Right after he got into a fighting stance, Richard ducked under the huge fist of the man. " I need to either get in close to take him out first or get rid of his friends first. " . He rushed towards him and jumped as high as he could to kick him in the chest. The man fell over and Richard used the momentum he gained from the recoil to slide backwards towards the other 3 men. He quickly got up while rolling backward and pushed on his hands to be back on his feet. The man on the right was the first to charge in. He tried to throw a light left jab that Richard evaded easily and responded with a rush of fists to the guts. Before any of his friends could help, Richard took the man's head and smashed it on the nearest table. " One down ". The second man hesitated but Richard saw the boss slowly standing up again, he had no time to think. He ran to the man and when he tried to swing at him Richard punched him so hard in the stomach his whole meal ended up on the floor, he then rolled on the man's back and grabbed his neck between his arms ready to snap it.

  " RICHARD! "

  Richard looked behind him, Malik was waving his arm around while getting out of the kitchen.

  " DON'T KILL ANYONE IN MY TAVERN! "

  Richard scoffed. " What a pain in the a- ". He barely had time to finish his thought that he got tackled to the ground by the one with the fresh scar. It was a bit of a dire situation, the two men started to kick Richard as he tried to protect himself and crawl out of this tough spot as best as he could.

  " Hey! " Richard looked up and he saw Malik jump on one of the thugs and smash a bottle on his head. " This one is on the house cunt! "

  " Malik behind you! "

  Malik ducked as a reflex and barely evaded a chair thrown by the boss. Richard managed to get up just to get tackled again onto a table by the man with the scar. Malik was beating down the man which he had broken the bottle on. The boss then decided to get into the fight and backhanded Malik so hard he fell on the ground. This whole situation was getting more and more chaotic. Richard managed to push away his assailant and then as he got up kicked him again over a chair. Malik was getting pummeled by the boss and the other remaining man. Using a table, Richard jumped on the boss back to get him off his friend. Seizing his chance, Malik grabbed a nearby glass and used it to hit the other man. As the scared man backed away from the hit, Malik shoulder bashed him to the ground and kicked him multiple times in the head. But behind him the last man remaining that Richard kicked away had grabbed a knife and was rushing towards him. Malik couldn't dodge and only had time to see the man run towards him. But suddenly the man got stopped by a bottle that flew from his right into his temple, the hit knocked him out cold. Malik looked from where the bottle came and was surprised to see that Jessamine was the one who threw the bottle, he nodded at her and ran towards Richard still struggling with the boss. The boss managed to grab Richard off his back and threw him on Malik. The two men were on the ground thinking how to take down this mountain of a man. Richard turned toward his friend to whisper a plan.

  " Malik, you remember this one ogre back in Slirgandr? "

  " Oh Rich', no please ..."

  " It's ok he is even smaller! "

  " Last time we did this I almost got stomped to death! You take low, I take high this time! "

  " Deal! "

  They both got up and started running towards the man. Richard on the right and Malik on the left. Just before they reached him they switched sides and both started running on tables. With a perfect synchronisation, they switched sides again but this time Richard did not stay on the table but slid between the legs of the man while Malik jumped on him and threw a punch aimed for the throat. Richard kicked his knee and the attack made him fall backward. Richard and Malik then kicked him down until he stopped moving. They were both quite exhausted and sat down to catch their breath. The place was now completely empty except for the four thugs and some waitresses watching from the kitchen. Malik groaned in pain as he tried sitting up straight.

  " Just like during the war Richie, you get in trouble, I come to help and I get more bruises than needed. Ah fock they hit hard.. "

  " I had it, I would have been in a better position if you didn't distract me from killing this guy. "

  " What? You don't like challenges? Ahah! Ow fuck laughing hurts, I think the fucker cracked me a rib. "

  Richard laughed it off too but he was clearly hurt from the stomping too. Malik made a hand gesture towards Jess'.

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  " Darling, would you be so kind as to bring me and my friend Rich here some water? "

  " Why water? I need wine to kill the pain! "

  " Ahah that's my boy! Bring out wine! "

  After getting that, they got the town's guards to pick up the thugs and threw them away. What started as a horrible night turned into quite a feast as the two friends drank to their heart content while telling their war stories to the waitresses.

