Lily's Place

The Resala House is a brutal family of huntsmen; soldiers trained to kill the unholy magic users that curse the land. Two years ago, Oliver Resala killed one of these curses, and Piper was caught in the middle of it. She was a barkeep who witnessed the huntsman kill a boy who had been living with her as he struggled to get on his feet. She would’ve been killed alongside him for housing such magic if it hadn’t been for the letters they exchanged stating he wasn’t one of the cursed.

Two years and Oliver never went back to the tavern Piper worked at. Two years and all he felt was guilt. He tried drowning that guilt in alcohol, but it never did help. When he mustered the strength, he stepped back from everything. He stepped down from a huntsman, instead becoming a mentor for another.

“Hello, welcome to Lily’s Place!” Piper greeted as she always had.

Oliver bowed his head, still ashamed of the past.

Sparrow led the way to the bar, and folded his hands over the counter.

“Hello, Piper,” the apprentice said gently.

“Good to see you, doc,” she replied. “What can I get you?”

Sparrow slid him a handful of coins. “Whatever this will get us— with a tip, of course.”

Piper smiled warmly. “Much ‘preciated, Sparrow.”

Within seconds, two drinks were passed in front of them, and the bartender stepped away. Oliver’s eyes never left him, and he never took a drink either.

“Piper?” Oliver suddenly asked when there was a break for the woman.

“What’s goin’ on, Oli?”

“I… wanted to talk… about everything.”

Her smile faltered. “Come back when I’m closed. I’m not doing this while I’m working.”

“Okay… I understand.”

“Thank you.”

He lingered for only a few seconds longer, then mumbled a quick goodbye to Sparrow. Then Oliver dropped a quick tip on the counter, ignoring one of the coins that bounced off the edge.

Sparrow started to get up, ready to follow after.

“Doc, stay here,” Piper barked.

He snapped back around.

“Give Oli his space, you know he needs it sometimes.”

Sparrow nodded and sat down again.

“He’s apologized before, y’know… many times,” she admitted quietly. “For the first few months after everything… he’d go between each tavern an’ whatever place offered drinks until they kicked him out. Then he’d come to me, cryin’ about what happened, tellin’ me he’s sorry, he didn’t mean to… even explained some stuff I never knew ‘bout. I’m well aware I’m one of the few to be proven innocent, even fewer to be able to get my ol’ life back, but he doesn’t owe me anything. I know he’s ashamed… and that’s enough.”

Piper had proved she didn’t know her guest had been a curse. There were letters that documented she asked if there was anythings he should be concerned with, specifically if he was a curse. There were always huntsmen around, and she wanted him to be safe— and wanted herself to be safe.

Sparrow held his head up on intertwined fingers. “I rarely saw him those first months… I knew he was drinking, but he never let me see the worst of it. What was the worst?”

Piper set down a glass. “He tried to kill Lyric.”

“So I heard…”

“Never seen a man so bloody, not in any bar brawl I’ve seen before.”

The apprentice blinked. “It was here?”

“Mhm. Lyric became a regular… keepin’ a blind eye on me, I supposed, and Oli saw him one evenin’. Lyric said somethin’, and Oli lost it. No one could separate them ‘til Erin stormed in. Few days later, heard Oli had been stripped of every rank.”

“That’s when he let me get close again,” Sparrow interjected. “It took a lot of trying… but we got him to a better place. He let me become his apprentice.”

“That’s good to hear. I miss him.”

He swirled his drink. “Me too… me too.”

***

Oliver approached the tavern on shaking legs. He barely remembered the year before. It was night after night of black outs and hangovers, of waking up in strange places or in someone else’s home. He knew he came here, but he knew he went to every other tavern.

Piper stood in the doorway, smoking.

“You closed early,” he commented quietly.

“Wanted to talk to ya,” she replied with a shrug. “C’mon in.”

Oliver followed her. He sat at the edge of the counter, and a puppy came up to greet him. She wagged a stubby tail and her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

“Hello, baby,” he cooed, sliding off his stool to pet the dog.

“Short-haired pointer,” Piper introduced. “Her name is Kalao.”

She trotted in a circle as Oliver scratched down her back. “Such a pretty girl! Yes you are, yes you are!”

“Lily would’ve loved her,” he reminisced.

Lily had been a puppy when he first bought the building and named it Lily’s Place. She stood beside Piper for everything: Every payment, every drunken brawl… every wedding and funeral he saw, and his trial before the Head Huntsman. Time took her away, but Lily saw her owner through it all.

“She would’ve,” Oliver agreed. He rubbed Kalao’s ears. “Your ears are too big for your head! You’re going to trip over them!”

Piper laughed. “She’ll grow into them.”

He smiled, then stood up. Oliver returned to his stool and Piper slid a drink in front of him.

He shook his head and pushed it back. “I… I don’t drink.”

The barkeep’s gaze softened and he took it for himself. “For old time’s sake— the good old times.”

Oliver stared at the diluted liquid. “You always did like to have a little buzz behind the bar, hm?”

“Old habits die hard,” she mused.

“That they do, Piper… that they do.”

Her eyes softened. “One drink? Just a cheers to a better life.”

He smiled, then reluctantly nodded. He lifted his drink, and she raised a glass full of ice. The clink of them colliding rang through the empty tavern.

He began, “I want to apologize for—”

“Everything?” Piper interrupted. “You’ve done that before.”

“Sober,” Oliver replied. “I haven’t done it sober.”

“You don’t need to—”

“Please?” he begged. “For… for him…”

The barkeep swallowed. She stepped around the counter and sat beside Oliver. “For him.”

“I’m sorry for everything I dragged you through. I would love to say it was just another job and move on, but that doesn’t put me at ease. So many things I’ve done were just jobs.”

“Like Kymil and Dale…” Piper whispered.

“Like… like Kymil and Dale,” he repeated. “An-nd the girls. And you… and so many other people. I… I didn’t think I had a choice, I thought it would get easier with time, but it never did! It never—” Oliver’s eyes widened when he realized he was yelling. He sat back and let out a breath. “I don’t need forgiveness… I don’t need anything. I just want you to know it still hurts… everything still hurts. Those cursed people… that’s all they are, just cursed. I have no right to end their lives!”

Piper clasped a hand over his shoulder. “I know, Oli… and it will always hurt.”

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. Tears started to burn his eyes. “Mom would be so disappointed…”

“She would. She wouldn’t want to see you getting hammered every day and night, or see… how violent you got. She would be so disappointed… but you’ve climbed back. You’re doing better now, and I think your mother sees that… and I think she’s proud of you.”

“Why—”

“Sparrow clearly loves you. The huntsmen respect you. The people of Mazrae respect you. You sank so low, but you’re coming back. You’ll never be the same man, but you’ll become a better one. It just takes time.”

“And if I fall back?” he challenged. “What then, Piper?”

“That doesn’t mean all your progress was for nothing, it just means you need to take a step back from everything and try again,” she answered. “You’re doing great… just keep going.”

Oliver nodded. “Thank you…”

They spoke until both of them were basically falling asleep at the counter, and only said goodbye when both assured the other everything was okay. Oliver walked out with a final wave, and Piper locked the door with a faint smile.

How long it had been since they smiled.