Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Tides of Wine ❯ Elliott ( Chapter 9 )

Tides of Wine

~Elliott~

 

I was having fun. My hand was twined with a giant man's and we were having a fun little arm wrestling match. This was my fourth one, and so far my best competition. I had not lost one yet. I was winning all sorts of odd things just by betting my coins for their things. There were now many odd people crowded around our little table.

Bets were being thrown in wide circles, mostly in my favor. I beat the big guy without trying. That was where I faulted myself. I had thought that I was extremely weak for loss of my power, but I had yet to try to win. My strength just came naturally. "I'll bet two horses for all of your coins!" The next overconfident man cooed. I grinned brightly, flashing fangs at my competitor. He shied away for them, but not completely.

I was happy for it. I needed two good horses, or even two bad ones. I was not being picky. The man stuck his hand out. It was larg and muscular, but also repusively hairy. His fingernails were cracked and caked with old blood. I was starting to feel remorse for what I might to this man. Looking perplexed at his rugged face, I saw brown eyes full of old nightmares.

Knowing what I must do, I put my hand on his and braced my elbow against the wooden table. We were ready to begin, but an angry sound brought the world around us to a girl's attention. Amelia stood, glaring from a gap cleared in the circle of surrounding people. She was with an extremely good looking street girl.

"Elliott!" Amelia stomped over to me, and I guiltily snatched my hand out of the strangers. "What is it?" I said, innocently. I heard the people around us snicker.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, arms crossed and looking fierce.

I opened my mouth to speak. "I am getting the things we need to fufill our purpose, darling." Why did I call her darling? "I am doing my half of the work." I added.

She grimaced. "Oh yes. I can see that you are. Get these people to leave."

"No. I need only have this last scruff and then we can go." I tried to stay calm, but she was having none of it.

"Elliott." Amelia bit off. "Stop."

I glared at her and grabbed the big guy's hand again. "Keep at it." I growled. He stuttered at Amelia's angry glance. "But-"

I leaned forward, allowing him to see my eyes with slit pupils. "Go." I hissed. He jumped and was suddenly trying extremely hard to pull me completely sideways. It took me nearly a minute to get him down. Looking sad, he announced, "The horses are in the east stable. Mildee's."

I smiled kindly and slipped four gold coins onto the table. "I will take the horses, but that is yours."

His eyes widened. "But this is-!"

My expression silenced him. I had just given him enough money to acquire a small house. Even Amelia looked dazed. "That was..." She glanced at me.

I smiled, apologetically. "Yes, I know. Let us go now, please?"

She nodded, but I could tell that she was confused. "We can stay at Star's tonight." She told me. "She wants to talk to you anyway."

I guessed that the other girl was Star. I was amazed by her hair and golden eyes. She was not human. There was no way she could have been completely human. I held my head high as we left the crowds and followed Amelia and Star to a littered little street somewhere on the edge of town.

I barely hid my disgust as we skimmed around trash bins to get into the tiny little shack that this girl lived in. Amelia kept throwing worried glances at me, and I basked in their aftermath. I thought that I was developing some form of attraction to her.

Shivering with cold, I hurried them along. "Come on. You are slow." I would not admit that I was cold. It was still something of a new feeling for me.

We went into her home and I froze then nearly burst into a fit of laughter. Her "little" house was adorned with some of the finest things that I had ever seen. The Glass of Frnlee, stolen from my father three years ago, stood a gleaming wine glass in a wooden case on the wall to my right. A couch, covered in fine robes of silk sat on the opposite on to it. I could not help it. I laughed.

"You will keep your silence, eh stranger?" Star grinned at me. She was a thief. I loved that.

"My silence is yours, Star girl. I only ask where you got some of these wonderful things."

She giggled. It was very girlish and very stunning. "See that wine glass?" She pointed to my father's own most cherished item and I nodded. "Straight from House Lysanthy, right under Lysander's pretty nose."

I froze and caught the knowledge in her eyes. She knew. She knew who I was. Of course she did, I scolded. She stole something from our house. I had no doubt that she had probably seen me before as well. "Yes. That is interesting." I said, suddenly serious. I really hoped that Amelia did not see me then.

"Well, then, Elliott, have you a street name?" She leered at me. "One that might suit one such as yourself."

I frowned. I did not know what she meant. "Amelia?" I turned to her. "What does she mean?"

Amelia scowled at me and her friend. "We all have street names. Even the King does. I guess you will be needing one. Mine's Twinklet."

"Mine is Star." Star implied. "Street names are for those who don't want the world to know who they are so that they can get away with things or hide. Hey," she turned to Amelia with fire shining in her eyes, "We should call him the Night Child."

I watched as Amelia's grin went from horrible to disturbing. "Yes. He does fit the part, doesn't he?" She let her glittering eyes fall on me.

Night Child. I gulped. Was Star trying to give me away? What was Amelia's part in this? Why did she agree so easily. "Why that?" I asked, easily. My expression was completely masked.

"It just fits you." She lied.

"You should feel lucky." Star added. "You usually have to work your way up into a name like that. It took me many years to become Star. My first name was shimmer."

"Yes. I just graduated from Glint." Amelia scowled. "The Third Society are the lower class. They are the street people. What I am. We are assigned names in the underground. As we grow, the names improve into something more wholesome. The Night Society and The Day Society vary a bit, but for that we are chose also."

"I find all this hard to remember." I remarked. Crossing my arms, I also told them what I thought of it all. "It does seem like a foolish idea to have rulers if your people are working amongst themselves."

"Tell that to the Lysanthys, Elliott." Star cooed. "They have always had issues with the people."

"Starting with their lack of knowledge of them." I grumbled. It was true. I was feeling stupid for not knowing all of this. I wondered if my family knew at all what the world was up to. Probably not. I admitted it to myself. Mother did. There was no doubting that. I found myself wondering about those visions again and stared very hard at Amelia.

Visions usually meant something. "Excuse me, please." I said, leaving the cluttered little paradise behind. In the foul air outside, I sighed and leaned against the door. "Rains of the Light, Keepers of the Dark, Holders of the Four Swords of Fate, bring me my Mother's visions tonight and let me wake of late." I whispered the words and the air around me stirred in response. "Thank you, Goddess of Fear."

My head fell back against the wood and I groaned with the impact. I wanted to be myself again, but to get to that, I had to find out what it was my parents and the Gods wanted of me. And what they wanted of Amelia.

I did not want her to have anything to do with me. She did not deserve the weight of my twisted problems. I could not, however, go anywhere without her to lead me. So I was lost with myself for everything.

And the one person I needed to turn away was the only one I wanted by my side.

I hated fate.