The evening sun was barely visible over the city walls, throwing its very final rays down emptying streets. Residents of all ages began winding down and tucking in, finding refuge among their homes or the local establishments. Carts rolled by, carrying cargo and people alike. Were one to look up, the sky would be a sea of orange above the artificial streetlamps while cooling wind would blow spring air against one's skin. The air was lively, filled with the sounds of cheer, music, arguments, shouting and singing which resonated off vertical stone faces, forming a cacophony of urban life.

On one such street sat an unassuming bar, hardly noticeably amongst other watering holes which bookended it. Its name was once proudly displayed on a wooden sign hanging off a metal post which jutted perpendicular from the building. However, the sign and the bar it was attached to had existed long before any of the city’s residents had even walked this world, and its name faded away, the essence of it lost to time. Of course, this mattered little to the establishment’s clientele as there was a strong and steady stream of regulars who clogged its seats, tables, and counter on a nightly basis. People talked and ate quietly, laughing on occasion or throwing down coins or dice for a game.

 

Alexis blasted through the front as if shot from a cannon, nearly sending the wooden contraption into a patron who was trying to leave at the same time she entered. The man, bewildered, shouted something at the woman’s back as she moved at a rapid pace deeper into the building, but she paid him no mind. Upon noticing that she wore the standard light plate armor of a city guard, the man shut his mouth and decided it was best to be on his way. Another unfortunate soul who dared to be in her path was also knocked forward when her elbow bumped him, causing some of his filled drink to spill. This second man met the same fate as the first, at first attempting to show his displeasure but then gave up immediately after seeing the woman’s garbs. Attack one officer, and it will be paid back a dozen times over.

Upon reaching her destination, Alexis took out both of her arms and threw her fists upon the counter, eliciting reactions from those who surrounded her, namely the bartender. An old crone of an elf named Sonol, he had worked behind that counter before anyone he was serving that night could even walk, and knew each and every single of his regular’s names and lives by heart. His skin was pale and had more creases than any linen, with wispy white hair just barely clinging onto his scalp. He was more bones than muscle, but those who genuinely knew the man would say he only looks weak. Cleaning out a glass as Alexis approached, his beady black eyes came off the cup and came to rest upon the woman’s mud brown searchlights that sat above her sour mug.

“The usual. Go ahead and make it double,” she grumbled at him, hardly even affording the bartender a fully open mouth to allow her words to fall out of.

Sonol scoffed at her, “you’re joking, right? They may as well carry you out of here with just one of those things going down your gullet, and you want to double up? Get real.”

“I am real, you old hag. Now pour – I’ve had a long day and I’m not in the mood to chat.”

The two stared at each other for a while as Sonol allowed her time to reconsider, yet she did not budge or even blink. Sighing, the elf nodded his displeasure at her choice but started reaching for a bottle to pour her drinks, “you know your choices are only leading you towards one outcome, Lexie. I don’t need you ending up lifeless in some alley the morning after you graced my watering hole with your beautiful self.”

“I love you too, Sonny. Give em,” she tossed a handful of coins at him, clattering across the counter and into his hand. Sonol almost threw them back at her.

“Suit yourself. I just hope you have enough left in your pocket to pay the man who has to carry you home after this.”

“Too much worrying and not enough pouring," she barked, clanging her fingers three times across the counter.

Sonol said no more and turned downward to focus on filling both immense mugs until the liquid was right up to the rim. Too many times in the past had he learned Alexis would accept nothing less than every single ounce she paid for, so now a task simple as filling her ale requires astronomical precision.

Nearly yanking the twin mugs from his hands as he lightly pushed them towards her, Alexis spun slowly as to keep every drop in the containers she held. Trekking away from the counter, she witnessed her favorite corner booth was unoccupied as normal. It was filthy, given Sonol almost purposely left it unkempt for days on end in an effort to scare off other customers who dared sit there. Alexis was overjoyed at his decision, however – it allowed her maximum distance from other tables and patrons so she could wallow in utmost peace.

Taking her seat facing the bar’s interior, she could survey what most of the other patrons were doing at any given time without even needing to stand. As a capital guard she had learned that backstabbing was a very real threat that had taken more than one of her fellow soldiers – yet she refused to ever let it happen. Alexis could even see the entrance from her vantage point, should any troublemakers arrive. Sitting, both of her colossal dark drinks crashed onto the wooden table, and she swore under her breath when a single drop fell over the side.

Swallowing her words, she brought the first mug up to her lips to drown her speech. The sheer impact of the glass made her shudder. Each ounce flowing down her throat was coarse, rough, and even painful – Alexis may as well be chugging isopropyl alcohol. The ale Sonol had served her is a cheap alternative to other mainstream beverages, but far stronger. It would hardly even be considered bottom-shelf in terms of taste and quality but had more alcohol content than anything else the city had to offer. As far as Alexis could tell, she was the only patron that even bought the stuff, so as to why the old elf still keeps it in stock is a mystery. Perhaps he just has a soft spot for the guardswoman. Regardless, she drank down each gulp with practiced intent, her tastebuds killed off years ago by the same slop she sucks upon now. It crashed into her belly and the acids within complained how painful it was. She kept drinking.

"Gooooddss yes… that's it…" she groaned as her stomach bubbled. She rubbed her abdomen a bit, encouraging it along. Drinking this dangerous grog was a threat already, but the issue was compounded further as Alexis chugged it down on an empty belly in order to get tipsy quicker. When was the last time she had eaten something? Today? Yesterday even? She could not be paid to remember - she had been too busy to bother with a real meal. Yet, hunger was not the only annoyance she was facing tonight.

There was a heavy red scar that ran down the woman’s face, a gift some poor soul gave her in battle a decade prior. The young man, likely even younger than Alexis was at the time, was able to get a quick swipe on her when the guardswoman staggered. It was, however, lucky that she did trip right then – the blade went through her eyebrow and into her cheek, missing her eyeball by a hair’s breadth. In a rage the woman charged forward and stabbed the boy straight through the heart, sending him into the next world before he even hit the ground. She could have gotten the scar fixed at a healer at any point – but Alexis enjoyed the menacing appearance it gave her.

“That’s it… go away now, you little shit…” she cursed under her breath. The scar would heavily itch on occasion, as it did now. No matter – she was becoming more inebriated by the minute, and it was fading away as her stupor rolled in.

As the minutes rolled into an hour the fatigue in her digits, bones, and scar faded away as if siphoned straight out of her. But Alexis did not feel the alcohol at all, as if fully conditioned to downing unholy amounts of the chemical. This was, however, only true for her first drink. It was unheard of for her to order a second – surprising even her bartender. Bringing the second cup up as she lowered the first, Alexis could already tell she would either be sleeping in this chair until morning, or Sonol would have someone carry her home. The behavior was unfitting of a guard, and yet little was done to enforce or steer her away from her self-destructive tendencies. As they say, it is only a problem if someone discovers you.

Feeling an unusually large dollop clogging her throat, the guard leaned forward and slammed her drink upon the table, causing a loud crash that echoed through the bar. She sputtered, causing a flood of the toxic liquid to fall across the table like sprayed acid. Only one or two heads turned towards her before going back to what they were doing. Alexis continued to sputter as if a hair were on her tongue, sensing little drips of ale clinging to her fiery-hot mouth. The slop she consumed on a daily basis nearly made her oral cavity feel as if she chewed on peppers, but at the very least it also killed most of her ability to feel the pain. Finally, Alexis rang her head like a bell, disorienting her until she struggled to see.

 

Yet even as the effects of her drink truly took hold, something miraculous happened.

 

Clearing her vision for a moment, Alexis was struck when she saw movement in her bleary eyesight. A dark mass shuffled in from her left as it walked along the other booths on its way to her own. Even with her hazy vision, the shape stood out like a black-and-white cutout against a colored photograph. Reaching their apparent destination, the figure stopped for a moment as it considered its own actions, but then slid down until it occupied the seat Alexis was facing. It rested its back upon the wooden wall separating their newly-shared booth from the one adjacent.

The guard squinted her eyes to force herself through the alcohol-induced haze, placing extra mental facilities to fight through the fog clouding her mind. The figure came into focus, but their details were minimal. They were dense, almost orb-shaped in how they sat. They wore a dark brown cloak far too large for them, cascading down their body as if someone buried the individual in mud. Every so often a little pale chin was visible from under their hood, accentuated by the nearby candlelight.

The guardswoman was in obvious disbelief; her look of confusion was visible across the city. A lifetime passed, yet the intruder made no sound or movement, as if they had fallen asleep. Alexis looked past them and scanned her clearing vision across the bar. There was a row of booths on each end spanning from the entrance to the counter, as well as a quartet of low four-seater tables haphazardly thrown down the establishment’s middle. Even though she only looked around for a moment, Alexis could see at least two open booths and another table completely unoccupied. Whoever this person was could have easily sat by their lonesome, yet they were clearly on a mission to antagonize the guard. She curled her fingers a bit as this fact came into fruition.

 

Looking back to the hooded figure, she growled, “not in the mood today. Go find your own seat.”

 

Her voice was gruff and punctual, Alexis even taking some additional effort to grind her teeth together as if sharpening a sword on a whetstone. Despite her sheer intentions, the figure did not respond, making her fingers curl even more.

“You deaf? I said bug off. Table’s taken.”

The figure again did not respond, causing Alexis to huff and nod her displeasure.

Who the hell thinks they can share a table with me on a whim? Plenty of open seats for you to park your ass in. Can a woman not enjoy her drink in peace? Or are they just this dense? Stupid idiot can see my armor still snuggled around me. I could throw them in jail for the night just for disobeying my lawful command.

“You must be new around here if you don’t know what this suit means,” Alexis pounded her fist into her chest, a metal clang on each impact, “even if you don’t speak my language, you should get my point. Even if you’re deaf – you can clearly see me, given you found my booth so easily. Get moving. If you want to sleep in your own bed tonight, I suggest you leave me to my sorrows. Last time I ask nicely.”

 

 

Nothing happened for a few more moments as the guard waited for anything to happen. Just when she thought the individual truly was deaf, Alexis heard them sigh, “I... am new around here… and I know exactly what that suit means.”

 

 

The guard blinked a few times, blindsided by their answer entirely. Whatever plan she was preparing in her head was shattered to bits immediately. This was not the answer she was expecting – nor the one she should have received. Alexis nearly thought she had hallucinated the response, given how it almost knocked her to the floor. This was all due to the fact that not only did the individual admit to being a foreigner who sees no trouble in harassing a town guard, but the voice also carried the warm timbre of a young woman, rather than the harsh and beaten voice of a tried-and-true ruffian.

Despite her train of thought derailing for a moment, she put it back on tracks before the intruder thought her weak, “then you know of the power this outfit entails,” Alexis moved her hand down and gripped at her sheathed blade with one hand while the other still wrapped her mug, “and all the privileges bestowed upon those who wear it. I am asking you politely to find somewhere else to sit, young lady. But if you refuse to obey, I can find less polite ways of making you move. Beat it.”

 

The lady gulped, "but… does that outfit not also entail you are someone who helps people? I could be on the run from someone, and I need a woman like yourself to help me. Why would you send me away if I might be a person in need?"

"Because I'm off-duty," Alexis swatted the girl's argument straight out of the air, "and when I'm off-duty, the only help I care to offer people is directions. If you want anything more than that, find another guard. There’s plenty on the street for you to choose from. Now then, I'll give you one last chance to move your sorry ass before I move it for you. Make the right choice, girlie."

 

Her confidence defeated, the woman’s head dipped lower until it was almost parallel to the table they shared. Clearly, she was unwilling to vacate, despite Alexis’ warnings. Still, she shuffled under that flowing cloak she wore as if hiding something – or was immeasurable nervous. Contemplating her options, Alexis decided she was neither in the mood nor the state to arrest someone. Even calling for backup would be an effort she did not feel like making. Either way, her second drink was half empty, and Alexis planned on rectifying that situation before the night was over.

“Whatever. Just sit there and leave me be then,” Alexis raised her mug up to her face, feeling the room-temperature ink-black sludge impact her tongue again, but did not even taste it as it splashed down her esophagus.

Silence, aside from the loud gulping noises Alexis made, blanketed their booth for a few minutes before the intruder interrupted, "why are you drinking so much? It could hurt you."

Again, the guard almost thought she hallucinated the voice speaking to her in her depressed state, “good observation. It very well could hurt me,” Alexis’ face grew a little smirk as she took another swig in defiance.

“Why then?”

“What do you care? Town guard can’t enjoy a few drinks during her time off after a long ass shift?”

“It just seems a bit much… even from over here my nose hurts with all that alcohol wafting from you. You smell like a brewery.”

Alexis’ smirk grew larger, “that’s the idea; thank you so much for noticing. And if the smell irritates you, please park yourself elsewhere,” she threw her left arm out, swinging it across the bar in emphasis of the many empty seats. It wavered a bit as alcohol pounded through her veins.

“I’ll suffer through. Please tell me why.”

The guard laughed a bit, making her belly throb, “how about instead, you tell me why you care about my drink, girlie?”

In the dim lantern light Alexis could have sworn the woman’s chin lifted a bit, as if a tiny smile hatched on her face. The officer was perturbed that she seemed to have pleased the woman somewhat.

 

“I think you want to hurt yourself.”

 

The guard whistled appreciatively into the open air, making a few people glance at her, "give the girl a prize – she’s earned it.”

“I would like my prize to be your answer, miss," she answered without skipping a beat.

Alexis killed her appreciation and grimaced heavily, having walked herself into the trap this girl had set for her. She was pissed at the girl for using wordplay against her, yet she was even more pissed at herself for falling for it. Maybe it was the alcohol clouding her thinking. Still, sighed out, “goddamn it, you’re really not going to leave me alone until I tell you, huh?”

“Please,” the girl answered on the exhale.

