"One barrel of rum! Hurry up!" The noisy chatter and clanking of utensils was music to Isabella's ears.
She has been frequenting this place since her early days as a fledgling knight. And now, as a royal knight, she can finally afford to drink the entire place dry without having a dent in her pouch.
There were snickers and chuckles channeled towards her but she barely cared. As a royal knight, she has the privilege to not give a care about the lowly peasants around her.
She may have come from the same background but her sheer will and determination brought her where she is now.
The moment the barrel dropped beside her table and a mug bigger than the others was placed atop it, Isabella the Female Ogre snarled, "I don't need a mug! I've said this many times!"
As if to prove her words, Isabella grabbed the barrel and with just her hand, she made a hole on top of it before lifting it above her head, her lips turning into a curve as the warm and light viscosity of the liquid gushed down her throat.
Everyone watched as the tavern's most rugged and manlier than most men drank the entire barrel of rum in one go.
Her arm didn't even quiver under the weight of the barrel. A few minutes passed and her throat continued gulping before eventually stopping as the last drop of rum was consumed by her.
"GAH! That hits the spot!" With a grin, she threw the barrel on the ground but before she could slump on the wooden chair, her brows furrowed when she noticed that someone was sitting on the chair in front of her.
"You again?!" Her eyes widened in surprise seeing Flynn, the same guy who had almost had her Royal Knight status dissolved.
Flynn simply waved his hand at her, casually sitting on the chair with one arm behind the backrest while the other was calling out for an order, "Two mugs of rum please."
The lady behind the counter nodded her head despite her curiosity towards the man. By now almost everyone craned their heads towards their table, watching the slightly lanky man occupy the chair inside Isabella's personal space.
"What do you think you're doing here? Do you really want to die so badly?" To show her aggressiveness, Isabella grabbed her long warhammer beside her. Unlike other knights who use fancy longswords and bows, she prefers the warhammer.
Not only because the blunt damage is a hundred times stronger than mere swords but the warhammer could also allow her to fight many foes alone. Not to mention, it doesn't matter if they're heavily armored or not, they'll wouldn't be able to make a move before a sickening crunch smashes on their cuirass and caves their chest in.
Flynn raised both of his hands in a surrendering manner, "Now now, let's relax for a bit." Just in time, the lady arrived with two mugs in hand, placing both in front of Flynn. As she left, Flynn gave her a passing 'thank you'.
"Here. One's for you." He pushed the other mug towards the hulking woman.
"Hah! Do you really think a single mug could satisfy me? Have you not seen me drink an entire barrel of rum?" She scoffed.
"I know. But it's the thought that counts, right? Consider this my apology for our first meeting. With this mug, we let bygones be bygones, yes?" With a natural smile, Flynn gave her a wink.
Isabella quieted down, she gulped saliva before finally grabbing the mug and taking it down in one go
Thud!
"Fine. Now tell me what you really want. Keep wasting my time and I'll cave your chest before you can blink."
Despite the royal knight's threat that could make any normal man piss themselves in fright, Flynn stood his ground with an ounce of fear on his face.
"Since when did getting to know each other become a waste of time? I'm not here to antagonize you or anything. I just want to have some fun, drink myself to oblivion, and maybe…truly get to know you better."
There was something within Flynn's eyes when he spoke those last few words. It's as if he's giving her a hint about something.
'It couldn't be? This man…' Everyone in the tavern had their eyes widening at the lanky man's bold and undisguised action.
'Out of all the women in this Kingdom. Is he seriously flirting with the Female Ogre herself? Someone whose biceps could crush a man's head with ease?!'
Whilst everyone was shocked at Flynn's taste in women, the said woman was having an internal turmoil inside her head. She just couldn't believe that there would be a man out there interested in her.
She had long accepted that her beauty was not up to the standards when it came to the eyes of men. Yet, here sat a man whose face could charm most women, openly flirting with her.
"…What do you think you're doing…" Isabella's cheeks twitched several times, clearly still in disbelief that someone would actually attempt to flirt with her.
"Nothing. Can't I just get to know the Kingdom's finest female knight? I heard you can snap a sword with your bare teeth."
As her answer, Isabella simply crossed her arms, looking at Flynn with a deep sigh, "Trust me, you don't want to get involved with me."
Flynn took a chug on his mug, "And I'm curious why is that the case? Don't tell me you accidentally punched a noble or something?"
'Any minute now…' Flynn murmured to himself. Carefully watching Isabella's face that is slowly turning beet red, not out of blushing but from the effects of the large barrel of rum she just consumed.
Flynn of course prepared carefully for this interaction. He asked around and discovered that Isabella would drink herself until she passed out in the afternoon. Her limit was a single barrel of rum.
The reason he ordered her a single mug of rum was to push her to her limit, putting her in a drunken state faster than usual. And now, looking at her expression and slight swaying of her body, his plan seemed to be working.
"Punch a noble? Pfft, I did nothing as bad as that yet I'm being punished as if I did something like that." Isabella clicked her tongue, looking down at the empty mug in her hand.
Flynn leaned forward, "Now, you got me really really curious about you. I may not look like it but I had a fair share of deals against nobles. Who knows, destiny may have tied us together for me to help you." With a smile, Flynn blinked several times, "So, tell me. What's the problem?"
