Free Ascension by Hannah Youngwirth Page A

see
the King? ” I asked Croxley, who was
guiding Sir Thunder a few steps ahead of me.
    Without turning
around, he answered, “ Most likely
tomorrow. The King is very busy. We will have to stay in an inn for
the night. Once we check in, I ’ m going to leave and make an
appointment with the King. ”
    “ What ’ s
an ‘inn ’ ?” Croxley stopped and turned around, and I shrugged to
indicate my ignorance. He was obviously surprised that I
didn ’ t know
what an inn was, and began to explain.
    “ It ’ s a place where you pay to eat
and can oftentimes find a place to stay overnight. Some are very
nice, while others are … well, we'll avoid
those ones, ” he said, turned back
around. “ Follow me. I know a good
one. ”
    As we passed
through the city, I couldn ’ t help but stare at those we
passed. Nearly every citizen appeared special in some way. The
women ranged from small and delicate to large and volumptious, and
even the worst-dressed of them stole your attention. Your eyes
couldn't help but linger on their beauty. The men were equally
varied, with a mix of men of smaller, almost feminine stature to
large, muscular individuals who appeared capable of pulling a
carriage on their shoulders, and all those in between. We walked
south to the plaza and on the corners were performers; women
contorted with their feet curling over their back, men swallowing
swords, instrumentalists, vocalists, a whole menagerie of
impressive feats. Once again, I wondered what would become of me in
this city where I was little more than another face, and a dirty
face at that.
    We arrived at the inn, which
happened to be a tall, white building, black and gold trim framing
the doors and the windows. There were windows on both the ground
and higher up on the building, and through a higher one I saw a
face. I wondered how someone managed to get their face all the way
up there.
    I noticed a sign atop the door. The
lettering was white on a black background, with gold detail etched
around the edge of each letter. The Golden Inn.
    Well that fits.
    As we walked in,
a mouthwatering aroma swept over me, and I could barely stand it.
Having finished the last of my food this morning, with only a few
berries to tide me over, I was famished. By the look of
Croxley ’ s
reaction, he was hungry as well. As he spoke to the man at the
front counter, my attention drifted elsewhere. I was hypnotized by
the plates of food that walked out of the kitchen and into the main
room, where groups of people sat at tables waiting to eat. There
were dishes I could recognize, like stew and bread, but never had I
seen such meals so artistically arranged. In addition, there were
plates that had food I hadn ’ t even known existed, trailing
scents behind them that left my stomach growling. Then, when I
thought it couldn ’ t get any better, a dish like no other passed under my nose
and had be salivating. Filled with what looked like my forest
berries was a shallow bowl made of bread, it both looked and
smelled like heaven.
    “ Fara. Fara!” Embarrassed, I realized that Croxley had been calling my
name. I turned towards him.
    “ What? ”
    “ I ’ m taking our rides to the
stables. Afterwards, I ’ m going to head over to the castle to inform the King of
your impending evaluation. It won ’ t take too long. Now, ” he said, adjusting the bags and handing them off
to me, “ if you could take these bags to
our room, it is upstairs, two doors to the left. Here is the
key. ” He handed me a small, golden key,
which I rotated around in my palm. Even the keys to their doors
were nicer than the finest jewelry we had in Cethin. All of the
gold, jewels, and stones that we mined were immediately sent back
to Ahrenia, and if we were found hoarding any of it, the punishment
was severe. “We ’ ll meet back in here, and then we can get something to
eat. ”
    I turned around
and tried to figure out how to get on the second floor. Having been
distracted by the food, I hadn