The guardswoman again nodded her disapproval, but then decided she lost nothing by conversing. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she began, “the whole city's been on high alert for days now, and the palace has all guards working overtime. We may as well be in a state of war with how much they’re hyperfixating on this one little issue. Whole lot of horseshit if you ask me.”

The girl tilted her head a bit, “how is the city in an uproar? It seems all quiet and normal out there.”

It was now Alexis’ turn to smile again, “thank you, then – that means us guards are performing our duty to the letter. Palace wants us to keep this very hush hush for some reason. Were word of this to reach the masses, it would compound our situation massively. While the rest of the common folk are going around their daily lives without a care in the world, us worker bees have been oiling this machine of a city until it is damn near dripping.”

The girl tilted her head farther, “but what even is the issue? Why all the secrecy?”

Alexis smiled more fiercely, “the reason is none of your beeswax, girlie. Buzz buzz."

“Well… then everything you have told me seems like something you should keep to yourself. Why are you telling a stranger?”

The smile stretched across the guardswoman’s mug immediately faded away, “because the young lady won her prize. But like I said, it’s all horseshit, so I don't really care who knows. I barely care to follow them, but orders are orders, and I am following them the best I care to.”

The girl smiled a bit, “you sound quite capable in your work, miss.”

 

Without warning Alexis’ head leaned back into her shoulders, making way for the gutbusting laugh that roared up her throat. Those around the booth stared in her direction as the noise she emitted covered their conversations entirely. Even as a few tears sprinkled in her eyes, Alexis had to use her arms to hold herself upright. Had she been staring forward, Alexis would have seen the figure leaned her head up to look right at her. But the moment the guard’s head started coming down, the woman dropped her own head again.

“You think I’m ‘capable’? Hardly! I do just enough to get by. Just enough to keep my belly full of this shit and a roof over my head at night to sleep it all off. How I’ve not been fired these last few years is a miracle… or maybe I’m just lucky, who’s to say?”

The girl’s jaw throbbed a bit with uncertainty, “I… I don’t know…”

“Me neither. Does any of this answer your questions, or are you going to keep pestering me?”

“You… um… you told me why you’re drinking so much, but even with a long day… this seems excessive.”

Alexis scoffed, “is that a problem?”

“I… I think it…” the woman’s voice trailed off into silence.

“Catkin got your tongue? If you’re going to hog up my table and my time, the very smallest courtesy you can offer me is speaking loud enough for me to hear.”

The woman’s head fell further downward, almost becoming completely encased in her burgeoning cloak, “I’m sorry miss… this conversation… takes… a lot of…”

“Speak up!”

The woman shuddered a bit as if cold, “it takes a lot of… effort on my part to do this. I’m not good with… strangers. I’m sorry.”

Alexis set her lips in a line and nodded a bit. In the span of a few seconds, she reprocessed her entire conversation with the mysterious girl until something became clear. Her fingers curled around her cup to the tightest yet as she realized she had been duped again. She took a monstrous swig from her mug until it was finally empty, and she set it harshly down on the table to ensure she had the girl’s full attention.

 

“I see how it is now. Goddammit, you really had me going for a bit there, didn’t you? Hate to say it, but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Although she did not respond for a few moments, the woman dragged her head upwards until her chin and mouth were now visible to Alexis, “sorry? What do you mean?”

 

 

Alexis laughed briskly through her teeth, “you’re not fooling anyone, girlie. I know a prostitute when I see one.”

 

 

An audible gasp was heard, confirming the guard’s suspicions, “looks like I got it right. Why else would you give a shit about an old woman like me? Do you just see me as a walking coin purse to take home after a successful night? You care just enough about how shitty my day was to use it against me. You just want to butter me up, act like a friend who cares and then rob me after we share a bed. I’ll be honest though… your act is the best I’ve seen in a while.”

“N-no… that’s n-not true…” the woman flustered, red coming across what cheeks Alexis could see.

“No point hiding it now, girlie. You’ve been had. Gods, you were wasting your time from the start, anyway – I have no interest in other women. Were you a young man, I would be flattered for you noticing a has-been like me. Don’t fret too much; there is no shortage of lonely lads who would be happy to take you. I wish you a safe night.”

“Please w-wait… n-no, please I…”

Ignoring her, Alexis stood rapidly, knocking against the table until her empty mugs fell over. Although wobbling for a second, she found the strength in her legs and used them to march past the still-stammering girl and past the tables of the bar. More than once she collided with another patron, but she kept going until she burst out into the night-coated city, wandering home without a care in the world.

 

…

 

Hardly a day later, Sonol was busying himself behind his bar. A quartet of patrons was ordering an endless amount of drinks as they kept supplying him with an endless amount of coin. Scrolling his eyes across the bar, it was a bit more than half-full, with a few quiet conversations taking place at each table. The local gamblers remained as a pillar in one of the corner booths, playing cards and dice with anyone who met eyes with them. Two tables were drunk as skunks and smelled almost as bad as them. One final couple was enjoying dinner at the quietest corner of his watering hole. A smile went up one corner of his mouth at the idyllic quiet scene – controlled chaos, taped together by nothing more than alcohol and the desire to have a nice night.

 

He nodded appreciatively and turned his back to the room, crouching down to get a clean set of mugs. It was only then a loud crash echoed through his bar, immediately ending both his delight and the serenity of the situation. He knew full well who was approaching him from behind, given how they plowed through the front doors as if someone had shoved them through. With each loud metallic step, the individual neared ever closer to him until their hands clanged on his bar while he was filling someone’s drink. Sighing, the old elf spun around to the woman snarling down at him.

“Hello again, darling. Good to see you’re still standing.”

“Not for long,” Alexis answered, reaching to her waist as she fished around for coins.

“You know how much I am against giving you this gruel on a nightly basis?”

“And yet you still keep it in stock for little old me. You’re too kind, Sonny.”

He shook his head in disapproval as more gleaming coins found themselves gracing his counter, and he nearly pushed them back at her. “I could stop ordering the stuff at any time. It’s not as if the demand for that slime is difficult to keep up with.”

“You have someone demanding some of that slime right now,” she answered with a smirk.

“Who is to say that I…”

“You’re not refusing my coin now, are you? You would hurt my feelings if you did.”

“Lexie…”

“Don’t call me that. Gimme the goddamn drink.”

The elf knew there was no way to worm his way out of this. With one last exhale Sonol gave in and retrieved two statuesque mugs to fill with that black sludge Alexis somehow chugs down. Try as he might, the elf could manage maybe half a mug before he hits the floor, yet this guardswoman walked out of here last night on two of the damn things. Although she would admit it to no one, she hardly slept the night after - constantly waking up to vomiting and pissing like a racehorse would do that to someone. The bags under her eyes were evident enough.

“Love ya, baby,” the woman said, not even affording Sonol her gaze. Whether she was speaking to the elf or the alcohol she held was up to debate. He grumbled something back to her but she cared little. Drinks in hand she sloshed over to her unoccupied booth again, filthy as ever. If she were honest with herself, there was even another layer of dust coating the table tonight. The guardswoman smiled at her own little piece of serenity.

She groaned as she landed in the seat, Alexis feeling all the built-up exhaustion explode inside her at once, battering her down with enough force she should have been pounded into the wooden bench. Yet she steeled herself and remained upright and alert as the force which drove her back into this bar lay waiting for her upon the table, little bubbles and suds crowning the drink and just about falling off the side. Not wanting a single drop to go to waste, the guard picked up her left drink and let it caress her lips. Once the flow started, she leaned back further and further so the fluid would go down at a more rapid pace.

Sonol dragged his fingernails along the bar as he watched Alexis hurt herself with each ounce he had just served her. The old elf may as well have laced it with poison, a very, very slow-acting poison that would eventually take her life. Peeling his eyes off her, he scanned across the room again to enjoy what little peace and quiet the guardswoman had not interrupted. It was clear a warpath had been cut straight through everyone’s perfect evening. The gamblers had no patrons, the drunken tables groveled a bit as Alexis had bumped through them all, and even the peaceful couple in the corner looked a bit hurried to leave. Clearly unhappy with not only Alexis’ choices, but also his own, Sonol placed his attention back to those sitting at the bar.

 

All the while, Alexis had never stopped chugging her drink from the moment she sat down until now. At the rate it was traveling down her throat, some might think she was genuinely trying to drown herself. But, while she was still chugging it down to half-empty, the guardswoman suddenly shot her foot out, crashing on the bench opposite to her with a loud BANG! Bringing the mug back down to the table, she snarled a nasty look upon the cloaked woman standing nearby, startled when the guard launched her foot out without warning.

“You’re not sneaking up on me again, whore. Get out of here,” Alexis growled.

The woman did not respond, and her mound-of-mud cloak still slung off her in waves of fabric. It could have fit someone twice her size, yet she still seemed intent on wearing it in this spring heat. Alexis rubbed her teeth together as she bided her time, waiting for the woman to speak. Instead, she kept staring at the bench that was now half-occupied by the guard’s metal boot.

“You proved to me last night you’re not deaf, so I’m telling you to beat it.”

After a few moments, Alexis heard her gulp, “I… I don’t want to… I want… to…”

“I really don’t care what you want, girlie, but what I want is to drink in peace and quiet. Leave now, before I decide to throw you in a cell for the night, where you can think of your actions. You got off easy last night, I assure you.”

The cloaked woman shuffled under her garbs, as if taking her right arm to rub the left. She did not speak further, yet exhaled as if in defeat. She seemed to be preparing herself to vacate, making Alexis smile.

“That’s a good girl. Be on your way so that…”

 

Without warning the woman leaned down and placed her legs under the table with the underside of her thighs scraping across Alexis’ boot as it still occupied the seat. The woman moaned a bit as the hard metal shoe dented into her flesh, but forced it down as she came to rest inside the booth. After that, she sat down with her vision buried to the table as if ignoring everything Alexis had said to her.

 

Struck at her sudden movement, Alexis retraced her foot slowly and cautiously as to remain in a defensible position. At any moment there could be a knife thrown across the table and straight into her armored chest. Rage filled her eyes, making them expand in their sockets.

“So maybe you are deaf after all! How dare you defy my order, you insolent whore!”

“Please stop calling me…”

Alexis stood, leaning her weight on the table with both hands as she spun around to face the bar, “Sonny! You have a hawker over here, send some outside to find…”

“NO! W-wait, please! Let me…” Alexis found a pair of tiny pale hands grasping her tanned and weathered pair.

“Release me, harlot, I will not have…” the guard spun back around to face her, but then stopped.

 

Her neck stopped.

Her body stopped.

Her tongue stopped.

Her mind stopped.

Her heart stopped.

 

As the girl had suddenly leaned forward to grasp the guard's hands, the hood obscuring her head fell off. Nestled under that dark brown material was the most wonderful sight Alexis had ever dreamed of – let alone seen. Flawless, nearly shimmering skin shone through bits of dirt on the girl’s flesh. A pair of dim red lips, grown thick and plush by time, found themselves beneath a thin curved nose that was raised by the girl’s own terror. Massive, indescribably gorgeous red eyes seemed to cast light as if from a campfire, illuminating the entire room. If anything, the area around the girl darkened as if the world were highlighting her for Alexis’ eyes to feast upon the sight. Finally capping off the entire spectacle was long and strand-thin baby blue hair flinging from the girl’s scalp and down into her cloak in an apparent effort to hide its color.

Only in her childhood fantasies did Alexis ever think she would meet an angel. She never imagined it would someday happen.

The perfect beauty of a girl sat before Alexis, gripping her small fingers around her wrists as her eyes stared into the guard’s mud brown set, nearly pleading even though no words were exchanged. The two women could feel each other’s pulse at their contact, two hearts synchronizing their rhythm to pump in tandem. They may as well have shared the same body, mind, and spirit – and it was a feeling the guardswoman could not find it in herself to hate.

Alexis watched as the girl heaved heavily, inflating the robes she wore immensely as if filling a pair of balloons. Even from a few feet away she felt the girl’s hot breath on her face, nearly making her sweat on contact. Almost on cue, she began to breathe heavier in response to the girl’s own, stifling a gulp as she continued to fall deeper into those fiery searchlights. All that warmth across her soothed Alexis down past her skin, down past her heart – and into the depths of her soul. Nearly a minute went by in complete silence as both waited for the other to speak first, but neither agreed to break the impenetrable fog of wordlessness they found themselves captured in.

 

“Is there a problem, Lexie?” Sonol interrupted, sending a spear which popped the bubble the two occupied. He had come when Alexis began yelling about something but became intrigued when she was suddenly distracted. Neither of the women took their eyes off the other, but the elf scanned his eyes across them, checking that his favorite heavy-drinking guardswoman was not being harmed by this mysterious young woman. His face crushed in disbelief at her appearance.

That hair is… it cannot be real, right? he thought to himself, and… is that an ear poking out…?

“Do you need something from Alexis, miss?”

Slowly but surely the elf turned her head towards the inquiring man, and he nearly took a step back when her eyes released an incomparable heat that washed over him. Even as he watched, her eyes visibly seemed to change their intensity, and he felt that same anchoring pull that Alexis had succumbed to.

Gagging on her own words for a moment, the lady began to speak, “I… I was just… trying to…”

 

“She’s fine, Sonny… forgive my outburst,” the brown-haired guard called out loudly. Both elves looked over to her, the sitting one stunned, but the standing one set his lips in a line. He knew better than anyone when Alexis was lying – and it was in full force right now.

“So you called me over here for nothing, Lexie? Thought you said this woman was bothering you.”

She snarled, “it’s just a misunderstanding, you old hag. Leave us be.”

Sonol passed air through his lips, causing them to purse outwards. Through a smirk he commented, “so be it; don’t expect me to come to your rescue anymore tonight,” and with that we went away to his bar and other customers. Looking around, Alexis could see she had the attention of at least two other tables openly staring at her own booth, but they spun away as she met eyes with them.

