Aiden just came out of Lloyd’s house and was in a jolly mood. Things were going rather well for him and, frankly, he hoped that wouldn’t change. He placed his hand on his forehead and glanced at the sun for a second to see what time it is. He noticed that the sun had started falling.

-Hmm. I think I have plenty of time to visit the inn. –

With a slight smile he began walking down the main road. He still wore his own shoes due to the comfort, they did look kind of out of place, but he didn’t mind.

The people of Pinewood were still staring at him. It was obvious they were unsure whether they should greet him or just ignore him. Aiden was not about to try and force himself into the society of this village, so he just decided to head for the inn right away and take care of Lin’s rhubarb mead. It took him a couple of minutes to walk down the road and reach the inn’s front door. He stepped up the few stairsteps outside the wooden building and after pushing the door open, he walked inside with a friendly smile on his face.

This time the people did not stare at him for as long as they did the day before, they simply turned their heads to identify who walked inside and then returned to their conversations and drinking. Aiden walked towards the counter and looked at Conrad who was once again behind it. The innkeep returned the same friendly smile and now knew that the stranger was approved and accepted by his lord.

“Welcome back stranger, or should I say Aiden Read? Ha! Did you think I would forget your name?”

“Well, I was worried you might have, but apparently you remember it just fine.”

“I see you are in a good mood, certainly better than yesterday and since your head is still on your shoulders, I’d wager that Lord Lloyd has found your claims truthful.”

“That is correct, Miss Lin did an investigation on all of my stuff but couldn’t find any evidence that disproves my case.”

Having said that, Aiden sat down on a tall chair that was located in front of the counter.

“You can just call her Lin, like everyone else. So, will you be buying anything, or are you broke?”

“Actually, Lin told me that you may have some rhubarb mead ready for her. She didn’t give me any money though.”

“Oh, I do have that for her! And don’t worry about the money, she has already paid in advance.”

Conrad shuffled around under his counter before pulling up a glass bottle. It was filled with a honey-coloured liquid and had a label on it that read ‘Rhubarb Mead. By Conrad Briarwood, innkeep of the Pinewood Inn.’

Aiden was handed the bottle and then he looked at it for a few seconds, reading everything.

“Isn’t it a bit ironic that someone called Briarwood owns the Pinewood Inn?”

A sigh escaped Conrad’s mouth as he rubbed his eyes.

“If you were the only person to point that out. Anyway, since you’re new and broke I’m going to give you something to drink on the house.”

Aiden looked surprised at the innkeep.

“Uh…Are you sure, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, shut up! It’s my inn, if I say you get something for free you have no right to reject it!”

Conrad said that with a smile and filled a deep stein with some brown ale before placing it on the counter for Aiden to drink.

“Thank you so much for the drink!”

He sipped a bunch of it right away and was left with a somewhat sweet and fruity taste in his mouth, this ale was more flavourful than the one he had back at Lloyd’s house, but it seemed like this one did not contain as much alcohol.

“Don’t mention it, we ought to leave a good first impression, right?”

Aiden nodded in agreement as two men leaned next to him on the counter. They seemed to be normal villagers, nothing special yet they seemed deeply interested in him.

“Say stranger, they’re quite a few rumours going around about you! Some say you’re a jester from a faraway land, others think you’re some sort of adventurer hired by Lloyd, there are of course those who think you’re a spy or an assassin.”

“So? Which one is it?”

Aiden sipped his drink once again and turned his head right so he could face the two men.

“To be honest, all of those rumours are false. In fact, I am a man from a whole different world. I just happened to be transported here, I have no idea how or why.”

The two men seemed puzzled by his answer, even Conrad frowned slightly.

“Is that so? For some reason I think you’re lying!”

“That’s exactly what I told Lord Lloyd and I told him only the truth. If you don’t believe me, you can go and ask the man who approved my claims.”

Conrad was now wiping some silverware clean while listening to the conversation. The men next to Aiden looked at each other and then back at him.

“Very well…. We are going to assume you’re telling the truth. But, as a friendly reminder, the whole town’s got their eyes on you.”

“I will keep that in mind but worry not for I am telling the truth.”

Suddenly a few people walked inside the inn, two of them Aiden had seen before. They were all holding music instruments and walked up the short, wooden stage that was on the other side of the building. They begun preparing their equipment while the customers cheered at them. Aiden was quiet, but at the same time he interested to see what kind of music they would play.

“Oi, guys! Let Aiden sing some songs from his homeland!”

That was Conrad yelling, as soon as he heard that Aiden became rather uneasy.

“But I am no singer! And you wouldn’t like our music!”

“Come on! I bet you have at least one song that can satisfy the audience!”

The townspeople were suspicious of Aiden, but they would never say no to such an intriguing idea, that’s why they all begun cheering louder than before.

