by JG Cully
Katy paled visibly, and not for herself.
“Oh.” she managed. “Great.”
“Alyssa's outside,” Katy went on. “in a corset.”
Gretna's frown changed from impatience to confusion.
“And?”
“Well, she'd rather you inspected it...before anyone else does.”
Gretna's frown remained but she nonetheless marched to the door and opened it, closely followed by Katy.
Outside, she found Alyssa, her eyes darting about like Katy's had before, with her grey cloak pulled tightly round her.
“You can stop doing that,” grunted the dwarf, her impatience increasing. “What's the matter?”
“Well,” began Alyssa. “I got a corset like you said. It's just...it's...”
“For the love of all Gods,” muttered Gretna, “just show me!”
Alyssa apprehensively opened her cloak and revealed what was underneath.
It took a long few seconds for Gretna to reply after simply staring at what Alyssa was wearing. It took a lot to surprise a dwarf, especially Gretna, but she was indeed surprised by the barely-legal spectacle before her. She looked from Alyssa's immensely embarrassed expression to Katy's wide eyes and then back to Alyssa.
Gretna sighed. “Grograg’s name, when I said corset.” She began, massaging her forehead with her thumb and index finger. “I did not mean one of those...things!”
“Please tell me you brought a change of clothes.” She said next, casting Alyssa a uniquely dwarfen exasperated look.
Alyssa quelled before the dwarf’s eyes, shaking her head slowly.
“Told you.” Said Katy with her head in her hand, having suggested a change of clothes earlier.
“Can I go home and change please?” Alyssa said pleadingly, taking Gretna's reaction as an excuse to wrap up again.
“Course not,” grunted the dwarf. “You're on the clock and I can't spare you. There's a militia retirement do tonight, a lot of hungry men going to be about the place!”
“Wouldn't that be even more of a reason for her to change?” Katy interjected. “After all, that corset...kind of puts a lot on display.”
Alyssa flushed and pulled her cloak tighter round her.
“We'll keep you in the kitchens,” Gretna said after a moment's thought, tapping her chin “make sure none of them see you.”
“In fact make damn sure they don't see you.” Gretna went on, suddenly looking particularly concerned. “They'll think I'm running a brothel otherwise!”
“Thanks,” Alyssa said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “that makes me feel so much better.”
Reluctantly they went inside, Alyssa still keeping her cloak wrapped round her.
“Right you lot,” bellowed Gretna at the girls in the kitchen. All work immediately ceased at her call, all eyes turning in her direction.
“Alyssa will be working in here for the night. For reasons that will shortly...” She cast a look back at Alyssa who was already starting to go red again. “...become apparent.”
Gretna nudged Alyssa and with much reluctance, Alyssa took off her cloak and hung it on the cloak hook.
There was at first a deathly silence, followed by collective gasps, stares and more than a few open mouths. Sarah promptly fainted.
“Alright, quit it the lot of you!” growled Gretna next, asserting her authority again. “Get back to work.”
Gretna started barking orders
“Katy you'll fill in for Alyssa on the tables.”
Katy nodded, almost finding herself saluting before thinking better of it.
“Alyssa, you'll take over at the vegetables from Sarah.”
“Ok.” said Alyssa, hugging her chest as she side stepped to the counter, over the unconscious body of Sarah.
“Carean, wake Sarah up and make sure she does the floor.”
Gretna shook her head, looking over at the unconscious form of the Elf.
“Hayley, make a note in the ledger. When staff are asked to wear corsets they shall be of the traditional undergarment style.”
She looked across at Alyssa and felt her eyebrows raising again.
“Lest we encourage the wrong type of customer.” she concluded.
* * * * *
“Awfully packed.”
Victoria didn't liked what she was seeing. What she saw, was a lot of militia round the front of the Elk’s Horn tavern looking like they were at a party of some kind, probably some lucky sod's retirement. She'd rather not be going into that lot and retrieving a crossbow from across a busy bar.
They had spent the remainder of the afternoon checking in with the Archives section of the Council of Peace in the Larrick City. Fortunately the department was in the same building as their office. Unfortunately, getting any information from Archives was difficult and time consuming. After waiting more than an hour to even see an archiver, they were told that the information they had requested would take at least a day to retrieve as it was highly classified. Anything to do with vampires was; they were logged as 'definite threat to peace'.
It was odd to have an entire race under that category, but history spoke volumes. Any references to vampires from the past few centuries had always been bad; Massacres, rampages, wars. True, such references had become less and less over the years as vampires were hunted down and killed off, until only Igor Regorash remained. The vampires had always worked from the same motive. One of pure, undeniable evil. When you look at it like that the classification was entirely justified.
The specific information Victoria had requested wasn't history though, but vampire abilities. Strength, skills, spells, anything unusual. Anything that could be categorised as super human.
The thing was, she didn't believe Alyssa was a vampire. She did however believe there was something about the girl that warranted further investigation. It was too...convenient to simply label her vampire. It wasn't the kind of thing you just accused someone of or you might end up making an idiot of yourself. The worst scenario was people believing you and then you could end up sending someone completely innocent to their death.