She glanced back at the beauty sitting across from her, whose skin visibly crawled. Tearing her eyes off Alexis, she realized she was still gripping the guard’s wrists tightly as she could. She gasped and pulled them back rapidly until they disappeared under her protective cloak. The guard ground her teeth a bit as she landed harshly back in the seat, taking her hands up to rub her temples.

“S-sorry about…”

“Quiet, girlie,” Alexis shut her down. The other woman’s jaw snapped shut with a crunch. The guard took a hand up to rub across the scar running from her eyebrow and into her cheek. It itched heavily tonight.

 

An entire five minutes went by as Alexis was drowned by her own thoughts fighting a war in her head, filling her cranium with split blood as a dozen sides resisted each other. Conflicts that would put any world war to shame raged almost loud enough to be heard. The temple-rubbing became more feverous the longer it went on, but at the very least the alcohol in her veins depressed her enough to numb some of the excruciating pain filling her nervous system.

After a seeming eternity, Alexis decided she had tortured herself enough. She sighed with enough force to create ripples on her one still-full drink, pushing the liquids towards the other woman. Psyching herself up, the middle-aged woman raised her head and stared into the eyes of the younger woman, who had put her hood back on but still kept her face visible to the guard.

“I may have been a bit hasty with you, girlie.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I’ve never seen any street whore quite like you. There’s absolutely no reason you should be selling yourself down in these slums. You should be up in one of the city’s top brothels getting wealthy off sad and lonely men and women, not wasting your time with a middle-aged downer like myself.”

The blue-haired girl bit her lip before defending herself, “b-but I’m not a…”

 

“I know.”

 

The elf paused for a moment, “you… you do?”

“Of course. I never even suspected you to be a harlot at all. Everything I just said was a ruse. No girl as unbelievably gorgeous as yourself would ever stoop to finding customers in a place like this. Your clientele would have been kings and lords, not has-been guards like myself. Calling you a prostitute was just a method I was using to scare you off. Seeing as how you played your word games with me – I decided to return the favor. It worked wonderfully, did it not?”

She batted her thick eyelashes a few times before responding, “I suppose so…”

“You suppose correctly then. No one ever bothers me when I’m over here drowning myself each night, so when someone decided to butt in and ruin my perfect system I was woefully upset. You ever imagined what it would be like to have your life suddenly, forcefully, turned upside down?”

She bit her plush lip again, "m-more than you know…”

Alexis raised an eyebrow, but continued, “well, that is what you did to me, girlie. I was upset when someone tried coming in between me and my drink, so I snapped and lashed out at you. I will apologize for calling you those names. I did not mean it – I promise.”

“Thank y-you.”

“Why do you keep stumbling like that?”

“W-what?”

“See! You did it again! I’m not going to bite you, girlie. Stop being timid as a doe.”

Alexis watched as the girl’s flaming eyes fell some to study the wooden table they shared. The elf moved her arms together under the cloak so they could rub into each other – an obvious sign of discomfort. Her pale red lips mushed together for a bit, but she opened them to speak.

“Sorry… it’s just normal for me… I have… little confidence.”

“You could have had me fooled,” Alexis chuckled, making a tiny smile appear on the girl’s lips.

With the boost of confidence the guardswoman had gifted her with, she glanced back up at her, “so your name is Alexis? Or is it Lexie?”

She scoffed, “it’s Alexis. That old hag Sonol has been calling me Lexie for years, no matter how many times I tell him to stop that racket. My mother used to come here when I was a girl, and even though I was too young to drink Sonol still let me sit at the bar and he called me that,” she shook her head side to side as her grin grew, “I still miss those times. Being a kid was a million times better than being an adult. You should enjoy your youth while you have it.”

The girl blinked a few times, “thank you for the advice. You have a pretty name, Alexis.”

She tried to bury how her heart throbbed at the compliment and continued, “be careful there, it almost sounds like you’re trying to flirt with me.”

Alexis could have sworn the girl whimpered as her mouth clamped shut again, causing another laugh to fall out of her nose.

“Like I said, timid as a doe. Now that you know a little about me, do you care to leave me in peace? My drink still has a long way to go until it runs dry,” she lifted up her half-full mug and tilted it a bit, the dark liquid inside apparent to both.

The elf’s blue eyebrows furrowed, “but… I still want to talk to you, miss.”

“Why?”

Rolling her tongue across her lips, “I think there’s another reason you are hurting yourself in here each night… and it’s not just a long day at work. What is it?”

“It’s none of your business, that’s what it is,” Alexis snapped at her.

“I want to make it my business.”

“Why?”

“You ask that a lot.”

“It’s an honest question, and one that you’re still not answering to my liking, so I will ask again. Why?”

Her confidence plummeting, those fiery eyes came off Alexis again, wandering around the bar’s walls and ceiling in an apparent attempt to refrain from eye contact. Alexis watched them roll around as the girl tried to come up with something to say.

“For the past few days, I’ve been… watching you, to say, and I think that…”

“Wait… wait a minute,” Alexis interrupted in a raised voice, “you’ve been stalking me?”

The elf gasped as she realized what she had said, “n-no… well… not exactly…”

“Well, then what is exactly?

She gulped and brought her eyes back down to earth, but they still shook a bit as her confidence waned, “a few days ago I came in here to hi… to rest. I saw you wasting away in the corner here.”

“Sounds like about the first night the capitol’s been in an uproar.”

“I… I suppose… but then each night you kept coming back and ordering another of these disgusting glasses… how can you even drink it? It makes me lightheaded just by smelling it.”

“Practice, girlie, practice. I’ve been drinking this shit for years, but it still hasn’t killed me off yet.”

“So you decided to start ordering two?”

“So I did. It should speed the process along nicely, wouldn’t you say?”

“That seems ill-advised… I had to come over here and talk to you before you… k-killed… yourself with it.”

“What I do with my time is my business.”

“Not when you’re trying to hurt yourself like this. Please tell me why.”

“Again, not your business,” Alexis’ façade grew sour, “and while this conversation has been pleasant, my patience is wearing thin. I told Sonny there to bug off because your beauty caught me off-guard, is all. But it is not going to keep winning you favors, so please vacate immediately.”

The elf puffed herself up a bit as her confidence grew some, “I am unable to… fulfill that request, Alexis.”

The guard grimaced as her name tasted sweet rolling off the elven tongue, “why?”

“You’re asking that question again.”

“Because you still haven’t answered it, girlie!” Alexis slammed her fist into the table, yet the girl did not waver, “gods, can you be any more annoying?”

“If you want me to…” the girl’s face lit up with a warming smile.

“Absolutely not,” Alexis answered coldly, “enough jokes and enough talking. Leave me or keep sitting there, but speak no further until my drink is done.”

The elf opened her mouth to speak again but Alexis threw daggers with her eyes at her, freezing her tongue solid with ice.

“That’s a good girlie,” she said as the mug came up to kiss her lips, bathing her mouth in the wretched alcohol that was lightly laced with abhorrent flavor. Still seeing the girl’s bright eyes through the bottom of the mug, Alexis raised it higher until the drink was almost falling at terminal velocity down her throat. Were anyone else in the bar to try this it would have them bedridden when the hangover hit, but Alexis knew it would be nothing worse than a few hours of discomfort again.

With her first drink finished and resting upon the table, Alexis reached for her second, feeling the cold glass rest against the palm and back of her hand as she wrapped the handle around her claw. Lifting it off the table, she…

“Are you going to tell me why now?” the elf cut in.

“My drink is not done, girlie.”

“You just finished it.”

“I’m holding my full mug right now.”

“I think you should be done, Alexis. One of those foul things is too many for you.”

The guard’s brown eyebrow shot up, as if someone had just challenged her to a drinking competition, “oh? You speak from experience?”

The elf gulped, “n-no… sorry… that’s not what I meant… I don’t drink…”

 

If the blue-haired bombshell thought Alexis had laughed hard yesterday – today exceeded even her highest expectations.

 

Alexis laughed with the full force that her lungs would allow. The entire bar became unnaturally silent as the guard’s drunken antics began to appear. Her chest throbbed so fiercely her armor strained to remain attached. She even whooped with enough force to make the drunkards take notice. After a few moments her laughing became coughing as she wore down her tired throat, bringing her eyes back down to the girl.

“That’s a good one! Bullshit you don’t drink. I’ve never met anyone who can resist life’s truest pleasure that lies in wait at the bottom of a mug!”

The girl shook for a moment, her face reddening as if embarrassed, “w-well… you have now…” she tried to joke. Alexis laughed loudly again, almost manically so, but it was because of the elf’s reaction, not her words.

“Bahahaha! Stop that already! That frightful little guise you’re putting on is too funny! You’re going to make me choke!”

“It’s not a g-guise… I’m just trying to…”

Alexis clutched her sides as tears filled her eyes, “gods, you’re too cute! You’re going to kill me if you keep that shit up! Hey, wait, on second thought keep going! You might finally take me out with a laugh! Make sure they put that on my tombstone! ‘Alexis Sylvaini – town guard and local drunk killed by laughter!’ Gods, keep going! Keep going!” she laughed again while her head flailed around. Others in the bar kept staring at her as her face reddened with blood pumping her full of emotion. Sonol stared openly, as if the other elf were casting a spell on the woman.

“Alexis, please stop this! W-why are you trying to kill yourself? It’s t-terrible!”

The guard kept laughing until she was audible in the next building over. Had her hands not been clutching her belly, they would have been slamming on the wooden table.

“Please stop!”

“NEVER!” she called back, nearly shrieking at the girl in a high-pitched tone.

“T-there has to be some reason you’re do-doing this… what is it!?”

Alexis laughed even harder with her feet kicking against the bench.

“D-did someone hurt you?”

Alexis exhaled heavily, trying to force air back down her lungs as she giggled the oxygen out of them.

“Are you stressed out with your work?”

The guard cackled before her, booted feet crashing into the bench she sat upon until it rocked.

“Are you afraid of s-something?”

The elf could hardly be heard anymore as Alexis continued to hoot loud enough to be audible for a block around.

 

“Are you lonely, Alexis?”

 

A crack of thunder poured over the city as the guard stood with the speed of lightning and slammed both fists on the table, propelled with all her might and weight behind it. Alexis leaned over the blue-haired woman as if going to eat her. There was enough strength in her clenched jaw to snap the woman in half, for sure. The elf shrunk as far into the seat as she could and squashed her spine against it in an effort to become tiny as possible. The brown eyes of Alexis nearly shimmered with rage replacing the gut busting laughter she just killed only a moment ago. Each breath from her mouth carried the intensity and heat of a flaming backdraft, nearly searing the elf’s skin off her bones.

Finally, she reached out and grabbed the girl’s cloak, making her eyes and mouth grow enormous. Alexis dragged her up and out of the seat with anger fueling her strength. The two banged foreheads together until all of the guard’s vision was encapsulated by the elf’s fiery eyes, as her pupils were shrunk down into pinpoints. The guard’s fangs appeared as she opened her mouth.

 

 

“Don’t you fucking DARE ask me about that, you stupid little idiot. You have no goddamn right to know about my life!”

 

 

She released the woman, who slumped back down into her seat with an audible thud. Alexis watched through her reddening vision as the elf’s blood flushed into her face and tears fell from her eyes into that chattering mouth of hers. She squeaked pitifully, as if someone had driven a knife through her stomach. A few seconds later the elf slid out of the booth and began stumbling towards the exit with the fastest speed she could seemingly muster, but still walked as if she had lead weights tied around each ankle. Still leaned over the table, Alexis watched her go until the bar’s door closed behind her back. Those in the bar remained uncomfortably quiet, turning their eyes away from the woman who left to the woman who remained.

“Anyone else got a stupid shitty question?” the guard asked no one in particular. Eyes around the room slowly spun away from her and went back to what they were doing. Alexis sat back down with an audible crunch of wood and dragged the mug off her table and up to her lips. Having lost her perfect motor control, the drink spilled everywhere over her torso as she chugged as much down as it could, yet only half ended up in her stomach by the time she was done. She had to stop herself from throwing it as hard as she could.

Not even bothering to clean herself off, Alexis stood from the bench as she knocked both mugs onto their sides and proceeded towards the exit and out into the night, still dripping black liquid off her face as if blood from a fresh slaughter.

 

…

 

Another day passed, and the wrinkly old elf did not even notice Alexis had entered his bar once again until she was nearly on top of him. He was at the far end of the counter, servicing a customer with a jolly grin across his mug while the customer returned the friendly behavior. Sonol even knew something was wrong when the client’s face suddenly soured, becoming infinitely less approachable – and infinitely more irritable. As if someone were siphoning the joy out of him, Sonol sighed heavily as someone began rapping their fingers across the bar. From their pinkie out to their pointer, their digits moved in waves to annoy Sonol to no end.

In response, he lowered his head down into his shoulders in an attempt to ward the guardswoman off. Sonol started talking about whatever had just happened upon his mind at the moment – anything to get a conversation flowing between him and the client. The customer understood immediately and began speaking back to the elf, the two conversing rapidly but softly.

That rapping across the counter only grew.

Again Sonol shrunk down into his shoulders to block her out, yet it only made that incessant sound rattle between his brain and the skull surrounding it. He began to speak even more rapidly, to the point where the customer he was speaking to was having difficulty keeping up – so he instead nodded and mumbled soft agreements instead.

Alexis raised her intensity again with the rapping until she was damn near playing the counter like a piano. The elf knew if he didn’t give in soon, that noise she was making would keep him awake all night tonight. Sonol huffed so intensely it made the customer lean back, and he spun around to see the guardswoman staring sourly at him, her rapping finally coming to an end. Both could see the discontent on each other’s faces.

“Goddamnit Lexie, what do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy with another customer?”

“I want my damn drink, Sonny. I’m not asking again. You should be polite to paying customers.”

