Mina wasn't sure how to respond. This man was already pissing her off. Helping himself to their table and just being generally rude. She was fairly certain that even if she wasn't his queen this would be considered abysmal behavior. She adjusted the way she was sitting so that she was turned to him and decided it would be fun to make him regret his behavior.
"If you're Egon Schwert, the sword master, we are," She said before either man with her could respond. She took the bottle from him and poured some into her own cup. He smiled.
"You've been asking around town, so it must be important. What can I do for such a beautiful and," he gestured around them, "clearly adventurous lady?"
"Obviously, we're looking for a sword master." He took the bottle back, allowing his hand to brush hers as he went. Evander shifted towards her, but she put out her hand to stop him. "It's okay, Van,"
"Why would you lot need a sword master?" He scoffed. "A tiny woman, a scrawny human, and an old man?"
"The same reason anyone needs a sword master, to train. I want you to train my 'scrawny human.'" She rolled her eyes at the description of Evander. Accurate or not, he was this man's king. "You came highly recommended from someone I'd trust with my life." The look on his face changed a little. Maybe softened.
"I get recommended to a lot of people, that doesn't mean I'm available, sweetheart." He laughed. She pulled a face at the condescending pet name.
"I think you'll want to take us on." She insisted.
"Yeah? Give me one good reason why." He said snidely.
"Aurelius." She stated matter-of-factly. The disdain on his face vanished, but he remained guarded. Her brother's name wasn't just thrown around in regular circles. The fact that she dared told him a lot about who she was. "He's who recommended you, but if you're not up to the task, we can always find someone who is."
"Wait, wait, wait," he started, "Who are you? How do you know Aurelius?"
"Well," she leaned into him until her mouth was right next to his ear, "He's my brother."
"What?" He seemed a little incredulous.
"I am your queen," she breathed into his ear and then sat back. "But for now, you may call me Violet."
"Your mother's name," he almost whispered, "my que… Violet, please accept my apologies." he bowed his head.
"Stop that. I'm a normal person right now. No bowing, none of that." She pushed his head back up by his forehead with the palm of her hand. "It's the darkness. It's returned."
"Your father is a very capable warrior. Why do you need me?" He asked.
"He can't wield the dagger anymore. I've been bonded to my wielder." She gestured to Evander. "He's Evander Aldebrand. We were wed 5 days ago."
"You want me to train the wielder to fight against the darkness?" He sat back and let out and let out a large breath.
"Aury said you're the best he's ever met." She said more gently. She wasn't sure if this guy needed buttering up or encouragement. "He wouldn't have sent me here if he didn't believe with his whole heart that it was where I needed to be."
"That does sound like him. Let's square away your table and go." Egon stood up and motioned to the lady who had brought them their wine. "How many did they have?"
"Just the one," She said, stone-faced but obviously irritated.
"Sorry about all of this. They were sent by an old friend. We'll give you extra, won't we?" he said and gestured for them to pay up. "Several gold coins ought to do it."
She reached into Evander's cloak and pulled out his purse. She grabbed a handful of small gold coins and placed them on the table before returning the pouch to her husband.
"Apologies for any inconvenience." She stated simply, getting up from her seat to stand equally with the woman. The lady said nothing, just bowed slightly and gestured towards the door. Egon took the lead, and she followed, doing her best to walk beside him instead of behind. The other two men brought up the rear, and they re-emerged onto the narrow streets of Crysanthos.
Egon said nothing as he walked with a pace that she struggled with. She thought about saying something, but decided against it. No need to let him have any kind of upper hand if that was his goal. She just had to keep up. She couldn't read him. She couldn't tell if he was pleased or upset with the developments in their relationship with one another. She was honestly not impressed so far and wondered what her brother saw in him, or how they even knew each other. She felt that these were questions for another time. For now, she'd have to just trust her brother.
They turned down a narrow alleyway and emerged onto another street that was more grand than the last. It was much wider and had a lovely marketplace set up on the edges, still leaving plenty of room for carriages to pass each other on the paved road. He led them through the crowd of the marketplace as though he did so every day. She fell behind a few times, and he finally slowed his pace a little.
Once they were out of the marketplace, it was obvious they were getting into a more lavish part of the city. The buildings were taller, nicer, and had plants in front of them, the likes of which she'd never seen in person. Cacti and succulents, some of which were taller than all of the men in her party. She was a little surprised to turn into one of these houses.
"You live here?" She asked, a little more incredulously than she meant to. She wasn't looking to insult what was their only lifeline.
"I do. You know, little queen, you're not the first royalty that has come to me for training. The king here has several sons whom I train daily. This new request of yours is really going to cut into my downtime. I'll expect a handsome reward." He said, turning his key in the latch of the door and entering into a grand foyer. On one side, there were stairs that led up to the second floor, on the other, a series of doors to other parts of the house. In the back of the foyer was another door that was made of mostly glass and led to some kind of garden or courtyard.
"Do you have a home like this in Sapphirus?" She asked him expectantly.
"No, I don't. I found it too expensive for my taste." He admitted.
"Then you will and much more, assuming we're able to defeat the darkness. If not, you won't need any of it. It would be only a matter of time before the darkness and its wielder take over Crysanthos and the rest of the neighboring countries." This was the best offer that she had. They needed the gold that they had in order to survive their time away from home.
"As good a deal as any for the chance to train my king, I suppose," he said, half mocking, bowing a little in Evander's direction when he referenced him.
"Then, Egon, there's only one important question left."
"And what's that, little queen?" He asked with genuine curiosity. She really should have been annoyed by his "little queen" business, but for some reason it didn't bother her. She'd have to analyze that another time because she had only one goal at that very moment.
"Do you have a bath?"