Chương 2: Breakfast Of Champions

Bella followed Gemma into a long hallway lit by flickering candles and a single window at the far end. Several doors made of thick wooden planks banded with iron and painted with a number flanked either side of the hall. An inn. The Witch's Flagon? For some reason the name stuck out in her thoughts, even though that level of detail hadn't been provided for the place they'd picked to roleplay their celebrations in the game. Why do I know that? The duo marched down the staircase, and Bella felt her heart racing.

For all that having her best friend with her was calming, it was equally anxiety inducing. Add to that the fact that they were actually in the game, with all that implied… The catkin felt plenty justified being nervous. She forced her gaze to refocus, to not lose herself in her thoughts.

Instead, she found herself staring at the gorgeous elf leading her down the staircase, watching the way her braid swayed with each step, the way her hips – A prodigious squeak echoed in the dining hall as Gemma stepped on the last creaky stair, tearing Bella away from dangerous thoughts. They both froze in place as a pair of clicking steps hurried towards them.

The source revealed itself to be a short human girl with a nest of mousy brown hair that was pulled into hasty ponytails; she promptly bellowed in an unexpectedly loud voice, "MA! The heroes are up!" From the kitchen doorway ahead a stout half-orc woman stuck her head out, acknowledged the shout with a grunt, and disappeared back within. The kitchen echoed with the loud sounds of cooking - clattering dishes and pans.

The girl beamed up at Gemma and Bella with the innocent pride and excitement only a child could possess, then launched into a speech she'd clearly been practicing the entire morning.

"Hi I'm Joane it's nice to meet you miss heroes thank you for saving us! Mamma said I couldn't bother you last night but it's not last night anymore." Bella leaned around Gemma with a bright smile and opened her mouth to greet the little chattermouth. Before she could, Joane took a breath and kept going, "Ma was really happy you ate all her food last night! And then you made a bunch of noise when you went to bed! Ma and Mamma said you were sparring! Who won?"

For what felt like the fifth time in fifteen minutes, Bella's brain ground to a screeching halt. A mix between embarrassment and horror dawned on her face as she flashed an instant bright red, eyes going wide as saucers. Thankfully, before she was required to cobble together a child-friendly answer to a decidedly not child-friendly question, another set of footsteps thundered across the room. The same half orc from before burst through the kitchen door and skidded to a stop before them.

She scooped the young girl under her arm like a sack of flour and bowed as deeply as she could manage, the tips of her ears burning crimson.

"My utmost apologies, my ladies. I will have your food ready in a moment, please choose any table of your liking." Still bent at the waist in a bow, she backed herself and Joane into the kitchen. Bella required several moments to compose herself enough to feel her heart beating with some semblance of regularity. Once she was sure she wasn't going to pass out from embarrassment, she risked a glance at Gemma and was relieved to see that her unflappable companion at least looked moderately flustered.

Their eyes met and a blush crept back into both pairs of cheeks. We're gonna have to address this at some point, she thought nervously. But not now. Gemma finished her last step down off the staircase and led them to a private booth in the corner of the hall. Not that anyone else was in the dining room this early. She sat with a prim elegance that had an edge of stiffness from feeling forced.

Bella was much more casual about it; she slumped into her seat and buried her face in her hands for an extra moment of recovery. In the quiet of the room, she could hear a gruff chastising coming from the direction of the kitchen. She raised her gaze to get a proper look at the hall. And to bring her attention away from the scolding, away from the memory of why the scolding was happening. The walls were brown brick framed with thick timber supports, leading to a ceiling of panels cut from the same wood.

In fact, most of the furniture was similar: a dark wood polished to a shine, complimenting the clusters of lush green plants growing in little glazed clay pots nestled on most tables. The coziness of it all was offset by a wicked great axe hanging next to the door to the kitchen. As she soaked in all these details, Bella notedly refused to acknowledge that she had looked everywhere but at her elven companion. Eventually, she ran out of anything else interesting enough that she could distract herself with.

She sighed heavily and turned back towards Gemma to address the situation they'd found themselves in this morning, only to be interrupted by two sets of footsteps approaching. With a glance she saw little Joane and her 'Ma' both carrying massive breakfast platters stuffed bountifully high with goodies.

Each held a full loaf of dark and crusty bread that was split across the top and still steaming, an entire slab of a smoked meat that looked suspiciously like a rich and fatty bacon encrusted with cracked black pepper and brown sugar, and an entire plate of eggs so large they could have come from an ostrich. The eggs were fried crispy around the edges and had yolks ready to burst. The platters were both ringed with slices of a fruit Bella didn't recognize.

The fruit must have been about fist-sized like an apple, but its skin was viciously spiked and its flesh was a pale green and glistening with juice. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Little Joane strained to lift her platter onto the table, needing to stand on her tiptoes and wiping off a forehead of earnest sweat when done.

'Ma' managed with only a single hand. Once the platters were safely placed upon the table the mother-daughter duo bowed deeply to Gemma and Bella.

"Once more, my most earnest apologies for my daughter's rudeness. I promise it won't happen again, my ladies." Her gruff voice sounded unsteady and unaccustomed to this sort of formality. Bella managed a choked sound as she frantically gestured for the woman to rise.