Sonol nodded in disbelief, “you should come in here with a good mood next time, and hell – maybe I’ll give your drink out for free, seeing as how loyal of a patron you are.”

“I don’t foresee that happening. Get over here, or I might finally take my business elsewhere.”

The elf began laughing, as much as he tried to stop that before it even began, "what the hell’s got you extra grouchy tonight, huh? Something itching that rotten brain of yours?”

Alexis dragged her fingernails into the bar in an effort to keep herself from jumping over it and dragging Sonol by his neck, “well, if you absolutely must know, between your annoying, ungrateful ass, Trinas working us all into a stupor, that pestering little elf, and my belly being empty of that life-sustaining substance you’re holding back from me… yeah, I would most certainly fucking say something is itching me.”

He could see Alexis was certainly not in the mood to be taking any prisoners tonight. Sonol leaned his back against the rack of drinks behind him, arms crossed over his chest. Endlessly, even leaving marks in it, the guard dragged her fingernails on the wooden counter as if carving a shape out of it. For over a minute both of them waited for the other to give more fuel for them to fight with, yet neither obliged. Finally, Sonol threw up his arms and shook his head at what he was about to do.

“Suit yourself, little Lexie; I won’t keep you all night,” and with that the elf reached down for a mug and a blackened bottle of that swill she craved so much. With one hand he slammed down the glass, and with the other he uncorked the alcohol with only the strength of one finger. Even Alexis raised an eyebrow at his proficiency. He filled her glass straight to the rim until a little poured off the sides, but he did not seem to acknowledge his own mistake and pushed the mug towards her. Alexis blinked down at it, unamused. With a squint of her eyes, she stared at Sonol again.

“You’re forgetting something.”

“I don’t think I am, Lexie.”

“This is only half of what I ordered.”

“You said your drink, not drinks – so you only ordered one. I did as you asked.”

“I want two of them, you wrinkled asshole.”

“I just ran out. That’s all I have left.”

“Bullshit. I can see you holding the bottle right there. There’s still plenty left in it.”

Sonol put the cork back on the bottle and slid it underneath the counter, sending tremors of rage down Alexis’ spine. Before she could react, he growled out, “no, you don’t. One drink is all I have for you. Be happy with that, or nothing at all.”

Alexis leaned back, her nose trembling with frustration as she looked straight into the elf’s grey eyes. She knew full well she would have to drag the second drink out of him by force if she wanted it that badly. Whatever was going through Sonol’s old mind was clearly clouding his judgment, or so she thought. Both of them also knew the clenched fist at Alexis’ waist would land her in jail or worse if she decided to use it incorrectly tonight.

Barely able to translate her rage down into words, Alexis snarled at him, “if that’s the game you’re playing, you old fuck, then I’m not paying for only half my order.”

Without skipping a beat he responded with a deadpan, “it’s on the house then. Happy birthday, Lexie.”

Alexis was absolutely over the moon, yet she knew the conversation was over. She nodded with displeasure and yanked the mug off the table, sending a bit of it splashing down across the counter. Someone sitting to her left grumbled as some of it stained his clothes. Without even looking down at it, Sonol grabbed a rag and started wiping it away while still staring straight into Alexis’ vision.

Still keeping her vision locked onto his for a moment more, she started walking away from the counter and towards her wooden throne of a bench. Turning her head to face it, her eyes bulged, and she stopped so suddenly that even more drink spilled from her mug and onto the floor. What the guardswoman saw turned her unfathomable rage into pure, unadulterated bloodlust. All those pent-up, murderous feelings creeped up her spine and into her head, but Alexis was at least able to translate it down into a comprehensible statement.

 

“Sonny, my table is dirty.”

 

“Is there a problem with that?” he responded while still focusing on cleaning his soiled bar.

“Come clean it.”

“You’ve never complained about it being dirty before. Hell, I thought you liked it that way.”

“It’s never been polluted quite like this.”

Even as the elf already knew exactly what the guardswoman meant, he made a show of turning slowly towards her direction. Alexis stared deeply into the alcove created by the two benches and table - yet occupying one bench was a young woman staring sourly back at the guard. Her fiery red eyes nearly scorched Alexis where she stood while her lips were white, evidenced by the force she used to hold them shut. Her tiny pale fingers tapped across each opposing forearm, signaling the young woman’s frustrated feelings. Genuinely, the blue-haired woman seemed even more annoyed than Alexis was – if such a thing were possible.

“I don’t see a problem, Lexie,” Sonol responded with more deadpan.

“Come clean it. I’m not asking again.”

“The table is spotless. Enjoy your drink and leave me to the other patrons.”

 

“I’m not going to enjoy shit with that thing clogging up my view,” Alexis snarled at him. They both watched the girl’s gaze falter as if she were upset with the guardswoman’s comment. The tapping of her fingers slowed to a crawl and her lips loosened.

 

The old elf huffed loudly as he slammed down his rag, “now look at what you've done; you've clearly hurt the poor girl's feelings. Go apologize right now, Alexis.”

Glancing over her shoulder at him, “what the fuck? You’re giving me orders now?”

“Goddamnit, you know what? I’ve had just about enough of your attitude tonight,” Sonol raised his voice some, making those around the bar who were not already staring in their direction glare openly, “if you want me to continue stocking that putrid shit you like to guzzle, you will follow my command, Lexie. Go and speak with that beautiful girl right now,” he pointed. Even such a mild gesture made the guardswoman think of the sword down at her waist. At first she nearly seemed ready to spin around and shove her blade through him, but Alexis’ sensibility won out, and she spun back to stare at the girl again. Maybe she would be the weapon’s victim, instead.

“Whatever,” Alexis finally relented and haphazardly stumbled towards the table, a bit more alcohol coming out with each step. By the time she finally sat down nearly half of the inky substance had disappeared, decreasing the free drink’s value substantially. Would she have looked down, Alexis would have noticed the table was indeed spotless as Sonol had said. Someone had cleaned it within the last hour, wiping it down until it shined – yet Alexis had now made someone’s work for naught when she spilled ale all over it.

 

Both guard and elf stared straight into the other woman's soul, as if trying to erase each other's existence with just a glare. It nearly worked.

 

“I’m starting to get fed up with you, girlie,” Alexis rasped at her with fangs on full display.

“That’s a shame. I was just getting used to you,” the elf responded with surprising confidence. But looking closely enough, Alexis could see it was a façade – her red eyes twitched upon close inspection, a sign she was feigning strength.

The guard nodded in disbelief she was even entertaining conversation with the girl, “why must you continue harassing me? Is this just a game to you? Do you get off to this?”

The elf smirked back at her, “There's no game at all; I will continue harassing you until you answer me.”

“I’ve already given you plenty of answers.”

“But not the one I’m looking for.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Yes, it is."

“Why?”

“You’re still asking that?”

“It still holds value.”

The elf grew a smug look, “so I see we are both full of questions for each other.”

“No, we most certainly are not.”

“Yes, we most certainly are. Why else would you keep asking me why if you were not curious as to what I might say?”

“Because you still haven’t answered.”

“So that means you’re curious as to how I might answer, right?”

Alexis leaned back harshly, her head slamming into the bench wall she was leaned up against. The action made the blue-haired woman smirk and lean back herself, pleased that she seemed to be winning this fallacy argument, if only inch by inch. But again, the guardswoman’s vision honed down into the girl’s red eyes, seeing them twitch slightly as if trying to bury her own fear. If this trend of losing word games to the elf continued, Alexis was beginning to consider how more physical acts would fare. That would only come about as a very last resort – and so she gave the gorgeous girl one last chance to use her words, not her fists.

“Alright you stupid elf, enough with these games of yours.”

She raised a blue eyebrow, “oh? You want to get serious now?”

 

“I’ll get serious when you drop that show you’re putting on.”

 

The elf opened her mouth to say something, but then hung there for a few moments as her train of thought derailed. Slowly, her mouth shut and her demeanor fell at terminal velocity. The intensity in her red eyes also fell dramatically, as if someone splashed water on the fires within them. She lowered her head and shoulders a bit as her confidence plummeted. It was now Alexis’ turn to be pleased that she forced the elf’s offensive lines back across the table.

“I can see I at least got that right. Why are you putting on such a fake guise of strength?”

Still with her eyes not focused on Alexis, she sighed and responded, “I’m just… trying my best to sound like I… know what I’m doing.”

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Her pale face scrunched, “I’m just… trying to get to know you.”

Of course, Alexis’ first reaction was to again ask “why?” yet she knew it would just give the elf more ammunition to ricochet back at her. These past few nights the elf had proven herself not only dense, but stubborn. Clearly, avoiding her questions forever would simply make the two endlessly ask questions about each other. The guard knew this better than the elf and decided that it was her duty to finally put an end to the cycle. With a burst of confidence from some unknown place, she cleared her throat and answered.

 

“That’s not how this works. You’re never going to get to know someone by pretending to be someone else. You’re just a timid little elf that is forcing herself into having a conversation with someone who would rather be left alone. Why are you sitting there, convinced that something is eating me up on the inside, when you should instead be asking that question of yourself. You’re full of your own demons, girlie - you have no right to sit there and question me about mine.”

 

The elf’s slump grew even larger as she closed her eyes and then squeezed them shut further, as if suddenly developing a migraine. Each and every word the officer had just spoken may as well be arrows piercing her through.

She sighed into her chest, “you are wise beyond measure, Alexis.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“You just proved how wise you are. I’m just telling you the truth.”

Alexis laughed once or twice, “the truth? Since when have we cared about the truth?”

 

For a moment there was nothing but silence from the elf, but then she just barely mumbled, “since we both stopped believing in it.”

 

“Stop that already,” the guard growled.

The elf leaned back up to her with questioning eyes, “stop what?”

“Stop filling yourself with such fake confidence. If you want to speak the truth – be truthful. Quit playing a character and start being the real you. Anyone could tell you are forcing yourself to talk to me by pretending to be someone you’re not.”

Her eyes fell again, “I’m sorry then.”

“That’s not going to cut it.”

“Then what will?”

“Stop being phony with me and start being honest for a start, stupid little elf.”

The girl squeezed her eyes further until they were almost crushed. Her teeth came out to bite her lower lip even as her face reddened, giving Alexis an amazing contrast of her tomato skin to her baby blue hair. Moments passed as the girl sat silently and nearly motionless, with only her nose twitching on occasion. Finally, she made a small whimpering noise followed by a snort from her nose. The elf’s little arm came up to wipe at her eye, and a line of hydration sticking to her pale fingers made Alexis pause. Embarrassment and guilt warmed her chest as something also grew in her throat. The anger that had built inside her was doused a bit, and she sighed heartily.

“Shit… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Alexis said softly.

The elf sniffled, “it’s fine… it happens a lot.”

“You’re too pitiful.”

“Sorry. I just… can’t stand arguing with people… it hurts me a lot…”

"Why?"

"I don't know… I’ve always been like this. It tears me apart to be upset with someone… even if they're being cruel… it hurts to fight back…"

Alexis huffed in displeasure, “that’s no way to live. People would constantly take advantage of a beautiful elf like you if they knew you wouldn't resist."

"I'm so sorry… that's just how I am."

Another wave of hydration fell down her red façade as she worked to clean out her tear ducts. After a few moments the elf seemed to have gotten her feelings back under control and brought her eyes back to Alexis’ mud-brown pair. They stared at each other for a few moments longer, but neither was sure what to make of this situation, or how to continue their conversation further. Alexis felt as if she had to try something, because as annoying as this girl was to her, she truly was beginning to grow a seed of curiosity about her.

“Are we going to answer each other’s questions now?” the guard asked sharply, her tongue dangerous as a razor.

She sniffled, “if… if you want.”

“It’s not about what I want, it’s about what we want. You’re not even making any sense by being concerned with what I want when you instigated this relationship.”

“I’m sorry, then.”

“Stop apologizing for everything.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, but then raised her lips slightly as if poking fun at herself. Alexis also uprighted her frown somewhat and nodded softly.

 

“I think we’ve wasted enough time with the bantering. If you really want to get to know me, I’m going to have to get to know you as well. This is a two-way street we are walking here.”

The blue-haired woman nodded in agreement.

“Are you going to be honest with me from now on, elf?”

Her smile grew again, and the girl even perked up a bit as her confidence came running back, “only if you’re going to be honest with me.”

“Smart girl. Let’s shake on it,” Alexis said, raising her arm out to the elf. The elf stared at the appendage aimed at her, and then raised her own to match it. Her small pale hand contrasted starkly to the guard’s tanned beaten skin, having thrown her fist against countless beings during her tenure of protection for this city. Both women raised and lowered each other’s hands in tandem as their contract was signed for the gods to witness. Then, both held onto each other for longer than they originally thought they would, as if enjoying the physical contact. Both also smiled a bit.

Alexis released the girl’s hand and asked bluntly, “who are you?”

“An elf,” was her immediate response.

“Oh, really? I couldn’t tell. Your hair kind of draws one’s eyes in the direction of your ears. But I mean to ask if you have a name, girlie. You already know mine, so…”

Her red lips went up as she said, “I’m Z…” but then she suddenly stopped herself. Her eyes twitched a bit as her mouth slowly shut. Alexis was visibly unhappy with the answer she was being given.

“Enough of that. You said you were going to be honest with me, remember?”

A visible gulp went down her pale throat, “y-yes… I just… don’t know if I can tell you yet.”

“Why’s that?”

“B-because… umm… it might… compromise me.”

 

“I’m not going to turn you in, girlie.”

 

The elf sighed, “I don’t know… it’s just that…” suddenly she stopped again, her eyes bulging enormously. A cold sweat rolled down her skin, obscuring the trails of tears that once streamed from her eyes. With a shuddering gear effect, her vision went back up to Alexis, who was visibly smirking now. Even with her stammering jaw and pounding heart, she asked, “w…what did you… s-say…?”

