I clench my fist and turn to whoever decided to mess with me today. I am really not in the mood for that.

“Hey there, stranger!” Beatrix smirks and playfully punches at my shoulder. “Why the serious face?”

I smile and lightly shove her head. “Because bratty commoners like you are just ruining my day. I guess I will need to set up a time for your execution.”

Beatrix gives a rather dramatic gasp and pretends to cry. “Oh but your highness, what about the precious Serendian from the tavern? Who will ever be your wingwoman then?”

I laugh and swat at her arm. “For your information, I actually spoke to him myself! You can act surprised now.”

Beatrix actually did look pretty surprised. I do not think I’ve ever seen such a shocked look on her face. Hell yeah!

She did look surprised, but then she looked very skeptical.

“Oh really? Why do I find that very hard to believe.” She stops moving and crosses her arms. “What is his name?”

“Yinx!” I beam. Instantly I realize my mistake. It must show on my face too.

“What? What’s wrong?” Beatrix asks.

“Uh, well…” I scratch the back of my head. “I was not really supposed to tell you that. He goes by Lleros. Promise me you won’t tell him I told you. Actually, don’t even call him Yinx. Just say Lleros. He would probably get mad if you used his real name.”

Beatrix narrows her eyes. “And why would he be using a fake name? How do you even know if Yinx is his real name?”

I...did not really think of that honestly.

I shrug. “I did not really think of that at the time. I was busy trying to get him to trust me during that moment.”

“Trust you? What were you both doing?” Beatrix raises an eyebrow and then she sighs. “Did you get too personal before sleeping with him? I told you countless times that, that creeps people out and you need to just straight up fuck him. Stop being a scared little cat about it.”

“Oh my gods! Shut up!” I cover her mouth to shush her. I look around and only see a few dirty looks sent out way. “I did not sleep with him. Well...I kind of did, but I did not have sex with him.”

Beatrix rolls her eyes and shoves my hand away. “What do you mean ‘kind of did’? Are you saying you slept over at his house?”

I nod and grin.

Beatrix shakes her head but she still smiles. “Well look at you. You finally grew a pair of balls! Only took about seven tries. Now we just need to get you laid! Would this Lleros be up for it?”

I blush and shake my head. “I do not want to just sleep with him, Beatrix. He is just the nicest, and-”

“Oh my gods!” Beatrix groans and drags her hand across her face.

I continue, “he gave me meat for my wolf, made a place for me to sleep, and made me breakfast! I felt like I had an actual husband!”

“Wait, wait, what did you just say? He gave you meat, for your wolf?” She whisper shouts the last part. “How come this complete stranger can see your wolf but not me?”

I blush again. “I, uh, could not really control myself. I kind of just found myself in front of his home.”

“Ugh! Really, Laneer? You seriously need to sleep with someone.” Beatrix sighs. I almost give a response to that but she interrupts with a sharp, “Properly!”

We start walking again.

“You thought of him as your husband? Really?” Beatrix rolls her eyes. “You have literally only just met the guy, Laneer.”

I huff and turn my head in a sort of pout. “So? Let me have my little fantasies while I still can.”

“Well you sure know how to pick them. It must be nice wanting a spouse whose name you do not know.”

“Hey it is not as if I did not have fun! I believe it was pretty enjoyable for the both of us.” I smile to myself.

Beatrix sighs again. “It would have been better if you were not such a damn lamb and actually did something about your little virginity problem.”

I actually gasp at that. “It is not a problem. I am perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

“Sure. Say that to the wolf in a rut who follows pretty boys into the woods.”

I laugh while playfully shoving her.

“Well, at least you agree with me with how pretty he is.”

Beatrix smirks and shakes her head. Her smirk disappears and she stops us from moving again.

“You should be careful, Laneer. There must have been a reason he had given a fake name. I would not trust him if I were you.”

I shake my head. “I know he is not anything bad. He saved me! I was almost killed by some hunters. If it weren’t for Yinx, I would be dead right now.”

Beatrix’s eyes go wide. “Why did you not say this before?” She shouts.

“I was getting to it! I just got distracted because you were asking about everything else.” I rest my hands on her shoulders. “Calm down. I am fine now. Yinx let me sleep in his little cabin since it was late and I left my clothes elsewhere. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it?” Beatrix shoves my hands off. “Are you insane? I told you that you should have brought me with you! What if the Serendian wasn’t there? You would not even be here! Yet, here you are, acting as if it was such a small thing. You need to be more careful. I am coming with you from now on. You can’t change my mind.”

“No, I do not want you to come with me.” I say. “I do not need you to see how much of a freak I am.”

“I could care less about that if it means that you will be safe.”

I sigh and turn away from her. “I am fine now, Beatrix. I...something else happened. Before the hunters or Yinx arrived, strange chains attacked me. They slid around me like a bunch of snakes and then pulled me up to a tree. I couldn’t move. I don’t know how it happened, but I swear it did. I was not just going out, looking for trouble, you know.”

Beatrix grabs my shoulder and turns me around to look at her. “What are you talking about? What chains? Are you sure you weren’t attacked by surprise? You possibly missed out on something.”

“No, I know what happened.” I almost growl. She isn’t going to believe me. I knew this would happen if I told literally anyone else but a mage like Yinx. Everyone here automatically forgets that magic exists. They know it is a thing but they never assume it will ever be used around them.

“Relax, Laneer.” Beatrix says. “I am not saying you are wrong about what happened, I am just trying to say that you possibly missed out on something out of the ordinary.”

I take a deep breath to calm down. Why has it been so much easier to get angry lately? This is Beatrix. My best friend. It isn’t right.

