Witch Bewitched (COMPLETE)

Chapter 28 (Pt. 2)

Misa and the captain found a different bar to have their night out. Misa had avoided the Old Oak since her arrest, and she didn't want to return in case questions started flooding her way. And from Kairin, she had no doubt that would be all she got until she satisfied his curiosity. There was also the issue of her escape being detailed in the city newspapers, and she knew the Central Harthem Purgehouse was keeping watch on the bar in case "the witch" returned.

"It's a nice night, isn't it, Ben?" Misa asked, managing to cram her stress to the back of her mind.

The captain shrugged. "It's a night like any other."

"You're no fun. No fun at all." Misa grinned. "Luckily, we'll soon change that!"

They entered the bar. It was similar to Kairin's bar, only slightly larger with larger tables and more casks of beer behind the counter. Misa dragged the captain to a seat in the corner. Lively music from a minstrel led the symphony of cheers and the fists pounding on the tabletops.

A serving girl came up to them, smiling widely in welcome. "What are your orders?"

Misa grinned. "Two mugs of beer, Miss." She leaned in as if she wanted to tell the girl a secret. "Make sure one of them is extra strong. My brother is a lightweight, and my papa's always saying he needs a strong one to make him a man."

The serving girl shot the captain a glance and laughed. Her tinted cheeks didn't go unnoticed, and Misa stifled a giggle. The captain and a serving girl? That would be a sight to see. "Of course! Two mugs of beer coming right up!"

When she left, Misa shot the captain a wicked grin. "You're in for a fun night, Cap—Ben! Let's hope Torren was correct in his claim."

Captain Bentham shook his head, sporting a bored look on his face. "Aren't we supposed to be having dinner?"

"We can eat while we drink." Misa rested her chin on her palm. "Ask the serving girl for some options when she comes back."

The beer arrived, and Royle proceeded to order a simple meal. Misa chipped in with her own choice. The serving girl gave Misa a wink before heading off to another table. Misa held up her mug. "To our success!"

The captain relented. He picked up his beer, and Misa clapped the mugs together. She swallowed once, then gagged. It had been a while since her last beer, and she'd forgotten how terrible the first taste was.

The captain, on the other hand, took several large gulps. When he lowered his mug, Misa saw that half his beer had diminished. She scrunched her nose.

"Show off." She forced down another gulp, letting the tang of the alcohol drown her taste buds. She grinned when she finally drank as much as the captain.

"It's a bit early for drinking," the captain remarked.

Misa shrugged. "It'll be an early night for us. Might as well enjoy the most of it. Tell me when it's two hours before midnight. I want to stay out no later than that."

Liar. Misa pushed the thought away. There was no way she would let the captain follow her while she trained with Rithian. Not when she always left feeling less than human.

Two beers later, Misa was beginning to feel a little dizzy even after a filling meal of chicken soup. It had been at least a year since she had her first and last taste of alcohol, and Misa had found that she had more resistance to its effects than most women her age and size. Still, there was only so much she could drink. Misa declined the serving girl's offer to refill her mug, only because she didn't want to risk releasing magic when she was drunk.

She chewed on a peanut while chatting away with the captain, a bowl of it having been offered with the fifth mug of beer they ordered. He was on his third drink, and the alcohol seemed to have loosened him enough to be tolerable.

"You really are a drinker," Misa remarked, tracing her finger along the lip of her mug. "I didn't know you could hold it so well. Torren was right. You make a pretty good drinking buddy."

Captain Bentham reached for a nut. "I could say the same. You breezed through two mugs, and you don't seem the slightest bit affected."

Misa forced a smile. "I guess it's a side effect."

Understanding dawned on the captain, and he crunched the nut for a moment of silence. Misa took the opportunity to watch the dancers on stage, waving their puffy dresses as they kicked up their legs. They reminded Misa of yellow and pink flowers, blooming in the spring. The violinist and flautist tapped their boots in rhythm with the song. Misa found her fingers following along.

When the song finished and the bar broke into a cheer, Misa turned her attention back to the captain. She gazed at him, tilting her head in thought. He caught her staring and raised a questioning brow.

"Were you born in Giligha?" Misa asked. She knew it wouldn't be wise to pry the captain's past when there were so many people around, but she doubted anyone would eavesdrop through the yells and fists thudding on wood.

