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Over a Drink of Mead....... |
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((This shall make up for two posts!))
Aikaze stared at the space where Romere had been sitting. Could some of the men have really thought that? she wondered. Well....Romere would know. Being a guy and all. Time had gone by so fast for Aikaze, she had forgotten that she was no longer a flat 15 year-old. Her shape had filled out a little more since then, and some day she knew she'd become subject to the bachelor eye. Was that day here so soon? Things had become different without a mother to warn her about about the world. Pola was married, and didn't have any daughters to experience the worry Aikaze needed to hear, so Aikaze had simply forgotten that she was like fresh meat, so to speak.
That one thought paranoid her all day. She got antsy around all the men, even those she knew to be wed or too happy with the woman they snagged to want to bother with her. She was beginning to wish Romere had not said anything, even if he did mean well. She was being entirely too serious about this whole thing.....besides, if any man approached her, there would be at least three more around to defend her.....right? All through the day she fumbled about in a daze, accidentlyu knocking aside the odd passing person, ignoring comliments, and so eventually everyone let her be. Hpwever, she had gotten tired of wandering and went toward where she felt safest-her room at the inn. Granted, as it was in an inn, that might not have been the best thing to do, but she didn't plan on staying long in the tavern room that led to the stairway. When she entered, the good smells coming from the kitchen drew her to stay and sit in her normal seat. She was too late in realizing that the table was a two-seater, and the sendond chair was occupied.
"My my, what a presence graces my table! Can I buy you a drink?"
Aikaze let her guard down at the sight of the disarming smile. "Uh....sure, but I get drinks free......"
The man smiled and pinched a nearby barmaid to get her attention and order two mugs of mead. "I'll buy 'em anyway, for a pretty wonton like you."
Wonton...... There was one rule Aikaze's mother had taught her: beware of men that buy you whatever you might want. They only mean ill will when they have you on your good side. Unfortunatly for Aikaze, she did not remember this. Once the barmaid came back, the man gave Aikaze a grin, his eyes twinkling. She rose a weary eyesbrow. "What? have I something on my face?"
the man shook his head, and his eyes became more gentle. "No, I was just admiering your lovely face. You have a tanned complexion. Do you not spend time inside?"
Aikaze gave him a quizzical look. "Not indoors. i spend most of my time outside. What does it matter?"
"What does it matter indeed!" the man grinned again. "Drink your mead! It'd be a shame for something like that to go to waste."
Aikaze nodded and absent-mindedly too a sip of the warm drink. It tasted strangely bitter on her tongue, though the sweetness covered it up for the most part. What was that called....? Alchohol. Since Aikaze didn't indulge in such drinks, as she liked milk and water fine, it was an ailien taste to her, and not that pleasent either. Still, she didn't want to offend the man who had been as nice as to buy her drinks, so she sipped up more of it, clouding her good judgment unknowingly.
Two hours and one more pint-mug later, Aikaze was feeling strange. Her usually perfect vision was a little fuzzy around the corners. She kept aquinting her eyes to see clearly, but that didn't help much. She knw the man accross from her was talking, thus she nodded her head and hoped it went along with the conversation. eventually, she thought she'd gotten up, for the next minute found her wandering through a deserted district of the village. A large fire had burned it not too long ago, and none had gotten around to rebuilding it yet. She faguely heard fottsteps behind her, but her acute hearing was strangely impaired. The next thing she knew, she'd collapsed from sudden fatigue. Before she went unconscious, she felt a pair of hands hold her middle and pick her up.
Aikaze woke up again what she thought was some three hours later to a splitting headach and Romere patting her cheeks. He looked a little pale, and his voice swam in and out of focus. "......Aika....ze!....Ai...kaze!.....Aikaze! Wake up!"
Aikaze's vision and hearing came back her her as she blinked at the suddenly bright lights in the room that were little more than low-burning candles. She faintly wondered how she'd gotten into Pola's house, which she identifyed by the constant smell of baked goods. Romere, seeing that Aikaze was awake and attentive, lost the overly concerned look and started berating her. "You idiot!" he said softly, knowing her ears would be extra sensitive, as he too had been drunk once. "going into that inn and taking mead from a stranger, then getting yourself drunk anmd wandering a dark deserted area full of ill-reputed people, even after I warned you! Pola told me you were a wierd one, but not insain. You could have been raped, killed, then thrown in the tree fringes before anyone was the wiser! The perpetrator could have skipped town and never be caught. What have you to say for yourself?!"
All of Aikaze's memories up to passing out suddenly came back to her, and tears began to fill her eyes. She cryed into his chest with her arms bent in front of her. Romere had clearly never experienced a young woman include him in their crying session, so he was delayed in the reaction of holding her.
"Why did I let myt guard down?" she said, whispering in a chocked voice. "Why?"
Romere held her tighter and spoke quietly in her ear. "Calm down, lovely wind. It's over now, and nothing that can't be remedied happened. Don't fret yourself....."
Aikaze said nothing, but did calm down. If fact, she even fell asleep right there, leaving romere hanging onto and unconscious girl with a wet shirt. Pola cam einto the room then, hiding a smile as she beheld the pleading look on her brother's face.
"Please....take her quickly before I do something I might regret......" he croaked. Pola grinned slyly. "I think you can handle carrying her to the spare bedroom."
Romere frowned despisingly. "Some friend to her you are, leaving her to me."
Pola pointed down the hall. "Move your lazy caracass! And don't try anything!"
Her brother carefully picked up the limp Aikaze and carried her down the hall. Finding the door he wanted, he kicked it open with a booted fot and strode inside.
Hantei Naminco · Wed Jun 22, 2005 @ 09:04pm · 1 Comments |
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