There were aspects that didn't fit.
The girl was far too shy and nervous. True, it could be an act, but if it was, it was a damn good one. Victoria was veteran enough to have a certain sense for liars and actors, (she'd met her fair share of them) and whilst she had her doubts about Alyssa, the girl just didn't fit the stereotype Victoria had in her head. She'd expected even a vampire in hiding to be somehow...tougher. More forthright, perhaps, more alien. Alyssa was none of these things. It just didn't seem right.
The plan had been to be forearmed with the best information about vampires they could lay their hands on, then start again and try and discover fresh suspects or leads. They were not to necessarily disregard Alyssa as a potential suspect. Just go looking for more.
Regardless of the plan, Archives had other ideas. Malak and Victoria had been told to come back to the Archives the next day for the information. It was a delay in her investigation, but you couldn't expect everyone to work at her rate. So, seeing as nothing else could be gained, they had travelled to the Elk's Horn again. Now they stood beside their coach, looking at the crowds around the building.
“We'll go round the back and get it through the kitchen.” Victoria suggested.
Malak's expression of expectation (at the return of his beloved crossbow) turned to concern.
“The kitchen?” he asked.
“Yes, the kitchen Malak.”
There was a pause.
“Where the food comes from.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know that woman. Just. The kitchen? The tavern’s kitchen?”
“What's the problem?”
“Well it's just,” he rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed oddly nervous.
What the hell's wrong with him now?
“It wouldn't be right me entering.”
Victoria raised her eyebrow in a confused manner.
“What do you mean? We'll go in, ask for th
e crossbow, job done. Heck they'll probably just hand it to us through the door.”
Plus there's no danger. It's not as if I'm going to inform Alyssa that I'm investigating her. That's if the girl's even here tonight.
Ignoring Malak's looks of disquiet, she led him round the back, looking for the kitchen entrance. She soon found it, a sturdy looking oakwood door set into the side of the tavern wall with a staff only sign hammered onto it above head height. There was a vision slit just below the sign. Malak continued to look uncomfortable.
“What's wrong with you?” she demanded. In certain situations, Victoria could be extremely patient, but she had very little patience for situation as frivolous as this.
“It's a Tornar thing.” he sheepishly admitted. “Men don't enter tavern kitchens, it's a respect thing.”
Or a sexist thing, Victoria didn't reply. You like to keep your women in the kitchen. She blatantly rolled her eyes.
“Fine, I'll get it for you.”
She knocked on the door
“But you owe me.” she added.
Presently the vision slit slid across, revealing a pair of green eyes. The background noise of a busy kitchen was immediately apparent. The eyes blinked with confusion.
“Sorry,” said a female elfin voice hesitantly, presumably belonging to the eyes, “the bar entrance is round the front.”
“Council of Peace,” said Victoria by way of explanation, having unhooked her belt clasp and was now holding it up for the eyes to see. “We were here last night and my colleague left his crossbow behind. We're here to collect it.”
The eyes blinked again, now looking unsure. “I don't know about that, I wasn't on last night. I could check with the boss. If you'd both like to wait inside?”
“Just me.” said Victoria, stepping forward as the door opened. “I'm afraid my colleague has an unnatural fear of kitchens.”
She didn't need to see Malak glaring at her back to know he was doing it.
Victoria stepped through the door into a very large kitchen. It was indeed busy. All around her meals were being prepared by a variety of young girls of various species and a single very large, very out of place orc. The same one who had served Malak and her the meal.
Victoria suppressed a shudder.
She hoped they didn't want to thank her again with another cow.
“I'll just find the boss.” said the tall, blonde-haired elf maiden who had opened the door before she darted off through one of the kitchen’s doors, presumably the one that led into the tavern itself. Victoria felt rather in the way, standing near the door as girls moved to and fro, busy with their work and hardly noticing her. She couldn't see Alyssa. Maybe the girl was off that night.
Quite suddenly, Victoria felt an oddness, a sudden bad feeling creeping up her spine. She frowned. She turned to find Alyssa just about to bump into her.
Fortunately the collision never happened as Victoria rather deftly grabbed the plate the girl was carrying, preventing it both from hitting her and its contents (chopped tomatoes) from spilling all over both of them.
“Woah,” she said to the startled girl. “Careful.”
“Oh, I'm so sorry...” Alyssa began.
The girl's eyes went wide.
“Oh.” she said, in surprised and very weak sounding voice. “Hello again.”
She looks rather nervous thought Victoria I wonder why?
Victoria then noticed what the girl was wearing.
“Ah!” she exclaimed.
Victoria suddenly found what was over Alyssa's right shoulder incredibly interesting. She was not herself fond of the same sex, but the girl was wearing some kind of outer-garment corset that was leaving little to the imagination, as well as a skirt that was at least one size too tight. It seemed only polite not to stare.
Maybe best Malak didn't enter after all.
“Well it's...nice to see you again miss...ah...”
