Free Ascension by Hannah Youngwirth Page B

’ t noticed the stairs behind the
innkeeper, leading upwards. Carrying our bags, I walked up the
stairs and found our door. I made it to what I assumed was our door
and put the bags down. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.
I pulled and pushed on it, not sure how to work the door. In
Cethin, we only had cloaks and the occasional slab of wood
separating one room from another. This one, however,
wouldn ’ t budge,
no matter how hard I pushed against it. Feeling slightly foolish, I
searched for some hint on how to open it. Then I remembered the key
in my hand, and saw the small round metal knob sticking out of the
door, which had a small whole underneath it. I managed to jam the
key inside the hole and moved it around until the lock finally
clicked and the door swung open. Balancing a bag on my chest, I
couldn ’ t get a
good view of the room, which is why I nearly tripped when I ran
into the bed.
    In Cethin, we slept on mats made up
of a few blankets laid over a pile of soft dirt. So when I saw the
bed, lifted off the ground like the clouds that floated in the sky,
I immediately dropped my bags and threw myself upon it. It felt
heavenly, my body sinking into its warmth, the soft sheets
caressing my skin, the pillow cupping my head in its gentle grip.
All troubles forgotten, I could have laid there for the rest of my
life. Eventually, the smell of food wafted up through the
still-open door, and my empty stomach protested against my
immobility. With a groan and a stomach rumble, I dragged myself off
the bed.
    Descending the stairs, I scanned for
Croxley.
    “ Fara!” I spotted
him, waving his hand in the air to catch my attention. He was
sitting at a table with a large plate in front of him. I approached
him but stopped when I saw what was on the table. I eyeballed at
the plate expectantly, mesmerized by the duck stuffed with bread,
surrounded by potatoes and carrots.
    “ That looks
delicious, ” I told him, my mouth
watering.
    Croxley just
looked at me. “You don ’ t think I ’ m buying you a plate, do you? ”
    “ Oh,
um … right. Sorry. ”
    Croxley held my
gaze for a few more seconds, and then broke it with a laugh. “Fara, I ’ m sorry. I
was just kidding. Here, sit down, ” he
said, pulling out a chair for me. I sat down, my emotions in a
whirl, while Croxley motion a servant over, who came with another
plate of food. “Dig in,” he
announced.
    And I did.
     
     

Chapter
11
    After our dinner,
which was by far the greatest thing I ’ d ever eaten, we returned to our
room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took off my boots, and then
fell back with a resounding “ oomph ” . I rubbed my hands over my
distended stomach, which, for the first time in my life, was full
to the point of bursting. I sighed with pleasure as I felt the soft
mattress curve to the shape of my body. Interrupting my bliss, I
felt the bed shift under Croxley ’ s weight as he sat down beside
me. It was only then that I realized there was one bed, and two
people. My mind unsuccessfully reached for a way to address the
situation, and I squirmed away from Croxley as much as the space of
the bed would allow.
    “ Comfortable? ” He asked me, laying
down next to me.
    “ Um, yeah. We
don ’ t have
anything like this in Cethin. ”
    “ If you want to
see a real bed, you should try the castle. You could lay five
people in one bed! Talk about a good time. ” Croxley chucked, but stopped when he saw the concerned
expression on my face. “ Not that
I ’ m thinking
about that here. Um, I ’ ll take the floor and you can have the bed. ” With that, he got up, took the top sheet from
the bed, and lay it on the ground.
    I felt compelled to offer him the
bed, since he was paying for the room, but the longer I lay on it,
the deeper I sunk, and the harder it was for me to keep my eyes
open. In an effort to stay awake, I rolled on my side, propping
myself up on my elbow to peer over the edge of the bed at Croxley,
who was laying on the