The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

Chapter 182 - Reasons

                                                    Zaos hesitated, but in the end, he accepted a cup of beer during dinner that night. Once most of the clients of the inn of the previous night left, Ameria and Erean rented the entire place just to avoid problems. Thanks to it, they had the entire bar for themselves, and Zaos felt safe in experimenting with it.

"The taste isn't anything special," Zaos said after drinking a little.

"I do agree with this," Drannor frowned. "Wine is way better."

"I want some as well," Ameria said.

"Well… as long as you promise that you won't ask for more," Erean said.

                Ameria took a cup and then gulped while looking full of expectation, but then she made a face like she just tried to drink something sour that went bad as well.

"There is no way I am going to ask for more…" Ameria frowned.

"I guess you three are too young for this," Erean laughed. "This is more to make us relax after a day of hard work. As for the taste, you get used to it. Let's wait a while and see if you three can relax a little."

                As it turns out, Zaos felt more relaxed for a while. It seems the alcohol was finally kicking in, but the effect seemed a bit weird. His mind was less worried, but he decided that was more than enough.

"As expected of sir Laiex's son, he knows how much he needs to do drink," Erean said.

"I am feeling pretty good, maybe another cup won't be so bad," Drannor said.

"You need to develop the same awareness that your father developed over the years," Erean said. "Remember, just one cup is to relax after work. More than one, you would better not have to work the next day."

"I guess one is enough for today then…" Drannor said, a bit disappointed.

"All right, since this is the first time you kids had the chance to drink some beer, you can rest first," Erean said. "We will call you two after a while."

                Zaos was relaxed enough that he obeyed the captain without thinking twice. Still, once he entered the room where he, Drannor, and the other guards were supposed to use, he realized that he should raise his guard. Unfortunately, once Zaos laid on his bed, he fell asleep pretty fast. It has been a while since that happened, and as if that wasn't enough, he slept like a rock. When Erean woke him up to take the next guard duty turn, Zaos opened his eyes widely and got up. He had relaxed a bit too much.

"I guess I will only drink that before my day's off, this kind of thing is too scary," Zaos said to himself. 

              When she woke up the next day, Ameria decided to walk around the port since curl up in her room would be too boring since they had no idea when the ship would arrive. Erean saw no problem with that since few people in the port city would recognize the princess. They were so far away from the capital that the chances of someone in the city recognizing her were pretty low. Still, there wasn't much to see there, only ships being loaded and unloaded. Not to mention, ordinary people working… Fortunately, the ship that was supposed to transport them arrived at noon. Even from far away, Erean recognized the flags that had Tritons holding some residents, which was the emblem of the most important family currently in Vezar.

"I am the captain Distri. It is an honour to meet the famous princess Ameria and her entourage," A man who was a bit plump and hairy introduced himself.

"I am the captain of the guards of princess Ameria, my name is Erean," Erean introduced himself and then took out his helmet.

                  Zaos hadn't seen Erean without his helmet until now, but now he could see why he slept even while his helmet was on. Erean had no hair, but he had some crazy scars on the sides of his head, and he had lost a good part of both his ears. That would scare most people that had never been in the aftermath of a huge battle. That being said, Drannor and Zaos weren't scared. They were impressed since the man probably saw himself losing his life many times, but he survived all those difficult battles.

"Everything is ready to depart, Your Highness," Distri said. "We have packed enough supplies for the whole trip."

"We shall depart then," Ameria said.

                Truth to be told, Zaos didn't feel much impressed during his stay in the port city. From his perspective, the ships were way too simple. Even the one that was supposed to transport them. However, he changed his mind when he saw the interior. It was basically a pretty good house that could float. Not to mention, the whole place was a lot steadier than Zaos had imagined.

"Don't stare too much, they probably sent one of their best ships to impress the princess," Erean said. "Life on ships isn't easy. Most of them need at least thirty men to work day in and day out, and they don't have enough space for beds for each crewman."

              That made sense. Even though that ship was great, it only had two cabins with some beds. It would be just enough for Ameria and her maids. As for Zaos and the other guys, they will have to get used to it. 

"I see… why would they want to impress her though?" Zaos asked.

"If some day they become even more influential, the head of the family might want one of his sons to marry her," Erean explained. "Things will be a lot more simple if she begins to like their country now."

              Speaking of marriage, Zaos recalled the agreement he had with his father. His time was running out, and he had already spent four months of the twelve he had, and until now, he didn't find anyone slightly mature. As expected, he will have to look for older women… Zaos couldn't help but wonder what his father would think if he decides to marry some young widow… a woman like that certainly would be mature enough for Zaos.