The guardswoman laughed loudly and heartily, “you already know what I mean, I see.”

Even though her eyes were scanning Alexis, the elf was only thinking about how fast she could escape the bar, “h-how… how did you know that…”

“That scalp of yours is a dead giveaway. The list of blue-haired babes in this city is incredibly short, I might say. No wonder you were wearing that cloak with that enormous target painted across your head. When they first told us about you, I thought they were joking.”

“W-who… told you about…?”

Alexis sat up in her chair a bit and cleared her throat heavily, even taking on a deepened voice for effect, “those of you charged with protecting our great nation’s capital, you are now tasked with a burden of the highest importance. There is a woman amongst our midst whose location must be found immediately. Her return is essential, and your duty is beyond clandestine. You will know who she is the moment you see her - she is a young elf with eyes red as fire and hair bluer than the sky above. She may try to hide, but we already have checkpoints on every exit to the city; she will not escape. Your duty is to find this young woman and return her to the palace, unharmed, at all costs. Everyone is expected to work as many hours as they can in your search, all while keeping this operation anonymous. That is all.”

For a moment the elf shuddered, “what is…?”

“That’s the speech that my captain gave out a few days ago. Summoned every single guard we had for it. We all rolled our eyes and groaned at how big of a deal they were making. A few of us even joked they hired a poet with how flowery his words were. Still, they were serious as could be. Palace will punish any slackers they catch… I just haven’t been caught yet. Overtime pay is killer, I should add,” Alexis laughed.

The elf only blinked a bit, “I guess… but I’m not going back to the palace willingly; you’ll have to drag me back.”

“Ah well… don’t worry then. No one’s dragging you because I’m not turning you in.”

Her face crushed in confusion, “but why? You could get in trouble.”

“Remember what I said the first night we met? I’m off-duty,” Alexis’ smirk grew to its largest yet, “and shit, you should have thought about this in advance before making the moves on a city guard. Consider yourself lucky you picked me specifically – if I were anyone else, they would have gladly thrown you back at the palace without question.”

The elf smiled a bit as her fear faded, “thank you, then.”

“Name,” Alexis interrupted, snapping her fingers in addition.

“W-what?”

“Stop stuttering, I’m not your enemy. I’m already doing you a favor by not turning you in, so return the favor to me by telling me your goddamn name already.”

 

“Oh… well, in that case, my name is Zenna. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexis.”

 

The entire room lit up as if a backdraft filled it. A heat washed over Alexis in a way she never felt before. The name was entrancing, as if a sorceress’ spell had been cast on the woman. Alexis saw it spelled out in her mind as if she was always meant to know it – as if she was always meant to know the girl to whom the name belonged. She let herself be swallowed whole by it, falling deep within the flames licking at her skin. The toes in her boots curled even as her heart skipped.

“Zenna. Such a lovely name.”

The elf blushed a bit, “thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Zenna,” Alexis answered. Her eyes scrolled across the room as she shook her head, “gods… why do I love saying that? Zenna,” she allowed the name to roll across her tongue, making her giggle a bit.

“I do suppose it’s unusual.”

“Why is that?”

“I come from a secluded elven village. A lot of people who live in that kind of community have odd names. To some people there, Alexis might be the odd name.”

“Zenna’s not odd, it’s lovely. Unlike Sonol over here,” Alexis turned her head and shoulder to peep at the elf behind the bar, who stared at her out of the corner of his eye.

 

“Sonol is a very nice man. You should be kinder to him; he cares a lot about you.”

 

Alexis scoffed, “yeah right, that old hag? He could hardly… w-wait, what?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

“I said he cares a lot about you. He told me he does.”

The guard leaned back in deep surprise, “w-what? When?”

“Tonight. Before you arrived, I talked to him for a while. You would not let me get to know you, so I had to go through him so I could learn a bit about you. Sonol says he knew your mother and you since you were a little girl, and despite how poorly you treat him – you’re still his favorite customer through all these years. Still, I think he would like you to be a bit more appreciative of how he looks out for you.”

For the first time since the two began conversing, the guardswoman was at a complete loss for words. There was nothing she could say to defend herself, as if trying to stop an avalanche that was advancing on her location. Instead, she shuddered for once as she kept scanning the elf’s eyes for a hint she was lying.

 

Zenna giggled and smiled a bit, “Happy birthday, Lexie,” she imitated Sonol’s voice.

 

The officer shivered in place as if someone had stripped her naked and thrown her into the street for everyone to see. What else did Zenna know? What else had happened without her knowledge? With barely a few sentences, the elf had chipped off entire chunks of Alexis’ armor. Now, she was the stuttering, timid one. Were she to not dig herself out of this hole, Zenna would only dig it deeper for her.

Finally, her mouth began to move again, “th-that’s private information! That old crone is like my psychiatrist, y-you can’t just go asking questions about his patients!”

 

Zenna leaned into her and answered without hesitation, “well, if that drink you’re still sitting on is any indication,” she nodded to the mug in Alexis’ hand, “he’s not your psychiatrist… he’s your pharmacist.”

 

Alexis stopped shuddering and became still as stone. Both Zenna and the guard stared at each other again, allowing the elf’s comment to hang in the air for a while until it coated the entire bar. Neither of them made a move, as if afraid to do so.

But then Alexis snorted.

Zenna snorted in the same fashion.

A smile grew in unison on both of their faces.

Both of their chests throbbed as they struggled to keep their emotions in check, but it was a position they could only hold for so long.

 

Then they both started laughing loud enough it drowned out all other noise in the bar, echoing off its wooden walls like the sound of music. The elf’s pale face flushed red as emotion flooded it while Alexis slammed her open palm across the table, causing her drink to shake. Every customer present stopped eating, drinking, and gambling as the pair caught all their attention like a flytrap. Even Sonol missed the mug he was pouring a drink into as Alexis laughing with genuine heart caught him off-guard.

 

“That’s a damn good one, girlie!” Alexis fought out between her chuckles. Even if it wasn’t the best joke in the world, the attempt itself was the humorous part.

“T-thank you!” Zenna responded through her own giggling. She wasn’t even attempting to be funny – yet their shared reaction made her joyful.

Both felt warm as if sitting alongside a fire as the humor filled them, even as they both knew they were the center of attention. After a few minutes, they slowly but surely worked down into silence, yet every little movement that one of them made seemed to cause the other to stifle another laugh as if under the effect of some drug. Alexis started to say something, but Zenna giggled, making the guard giggle in return. On the flipside, whenever the elf tried to speak, Alexis would jab in her direction, making the elf’s mouth lock up also. This trend went on for a few minutes as their faces burned with happiness.

“I guess with,” Alexis could not stop another laugh from coming up, “introductions out of the way, what do you want to talk about?”

Zenna giggled like a child, “anything you want, Lexie.”

“Don’t you start on that, too,” the guard answered with a playful wink.

 

A full two hours later the two were still talking and laughing the night away. Alexis would tell Zenna about things from her childhood and adulthood, about how she followed her father into the city watch and how she watched the ‘scum and villainy of the city become apparent when you look for it,’ a comment that elicited another giggle from the elf. Zenna would ask her about life in Underhill, how it is to be a citizen, how it is to live and work there, and so on. Alexis answered with all the truthfulness she could muster, about how the citizens care about and look out for one another. Zenna tried to point out that Sonol also seemed to want to look out for Alexis, but the guardswoman shut that down immediately. When she tried to pine about the elf’s past, Zenna would answer… but only in half-truths. Although the brown-haired woman could easily pick up on the elf’s lies and lack of completeness, she did not comment on them and allowed the woman to keep spinning her tales. The simple joy of having a friendly person talking to her was more than enough to fill her heart. It was something she had not allowed inside the organ in a long, long time.

 

Like a fulfilling meal shared with loved ones, both were filled with contempt by conversion alone.

 

The guardswoman worked herself down from a high and whooped a bit before speaking “gods, girl… I don’t remember the last time I’ve had time fly by like this… it feels so wonderful.”

Zenna blushed and smiled, “me too, Lexie. Talking to you like this is…”

Alexis made a clicking noise with her tongue and wagged a finger at the elf, “I told you to drop that nickname already. It’s followed me since childhood, and I would very much like it to disappear.”

Zenna laughed, “sorry about that.”

“I also told you to stop apologizing already. Is that elf brain too small to remember?”

“Sorry… oh…” both women laughed a bit more.

"Hmm… gods. Maybe I do want you to keep apologizing like that. You're so damn cute when you do. Seeing a woman lovely as yourself humble herself before a peon like me fills me to the brim with contempt."

"Oh, really?"

"Indeed. You could have a great power over people if you wanted to. Few would dare disobey a woman such as yourself."

 

For just a split second, Alexis caught Zenna’s eyes rolling off to the side while her mouth sounded out a great power over people. It was easy enough to see the elf hang onto those words, yet the guardswoman made no comment when her red eyes came back up to continue listening.

 

"It's just not fair, girlie," Alexis leaned in to study the elf closer, "you're so drop-dead gorgeous even without trying. No make-up, dirty face, and ill-fitting clothing… yet you're a goddess in mortal form. No one I’ve ever seen could ever compare."

Zenna looked away and blushed, “no… stop that. I don't like being compared to a goddess. I'm sure they're more beautiful than me."

"I doubt that, Zenny," Alexis responded, batting her eyelashes at the girl, "they're up somewhere right now having a fit of jealousy."

The elf shrunk her head down into her shoulders a bit, as if embarrassed of her own appearance, “do you really mean that?”

“Damn right I do,” the officer deepened her voice to drive home the point, “even if I were a quarter as exquisite as you are, any man in the world could be mine. Any chance you could share some of your looks with me?” she shot her eyebrow up.

The elf’s face reddened again and her head sunk even further between her shoulders, “I don’t think I can; you’re just going to be happy with how you look already. Please forgive me.”

 

“Damn,” Alexis sighed disappointedly, “there’s just no way… actually,” she leaned in close, “can I borrow your arm for a minute?” she nodded down to the girl’s cloak. Zenna’s eyes studied her for a moment, as if evaluating how dangerous the strange request might be. Without audible complaint she sent out her left arm, lying it down across the table with her palm facing up. Seeing how lithe but perfectly balanced the appendage was, capped off by her soft, unsullied palm and delicate fingers, Alexis cooed. She reached out and placed her own arm in a mirror image to Zenna’s own, so each woman had a bit of each other’s forearm to grab. The guard worked along the elf’s flesh, feeling how silky soft it was. Even the warmth in the girl’s arm caused Alexis to bite her lip. The blue-haired woman returned the favor, making each of them smile, although Zenna was visibly confused.

“So… what are we doing this for?” she asked.

Even as Alexis kept her vision on the elf’s arm, she commented, “I just had to make sure you were real, Zenny. Maybe you’re just some apparition Sonol and I are seeing. You’re not just some goddess come to visit me, right? Maybe even just an angel who wants to stop this old woman before she does something stupid? There’s just no way someone like you exists. I don’t believe you’re real at all, elf.”

Zenna caught on to the guard’s antics and tilted her head, “yes… I am real. Thank you for making sure.”

 

The officer sighed in relief that her theory was proven wrong, “even just holding onto each other like this… even though we just met… such a simple feeling of contact with someone… it’s more wonderful than I ever thought I could feel again,” Alexis batted her eyes at the elf.

 

"Be careful there, it almost sounds like you're trying to flirt with me,” Zenna stole Alexis’ line from earlier.

"I'm already humbled that a girl like yourself is even bothering talking to an old unattractive woman like me, so I may as well be a bit forward. Not much I have left to lose."

"Don't say that, Alexis. I think you're very pretty," Zenna answered with another tilt of her head.

The guard felt her heart soaring in the clouds, "wow… being called pretty by you is a compliment without compare…” her vision scrolled, “gods, dammit!" she unexpectedly snarled.

The elf blinked and leaned back a bit in surprise, “what? What is it?"

Alexis’ vision came back to the elf, “it's more than a compliment… it's an honor, Zenny. You honor me with your words."

Zenna’s eyes went wide as they would go and she gripped a bit more firmly into the guard’s forearm, “w-wow… thank you, Alexis… I don’t know what to say. And no one's ever given me a nickname before. It sounds nice."

“I am honored again. But as much as I hate to admit it,” her face saddened heavily as she scanned her eyes across the silent and empty bar, “it’s very late, and I need to get some sleep before I go to work tomorrow,” she nodded her head towards the bar’s front door. The elf gripped her forearm a bit tighter.

“Must you go so soon?” Zenna asked playfully.

“I must. That blue-haired elf isn’t going to find herself, after all,” she joked. Zenna giggled.

“But before you go…” the elf spoke softly and looked down at the table, “you still haven’t told me why you…” she motioned over to Alexis’ beer, which still had a third of alcohol left in it, “drink so much…”

Alexis set her lips in a line as she stared at the unfinished drink, but then perked up a smile when she glanced over to the elf, “you’ll have to butter me up a little better than that if you really want to know. Maybe tomorrow?” she asked hesitatingly. The elf smiled and answered with a positive nod, “then it’s settled. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

 

Alexis began to stand a bit while still keeping her vision locked into the elf’s. The two knew they were still gripping each other’s arm heavily, but the guard slowly dragged her hand across Zenna’s skin until their hands touched. For one single moment, her fingertips glided across the elf’s own delicate set, sending a spark through each of them. Although it only lasted the length of an eyeblink, it was permanently ingrained in both their memories. Alexis stood fully and began to meander away with a quiet, “good night, Zenny.”

“Good night, Alexis,” was the honey-sweet answer the elf gave. Zenna watched the guardswoman begrudgingly drag herself out of the bar until she was in the doorframe, peering back over her shoulder once more and smiling at the sitting elf. The two made eye contact once more before the officer disappeared into the dark street. Zenna, still focused on the door, sighed as her eyes took in the empty bar around her.

