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audioaujom · 8 months ago

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4: He's Got a Dream!

CHTangled Hub, <prev, next>

Hi! I’m impressed I managed to finish this on time since I spent the last week both on vacation and working on another fic, and all day today moping about and playing Stardew instead of working. Anyway, here’s what I got done! Enjoy!

Word Count: 2657

“Hey, what’s that?” Zac grabbed a rather annoyed Emily by the arm, breaking off a long ramble he'd been on about the softness of grass that had really worn down the thief's patience. Not to mention that the chameleon—Lou, Zac insisted—seemed to be following along better than her.

“Oh, that’s… nothing important.” Emily squinted her eyes at the sign for the tavern, recognizing it with a grimace. She switched up her grip so now she was holding onto Zac, starting to pull him back towards the woods. “Hey, didn’t you want to see those lanterns? We shouldn't be late!”

“‘The Snuggly Duckling’?” Zac read off slowly, surprisingly strong as Emily couldn't pull hard enough to actually budge him. “I love ducklings!”

In an instant, Emily changed her mind.

“...we can go in, if you’d like.” She let go, smiling hopefully sweet enough that Zac wouldn’t question her abrupt change. Knowing the kind of people that frequented that tavern, Zac would last all of thirty seconds before he’d be running off home and she’d be home free.

“Really?” Zac brightened up so much she felt a twinge of guilt. “I can go in?”

She frowned. There was only so much of this she could take in a day. “You don’t need my permission.”

“Yay!” Zac took off jogging for the front door, Emily racing to keep up. This could be risky, but if it got her as far away from whatever Zac’s situation was it was a risk worth taking.

Zac, on the other hand, was thrilled.

A real tavern? With real people? Emily wasn't scary at all, and if she wasn't scary then Brennan was wrong since he’d said all people were scary, so maybe the people in here would be nice, too.

That thought died in the same instant it formed as Zac slammed open the tavern door, the entire crowd of people inside all stopping their chatter at the same time to turn and stare at him—not to mention Lou on his shoulder.

The room looked exactly the way it always had in Zac’s nightmares.

Every patron was armed to the teeth, with swords and axes rusted with what Zac assumed to be blood littered on the floor and tables and with heavy helmets and armor spiked and chipped with use. Everyone shot nasty glares at the open door and two intruders, all with rather scary looking faces.

“Well, whaddaya think?” Emily grinned as she grabbed Zac’s shaking shoulders, free arm out wide to be mindful of Lou. “Is it everything you'd hoped it’d be?”

“What is this place?” Zac stood frozen with Emily draped over him, mouth agape as he stared around in unmasked horror.

“Just a normal tavern full of normal people.” Emily lied smoothly, anxious to leave as she felt every eye in the room scrutinizing them both. “Say, if you think these people are scary, you should see what else is out there!”

Zac paled. “He… was right?”

Emily felt another twinge of guilt, but told herself she was in too deep to back out now. She used her arm to gently guide Zac back towards the door, still smiling. “I guess so! Let's get you back home then, yeah?”

The two stopped in the doorway as one of the patrons threw an arm out in front of them, using his other one to point at a nearby ‘Wanted’ poster with a half-way decent drawing of Emily's face on it. In her humble opinion, they never quite managed to capture her true beauty, but they tried.

“This you?” He asked, voice deep and gravelly as Emily did her best to try and duck her and Zac under his arm and get outside.

“As much as I'd love to say I look as dashing and beautiful as that fair lady, I—”

She was cut off by another person getting up and grabbing her by the shoulders, taking one good look at the poster and her face before yanking her away from the door. “Yeah, it's her.”

“Hey! Wait!” Zac reached out to stop them but was a moment too late, his protest drowned out in bickering that quickly started up among the crowd.

“Greno, go get the guards.” Someone in the back bellowed, before pushing to the front of the crowd as someone by the door turned and ran out. He grabbed Emily by the front of her shirt with one hand, brandishing his other—that had been replaced by a ruggedly sharp hook—by placing it up against her throat. “Your reward will buy me a brand new hook.”

“Hey, why should you get the reward?” The one who had identified her—a huge man in a fur coat—complained, smacking the man’s hook away and grabbing hold of her instead. “I saw her first!”

“Well, I'm broke, so I should get it!” A man in a huge metal helmet that covered his face and had horns sticking out of the top yanked her away from the previous guy, before she got whisked away again into the crowd with a half-panicked, “Can't we talk about this, fellas?”