He shook his head. Misa half expected him to scold her for bringing it up, but the alcohol relaxed his usual tense disposition, and he easily gave an answer. "I came from a small village in the south."

"Oh?" Misa's eyes brightened. She could almost picture it. Vast yellow-green fields, blue skies, emerald trees. "A farming house?"

"You could say that." The captain took a swig of his beer, turning his mug upside down when he found it empty, then set it back down. "My father owned a sugar plantation, but we made good money through other methods."

Misa leaned forward. "Do you have any siblings? Brothers? Sisters? Cousins, even?"

He nodded, a faraway look glazing his eyes. "I had a brother."

Misa considered his words. Something about them bothered her. He had a brother. She watched him, carefully thinking about what she should say without overstepping her boundaries.

"I'm sorry," she finally said.

He shook his head, bringing his focus back to the present. "Don't be. It's not your fault."

Misa trailed her gaze to his hand, which had clenched into a tight fist. She hesitated before reaching out to touch it. He didn't jerk away, encouraging Misa to ask, "What happened?"

It shouldn't have been possible, but his fist tensed even more. He gently but firmly pushed her hand off him and gestured for the server girl to have his fourth mug. Misa tried to shrug it off, but the stab of hurt and guilt made her withdraw her hands. She took a sudden interest in the peeled skin of the peanuts she'd been snacking on.

"I'm sorry," the captain said. He was rubbing his eyes. "But I'd rather not say." Taking a deep breath, he dragged his hand down his face. "For now, we have a mission to focus on. Let's not get too personal."

Misa glared at the peels, wishing they'd burn just as much as her cheeks. She didn't know why his statement sparked such anger within her. It wasn't like they were friends. They merely had a mutual goal. That was all. She was stupid in thinking she could get him to open up a little when she herself was keeping a big secret from him.

"Good idea," she said. She decided to watch the stage for the rest of the night. It would at least save her from more embarrassment and relieve the stakes in her heart that she didn't understand. At the very least, the energetic music and dancers helped her forget her negative emotions, and she was smiling and laughing by the next show.

The captain, finished with his fourth mug, was halfway through his fifth when he started to act a little...off character.

"What's the point of all this?" he asked, his words a little lazy. "Sometimes, I wonder why we even try."

Misa chuckled a little nervously. She watched the groups around them and was relieved to find they paid the captain no mind. "What do you mean by that, Ben?"

"Life, I've come to find, is so pointless." He shook his head, something between an angry scowl and a sad frown on his face. "All it does is take and take and take. Why bother fighting it? What is there left in this world anymore?" He took a swig and answered his question before Misa could form a proper response. "I'll tell you. Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing, nothing..."

There was a sorrow in the way he spoke that clenched Misa's heart. She half expected the man to burst out in tears, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and drained his mug.

"There's a lot the world has to offer," she said. "All you need to do is open your eyes. We all have a place here. There must be something for you, I know it. But you need to be the one to find it because it's the reason you live."

The captain laughed, and Misa was hurt to hear the cynicism dripping from him. "Is that so? I wonder if it offers it to you because it knows it'll take everything back in the end. Guh. Sit still. I can't look at you when you lurch around like that."

Just how strong had the serving girl made his beer? Misa shook her head.

"Finish your drink. I think we should go after you're done."

He remained silent for a moment, staring at his mug, blinking slowly as if he was about to fall asleep. Misa was about to leave to pay for their meal when he spoke, "Do you really believe the world has anything worth living for?"

Misa smiled softly. "Of course. There's plenty of things worth living for."

"Will you show me?"

Her voice caught at his request. She squashed the sudden, overwhelming need to give him a hug. She nodded, still giving him a smile. "I will, I promise. Now finish your drink. I think we've had enough for the night."

Misa left to pay the serving girl and used the time away from him to compose herself. Drunk talk, she reminded herself. It was only drunk talk.

After using up the last of her loncs, Misa returned to the table. The captain was chugging the final mug. He slammed it on the table and demanded more.

"That's enough," Misa said. She grabbed his arm and pulled. It took effort on his part to stand. "Let's go."

The captain shrugged her off. "I can walk myself. Show me the way."

Misa rolled her eyes. "Right this way."

She led him out the bar, and without tables or walls to support him, the captain stumbled. Misa rushed to catch him.