 

“Cannot tell you the last time I’ve seen Lexie that cheery. You must have cast some spell on her,” Sonol said, coming up unexpectedly on Zenna. The blue-haired woman gasped a bit as he surprised her, but still turned to face him.

“Sorry, I’m not a mage…” she said defeatedly.

Sonol chuckled, “I wasn’t being literal, young one. Yet you still got that hardened woman laughing like the child I used to know her as. You know how unimaginable that is for me to see? She was right to check if you were real or not… I’m still having a hard time believing you’re real, myself,” he sighed a bit, his grey eyes wandering up a bit from Zenna’s red searchlights and to the scalp he admired heavily, “actually… do you mind if I…?”

The elf caught his gaze and giggled with a nod. Sonol took out his hand and laid it softly on Zenna’s head, running his wrinkled digits through her soft hair like a loving father to his daughter. The beautiful girl under his palm reveled in the sensation, and unbeknownst to Sonol, it was a feeling she had seldom felt in her own life. In the same way Zenna and Alexis felt pained to not be in contact, the elven pair also felt disconnected when the old man took his hand off her.

“So you are real after all… even those beautiful locks of yours. It’s almost as if a fount of magic comes off you just from a simple touch,” he laughed, “so now that that’s aside, really, Zenna – what is your goal with my favorite patron?”

The sitting elf smirked, “guess you’ll have to wait and see, Sonny,” she mocked Alexis’ voice, making Sonol’s belly jump for a moment. After he finished, she asked of him, “what is your interest in that woman, anyway?”

“Just doing my duty, is all it is. Alexis is my responsibility after everyone else seems to have been chased off. I’ve always looked out for her since her…” he stopped himself, shaking his head side to side as his eyes came to rest on the floor.

 

“Since her what, Sonol?”

Sighing, he answered, “it’s not my place to say, young one. You’ll have to ask Alexis yourself. Now then, I am a bit curious about…” the old man stopped himself again when a loud rumbling sound coated the bar. Given that the pair were the only ones still present at this time of night, and Sonol had eaten recently – there was only one belly the noise could have originated from. Zenna shrunk in her seat a bit as a worried look crossed over her face.

“S-sorry… I didn’t mean to do that…”

Sonol laughed at the girl’s defeated tone, “a loud one, aren’t you? And Alexis was right, you need to stop apologizing for everything. But more importantly – if you’re hungry, you should have said something. You are in a bar after all… food and drink is what brings people in, anyway.”

Her head shrunk even more into her shoulders as she refused to meet his eyes, “I’m really sorry… I have no money for food… I’ll go,” she started to stand.

The old elf laughed again and put his hand on her shoulder to stop her, “a beautiful girl with a loving heart going hungry? Gods smite me if I let you leave on an empty stomach. Us elves have to look out for each other,” his vision scanned across the bar as he planned something for her, “now then, Zenna, if I were to ask you to help this old man clean up his bar in exchange for the young one to have a meal, would you agree?”

Zenna looked up to him, “you… you would do that for me?”

“But of course. At the very least I can tell you’re trying to become little Lexie’s friend, for whatever reason… the least I can do is feed you a bit for your efforts.”

Her head tilted even as she remained under his palm, “a-and… what do you mean I have a… loving heart?”

“Like I said, young one, you are trying to make a friend out of that cold guardswoman in just a few days, and any friend of Alexis is a friend of mine. I don’t know what you see in her, but I will be here to support your journey,” he tossed the rag at his waist to Zenna, “now get to work. The chef is going back to his kitchen.”

Zenna stared at the rag, and then up to the old elf as he went away.

 

She smiled with warmth in her chest.

 

…

The following night, Alexis did not keep her promise to Zenna about her secrets. The elf did not even bring it up as their conversations flowed like rivers through the night. Then the next night was the same. And the next.

 

 

Then, before either of them even realized it, two solid weeks went by in the blink of an eye.

 

 

The day after the two women finally grew to know each other, Alexis slammed through the bar doors the same way she had done for countless nights before. Sonol, habitually, snarled a bit as he turned to scowl the guardswoman. Instead, he was a bit surprised to see not a scowl facing back at him, but a smile as wide as the sky itself. Alexis’ eyes even sparkled a bit. She hurriedly asked for her drink yet did not wait around for the barkeep to fill it. she spun around and nearly skipped over to her favorite booth – where a certain beauty awaited her with her own huge smile and eyes. Sonol’s scowl rapidly faded as the two began conversing as if they had been inseparable friends for decades, rather than just days. He filled Alexis’ mug up most, but not all the way up – and yet the guard never noticed. By the time she left for the night, there were even some sips still left inside.

Over the next few days and conversations, Alexis would still order her drinks, but put less and less effort into it each time. As a test once, Sonol brought her a full mug of his highest-end ale and gave it to the guard as a sign of goodwill. Even as it tasted wonderful next to the sludge she had been drinking for years – she barely had time to drink even half of it, as her conversations with Zenna kept her mouth and mind constantly occupied.

 

A few days after that – Alexis Sylvaini had forgotten about her drink entirely. Sonol found himself strangely displeased that the blackened bottle was now collecting dust under his counter.

 

Now half a month into their friendship, the officer was nearly skipping into the bar now like a child into a candy store. Bypassing the counter entirely she would smack herself into the bench opposite of Zenna, who was essentially a permanent ornament of the seat by now. Both elf and human would hold hands for a bit as they stared into each other’s eyes, and Sonol could have sworn the guard’s eyes glowed nearly as brightly as Zenna’s. It filled his old heart until it grew a few sizes, seeing her joyful again. He remembered a time that in Alexis’ youthful innocence she was the brightest child he knew, always carrying a monolithic smile and a cheery attitude that was nearly contagious. Having her come in alongside her mother was an event he had always looked forward to as “Little Lexie” was always his favorite patron. But as the guard reached adulthood, and after a series of certain events, he watched as she slowly but surely dug herself deeper and deeper into a bottomless abyss of depression, dredging herself into the bar each night as if forcing herself to continue on with her life. It almost seemed as if that cheery little thing was nothing more than a distant memory.

 

That is why he, along with Alexis herself, was in complete disbelief at Zenna the elf.

 

The mysterious woman was apparently on a mission, and so far Sonol endlessly commended her on her efforts. Even after Alexis would leave for the night, the two elves had their own relationship the guard was nearly oblivious to. Zenna would help the old man by cleaning his bar, his dishes, glasses, tables and booths until they shined – and she would be rewarded with a meal of her choosing as a reward. As it was obvious the young woman was new to Underhill, and by all means unemployed – Sonol repeatedly offered to hire Zenna full-time as a waitress. The combination of her beauty, skillset, and charm would make her the perfect fit. He even worried people would start coming to his establishment for her rather than the bar itself. More than once she genuinely considered it, but then had to finally lay down she did not think it would last. Although he could only guess at what she meant, he did not burden her with further requests.

 

Looking over to them now, the two girls were sharing a heartwarming laugh, adding it on to the pile of dozens or hundreds they have created these past few weeks. That sweet little girl he once knew apparently had not been buried in her entirety. It simply took someone more amazing than he thought possibly to dig her back up. He smiled, watching their relationship fill the otherwise-empty bar with their laughter. Sonol honed in to catch the end of one of Alexis’ many tales.

 

“That’s,” Zenna paused to laugh again, “really good, Alexis. Did you ever find the man?”

“Find him?” she asked sarcastically, “the little shit tried the same stunt a week later! We were more than ready for him!” both women laughed as the story concluded.

“Hey, now… speaking of finding people, did you ever locate that one elf the king was looking for?”

Alexis shook her head side to side exaggeratedly, as if proud of failing at her task, “no… I have had quite terrible luck. All the other guards are nearly fed up with it as much as I am… which is saying something. I think Trinas is about to call the whole thing off… well, that is unless the queen keeps it going. I’ve never seen her so energetic about something. You should hear her rant and rave… you would nearly think she would start lining us up for the chopping block for not finding that elf.”

 

She looked up to the elf she spoke of, “it makes me wonder… what kind of amazing girl that elf must be to fluster the royal family so much.”

Zenna blushed, “she must be really something.”

 

“I bet she is,” Alexis answered. She huffed loudly and rocked her head side-to-side again. There was clearly something occupying her mind, given its weight forced her head down to the table. She rested her chin on her arms while her eyes focused on her hand, which was drawing circles on the table.

 

“Zenny…” she spoke softly, almost to a whisper, “can I say something silly?”

“What is it, officer?”

 

 

“These past few weeks have been… indescribable. There’s not even a word out there to explain how I feel. Never would I have thought myself to be able to feel so alive again. It almost feels like… just being with you makes me feel like a young, energetic woman again. Sometimes I even feel like that cheery little girl Sonol over there still wants me to be,” her eyes rolled up to the old elf, who smiled at her, “but above all… these little meetings with you remind me of my first dates with my husband… how he and I first really fell in love. Until now, there was never a time in my life I had ever felt better. Those were some of the best days of my life… and so are these. I can never thank you enough for the wonderful gift that is you.”

 

 

Alexis turned her eyes from Sonol and buried her vision into the table for a moment, laughing with such ferocity it rocked the furniture they sat at, “really… this all makes me feel as if I… she stopped herself as she rolled her eyes back up to the elf.

 

Before, Zenna’s eyes had been filled with passion and wonder.

 

But no longer.

 

Now, the elf’s red eyes were only filled with terror.

 

Alexis’ own eyes grew as she watched her friend begin to violently shake as if someone had a crossbow aimed at her heart. And their finger was edging closer and closer to the trigger with each passing moment. What little color was in Zenna’s face was flushed out of her, leaving behind a ghostly gleam.

 

“Z-Z-Z-Z-Zenna?” Alexis asked with deep concern, her mind having difficulty even finding her name. She leaned up a bit as the woman began to gag and heave heavily, as if choking.

“H-hey! Z-Zenna!” she called again as the elf’s face flushed bleach white. The guard nearly threw herself across the table, believing Zenna’s life was somehow about to end.

Now with a panicking tone, Alexis shouted her name with enough force to be heard out in the street. She shot out of her chair and leaned in close to the elf, grabbing her clammy little hands as if she were about to be torn away from her. Finally, mixed in with her clattering teeth, Zenna’s mouth began to form words.

 

 

“Y-y-you n-ev-ever men-mentioned y-y-ou were m-m-m-married, Alex-is-is…”

 

 

Alexis’s own eyes nearly exploded from the terror filling them, and her skin drained of color also. Whatever plans the elf seemed to have, the guardswoman seemed to have just crushed them entirely.

 

So before either of them had a heart attack, she had to clear up the confusion, “n-n-n-no! I’m not! I’m not married, Zenna! I-I used to be! I was just saying… saying that… a-as…”

Her vision fell, unable to make eye contact with the elf any longer. Zenna’s face fell in embarrassment over her reaction. Tears big as raindrops fell down her face, which was beginning to blush redder than a field of tomatoes. Their hands shook as they held them together. Both women nearly began sobbing as they tried to feel around each other’s emotions during their moment of silence.

 

Alexis had her thoughts… but she never thought Zenna felt about her that way.

 

Although she waited an eternity for the officer to take the lead, it was Zenna who finally broke the uncomfortable weight on their shoulders, “I’m… I’m so sorry, Alexis… I didn’t know… you never mentioned you were… married. I…” the guard shook her head heavily and took her hands away from the elf in a sign she should cease speaking. She used one of those hands to wipe the salty mess off her face before speaking.

 

“It’s fine… there’s no way you could have known. It’s not a pleasant point of conversation for me. He’s…” she bit her lip for a moment, “…we… divorced a long time ago.”

 

“O-oh… I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t be. It was the asshole’s decision, anyway,” Alexis rasped and coughed up more tears.

“Sorry to…”

“I told you to stop apologizing for everything, elf,” she growled angrily. She did not want to be frustrated with her friend, yet the old memories resurfacing were clouding her judgment, “you should have learned your lesson by now,” Alexis’ eyes came up to meet Zenna’s. Neither of them smiled. If anything, their conversation had taken a turn for the worse.

 

Alexis watched for minutes on end as the elf’s flaming eyes danced, sorting through endless amounts of thoughts. On occasion they would dart around, as if trying to find something else to talk about. But after a while it was clear that was not the case. She began to realize that Zenna was avoiding something, rather than looking for it.

“What is it?” she suddenly asked the elf, who perked up in surprise.

“What?”

“If there’s something you want to say, then say it. You won’t offend me,” Alexis said. Yet in the manner she said it, it was clear the officer could explode at any moment.

 

Still, Zenna obeyed and gagged out, “h-have I finally found… the reason why… you were… drinking… so much?”

 

For a moment, Alexis sat there still as stone. But then she defensively began to laugh as loud as she could manage. The stern gaze she was giving off before was completely buried under her chuckles as Zenna could peer straight down her throat, given how it had grown to accommodate her laughter. Finishing, the guard snorted another laugh and avoided her question, “that’s funny to think about… were drinking. You know I’ve had terrible headaches for the past week or so? Shows how much I’ve acclimated to that sludge Sonol carries. But none of that matters, now. Let’s…”

 

 

KRISSSSHHH

 

 

Without preamble Sonol slammed down the mug he had been cleaning, shattering straight across the counter and onto the floor. Both women snapped their necks in his direction as their heart rates dropped straight into the bowls of the underworld as he glared a menacing, almost diabolical gaze across them. They then watched as he literally lunged over the counter and stomped over to them, slamming both fists on the table. Zenna and Alexis quivered like a pair of children about to be consumed by a rabid direwolf, who bared his slimy, gory fangs at them.

 

 

“Lexie, I want you to know that the only reason I kept stocking up that sludge was to protect you. Had I stopped carrying it, you would have gone to another bar where they would serve you drinks until it killed you. At the very least, if you got hurt in my own bar, I would be there to care about you. You’re the daughter I never had, Lexie, and I love you as if you were my own.”

