21 Chapter 21: Intimate Enemies

SALEM: I wasn't a poet. Nor a romantic. But even I could tell when a man and a woman were...well, together. Something in the way they talked. A sense of intimacy, familiarity. Trust.

I glanced at Elina. A real couple could immediately that she and I are enemies.

Wait.

Elina said something like that before.

"We'll be at each other's throat sooner or later. Just like a husband and wife."

That's it.

I could tell the man that my wife wasn't happy with me. That we had an argument. Maybe something about...what did married couples usually fight about?

I had no idea.

But there was another problem.

Unlike the time when we met the merchant and the mercenary, we couldn't go our separate ways so quickly. The rain kept us prisoners in this little hut. There was nowhere else to go. Nowhere to hide.

I said, "Change to your human form."

"It's done."

It's surprising how corporative she's acting. Maybe she knows something. But when I looked at her, she simply tilted her head and smiled mischievously. Like this was fun.

Like she has something planned.

No time to ask her.

I pulled the hood of her cape over her head. Hopefully this will prevent the couple from paying too much attention to her.

The man tied up the horse outside and the woman stepped in.

She said, "Oh!"

Wavy brown hair down to her middle back. A cape wrapped tightly around her. Sturdy leather boots, leather trousers. A belt with a short sword sheaved. Bow and arrows slung around her shoulder. Maybe around her 20s.

She wasn't a normal woman.

She said, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

I said, "Just hiding from the rain, ma'am."

The man stepped in. Dressed like her. Black hair down to his shoulders. Not like a merchant. More like a mercenary. But no madness in his eyes. Just a cool indifferent look. Which wasn't the look of a mercenary.

This wasn't a normal couple.

He introduced himself. His name was Syrus Abernathy. His wife Julia Abernathy.

I told them my name. "And this is my wife...err, Elina...Udell."

That just sounded weird. Elina Udell.

Elina bowed her head. She snickered under her breath.

I told them that I was a merchant, transporting corn to Merkelborough. My wife was kind enough to come with me, to lift the burdens of the lonely road and cold nights.

Syrus said that he and his wife were merchants as well. Just sold their goods at Merkelborough and are on their way home.

He lied. And a lazy lie at that.

Traveling merchants wouldn't be this heavily armed. And they'd travel alone. Traveling merchants often got married after they settled down in a town, not before.

But if pretending to believe his lie kept the peace in this tight space, then I was glad to play along.

Syrus said, "Mr Udell, you are so fortunate to have a wife who will travel with you. And she is most beautiful too."

I couldn't see Elina's expression, but I could guess what it was.

Elina said, "Thank you for your kind words. But you are fortunate as well, Mr Abernathy. To have such a reliable wife, someone who can fight with you and protect you with her power."

I glanced at Elina. Was she trying to imply something with her words? But her wording was odd. Her power? With bow and arrow? A sword? Calling that a strength or skill would've been more appropriate.

Syrus laughed and said, "Yes...I can't tell you how many times she has fought off bandits with her bow and arrow. I'm hopeless with anything that isn't a sword."

I looked at his wife, Julia. Then at Syrus. Something wasn't right.

Syrus seemed to be at ease. But his wife wasn't. She looked stiff, her expression tense. Her eyes flickered across the room, resting occasionally on Elina.

"Mrs Abernathy, are you alright?" I asked.

She gave me fake smile. "Yes...I'm just a little cold."

Which was a lie. The clothes she wore were waterproof. And with four warm bodies in this tight space, the temperature was higher than outside.

But her husband moved over and put his cape over her.

He said, "Darling, you should've said so earlier."

She just gave him the same tense smile.

Something was bothering her. But whatever it was, she couldn't say it out loud. It probably had something to do with me or Elina. But what could bother her about me? I was a perfectly normal man, for the most part. Which left Elina.

Julia whispered something into his ear as he put the cape on her. He nodded.

He turned to me and said, "Mr Udell, I do have to warn you. The price for corn has collapsed in Merkelborough. It would be better if you try to sell it elsewhere."

I didn't know what the price of corn in Merkelborough was, but I do know that this was a lie. If he truly was a merchant, then he'd have mentioned the price of corn the moment I told him of my plans. But he didn't. Which meant that this was a lie his wife asked him to tell with the objective of preventing me and Elina from going to Merkelborough.

But why?

I said, "I think it will be alright. I'll simply sell this at a trading outpost closer to Merkelborough."

"The next trading outpost is five days away. Your corn will rot by then. I really think you should go a different way."

So he was determined to get in my way.

I glanced at Elina. She tilted her head slightly and said nothing. I guess she was enjoying this charade. See which liar unravels first.

Alright fine.

It's time to end this game.