"Get a grip!" She chanced a look around to make sure no one was paying them attention. "You're the captain. You can't be seen bumbling around like an idìot!"

He leaned into her, an arm around her neck. "The day I take orders from you is the day I hand in my resignation."

"This was a terrible idea."

The path seemed a long way off when Misa remembered she had to change before going into the commander's residence. She struggled, but she managed to lead the captain towards the old shed. It took an eternity to get there, and she was subjected to an odd oscillation between woeful chatter about the hopelessness of life and determined declarations about his brilliant plans. Misa tuned out for half of it. The other half, she could barely understand.

When they finally made it to the entrance, Misa made one final push to get inside. To her dismay, the captain's toe caught the threshold, and they both went crashing to the ground. The captain swore, and Misa bit her tongue to stop herself from doing the same. Her shoulder throbbed, but she had to make sure the captain was uninjured.

"Captain? Captain, are you alright?" His arm pinned her to the floor, heavier than the wheel Misa had to tie around her waist when she trained. She reached for the table, where the lamp they used sat waiting for their return. It took a fair bit of stretching to finally turn it on. She squirmed to her side when the light flashed on.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Misa blinked. She took in the words, processing them, wondering if she'd heard right. "What?"

"I thought you were nothing but a child when I first saw you." He shook his head. "But now, every time I look at you, I see a woman."

Misa glared at him. "Isn't that obvious? Of course I'm a woman."

His arm lifted. Fresh air filled Misa's lungs, and it was only then that she realised how compressed she was next to him. She began to move, but the captain's fingers found her cheek, freezing her in place.

"It's quite strange," he said, his voice now just above a whisper. "This isn't right, and yet...Have you bewitched me? Why is it that you're so beautiful?"

"You're drunk, Captain," Misa stated, trying not to let his words affect her. She hated how her stomach knotted at his touch, the way her toes curled in anticipation for something that should never happen. It was just drunken nonsense. That was all.

"A love potion, then?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I may have magic, but I don't know the first thing about witchcraft."

"Then why?" He pulled closer. "Why is it that you're so tantalising? Are you a dream?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Move! Get up! Misa wanted to. She had to get away before something irrevocable happened between the two. Something that would not happen if the captain was sober.

Yet, when the captain circled her cheek with his thumb, her body stiffened, willing her to stay just a little longer.

"You've bewitched me," he said, though there was nothing accusatory in his tone. "You've bewitched me, and I've fallen right into your trap."

"I did no such thing." Misa sighed, holding back the hurt his words hammered into her chest. Was that all he thought of her? A witch who bewitched him. But he had said it so softly, like a...confession. His tone had suggested something else that Misa daren't even think about. Not when he was so closed off and cold in his sobriety and not when Misa intended to leave him as soon as she fulfilled her part in his mission.

"Then you've nothing to worry about."

"What do you—"

Misa clenched her jaw when his fingers grazed her lips. His thumb had moved to her bottom lip, hushing her under its electric thrill.

"Beautiful," he murmured. He was so close. Too close. She could smell the alcohol from his breath.

Misa swiped his hand from her face. "Captain. Enough."

"Is it too much to call me by my name?" His fingers clasped around her hand. He squeezed. "Just once. I would like to hear it just once."

"Do you promise to get up if I do?"

He nodded. Then, to Misa's shock, he pulled her hand towards him and kissed her wrist. A forbidden shiver of pleasure rattled her spine. "I promise."

"Okay." Misa's breaths were shaky. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see the tenderness in his eyes that made her legs go weak. "Royle."

No response. Misa waited a few more seconds before opening her eyes. The captain was sound asleep. Had he even heard her call his name?

Well, it didn't matter. Misa pulled her hand from his grasp, ignoring how unpleasant the cold was without him warming her skin. She sat up and gazed down at him in dismay. How was she ever going to get him back to the manor now?

He was so peaceful, and she knew a sleeping drunk was near impossible to wake up. So, she grabbed the sack and dug through it. Her cloak went over him, and she stuffed the rest under his head. Before she could stop herself, she ran her fingers through his hair and traced them down his cheek, the way he had done to her. A day's worth of stubble tickled her hand.

Then she jerked back, scolding herself for being so naïve. The captain was only drunk, and it was likely he would have been the same around any woman.

So, without sparing him another glance, Misa snatched the lamp and slipped back into the night. She hoped she wasn't late for her session with Rithian.