"It's – it's okay! Please don't bow, it, uhm. It's fine!" She glanced towards Gemma with a desperate need for support in her eyes, looking for backup.

"We understand she meant no offense," the elf continued; she immediately slipped into the character she'd spent so many of their long nights roleplaying.

"It is easily forgiven and forgotten as the whims of a child. Instead, thank you for this gracious meal, madam…?" The half-orc woman stood and bowed her head graciously, if still a bit stiffly. Bella took the opportunity to take stock of her. Thick cords of muscle lined her shoulders bulky arms, noticeable even under her dark brown woolen blouse. Her strength carried openly, loudly, and in stark contrast to Gemma's refined power and graceful frame.

Her skin was a muted green and a tattoo of a snake in faded blue ink wound its way up her left bicep, disappearing into the sleeve of her top. Two sharp tusks on either side of her mouth towered up between thick lips. If someone had told Bella she was a lumberjack instead of a chef, she wouldn't have had a moment of surprise.

"Khudu, my ladies. You've met my daughter Joane, of course, and my wife Induis provided your rooms last night." I knew that, Bella realized with a start. In the game, Khudu and Joane hadn't existed, and the other woman had been a generic half-elf with a hovering nametag that read "Innkeeper". But now, as she focused, she could feel the name and face surface in her memory from the prior night – a night she otherwise didn't remember. So we have some of our character's memories? And the NPCs aren't just NPCs.

More for her to discuss with Gemma. Although she realized quickly that here and now maybe wasn't the place and time for that discussion. Something else to save for later. She offered a chagrined smile at the hardly-chastised little girl that clung to the edge of their table with white knuckles and sparkles in her eyes. Gemma seemed to share the same thought.

"Thank you, Khudu and Joane, for this fantastic breakfast. We have some errands to run, and we don't want to keep you waiting on us."

"As you wish, my ladies," the green-skinned woman said as she bowed once more.

"And you do not need to treat us as nobility. No need to bow or avoid our names. It will be easier on all of us," Gemma said with a dismissive wave of her hand; she turned without waiting for a response towards the feast before them. A flash of surprise – and relief – crossed Khudu's face as she glanced at Bella and saw her nodding enthusiastically along.

"As you wish," she murmured one more time before taking her overeager daughter by the collar and dragging her back into the kitchen to prevent any further incidents. Bella watched them go, amused at Joane's protests at being dragged away even if she fully understood the idea of wanting to stick around her heroes. But it wasn't enough to offer to let her stay around while they ate. She was looking forward to some quiet, at least for the duration of breakfast.

By the time she returned her gaze to her companion, Gemma had already ripped her loaf of bread in half and was in the process of piling it high with eggs and bacon. Wish I got to watch her do that, she thought with a pout, grabbing her own steaming bread to make her own sandwich.

"Surprised you're not eating all delicately, Your Highness," the catkin quipped, only to be betrayed by an earthshattering gurgle from her own empty stomach. Her cheeks flushed tomato-red once more and she lowered her gaze as Gemma raised an amused eyebrow at her. But the elf shook her head without a word and went back to assembling a breakfast sandwich that could feed a hungry village. Chagrined, Bella did the same. Several eggs joined a mountain of bacon on the bread she at least had the self-control to slice.

Her first bite earned a groan of appreciation, and she practically melted in her seat. It was good. Very good. Probably not just because she felt like she hadn't eaten in a month. The two of them ate in silence, accompanied only by the clatter of silverware and the occasional grunt when they were forced to pick up a piece of food that had spilled from their sandwiches. Gemma finished her sandwich first.

Bella watched curiously around the last few bites of her own meal as the elf, after only a moment's hesitation, reached for the only survivor of their gluttony: one of the slices of fruit ringing the platter. Handling it delicately, she picked it up by the flesh and deftly avoided the spikes on its exterior, then bit into it with a satisfying crunch. Her eyes immediately lit up, stealing Bella's wholehearted attention. Without a word Gemma held the half-eaten piece of fruit towards her.

Bella stared at it for a slow moment. Before she could talk herself into embarrassment, she leaned forward and took a bite, careful to not nick Gemma's fingers with her newly sharpened teeth. The flavor was so surprising that she sat back and chewed, wracking her brain in an attempt to categorize it. Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice that her lips had brushed against her companion's fingertips and sent a flush up through those elven ears.

By the time Bella had settled on "Like a plum mixed with a cherry, but with the crunchiness of an apple!" Gemma had managed to outwardly hide her embarrassment, if not fully quiet the thrumming of her racing heart.

"Mmh," the elf helpfully replied, picking up another slice of the fruit and chewing to buy herself some more time to calm down. After a few quiet moments of chewing, she finally sighed in what she hoped passed as satisfaction and set her hands on the table.

"We should head out of the city to finish those 'errands'." Nodding her head in agreement, Bella popped one last slice of fruit in her mouth before sliding from the booth to stand and stretch languidly. Without any attempt at control the motion lifted her tail, which tugged up the hem of her dress. With a little eep she pushed her skirt back down, glancing at the elf who was helpfully failing at pretending she didn't see anything.

The catkin flicked her friend's shoulder with a pout, arms crossed over her chest, and marched towards the exit of the inn.