  The next morning Richard woke up with a headache. " Fuck I drank way too much. ". As he moved away from his bed he heard a slight moan, he turned around to discover the waitress he rescued last night. " Oh no... fuck! ". He looked at himself and realised he was naked. He quickly got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Malik was nowhere to be seen. Richard decided to help himself and went into the kitchen to grab whatever he could find. He found some cheese and bread. He then picked some water and a glass and went to sit in the main room. He then saw Malik coming out of his room above the dining room, he was holding his head, he was as hungover as him. He painfully made his way downstairs and waved at Richard. He sat down with his friend.

  " Hey Richie, does your head pounds like you are an anvil under a hammer or is it just me? "

  " Nah don't worry I feel the same .."

  Jessamine came out of the same room Malik just got out of. Richard raised an eyebrow while looking at his friend.

  " What? I told you that we had a thing, it wasn't the first time. "

  " Humm Malik, I need to ask you something ... "

  " The girl in your room helped you in there because you were hammered, you didn't drag her by force if that's what you want to know. "

  Richard let out a sigh of relief.

  " Well that's one good thing but why is she still in there? "

  " I don't know! Just ask her!

  Richard dropped his head in his hands. " I hate my life ... "

  When he was done eating he got back upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door.

  " Come in! "

  He opened the door and discovered the waitress dressed up just brushing her hair. She turned around and smiled at him. She was in her late twenties, almost as tall as him, she had brown hair and grey eyes.

  " You seem in a better state than when you got in bed. "

  " Excuse me, but I need to ask you a question, did we ... do it? "

  " Fuck? No we didn't, I just wanted to keep an eye on you with how drunk you were and also it's nice to sleep next to someone isn't it? "

  Richard felt so relieved that he hadn't done the deed. The woman had a reassuring smile on her face as she turned to look out the window while brushing her hair.

  " And even I can respect someone's wife, you kept repeating her name when you were sleeping. "

  Richard was surprised. " A wife? I'm not married! "

  " Humm I don't have a wife .. "

  " Then who is Bella? "

  Richard turned red from embarrassment, she laughed as she saw him trying to keep a straight face.

  " Don't worry, the lady you love will never hear from this, those lips are sealed."

  She was walking towards the exit but stopped next to him and let her finger trace the limits of his jaw.

  " However, if your endeavors with her aren't successful, I will gladly break the seal and open myself to you all you wish and for as long as you want. "

  She opened the door and looked at him one last time while winking.

  " By the way, my name is Helen. "

  She left and went downstairs. Richard decided to stay in his bedroom until his headache would go away, he laid down and took another nap.

  He got woken up by a slight knock on his door, he hoped the person would go away if he didn't say anything. The knocking kept coming but eventually the person walked away. Richard fell back into a dream.

  He was in the forest walking onto a path he never saw before. He was following a smell, this smell was so strong but so pleasing. He followed it, everything around him seemed to be slowed down. He walked to the limit of the forest and shielded his eyes from the overwhelming brightness. Once his eyes had adjusted, he realised where he was, a beach, the sand was perfectly white. He took his boots off and walked on the beach. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Focusing on the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and the slight breeze brought by the sea. He then catched a whiff of this smell. He looked to his right and there she was. Her pale skin enhanced by the bright sun made her look like she was radiating. So white so perfect. Her white dress fluttering in the wind yet tight to her body made her look like an apparition as if an angel descended upon earth to grace him with her sight. He walked up to her, the dress was slightly transparent and he could see the pink from her breast's areolas. Her red hair floating from the wind was magnificent. He embraced her and they both laid on the ground. He tucked her hair back behind her ear and kissed her. He was holding onto her as if he feared she would fade away. He wished this moment would never stop. She was on him and smiled.

  " Do you love me? "

  " You know the answer already.. "

  " I still want to hear you say it. "

  He sighed.

  " Yes I love you and I will love you until the end of my life. "

  " I hope you love me even in the afterlife because I know I will. "

  As she kissed him one more time, Richard's vision started to get blurry ...

  He woke up again, it was the middle of the afternoon. It wasn't his type to dream this way but he wanted this to become a reality. For some reason he felt attracted to her and hoped she felt the same. He had to see her again before going away for a few days. He had to leave tomorrow morning. Seeing the time, he knew had to leave right now or he would have to come back late at night to the tavern and he wanted to be well rested. He took his equipment on him and went to the dining room. He was already opening the door to leave the tavern. But Malik called him.

  " Richie! Wait! "

  " What do you want? " Richard turned around, annoyed.

  Malik pointed to Richard why he had to stop, as he looked to his right he was shocked.

  " Hi Richard. "

  Seated at a table, waiting for him to wake up, Isabella was there smiling at him.