-Fuck! I don’t know what to do…I guess I do know a few fitting songs by heart…”

Aiden was not saying anything, but Conrad gave him a pat on the back, and he got up from his seat, grabbed his mug of ale and walked towards the stage. The stage itself was a wooden platform that was a few centimetres higher than the rest of the floor. The musicians moved a chair on it so he could sit. Aiden did so and stared at the customers for a moment trying to think of a good song to sing.

-There aren’t many I can think of……but I suppose that I can find a nice but easy song to sing. –

He cleared his throat and turned to the musicians he quietly gave them a small sample of the song’s basic rhythm so they could follow with clapping and stomping on the ground, since no instrument was required. After that, Aiden sat down and begun tapping his foot on the ground to help the musicians follow his lead, soon he started singing.

The song he chose to sing was ‘We Will Rock You’ by Queen. It was everything that Aiden needed, a true classic from his world that had no complex lyrics and other people could follow in as well. Of course, the customers were hyped up and seemed to like it, who doesn’t like Queen? So, Aiden had to sing another song.

-Alright, what do these people like? I know! Heroes! Of course. –

Aiden had learnt this song by heart when he was still a small child, but it did check all the criteria. He, once again, sampled the rhythm to the musicians and after tapping his foot a bit he started singing ‘Zero to Hero’ from Disney’s Hercules. Of course, he did make it sound slightly more epic and fitting for a drinking place, judging by the applause at the end of the song he did pretty well. Unfortunately, he was still not allowed to get off the stage as the people wanted more.

-I do have one more song I can think of right now. –

His final song was an old sea chantey: ‘Fifteen Men’, also know as ‘Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum’. That song seemed to interest the customers more than the previous two, they could relate to it a bit more. Most of them now saw him as someone that had a mind full of stories and knowledge that was all new to them, making him fitting to be a storyteller.

The third song ended and after Aiden took a few breaths the whole inn begun clapping and cheering, they requested more but the singer was already tired out, he wasn’t used to this after all. He politely excused himself and stepped down from the stage with his ale that was now almost empty.

“And you said you can’t sing!”

“Aye! You did a fine job lad!”

“Pretty good for a first timer!”

Those were the compliments he heard while walking back to his seat at the counter, there Conrad congratulated him as well by refilling his stein.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“I must thank you as well for providing some entertainment for us! Will you be staying longer?”

“I’d like to listen to a few of your own songs, so I’ll be staying for now.”

He raised his mug as a thanks to the innkeep and drank a few gulps before placing it back down. A few moments later the musicians were once again playing a song that Aiden had never heard before. While that was happening a bunch of townspeople were walking over to Aiden, asking him all sorts of questions: where he came from, how he did it, if he can use magic, etc. Most of them got an answer like ‘I don’t know.’, or ‘I can’t do that.”. There were a few people warning Aiden and threatening him, in case he was some sort of enemy.

After a few hours and a third free refill from Conrad, due to Aiden’s popularity, the young man was now ready to leave and deliver the mead to Lin. He thanked Conrad once again for giving him free drinks and then he departed with a few pats on the back from the inn’s customers. Aiden was not drunk, just a bit lightheaded from all the ale he just consumed. Exiting the inn, he realised that the sky was now dark and that he was gone for more than intended, but he didn’t mind since he had a good time. Following the main road Aiden went back to Lloyd’s house and stepped inside.

The dining table was now empty, and, in the hall, there was only one maid sweeping the floor with a wooden broom, her hair was brown, and her eyes had a yellowish tint. Aiden walked closer and she took her eyes from the floor and looked up at him, she had bags under her eyes and Aiden thought she could use some rest.

“Good day Mr Read. I see you’ve had a good time this afternoon.”

“It was indeed quite fun, did a bit of drinking as well as singing!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful, I’m glad you find our town fun!”

“How could I not, the people seem friendly and the Lord is very generous. Anyway, would you like some help, you seem tired?”

He placed the mead bottle on the table and stretched his hand out for the maid to hand him the broom. The maid wasn’t too eager to do that and took a step away from him.

“I-I don’t think I can do that, I’m the maid and you’re the guest…. It’d be extremely rude to let you do my work.”

“But I don’t mind helping you a bit, I am already freeloading here so it would be rude of me to not try and repay your goodwill.”

She seemed to have an inner conflict with herself, but in the end, she handed over her broom reluctantly.

“Alright, you can sit down if you want, you don’t have to stay up.”

“Th-thank you, but please don’t tell Lord Lloyd!”

“Don’t worry, this will be our secret.”

The maid sat down and stared at Aiden who was now gathering all the dust together in order to pick it up with the dustpan.

“Oh, by the way, what’s your name?”

“I am Serena Lander, I’ve been in this household since I was a little kid.”

“Oh really? I’d like you to tell me more about yourself.”

“Uh, okay! But why would you want to know more about a simple maid?”

“I don’t know, I guess I am a bit curious…Since I am in a whole new world and all.”

