08-10-2021, 08:46 PM
[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: andale mono; font-size: 6.5pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px; color: #484a4d"]Edmund had been sitting at the bar with his brother, half-brother and half-sister as they observed the bar growing increasingly rowdy. In the corner sat a drunken man, strumming at a guitar as other Flintlockers and a couple of guests sang along to the tune, arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Whilst Eddie and Tommy were allowed to drink at the bar, Eddie had handed over one half pint of lager to young Henry. He was smart enough to not get stupid with alcohol, Eddie had decided — besides, at his age he had been sneaking off to alcohol-fuelled parties. If Eddie wasn’t offering Henry the drink, Henry would surely sneak off to try some his own way. Between his two older brothers, Henry sat looking down into the glass, taking one heavy breath before downing the last sip.
❝ That seemed to go down smoothly, ‘ey? ❞ Ed enquired, quirking a brow as Henry nodded his head shortly. Eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly; as Henry agreed, he wasn’t so convincing. ❝ One more, or have you had enough? ❞ ❝ No, I can have one more! ❞ Henry pointed out, Eddie watching his youngest brother warily for a moment before looking over to Ida who appeared bored of all of this rowdiness in the bar. ❝ Ida, how about you get your brother another drink from the back? ❞ Handing the glass over to her, the twelve year old nodded her head and slid off of her chair to make her way to the back room.
She gave the glass a sniff, scrunching her nose up with distaste as she pushed her way through the crowd and down the quieter hallway to the back room where the kegs were stored. She cracked the door open, wandered around the corner, before flinching at the sight of a woman standing nearby the window. Mouth gawking, Ida stilled as wide eyes stared across at her before— ❝ I’m sorry! My brother sent me here, I’m not stealing, I promise! ❞ After all, it appeared suspicious that a child would sneak quietly into the back room, empty glass in hand with the intention of filling it up again. Sheepishly, Ida scampered closer, using the tap to fill the glass up with contaminated lager before quietly leaving the room again.
If she were anymore like her brothers, she would have been more suspicious of an unidentifiable woman in the back room. But she was only a child, unaware of the dangers of the world around her. Unaware of the danger she had just walked by. Sitting back down at the table, she quietly slid the glass over towards Henry before sheepish eyes darted towards Eddie. ❝ What was that? ❞ Eddie enquired, observing Ida as she stared at the freshly filled glass as Henry took a sip. ❝ It’s nothing. ❞ They were quiet for a couple of minutes, until Ida eventually piped up.
❝ Eddie? ❞
❝ Yes? ❞
❝ Are the guests okay if I go to the back room? ❞
❝ You live here, Ida. Of course they’ll be okay. Why’d you ask? ❞
❝ The lady in the back room looked shocked that I was there. ❞
Eddie began to frown sternly. ❝ What lady in the back room? ❞
❝ I don’t know! She was standing there when I walked in. ❞
With a moment of silence, Eddie turned his head to look around at the faces in the crowd before he quietly stood up and began to weave through the crowd towards the back room. As he entered the empty hallway, he slowly began to remove his pistol from its holster, loading the gun carefully as he made cautious steps down the hallway towards the back room.
❝ That seemed to go down smoothly, ‘ey? ❞ Ed enquired, quirking a brow as Henry nodded his head shortly. Eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly; as Henry agreed, he wasn’t so convincing. ❝ One more, or have you had enough? ❞ ❝ No, I can have one more! ❞ Henry pointed out, Eddie watching his youngest brother warily for a moment before looking over to Ida who appeared bored of all of this rowdiness in the bar. ❝ Ida, how about you get your brother another drink from the back? ❞ Handing the glass over to her, the twelve year old nodded her head and slid off of her chair to make her way to the back room.
She gave the glass a sniff, scrunching her nose up with distaste as she pushed her way through the crowd and down the quieter hallway to the back room where the kegs were stored. She cracked the door open, wandered around the corner, before flinching at the sight of a woman standing nearby the window. Mouth gawking, Ida stilled as wide eyes stared across at her before— ❝ I’m sorry! My brother sent me here, I’m not stealing, I promise! ❞ After all, it appeared suspicious that a child would sneak quietly into the back room, empty glass in hand with the intention of filling it up again. Sheepishly, Ida scampered closer, using the tap to fill the glass up with contaminated lager before quietly leaving the room again.
If she were anymore like her brothers, she would have been more suspicious of an unidentifiable woman in the back room. But she was only a child, unaware of the dangers of the world around her. Unaware of the danger she had just walked by. Sitting back down at the table, she quietly slid the glass over towards Henry before sheepish eyes darted towards Eddie. ❝ What was that? ❞ Eddie enquired, observing Ida as she stared at the freshly filled glass as Henry took a sip. ❝ It’s nothing. ❞ They were quiet for a couple of minutes, until Ida eventually piped up.
❝ Eddie? ❞
❝ Yes? ❞
❝ Are the guests okay if I go to the back room? ❞
❝ You live here, Ida. Of course they’ll be okay. Why’d you ask? ❞
❝ The lady in the back room looked shocked that I was there. ❞
Eddie began to frown sternly. ❝ What lady in the back room? ❞
❝ I don’t know! She was standing there when I walked in. ❞
With a moment of silence, Eddie turned his head to look around at the faces in the crowd before he quietly stood up and began to weave through the crowd towards the back room. As he entered the empty hallway, he slowly began to remove his pistol from its holster, loading the gun carefully as he made cautious steps down the hallway towards the back room.
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I'M OUT OF MY MIND, REPLAYING THE SCENE