Just as she finished straightening the wooden sign, she heard loud footsteps approaching on the gravel path. She looked around the dimly lit street. A young girl with bright ginger hair and piercing blue eyes walked quickly toward the tavern. It was Jane. Rebecca felt a massive wave of warm relief wash over her. She was incredibly happy to see her half-sister. Even though Jane was absent from her most recent childhood memories due to the long separation, the familial bond remained incredibly strong.
Rebecca watched Jane climb the wooden steps. Her face softened immediately. She adopted the warm motherly look of a parent watching their child return home after a long exhausting day of school or work. Jane looked up from the wooden floorboards. She looked incredibly tired. Dark heavy circles rested visibly under her bright blue eyes.
"Hello, Miss Rebecca," Jane greeted quietly. Her voice lacked its usual energetic spark.
Rebecca looked at the young exhausted girl and giggled softly. She stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Jane's shoulder.
"There is absolutely no need to be so formal with me, my dear sister," Rebecca replied warmly. "How are you doing tonight."
Jane let out a long heavy breath. She walked directly past Rebecca and collapsed heavily into a rolling chair positioned on the porch. Rebecca usually sat in that exact chair to knit during quiet lazy afternoons. Jane let her thin arms dangle over the wooden armrests. She looked completely drained of all physical energy.
"I am exhausted," Jane complained loudly. "The governor is really energetic lately. He demands so much constant attention."
Jane tilted her head to the side. A rolled piece of printed newspaper suddenly fell from the top of the doorframe. It landed directly on top of Jane's head with a soft annoying smack. Rebecca had completely forgotten to take the paper down that morning. Bjorn the guard usually tucked it above the door during his early morning patrol routes.
Jane jumped slightly in the rolling chair. She grabbed the paper and pulled it off her head quickly. She shook her ginger hair to fix the messy tangled strands. She stared at the rolled paper resting in her hands.
"What is this thing," Jane asked. She unrolled the paper and squinted at the dark printed ink.
Rebecca leaned over Jane's shoulder to look at the front page.
"I have not taken the paper inside yet today," Rebecca explained. "Bjorn went by much earlier this morning. He was giving out something called a newspaper to all the local businesses."
Jane mumbled quietly under her breath. Her blue eyes scanned the bold dark headlines printed across the top of the page.
"Oh, that is right," Jane stated aloud. "I have heard some rumors about this recently. The new queen or whoever is currently in charge has been investing heavily in what seems to be mass communications."
Rebecca looked closely at the large black text. The main article detailed the grand formal coronation of Queen Elara Henry. Another smaller column reported on a massive destructive train accident near the border. A third bold headline caught her immediate focused attention. It mentioned a strange forbidden phenomenon.
"It mentions the transcendence," Rebecca read aloud.
Jane suddenly screamed in pure shock. She gripped the thin edges of the newspaper tightly. Her tired eyes widened in absolute sheer horror.
"The transcendence," Jane yelled out into the quiet night air. She beamed a look of total disbelief toward Rebecca. "That is simply impossible. I thought that specific practice was formally agreed upon by every ruler of the factions. They all promised officially to stop doing it entirely."
Rebecca thought deeply about the serious implications of the printed news. The large world outside their quiet town seemed to be changing very rapidly. The fragile political peace between the factions appeared to be breaking apart.
"It feels as if the end of the world is truly nigh," Jane said dramatically. She collapsed back against the soft chair cushions. She draped the newspaper completely over her face.
Rebecca giggled loudly at her sister's highly dramatic reaction. She reached out and knocked gently on the top of Jane's head through the paper.
"Come inside the tavern," Rebecca ordered kindly. "It is getting far too cold out here for you."
Jane pulled the newspaper off her face. She looked up and noticed the new wooden sign hanging securely next to the door. She read the bold chalk letters carefully. A mischievous knowing smirk slowly replaced the look of deep exhaustion on her face. She sat up straight in the rolling chair.
"What is going on with you," Jane asked playfully. "Looking for fresh new recruits that you can lure into your empty tavern."
Jane stood up quickly from the chair. She walked over to the sign and inspected the drawn heart and the smiley face. She turned back around to face her older sister.