“Right! I forgot about that, I’m sorry.”

“You’re forgiven, it’s no big deal, really. Before you tell me your story, hold on a moment, I have to go throw the dust out.”

Serena nodded and Aiden proceeded to pick up the now full dustpan, carry it to the doorstep and empty it outside before returning to sweep the other side of the hall.

“Alright, we may resume our talk.”

“Okay… I’ve been in this household since I was a child. My mother was the wife of a guard, but he passed away when I was very young, I was told he was killed during a bandit raid. That was so old ago, I have no memory of him…. For many years my mother served Lord Lloyd as one of his maids, a few years ago another Lord from a bigger and more powerful town came over to visit. He stayed here for three days and on the final day he offered to buy my mother and bring her to his own household to serve him. Lord Lloyd refuse but he threatened him, of course, our Lord wasn’t going to endanger the lives of all the people here for a single maid, so he did what he had to do and accepted the other Lord’s offer.”

“Damn, that’s horrible...what was that prick’s name?”

“I was never told, our Lord feared I might go after him or hold a grudge towards his peoples. But I don’t really mind…I occasionally get a letter from my mother saying that she’s alright, but those letters are few and far between.”

“Well, at least you do get some news of her.”

Serena smiled a bit at Aiden for hearing her story.

“I suppose that’s true. It’s normal, after all, for children to be separated by their parents. I’m trying my best to be a good replacement for my mother and be a proper maid.”

“And then I came in and you decided to let me do your job for you.”

Serena seemed to be a bit worried by that comment and was almost ready to jump up and get the broom away from Aiden, but the man just smiled and picked up the filled dustpan once again.

“Relax, I’m only joking, besides I’m almost done already.”

He repeated the process of dumping the dust outside and then came back.

“So, did I do a good job?”

Serena stood up and looked over the floor to see if all the dust was gone. She then sat back down and nodded at Aiden.

“Yes, you did a very good job. Thank you for helping me.”

He let the broom lean against the wall and hanged the dustpan on the broomstick before sitting down next to Serena. Aiden was about to tell something to the maid, but as he sat back, he noticed that Lin was leaning against the second-floor deck and looking at them. Serena looked up as well and when she noticed the elf as well, she jumped up and held both of her hands over her mouth in shock.

“Oh my god! I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry! I shouldn’t have let him do my job! How rude of me!”

“Do not worry Serena, he offered you a helping hand, did he not?”

Both Aiden and Serena nodded while Lin made her way downstairs and smiled at them.

“It was his choice, we are not going to think badly of you just because you did what our guest asked you to do.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

Serena seemed like she was about to cry due to the shock. She seemed to be in her late teens, about the same age as Aiden.

“Oh, Lin. I got your rhubarb mead.”

Aiden picked up the bottle and handed it over to Lin who looked at it for a second and then turned to Aiden while Serena was in sitting back down.

“Thank you for your service. Here is your reward.”

Lin gave Aiden a small leather pouch filled with coins.

“Thank you, but you don’t have to!”

“It is alright, they are enough for you to be able to visit the inn from time to time.”

Aiden lowered his head to show his appreciation and then covered his mouth right before a yawn came out.

“I hope you don’t mind me going to sleep, I’m feeling rather tired.”

“You are free to do as you please. Unless, Serena wants you to stay here and chat with her a while longer.”

The maid seemed embarrassed by the comment and shook her head while covering her face with the palm of her hands to hide her blushing.

“Alright then, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“I hope you sleep well.”

“G-Goodnight!”

Aiden walked up the stairs and around the deck until he reached a door that now had a sign hanging outside it: ‘Aiden Read’s Room’. He couldn’t help but smile after seeing that sign. He opened his door and walked inside, removing his shoes and changing to a more comfortable sleeping outfit that he was placed on his bed.

Soon he dropped on the bed like a rock and covered himself up with his blankets before falling into a dreamless sleep.

The days kept passing by. Aiden was now part of the village and he made sure to have all the townspeople hear of him at least once. Every day he would wake up, have breakfast with whoever was at the table, go to the barracks, train with Duran and then come back to clean himself and eat dinner with the rest, he would proceed to help the maids and the butler clean everything up, he also learnt that the second maid was named Julie Hearun and that the butler’s name was Samuel Cecyl. After he had helped the servants Aiden would spend the rest of his afternoon entertaining the younger population of Pinewood with stories and legends that were part of his own world’s culture, they could be inspired by books, movies, games and much more. Every day, when the sun was about to hide behind the mountains he would go to the inn, get himself a drink and sometimes he would even sing with the musicians before returning to Lloyd’s household to sleep.

That became his every day routine and he kept doing it for ten days straight, without missing a training session and without failing to help the maids and the butler. On the tenth day Aiden once again fell asleep, not knowing what the morning had in store for him.

Chapter 3: The inn and the maid.

End