 

 

Alexis’ lips stammered up and down endlessly, closely resembling how Zenna often looked when she would be terrified of something. The amount of knowledge Sonol had dumped on her in just a few sentences scared her out of her mind, which was now flooded with too many thoughts to sort them out straight. A minute later, she gagged out, “you… y-you… what… w-why…?”

“Your mother made me promise that I would look after you, and so far – I’ve done a shitty, shitty, useless job at it. If she were here to see me, I would be ashamed for how poorly I’ve done to keep you from harm. The moment this woman came into my bar,” he gestured to Zenna, “I felt something about her. Even before you two started speaking, I could see her glaring at you across the bar, as if trying to dare herself to come and introduce herself. Seeing you two laugh and giggle like little girls not only made your life better, but it made my heart soar also. The gods have sent an angel to save you from yourself, Lexie – because I failed to do that myself.”

Officer Sylvaini had to choke down the vomit crawling its way up her throat, “n-no… that’s… my mom… she asked that… w-why… you’re… you’re ly…!”

 

“I’m not lying,” he shut her down before she could finish, “and I’m done listening to you lie to this sweet girl who clearly cares about you,” he leaned in closer and grabbed Alexis by a strap on her armor, “tell her the whole goddamn truth, or I will.”

 

He released Alexis, who slumped down in her seat heavily. Without another word he lumbered away with weighted steps until he was behind the counter again. Broom in hand he took to sweeping up the glass he had just broken and harshly tossed it in the waste bin. After completion, Sonol grabbed a random mug, not even bothering to check if it was already clean or not and began furiously scrubbing it.

 

But he was hardly even giving the mug in his arm any mind at all. His attention was squared completely on Alexis as he awaited her next move. If she chose poorly, it might be her last.

 

Completely humbled down by Sonol, Alexis sat there in complete silence, unable to make eye contact with anything besides her own lap. The last time she felt like this was when her mother was scolding her for acting out. The old elf may as well be her father telling her what for. Under the gaze of the two elves who awaited her to speak, she shivered as hot salty tears ran down her face. To hide from them, she took up her hands to hold her forehead upright.

Zenna stared at her, dumbstruck that Sonol even had such aggression within him. She gulped, fearful of what slumbered beneath his otherwise unassuming composure. For a while she watched the guardswoman rake her hair with her hands as the old elf’ gaze melted her confidence like snow under a magnifying glass. The silence was deafening, and Zenna could take no more as she pleaded for someone to speak.

“Alex…”

“Stop. Give me a minute,” the guard cut in. The scar on her face itched again, and she scratched it heavily.

“Can we just…”

“I said, give me a minute, you stupid elf,” she growled, pressing the tips of her fingers down into her hair. This time, Zenna obliged her until Alexis had her chance to wallow.

 

With an inhumanly large exhaling of air, Officer Sylvaini pushed her head out of her hands and laid it heavily against the seat behind her. Zenna’s fiery eyes each seemed to be begging her to speak.

 

“How much?” was everything Alexis gave her.

 

There was no need to question what the guard meant. Zenna knew exactly what to say.

 

“Everything.”

 

Alexis exhaled again, angry with herself for offering the elf a choice. But there was no going back now.

 

“Immediately after I came of age, I married a man named Samson. Don’t ask how we knew each other – it’s not important nor do I care to dredge up those memories. Our story was nothing original, yet to us it was beyond magical. He and I loved each other until no end. He took me on countless dates whenever we found time. While I was just a little budding seed in the guard academy, he was a well-renowned cobbler. Strange profession for him, but he was extremely talented at it. People respected him. I respected him more than most. Samson was wonderful. Caring. He loved me with every beat of his heart… and I felt the same way. As each night I spent with you is amazing without measure – it was the exact same with him. We completed each other like the sun and moon. I wanted to live the rest of my life with him… and our family.”

 

Alexis watched as a visible gulp fell down Zenna’s throat. A bead of sweat ran down her façade.

 

“You seem to already know where this is going,” she said, and the elf nodded in agreement. Alexis was thankful she was able to rush her story along.

“Then Sunborng came in. I remember how much everyone laughed at them. They were weak. Pitifully weak, even – like a house cat trying to pull down a lion. Why they bothered attacking us just for the hell of it is a mystery we will likely never solve. Jealousy? Stirring the pot? Baiting us? It’s not what matters now. Regardless, the capitol city became a ghost town as all the able-bodied soldiers were drafted into combat,” Alexis paused to laugh, “but it was unnecessary. Fuckers fell over like a house of cards.”

The guard’s hand came up and pointed at her face, “I know you’ve been eyeballing this scar the past few weeks. Some dumb shit kid gave me this on an otherwise forgettable battlefield.”

“I’m sorry that had to happen to you.”

Sylvaini smiled, a tad to sadistically for Zenna’s taste, “don’t be sorry – I stuck that little fucker like a pincushion right after. He was the first man I ever killed.”

The elf’s eyes expanded out towards the edges of her sockets, “y-you’ve… k-killed people?”

“Yes,” Alexis answered comfortably, “more than I can count on my two hands. I was a soldier and then a guard, after all. Comes with the territory. Bandits, thieves, even some drunkards who posed too much a threat to others. Not every story I’ve told you these past few weeks ends happily, girlie.”

The image of Alexis standing over the pile of people’s lives she had ended made Zenna’s skin crawl and her stomach churn, “I just… hate that so much… I've never even hit anybody. I could never end someone's life in a million years,” she sniffled, “still… I’m glad you are okay, Alexis. Did Samson go to war also?”

“Yeah, but he was in reserves while I was on the frontlines. As a cobbler, his expertise becomes doubly useful in war. Not even shoes… fixing people’s armor, sheathes, quivers, mage’s robes, saddles… there was no shortage of shit for him to do. I promise you he saw less action the whole war than I see today on a daily basis.”

“W-well… that’s good. He didn’t get hurt then?”

“No, he was fine. Me on the other hand…” her vision went skyward as battlefields came rushing back up her subconscious, “I saw shit that would make anyone puke their guts out or just want to fuck off to the edge of the world. There are stories I could tell you about myself that would make you disgusted even just thinking about me,” her eyes crushed a bit in self-loathing, “hell, I was even there right at the end when someone finally put a blade in that bastard king’s belly.”

“Marcus…”

At mention of the knight’s name Alexis laughed and brought her vision back down to Zenna, “what? How the hell do you know about old Throydill? I think I heard he just came back from some… mission or something. They even threw a welcome party for him… I neglected to go, though; he and I never really saw eye-to-eye. Still, I should probably go pay him a visit sometime. Anyway, that rat bastard was beyond greedy… he took the prize everyone wanted. I would have thrown the king’s crown above my fireplace if I were the one who got to him first. Sadly, he beat us all there.”

 

Alexis slammed her fist into the table suddenly, making Zenna lean back, “even sadder is Marcus got to him just one goddamn minute too late.”

 

Zenna crushed her face, readying herself for the story to repeat once again. Seeing her expression saddened the guardswoman, yet she pushed forward.

“I see you already know. After the war, everyone was ecstatic. The economy boomed and spirits flared… typical after a glorious victory. War tends to do that to a nation. Why shouldn’t we be happy? We won, right? Let’s get fucking tipsy and wasted. Let’s go out and let the world know how joyful we are. Party! Sing! Dance! Of course, this also meant everyone wanted something more… something celebratory even.”

 

With a tongue coated in poison Alexis slithered, “family. Family and goddamn children, Zenna.”

 

The elf’s face crushed even more as she held back her feelings like a dam over capacity, “that’s enough… you don’t have to continue if you…”

“No, you’re going to hear all of it. You asked for it, girlie,” Alexis shut her down with gusto, “Samson and I tried for months. Like depraved rabbits. We probably shook the damn building off its foundation. Two young adults, both veterans of a war and with their whole lives ahead of them? Newlyweds filled to the gunwales with joy and love… perfect time for a family, wouldn’t you say?”

“I…” the elf gagged with a tear leaking out.

“Of course it was. Looking back, sometimes I think that’s even what those fucking bastards over in Sunborng wanted. They knew their armies were pitiful and useless. On the battlefield they could never win. So what they hell can they do? The answer was obvious – play dirty. Hit below the belt. Sweep our legs out from under us. They allowed us to defeat them… then they took the opportunity to crush us completely in a way that is unimaginable. It does not matter how mighty a kingdom is if everyone in it is old and gray, just waiting for time to take them back into the soil.”

“Please stop…” her throat felt like sandpaper.

“You should have seen Samson during those first few months. He thought he was infertile. He kept going to bed early each night, as if trying to avoid me out of shame. Every time we made love he put less and less heart into it until he started just letting me do all the work. You might have even thought he fell asleep. He was the only son from his family and had a lot riding on his shoulders to continue his namesake. The fact I hadn’t bore him children yet was an enormous weight that he had to bear. I wanted to comfort him, tell him that it was not his fault… that the gods would bless us with beautiful children if we kept trying.”

“No more… please, I don’t want to hear it anymore…” Zenna’s eyelids began to spring leaks all over.

“But then he got ugly. One night he just snapped. Went ballistic and told me exactly what his real feelings were. He said it was me, my fucking fault I was not getting pregnant. Said I had to be broken on the inside… broken! Fucking broken! What the hell does that even mean!?” she screamed at the elf, her fists balled, “Samson started looking at me differently. He stopped saying he cared about me. He stopped acknowledging I was in the same room. Some nights he would not come home at all… then I would find he slept around or just drank the night away. Even our friends would barely hear from him. Some of them even seemed to turn against me, as if I were his fucking enemy.”

“Alexis… p-please stop…” her throat began sealing shut.

“Then he just stopped coming home entirely. No warning. No notice. Just nothing at all. Even his shop seemed abandoned. Samson may as well have never existed. A few weeks later I got a court notice that he had dissolved our marriage and left the country,” Alexis paused to wipe a tear from each eye, “just a young woman left divorced and all on her own. And that was it. I never saw him again. Samson was dead and gone to me,” she feigned a laugh, “funny… when I was divorced from him… I was about the same age you are now, Zenna. I’m jealous of your youth.”

The elf opened her eyes some, and Alexis was afforded a view of how bloodshot they were, “but it wasn’t even your…”

“Not even my fault? Yes. I know. We all found out maybe a year later that it was the entire goddamn kingdom… every woman lost the ability to carry a child. Sunborng had finally fucking won. They topped one of the world’s greatest superpowers by slowly but surely killing them from the inside. No children. No family. Marriages fell apart. People turned into animals and fucked everything that moved. Even I let myself be had by over a dozen men in those first few months. I was a borderline whore. I hated every goddamn moment of it, yet I didn’t give a shit, either.”

Her hands shot up to her skull and pressed hard, as if trying to smash into her brain, “those fucking monsters… what the hell gives them the right to take away our lives from us? Our world ground to a complete halt… nothing seemed to mean anything anymore,” she took her hands off her head and leaned into Zenna, “but do you know what it all meant? You know what they really did to us?”

 

 

Alexis reached out to grab both of Zenna’s small pale claws. Through her melting, sobbing face she rasped, “they killed Underhill’s love, Zenna. They stole our spirit.”

 

 

Unable to restrain herself any further, the elf sat up and reached her arms out, with Alexis following in a mirrored fashion until their bodies mashed together. The women embraced in a hug across the table, squeezing each other tight as their heads banged together. Mid-hug Alexis realized this was the closest the two had ever gotten, as she felt touching Zenna further than just holding hands would cross a line the elf was uncomfortable with. But that did not matter now as their sorrow wetted each other’s shoulders. Whenever they found a gap of air between them, they only squeezed tighter. Both women wanted nothing more to comfort and be comforted by each other, so they held together for minutes on end.

Breaking apart their bond, Alexis and Zenna met eyes as they continued their twin waterfalls out of them. A bit of the brown-haired woman’s tears ran down her scar as if it were a gutter. The guard wanted nothing more than to mash her lips against the girl’s, to just feel that real, genuine bit of contact once more, but she held back with all her might. The pair eventually relinquished contact and sat back down, but although they did their best to suppress it, they continued to feel drawn into each other’s embrace.

“I’m… I’m sorry you had to see me like that, Zenny. I’m not proud of my past. But now you know why I drink. Congratulations. You got it all out of me.”

Zenna shook her head, “you shouldn’t have to feel that way. None of that was your fault. He was a jerk for not sticking by your side.”

“Thank you, I really needed to hear that,” Alexis smiled a bit through her tears. Having all this weight come off her chest lifted her spirits some and she snorted, “but you know what the funniest part of that is? Months later when news broke about that stupid curse they put us under… I got a book-length letter from him. Page after page of him opening his heart up to me. You could bind it together and sell copies to win over just about any woman in the world. It was an apology, Zenna. He wanted me to accept him back.”

“And… did you?”

“Fuck no. I wrote back telling that sack of shit to drown himself in the deepest pit he could find.”

Zenna’s eyes widened in surprise, even as she wanted to laugh a bit, “o-oh, really?”

“Yes, really. That was the last letter I sent him, and he never replied as far as I know. Hell, maybe he did go find a cliff and went for a drop.”

“I hope not…”

“You would if you were me, Zenna. He took my heart and ripped it to ribbons. If someone ever does that to you, you’ll be bitter also.”

The elf shook her head vigorously, sending waves cascading down her blue strands, “n-no… I hate seeing people get hurt… I don’t care who they are…”

Alexis also shook her head a bit, but it was in disbelief more than anything, “the world doesn’t deserve a soul as pure as yours then. I should be humbled you even bother talking to a soul black as mine.”

“But that’s not true!” the elf stated back with a bit of force.

“Why?”