"Has the gentle Rebecca finally had enough of being alone," Jane teased loudly. "Is the hardworking innkeeper finally willing to look for a suitable suitor to share her humble tavern with."
Rebecca felt her cheeks grow instantly hot. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She adopted a highly defensive posture.
"How completely indecent of you to say that," Rebecca sputtered nervously. She pointed a finger toward the empty dark street. "Running this business is incredibly hard manual work. I would have you know that I simply need extra physical help with the daily exhausting chores."
Jane took a slow deliberate step closer to Rebecca. She tilted her head and offered a highly questioning playful expression. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with deep amusement.
"Oh, really," Jane challenged. "Would you perhaps prefer to have that specific boy return. The one with a thick gray fog constantly covering his face. Are you hoping to find another person exactly like him to be your new coworker. What was his name again. Was it Lucid."
Rebecca felt her face flush a deep bright shade of crimson. She gripped the rough fabric of her apron tightly.
"A new hire is just a new hire," Rebecca argued quickly. "Besides, that boy of yours seemed to scare the normal paying customers away. From what I have personally seen of him, he was quite indecent up in the governor's massive mansion. He was ordering twenty sheets at a time for completely unknown reasons."
Rebecca began pacing rapidly back and forth across the wooden porch. She started talking rapidly to herself. She completely ignored Jane's amused escalating giggles.
"I dare say," Rebecca muttered under her breath. "Someone exactly like him. What could someone like that possibly do to help run a normal tavern properly."
Jane watched her sister pace back and forth. She placed her hands firmly on her hips.
"You are deflecting," Jane stated clearly.
Rebecca stopped pacing abruptly. She turned fully to face Jane. She was absolutely furious at the relentless teasing.
"That is it," Rebecca said in a dangerously low threatening tone. She lunged forward quickly with her hands outstretched.
Jane shrieked loudly with pure laughter. She turned quickly and ran through the open doorway. She dashed inside the dim quiet tavern. Rebecca chased her immediately. Her heavy boots thumped loudly against the wooden floorboards. Jane dodged expertly around a large circular table. She smiled widely as she kept a safe distance.
Rebecca stopped chasing her suddenly. She stood in the middle of the room and breathed heavily. She closed her eyes for a brief fleeting moment. An image flashed vividly in her mind. She envisioned a young man in his late teens. He wore a clean white apron over his dark clothes. He stood calmly behind the wooden counter. He carefully cleaned a large glass jar with a white cloth. Her tense facial features softened instantly at the domestic peaceful vision.
Jane stopped running near the wooden stairs. She noticed the sudden emotional shift in Rebecca's demeanor. She saw the soft wistful look appear clearly on her sister's face.
"Come on now," Jane prompted gently. "Your soft emotional side is really showing right now."
Jane stopped speaking. She realized that Rebecca seemed to be sulking quietly to herself. Jane knew her older sister far too well. She understood the deep profound loneliness hiding behind the tavern owner's tough exterior shell. Jane decided to push the issue just a little bit further.
"Fine," Jane announced loudly to the empty room. "I have a brilliant plan."
Rebecca opened her eyes and looked at Jane highly suspiciously.
"When that fogged suitor of yours finally comes back into this town," Jane declared. "Or if he even dares to show his face near this tavern again. I will personally arrange a romantic date. I will set him up directly with the fine and beautiful woman named Rebecca."
Rebecca blushed furiously. The deep red color spread all the way up to the tips of her small horns. She waved her hands frantically in the air to deny the claim.
"What in the world are you talking about," Rebecca shouted in absolute panic. "You absolutely cannot do that. It is completely inappropriate. I am significantly older than him."
Jane put her hands casually behind her back. She rocked back and forth on her heels. She smiled with pure mischievous sheer delight.
"If we do not wash the dirty dishes together tonight," Jane teased in a high musical voice. "Then I absolutely will not help you properly prepare for your big upcoming date."
Jane turned around quickly and began walking up the wooden stairs. She flashed one last malicious grin over her shoulder. Rebecca stood frozen completely in the middle of the tavern for three seconds. Then, she let out a loud shout of frustration and ran rapidly up the stairs toward her teasing sister.