“Alyssa.” said Alyssa, going red (an action, unbeknownst to Victoria, that she had been doing repeatedly throughout the night).
“Yes, Alyssa.”
The two of them stood, Victoria looking over Alyssa's shoulder, Alyssa blending in rather nicely with the tomatoes she was carrying and both of them still holding the tray. Around them the other serving girls seemed not to have noticed.
“Um,” said Alyssa presently after a few seconds, “sorry, but I need to pass these on.”
“Oh yeah, of course.” responded Victoria, her momentary shock abating as she let go of the tray.
“Sorry.” she said, apologising and managing to get an eyeful again.
“Sorry,” Alyssa replied, “slight clothing...problem.” she stammered, before hastily moving away.
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief once the girl was out of assumed earshot. It wasn't the bumping into her that had surprised her, more like what she was wearing.
Is that even legal? Her detective side asked but was quickly told not to ask such stupid questions and concentrate instead on trying to forget the scene as opposed to analysing it.
Victoria felt the unpleasant feeling from earlier leave her as well. At the same time as Alyssa was leaving...
Wait a minute.
She turned to see the girl hurrying into another part of the kitchen.
“Here's your crossbow,” came a voice and Victoria looked down to find the female dwarf from last night holding up Malak's K-12.
“Ah yes,” said Victoria. “Sorry about that.”
“No bother.” said the dwarf, one hand on her hip. “It's lucky none of the customers nicked it. Anything else?”
Victoria glanced around to where Alyssa was, now collecting fresh vegetables. She wanted to have a word, but given current circumstances wasn't sure how with so many people about. That and until she knew more about what a vampire could or could not do she was in no position to judge if the girl was anything other than human.
But there's something odd about you and I will find out what it is.
“Uh, hello?”
Victoria blinked, realising she had been staring off at Alyssa.
“Sorry. Many thanks.” she said, taking the crossbow then shouldering it.
“No problem.” said the dwarf, leading her out. “Make sure to tell your colleagues if they want good food, they come here!”
“Of course.” Victoria lied.
Though I'll maybe tell those I don't like.
The door closed behind Victoria, and Victoria started thinking again. She looked back at the door, eyes taking on a faraway look.
“You got it!” said Malak. “Thank the Gods.”
Victoria handed it to him as he approached, but her lack of response betrayed the fact that her mind was elsewhere.
“Uh oh.” he said, after checking the weapon and noticing her look. “You're doing that thinking thing again aren't you?”
She glanced at him and nodded.
“Walk with me.”
Malak fell in beside her as they headed back to the coach. He was well used to the procedure now.
“Met that Alyssa girl again,” she said.
“Oh?”
“Yes. Remember our meal?”
“Hard not to” groaned Malak.
“Well, I remember at one stage Alyssa came over and talked to us both. And I felt...something.”
“At the time I thought it was just me feeling ill from too much food.” Victoria continued, glancing left and right as she and Malak crossed the lane to the waiting coach.
“But I felt the same feeling just now when we talked.”
Malak nodded with understanding. “You know you're right, I felt something too. You saying it wasn't just you feeling ill?” He took her hand as she offered it to him, helping her up into the coach “it was her?”
“Exactly.” she said, pulling him up before leaning back into the coach. “So right now we can attribute two unnatural characteristics to that girl. Unnatural strength and an unusual aura.”
“Not a lot to go on.” he said in re
ply. “No real evidence. Not been in this game long but last time I checked, even Council of Peace needed some kind of proper 'ard evidence.”
“Yes. And we won't get that until tomorrow.”
She regarded the tavern again.
Unless...
“When do taverns close?” she asked Malak
“About two I reckon, that's the latest. Why?”
Victoria frowned, crossing her arms.
“I think it would be useful if we found out where this girl lives. I'm thinking maybe following her home might be an idea.”
Malak looked across at her. He shrugged.
“I've nothing better to do. Got one request though.”
“Name it.”
He smiled. “Let's go eat first.”
“At a different tavern.” he added hastily.
No argument there.
* * * * *
Chapter Seven:
Then Things Changed...
* * * * *
It was later on when Katy let Alyssa know that James had arrived. Gretna took a little persuading but eventually let Alyssa go and meet her boyfriend, a particular requirement being that Alyssa never wear the corset again. Ever. Alyssa was all too glad to adhere to that request.
Alyssa had very carefully wrapped her cloak round her. It was going to look odd in a crowded tavern and she hoped no one would notice her lack of sweat, but it was necessary unless she wished to attracted unwanted attention from the militia retirement party.
She slipped out of the kitchen and soon found James in a corner by one of the smaller tables. He smiled warmly up at her as she sat, though his expression turned to confusion when he noticed she still had her cloak on.
“I've a slight...clothing problem.” she said by way of explanation, flicking her hair back nervously and hoping he wouldn't ask for more details.
“Ok” he smiled again. Understanding as always.
“How are you?” she asked.
Again, they talked. For a good forty five minutes, which was longer than she should have had but Gretna didn't seem to mind (for a change). Despite being in a busy tavern, they were not disturbed by anything around them.