Isabella gulped. But first, she glared at the people around them whose eyes were glued to their table.
Facing the glare of the feared Female Ogre, everyone quickly snapped out of it and looked away, with some even leaving the tavern entirely.
"I'll give you a chance to walk away now. If I were to tell this to you, it might risk your life."
"Oh girl, I've been risking my life every single day, left and right, I don't think this'll be the one that'll kill me," Flynn answered her with a confident flare.
Isabella snorted, "Well if you insist on meeting death that early, then come with me. This place isn't good." With a drunken swagger, Isabella left three gold coins on the table and wobbled out of the tavern while Flynn followed from behind.
He couldn't help but notice a few salutes and thumbs up from the customers.
———
"Is this your place?" Flynn couldn't help but notice that the structure in front of them was on the verge of falling apart.
The wooden pillars and walls were being feasted on by termites. Some furniture inside was decaying while burnt marks can be seen around the place.
"Used to," Isabella muttered, a solemn tone masking her voice.
"Yeah, even I would leave a place that looked as if god himself despises it," Flynn commented, crouching and running the tip of his index finger on the ground, noticing that the soot was new. Meaning it was dry, powdery, and the texture was a bit loose to the touch.
He's speaking based on his experience. In his line of work as a thief, there are times when he has to burn evidence of his involvement.
"….It was my mother's place. The last thing she left to me before she died. It was where my siblings and I lived for years…" There was a look of solemnity and melancholy on her face, as if there was a story of tragedy hidden behind her muscular stature.
After momentarily cursing under his breath, Flynn asked, "…And where are these siblings of yours now?"
"That's where the punishment came to me. I had no choice, they took them as their hostage…" Flynn noticed Isabella clenching her fist, her sheer strength enough for her nails to pierce through her palm, blood trickling through the closed gaps of her fingers.
"Who took them hostage?"
At first, Isabella was hesitant but after seeing the concerned look on Flynn's face, she finally sighed, "It was Prince Timothy. In exchange for doing his bidding, he told me he'd keep my siblings safe from danger. But even a toddler knows it's bullshit! He took them from me and even though I already recommended that assassin to enter Prince Henry's ship, he didn't keep his word!"
Flynn's brows furrowed, he crossed his arms, and asked, "Do you have any idea why?"
"I…I don't know. But I have a suspicion that there are more things he wanted me to do for him. After all, having a Royal Knight such as myself is too useful to let go. As Royal Knights, we're not obliged to any royal princes and princesses. We only follow the King himself and that's all."
"That's why the King took my word for it when I gave my word and honour as a Royal Knight for that recommendation. He was probably not expecting one of his most loyal subjects to betray him…"
At this point, Flynn watched as Isabelle, despite her hulking figure and intimidating stature, knelt on the ground and sobbed like a girl.
"I-I don't have a choice. I didn't want this all to happen!"
As Isabella broke down on the floor, Flynn stood over her with crossed arms. After a moment had passed, Isabella slowly recovered, wiping off the tears on her face though she kept her head down and low, "Please…just leave me be for now…"
Flynn didn't say anything else. He simply nodded his head and silently left. The woman was in a fragile state and it doesn't matter how close they got since they first met, he's still a stranger to her and it would be inappropriate for him to be the one to comfort her.
The best thing he can do right now is to tell Henry everything she told him. If a royal prince is targeting Isabella, there are only a few people in the world who could help her.
And among those would be the Crown Prince himself, Henry.
———
Isabella doesn't know how long she has been sitting on the dirty floor. Was it a few minutes? Or a few hours? She doesn't know and neither does she care.
"I'd be better off alone…" She murmured to herself, picking herself back up and leaving her old home. There's no point crying over what's already happened.
What matters are her siblings. As long as they're fine, even if they have no idea they're being held hostage. It's fortunate enough for her that she was allowed to see them from time to time even if it's restricted to one place.
Currently, they're being holed up inside one of Prince Timothy's grand mansions under the guise of servants-in-training. They don't know what they were doing exactly. They were just told that they're helping their big sister and that's it.
'They probably thought everything that is happening is just a game…they have no idea their lives are at stake…'
Wiping off her residual tears marking her freckled cheeks, she opened the door and prepared to leave.
Only for her feet to stop mid-air before she could even step a single foot outside.
"Bella!"
"Sis Bella!"
"Sis!"
It was her siblings. Amelia, the eldest among the three, is ten and still on the verge of growth. A huge smile was carved into her face as she rushed towards her.
Lagging a bit behind her was Noah. Eight and still had some of his teeth growing while his face almost looked the same as Isabella's, also filled with freckles.
Lastly, Oliver. Still an infant and what truly surprised her was that he was being carried by a familiar person whose cheeks were being pulled by her youngest sibling.
"Flynn?" She froze on the spot. And if that wasn't enough as a shock, Crown Prince Henry stepped out from Flynn's behind, his hands behind his back while a soft smile was plastered on his face. Following closely behind him was the Kingdom's newest Grand Master Knight, Ser Liam.
Henry's voice snapped her out of her shock, "Good afternoon, Dame Isabella. Sorry for intruding but we have brought you a gift."