“Just know that I am glad you are here.” She squeezes my arm. “You should know however, if you go out alone again,” I look at her expecting some evil threat, “I will write a song about how you were too chicken to sleep with Yinx.”

I sigh and roll my eyes. Then I find myself trying not to laugh. Beatrix laughs anyway.

“Fine. I’ll allow you to join me next time.” I say, “Just...promise we’ll still be friends after that hunt?”

Beatrix smiles. “Of course!”

~~~
~~~

The Unicorn’s Blood is a bit deserted today. Not even Damond himself seems to be present.

There are a handful of people but not at all close to how it can be at night.

Yinx and Irene can be seen sitting at the bar counter cleaning some mugs.

As soon as we make our way towards them, Irene whispers something to Yinx. Instantly his face begins to turn a shade of red.

“Welcome to the Unicorn’s Blood. Can I get you two anything?” Irene smiles and sets down the mug she was working on.

“I would not mind something to eat if that is fine.” I say. “I hope we did not come at a bad time.”

Yinx smiles to himself as he sets his mug down.

“You can handle the food, right?” Irene asks Yinx. He nods and turns to the kitchen door behind them.

As soon as Yinx is out of sight, Irene turns to me and gives me the most evil look.

I’ve seen her a few times that I’ve been here. I never really realized how pretty she is. I kind of had my sights on something else.

She has brown hair and bright blue eyes. She wears a long-sleeved dress with an apron over it. Her skin is pale and I can see some slight bruises on her face. Her eye looks a little swollen but not enough for it to be incredibly noticeable.

I am just wondering why she is giving me such a dirty look.

“May I ask what you want and why you have spoken with Lleros?” She says.

Oh I see.

I just sit on the stool in front of her and try to be as friendly as I can.

With a smile, I say, “I just want to become his friend. He has told you about the night before, right?”

She nods.

“Well, I wanted to repay him by buying him a house!” I grin. “I want the both of you to be safe. He told me about your life in here.”

Irene narrows her eyes and starts to clean off a knife. Well I guess that is a bit unsettling.

I glance at Beatrix but she is just smirking and watching us interact. What an amazing, supportive friend!

Rolling my eyes at her, I turn back to Irene.

“You had better not hurt him. He has been through enough already.” She whispers.

The kitchen door opens.

“I’m afraid we don’t have many cuts of meat but I can try to make a meat pie if you’d like.” Yinx smiles at me.

I smile back. “Yes please! I’ll pay double for it.”

Irene glares at me once again. “You do not have to. The butcher will be dropping off meat in about an hour.”

Yinx has already disappeared and I just continue to smile at where he last stood.

He wanted to make me a meat pie. He is trying to help me by feeding the wolf meat. It is the sweetest thing.

“Is he always like this?” Irene asks.

Beatrix laughs before responding, “Not until recently.”

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

I feel a pat on my arm. I glance over and look at Beatrix. “What are you going to drink?” She then leans forward and whispers in my ear, “Put your dick away.”

Instantly, heat spreads across my neck and face.

“I’ll have the Serendian tea.” I mutter to Irene but throw a scowl at Beatrix.

Irene sighs and turns to the kitchens as well.

I huff and swat Beatrix’s arm. “Can you not do that? You constantly do that at the most embarrassing moments.”

She laughs and pats my back. “Ah, my sweet Laneer. You are doing that yourself.”

Next, I do the only thing that will help keep my dignity. I rest my head on my arms to keep myself from making any more embarrassing moments.

After about fifteen minutes, Yinx comes out with a steaming cup of tea just for me! He sets it down in front of me, gifts me with a smile, then rushes back to the kitchen.

As soon as he is back there, Irene comes back out.

“Your food should be ready soon.” She says and rests her elbows on the counter.

I blow off the top of the tea and take a sip. It is still a bit too hot but the taste is rather interesting. It runs down my throat pretty smoothly but as it touches my tongue, it feels as if there is something dancing on it.

It is weird but I like it!

“Lleros stopped what he was doing just to make the tea for you.” Irene says.

My face burns again but I still smile. “Did he really?”

Irene rolls her eyes.

“Boys are rather stupid, aren’t they?” She says to Beatrix.

Beatrix yawns and nods her head. “Absolutely. Especially this one.” She flicks her finger against my arm.

I roll my eyes and take another sip of my tea. The tea that Yinx made for me! That just makes this cup feel even more special.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, Irene and Beatrix continue to talk to each other. Irene seems interested in Beatrix’s work with the contracts. If I didn’t know better. I’d say they were getting along a little too nicely.

I smile as I watch them. I kind of had my suspicions with Beatrix. She never showed any interest in any men around us. All of a sudden, she can’t stop smiling or talking to Irene.

A plate is set in front of me and I look up and find Yinx in front of me.

“You should know, I have only made this twice in my life.” Yinx bites his lip and places a fork next to the plate. “Sorry if it is awful and not at all what you are used to.”

I smile and take a cut a piece off of the pie.

It isn’t so bad honestly. He must have put something spicy in it and I am pretty sure he didn’t put enough meat inside but other than that, it is pretty good!

“You have a gift then!” I say, “I could almost say that it is better than my mother’s.”

Yinx smiles and raises an eyebrow. “Really? I was worried I would have done something wrong.”

“No, it is absolutely perfect.” I take another bite to prove it.

Yinx blushes and rushes back to the kitchen. I smile at his retreat. He looks so cute when he turns a shade a red.

I glance at Irene and Beatrix. They both are looking at me with knowing smirks on their faces.

Now it is my turn to blush.

Quick! I need to get this attention off of me.

“Uh...Shall we sit and talk about the house you both will be moving into?”