Zac listened to their loud overlapping arguments about who would get the reward, trying to interject with a feeble shout of, “Give her back! I kind of need her!”

No one in the tavern paid him any mind, Zac watching Emily’s composure slip the further the argument progressed. She’d been cocky and… suave? Was that the word he was looking for? Maybe. But she’d been consistent since he met her in the tower, and seeing her shaken had him glancing around the deserted tables, fireplace, and bar for anything he could use to maybe help out. She’d gotten him this far, after all.

It was then he spotted the discarded frying pan near the cooking fire, lighting up with familiarity as he picked it up and tested its weight. He felt a sudden surge of confidence as he held the weapon in his hands, turning back to face the arguing mass of… thugs. These are thugs.

“Give me back my guide!” He demanded, pointing the pan at the thugs in the same way he’d done when playing knights with Lou, who perked up on his shoulder and pointed at the crowd as well. This still didn’t seem to phase the crowd, though, who settled down with Emily hidden in the middle. Zac looked at Lou, who nodded, rolling with this newfound attitude he had to step forward to hit the largest thug upside the head with the frying pan with an exasperated shout of, “What is wrong with you people?!”

He was unfazed by the entire tavern of stares this time, panting heavily as he held the frying pan out once again, Lou chittering in agreement from his shoulder.

“I need her to take me to see the lanterns, which has been this huge lifelong dream of mine and she is going to help me do it! Haven’t any of you crazy people ever had a dream?!”

One of the men arguing over Emily—the one with a hook for a hand—stepped forward first, glaring down at Zac before his gaze softened ever so slightly. “I… had a dream once.”

The energy in the room shifted as Zac and Lou stared up at him curiously, the former hesitantly asking, frying pan still outstretched, “...what was it? Your dream.”

“Would you believe me if I said I wanted to play piano?” Hook, as Zac dubbed him in his head, suddenly looked far smaller and less intimidating as he blushed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck with his human hand. “This hook really does a bad thing for my image as a musician…”

“I bet your playing is lovely.” Zac smiled encouragingly, glancing over at the piano in the corner. Maybe these people weren’t so bad!

Hook followed his gaze, lighting up and running over to sit on the stool before he started to play an upbeat melody that had Zac bouncing on his feet excitedly. “You’re so good!”

“I have a dream, too!” A guy from the back piped up, running up to stand beside the piano as he placed one hand on his chest and dramatically declared, “I… want to fall in love!”

“Love? That’s so sweet!” Ecstatic, Zac jumped up onto a nearby table with a laugh as the crowd started chattering among themselves about being the next to speak up.

“I know I’m not the most attractive fellow, but… one day, wouldn’t it be nice to go out for a boat ride with someone who loves me?”

Zac had no idea what this guy was talking about, but maybe he hadn’t seen enough people yet to judge. What’s the big deal about a big nose and a lopsided smile? “That would be the best!”

“Tor, what about you?” The guy on stage turned to the audience, calling out to a guy who carried a shield that still had fresh arrows sticking out of it.

“I… like making flower arrangements much more than fighting.” Tor admitted, poking at the place setting of a nearby table that had a rather exquisite setting of skulls and flowers.

Emily, once again, was completely fucking dumbfounded.

Who exactly was Zac? With one simple question he turned this entire tavern of heartless looking mercenaries into a room full of potential friends, also drawing their attention away from turning her in. She blinked, then blinked again, staring up at the strange boy with a chameleon and a frying pan and found herself questioning her life choices. “What… is happening right now?”

“I’d love nothing more than to do interior design.” A fellow shyly spoke up from the middle of the pack, wandering over to a nearby wall and straightening the only piece of art hanging in the entire establishment. He then pointed into the crowd at someone else, declaring, “And I know Ulf likes to mime.”

The man he pointed out immediately put his hands up to mime an imaginary box, Zac riling the crowd up to cheer loudly, encouraging more admissions (and more cheering) from the assembled group.

“I like to bake!”

“Bruiser here knits!”

“Well, Killer sews!”

The room only briefly quieted as one particular guy moved to stand behind the piano that Hook was still playing at, one hand popping up into everyone’s view with a small, felt dragon covering it.

“...I like to do little puppet shows.” He said quietly, before the crowd went wild again. “It’s nothing serious…”

Emily looked between everyone’s wide smiles, more confused by the second. “Seriously, what the hell is going on?”

“Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns.” Hook called out from the piano, to more excited yells as the dude Zac had hit with a frying pan—and the one in the largest fur coat—held up the tiniest, most delicate pieces of craftsmanship anyone in that room had seen with a smile of pure childish wonder.

“Seriously?”

“You’ve done nothing but complain since we started talking.” Hook stopped playing, standing up from the piano and approaching Emily with a renewed menacing stare. “Do you have a dream?”

Emily thought for a long moment, slowly growing more uncomfortable as the crowd silently waited on her. “...live alone on a secluded isle with enough money to retire?”

Several of the thugs booed.

“She sucks, but if it helps you out at all you can keep her.” Hook commented casually as he turned back to Zac on the table, who let out a loud, “Hooray!” that led to another round of cheering from the crowd that only cut off when the door slammed open.

“I brought the guards!” The guy who ran out earlier, Greno, reappeared, out of breath and with a proud smile.

Everyone turned to look at each other.

Well, shit.

Emily didn’t say anything before she grabbed Zac by the arm and pulled him around behind the bar and ducked them both down out of sight, Lou hissing angrily at her but getting the message to be silent as a host of royal guards burst into the tavern.

“Where’s Axford?” One of them shouted, getting stopped by the entire crowd who kept all of the guards from getting more than a few steps inside no matter how hard they shoved. “Where is she?!”

Emily stole one glance over the counter to see if she could find a way for them to get out through the front door, only to see the brothers she’d left behind trailing along with the guards, in custody.

Well, double shit. They were so fucked—

A hook lightly tapped her on the shoulder, her turning to look at Hook. He gestured with his head for her and Zac to follow him, the three scooting across the floor as quietly as they could while the other thugs distracted the guards. Hook reached up and pulled on one of the taps at the bar that opened a small wooden door on the far back wall.

“Go, live your dream.” Hook smiled at the two of them and motioned into the passage, keeping his voice down.

“Thanks, I will.” Emily sighed in relief.

“Not you. Your dream stinks.” Hook frowned, thumbing over at Zac. “I was talking to him.”

Zac grinned and followed a dejected Emily into the tunnel, keeping a tight grip on his frying pan. He had a sinking suspicion he was going to need it if he continued traveling with Emily. Lou agreed.

Hook stood up after the trapdoor closed and snuck out from behind the bar, just as a new, late-arriving knight barreled through the door and into the tavern.

“Where is she?!” Brown quiff wildly destroyed from all of his running and falling into his eyes as he stood with his sword out, he surveyed the room with expertly sharp eyes and a heaved breath. “I know she’s here!”

“Sir Murphy, we’ve already looked everywhere!” Another knight spoke up, nervous, earning a glare for his comment.

“If you haven’t found her, you haven’t looked everywhere.” Murph wasn’t going to stand for losing her again, after her trail went cold in the woods. If he let this lead go cold too, he could lose her for good and there was no way he could let her get away with that. His gaze finally landed on the duck-shaped tap at the end of the bar, spotting a tiny matching decal on the wall behind it. He strode over to it and pushed on it, opening up the secret passage on the back wall with a triumphant—and maybe a little manic, “Ah-ha!”

“A passage!” The guard seemingly in charge called out, Murph already vaulting over the bar and disappearing inside. The rest of the knights were quick to follow, leaving one behind with the brothers to keep an eye on them. “Conli! Make sure those two don’t escape!”

Once the door to the passage shut, the knight in charge of looking after things was punched hard in the head and had his weapon stolen, the rest of the thugs in the bar anxiously hearing them plot to go after the guards—and Emily, and by extension Zac.

One particularly drunk patron in the form of a short old man stumbled outside instead of listening to them, running into a hooded figure who seemed to be watching the commotion through the only window on the front of the building.

“Oh… we have another visitor today!” He hiccuped a little, laughing to himself and absentmindedly humming the tune Hook was playing on the piano. “We must be popular!”

“Haha, yeah.” Brennan laughed politely, thoroughly unamused as he pushed back his hood.

He left Zac alone for one day, and he’d already caused this much chaos? If he wanted to see the outside so badly, fine. He’d play along.

Drawing a dagger he always kept on hand for emergencies, he aimed it at the drunk man’s throat as he demanded, “Where does that tunnel let out?”

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