Zenna sighed, “that’s why I started watching you Alexis… or stalking you as you called it. You looked as if something or someone was hurting you and you wanted to drown the pain. It hurt me to see you suffering like that even though I did not know you. Watching you suck down ales until you stumbled out of here chipped away at my soul. I wanted to reach my hand out and save you… and, if at all possible, learn something myself.”

“Learn what, Zenna?”

 

 

Without hesitation she answered, “when I first saw you… you looked like a woman who knew exactly what love was, and how it felt to have that love ripped away from you. That would mean you know what it is better than anyone,” her face crushed as emotions ran up her throat, yet she forced it down and opened her eyes again, “watching you, I felt something stir inside me. Love. Such a small word for something so massive it scares me to death. It’s a word that has caused me so much pain I just can’t take anymore… and I think it’s all because I don’t know what love is. For me to move forward in my life, I need someone to teach me what love is, Alexis – and something told me that you would be my teacher.”

 

 

Although Alexis thought it to be impossible, she felt immeasurable heat infect every cell from her toes up into her scalp, down every single strand of hair and filling every nerve and vein until she was nearly radiating warmth. Nothing Samson, her mother, or anyone else in her life ever did for her made her feel as wanted, as special, as contempt, or loving as she did right now. Even Alexis’ mother was now fighting to remain number one in her heart. She had to stop breathing, else her expanded heart would be crushed by her lungs.

Her smile grew beyond her control, but she forced it to open in order to speak, “so that’s what this is all about, then. Your plan has worked beautifully, girlie. I am delighted without measure to teach you, my young apprentice.”

“Thank you, master,” answered the elf.

“I guess the secret is out now, “Alexis threw up her hands as the weight on her chest melted like ice. Before, she felt as if she were suffocating. Now, it was almost as if she had too much air to breathe.

“No more lies, Zenna. You’re exactly right - the reason I drank so much was to fill my belly with… well, anything that could fill it. For a while I guess you could say I even did blame myself for not being able to bear children… so it could have all stemmed from there. I could never put a baby in it… so I decided to use my stomach to slowly kill myself instead. And…” she looked over to Sonol as he continued to stare straight at her, “… I most certainly would have succeeded if it were not for the efforts of two pestering elves.”

“I am glad to be of service, Little Lexie,” Sonol answered with a grin.

“As am I,” Zenna added.

 

 

“I thank you both. Now Zenna,” she turned her attention back to the girl she sat across from and spoke clear as day, “what was it you wanted to tell me?”

 

 

The elf’s smile faded away like ice into a hot street on a summer day. Alexis watched as her brow furrowed in confusion while her mouth drooped open.

“I…”

“Nope. You know full well what I mean. I’ve laid out my entire life to you Zenna. You know everything there is to know about me. My life is now a book in your hands for you to flip through until you can recite it cover to cover by heart. I’ve been more honest with you in these past few minutes than I’ve been honest with myself in nearly a decade. That sludge was the only friend I had, and I let it abuse me for years until you came along. I could never be grateful enough to you Zenny, and I will never lie to you again. I expect that favor to be returned to me in full.”

Zenna's head shook side to side a bit, “I don’t know what you're…”

“If you finish that sentence,” she pointed straight between the elf’s red eyes, “you will hurt me because you are lying to me, Zenna. You know exactly what I mean. There is something that is just slamming around inside you, pleading to be let out. I could see it from the day we met until now. You sitting there and lying about it, trying to keep it in, it hurts a lot. I am begging you - please don’t hurt me. You’re already hurting yourself.”

Zenna wanted nothing more in the world than to finish claiming she had no idea what Alexis was on about, but both women knew full well the charade was over. Her red eyes fell again, affording the guard the full view of her blue head. Sonol stopped what he was doing and leaned against the counter, anxiously awaiting the elf to say something, but Alexis cut in.

“If you need more fuel, I’ve got a mountain of it. You’re a terrible liar, Zenna. I found that out the first day I met you, and you’ve been lying to me ever since. There are so many holes in your past it may as well be a goddamn fishing net. Whenever I ask you a question your eyes drift away and you start stuttering. Every time I would point out an inconsistency in your stories you just laughed it off. Even a blind man can see you're a foreigner to my country, yet you refuse to say why you’re here, and why you’re on the run from those who pay my bills. You made it seem like you had an uninteresting, boring, happy life up until you found yourself in Underhill. Stop playing games and be truthful to me. You can only love and be loved when you are honest with someone – that is your first lesson, my apprentice.”

Zenna’s neck cranked into an unnatural angle as her head fell further into her burgeoning cloak, obscuring her face entirely. She seemed to want to shrink away into thin air.

“Just lay it all out, Zenna. The pressure on your shoulders must be enormous. I already feel better now that you know the truth about me. Please come join me, I would be so happy to truly know the real Zenny, not the fake one,” she smiled at the girl.

 

 

A minute went by in complete silence, but Zenna answered, “your opinion of me will change.”

 

 

“Nope. Not at all. You will still be the wonderful girl I’ve gotten to know over this very table.”

“Yet you haven’t even heard what I have to say yet.”

“I will still love you the same regardless of what you tell me, Zenna.”

At mention of the word love again, the elf gasped, feeling as if a sackful of emotions were tossed at her. Or maybe a mountain of them. She wanted to throw it away… yet at the same time, found herself feeling warm again at its mention.

Without looking at Alexis she quietly asked, “you promise?”

“I promise, girlie,” she looked over to Sonol, “how about you?”

“You will still be the same Zenna we’ve come to know these past few weeks. Alexis is right – you need to be more honest with people. Keeping everything bottled up inside only hurts you more. You wouldn’t even believe how many people have opened their lives up to me at this counter,” her rapped his knuckles across the bar, “please don’t be afraid anymore.”

A moment later they both heard her utter a small, “thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Zenna. Now please start talking. We’ve both waited long enough.”

“Yes, certainly,” Sonol laughed, “I’m not getting any younger here.”

With a sigh, Zenna finally came up out of her chest and stared straight into the eyes of Alexis. There may as well be twin steel beams connecting their searchlights together. Neither blinked. Neither wavered. Neither looked away.

 

There was no need for setup or preamble; Zenna cut straight to the chase, “you know the curse Sunborng threw over your kingdom?”

Alexis raised an eyebrow, “yes? That's what I've been talking about…?”

 

 

“I was brought to Underhill because they think I can… break it.”

 

 

Alexis’ heart stopped for sure this time. There was no joking about it. Every inch of her went icy with the lack of circulation. She pounded her metal hand against her chest a few times to jumpstart the pump. A cold sweat covered every inch of her skin. The seat she sat upon became immeasurably uncomfortable. Even the armor she wore seemed to be made from paper. Nothing could have prepared Alexis for Zenna’s answer, and it nearly knocked her over as if a horse slammed into her front. The elf could see she was not taking her response well.

“I… uh… thought you said you weren’t a mage, Zenna?” Sonol inquired, rubbing his neck as discomfort filled him, also. He had fully prepared himself for these last few weeks for the beauty’s response – yet all of it was for naught. He was barely standing by this point.

“I’m not. I do not have any magical abilities,” she answered without looking away from Alexis.

“W-well… uh, u-uh…” Alexis came to a complete loss for words as her mind was unable to manufacture them in time, “you most certainly are beautiful then, Zenna… placing you in front of any man should get their sexual desires up high enough to break the curse on their own, r-right? Is that it?” she joked with a nervous laugh.

Gods… p-please say that’s it, Zenny…

Zenna did not even raise her lips to smile, “no… that’s not it.”

“W-what, then? How… h-how can you…?”

Even from a dozen feet away Sonol heard the other elf gulp. She was obviously wanting to psyche herself up for something, but whatever that something was… it was a mystery he was unsure he wanted to have solved.

 

That is… until Zenna slowly stood, placing her weight on the table as her legs wobbled under her cloak. Both people watching her could see she was forcing her limbs to move with all the might she could muster, as if trying to walk herself off a cliff. Using the strength in her thin arms she worked herself along the table until she spun to face the same direction as Alexis, placing her rear on the bench. Shrinking as far into the seat as possible, Zenna took her arms back under the cloak until they rested on her lap. She sighed loudly and looked up to Alexis’ eyes, each massive as a full moon on a cloudless night. It was only now the guardswoman realized her head was considerably lower than her own.

Alexis felt her vision grow even more massive as Zenna cranked her head away from Alexis and buried into her chest instead. For a minute she sat there motionless, although her pounding heart filled the entire bar. Something shuffled under her cloak for a few moments as if the elf were adjusting something. After she was done, a tiny pale hand, almost child-like in its size, came out of her cloak like a snake from its burrow. The officer stared at it, unsure what to do.

“G-give me your hand, Alexis.”

“O-okay…” she reached out, allowing the elf to support her palm.

Zenna sighed again, “you promise me you won’t think differently of me?”

“I promise with all my heart, Zenna. Gods smite my soul for eternity if I break my vow.”

The elf audibly gulped, but began bringing Alexis’ hand closer to her lap. She then took her own hand away as the guard’s was now resting in the dead center of her cloak. There it sat, unmoving and still as stone. Alexis waited for the shy elf to speak, yet received nothing.

“W-what am I doing, Zenna?”

“What do you f-feel, Alexis?”

“Your… um… your leg… this is your thigh, yeah?”

 

Zenna whimpered into her cloak, “just… just… s-s-squeeze.”

 

“Squeeze? You want me to squeeze your leg?”

She shuddered and her voice shattered to pieces, “just do it… please…”

 

 

“Okay… here, I’m sque…”

…

…

…

…

…

…

 

 

Sonol could have sworn he saw Alexis’ spirit leaving her body as she became stiller than stone. She stopped breathing. Her eyes stopped moving. Her hand froze solid as it dented into the unexpectedly spongy material that was between Zenna’s legs, while the tips of her fingers were digging into something resembling a fleshy mass. Every inch of her tanned skin lost its color until it was a pure snow white. The blue-haired elf rasped and shivered as if ashamed of something, but refused to speak. Whatever was going on, the fate of the universe seemingly depended on it as Sonol continued to watch in unflinching silence. It seemed that even breathing would ruin the ritual taking place before him, so he tried his best to ignore his burning lungs.

Over a minute later, Alexis finally exhaled a magma hot breath into the back of Zenna’s head, followed by another, and another until she became motionless again. The only color on her snowy skin was the beet red cheeks she had. Sweat was pouring down her body as if she were standing under a waterfall. She gagged as she forced language back up her esophagus and thoughts into her mind.

 

“Zenna…” she called in a voice sweeter than candy and lighter than air. It was hardly audible, and the elf did not turn to face her.

With her left hand occupied, Alexis brought up her right hand and scraped it across Zenna’s cloak, noticing it was fuller than she expected. The hand came to rest directly across the elf’s soft pale chin and began pulling her entire head into Alexis’ vision until they saw the white of each other’s eyes.

 

Alexis threw her face against Zenna’s before the elf could react, causing her to moan and create vibrations that filled the guard’s mouth, then the rest of her body and soul. Both women searched their partner’s eyes for meaning as their hearts synced in tandem.

 

It was not Zenna’s first kiss.

It was not Alexis’ first kiss.

Yet, it was most certainly the best kiss that either had ever experienced.

 

A minute went by as their lungs wept for air, and when they could take no more their faces separated even as saliva kept them connected. The room drained into a vacuum as their lungs took every molecule of oxygen in a mile radius.

“Alexis, I…” Zenna was shushed when a finger came across her lips.

“That’s enough, girlie. You don’t have to say anything more. I understand everything now.”

“Y-you… you do?”

“Yes. Stand up.”

“W-what?”

“Stop stuttering and start standing, girlie. That’s an order. Don’t make me say it again.”

Although rigid as a granite carving, Zenna found herself obeying the guard and began to slide away from the woman. Alexis did not release the object she held through the cloak until it was pulled from her grasp. Zenna shook lightly as she continued to stare straight into the mud pits on Alexis’ face. Still, neither woman blinked even as their eyes burned. Alexis began to raise herself from the seat and rose up to full height before the elf.

 

But as she did, the guard dropped her stern gaze and blinked furiously, with Zenna taking the opportunity to do the same. Her eyes began to twitch rapidly up and down the elf standing before her.

 

“O-oh… oh… I… uh…” Alexis started stammering.

“W-what? What is it?”

“This is the first time you and I have… been standing together…”

“Yes? A-and?”

“I… I thought you would be taller… I have a whole head and neck on you,” Alexis glanced down at the girl’s bulging clothes to ensure she was not on her knees, “you’re not a child, are you?”

“No, I’m an adult… but elves are shorter than humans, you know…”

“Sonol is an elf too, Zenny, yet he is my height. You’re just so tiny…”

“Sorry… I’ve been getting that a lot lately…”

A smirk rolled up the guardswoman’s face, “so are you half-dwarf then?”

Zenna’s brow furrowed heavily, “no, I’m all elf.”

Alexis’ smirk grew, “I wouldn’t be so sure… maybe your mom had a thing for little men who live underground, huh?”

“I’m just short! You don’t have to keep rubbing it in!” the little elf barked.

Alexis grew a grin and wrapped her hand around Zenna’s own, “it’s fine… actually, it makes you really damn cute. It makes me want to pick you up and carry you away."

Zenna’s snarl faded a bit as she blushed. "oh… well… I'm heavier than I look.”

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Alexis raised her eyebrow.

"N-no… sorry…" Zenna's vision fell to the larger hand wrapping her own.

“Ah well, we can talk about your dwarven dad another day. Come along," Alexis started walking, pulling Zenna along with her, “don’t let the place burn down without us, Sonny,” she called over her shoulder.

“You uh… you two have a nice night, I suppose…” Sonol called to their backs, bidding them adieu while still having only faint ideas about what Alexis felt under that cloak.

With her vision flailing between the guard and Sonol, Zenna asked, “Alexis, w-where are you taking me?”

 

 

Without even looking at her, Alexis responded, “home, Zenna. I’m taking you home.”

 

 

To be continued.