Description: Seregil and Alec embark on a typical mission with a few very atypical details
They walked quickly huddled in their rich, luxuriant capes that offered little protection against the biting wind. Lord Seregil and his ward Sir Alec were merely out for a night on the town at the street of lights, but the Rhimee Cat had other business. They hurriedly passed a certain brothel, furtively glancing inside. The model ship on the mantle faced north. Seregil smiled; the Rhimee Cat had work to do.
Seregil burst into the place with a flourish, all warm handshakes and friendly grins. Every unoccupied courtesan flocked to him like a moth; Seregil was every bit the blinding light that drew them. Alec slipped silently in the front door a few moments afterwards, carefully removing the folded paper from behind the model ship's sail and dropping it in his pocket. He glanced up at his talimenios standing tall and proud, his long dark hair sweeping this way and that as he turned to greet a beautiful woman. Alec sighed longingly, jealously quickly rising like bile in his throat. He slipped out the way he came.
He read the paper in the waning light as the sun began to set, turning the sky to rust over the ocean. Lady Vara í Pilan, a wealthy woman of impeccable reputation, apparently had a stain on her flawless record; she had a lover. Not only did she have a lover, but the object of her affections was her merchant husband Gil í Pilan's hated rival, Warren í Mura. One of her carefully guarded love letters had turned up missing and the Rhimee Cat was requested to recover it for her before it damaged her precious reputation. Alec rubbed his chin thoughtfully. There were a few contacts that they could dig up down by the docks. There was one in particular he had in mind: an old beggar by the name of Wul that specialized in the trafficking of black market items that were of the more auricular variety.
Alec felt long, nimble fingers whisper lightly over the back of neck and a shiver ran down his back and spread to his center. After he had taken a few minutes to recover, he turned to face Seregil who was leaning languidly on the light post, the first stars just visible behind him. Seregil grinned at him, knowing quite well how he had affected his lover.
"That was quick," Alec said sourly, motioning to the brothel. Seregil's face dropped a little.
"No, tali. That was far too long if you think I had enough time to lie with one of them and be out here with my clothes and wits in place."
Alec glanced shyly at the brothel again, "Well…that is what the place is for…"
Seregil turned Alec's face to him with gentle fingers, "Not for me. Not anymore. I couldn't lie with another after I'd known you." He kissed Alec lightly.
"I know, tali. It's just that…I thought …for the sake of appearances…"
"Appearances be damned. Besides, there are a few in there that I can trust to not ask questions. So I paid and I left." They kissed again briefly.
"Come on, Alec." Seregil turned to walk down the street. "Let's hear what kind of job the Cat's got."
X~X~X~X
Several hours later, Lord Seregil and Sir Alec made an appearance at a gambling house on the docks by the name of the Shark. It was an infamous place for gossip and loose lips among nobility. It was crowded, smoky and the gaudy décor hurt the eyes. Seregil signed to Alec that it was time to leave; they would find nothing more here tonight. They said their farewells to several very drunk members of high society.
"Well, that was fairly worthless, wasn't it?" Alec whispered to Seregil as he drew close enough to help him into his cloak. Seregil smirked. Alec's eyes brightened; Seregil had found something after all. They mounted Patch and Windrunner and rode into the sharp winds.
" Our good Lord Gil í Pilan is expecting some sort of illegally obtained information. Perhaps our Lady's husband is not so oblivious as we thought."
Alec slapped his companion's back affectionately as they rode briskly down the street. Seregil was the best; that was certain. They passed the grand ships docked in the Rhimee harbor and approached the poor, wretched part of the harbor. The wind came off the sea to bite into their clothing. Alec glanced around him, more wary and alert than usual. This was not a pleasant place for two nobles to be. A scream tore through the air. Seregil quickly dismounted and scanned the area as they approached a crumbling building that was not much more that three walls and a roof. The two peaked around a corner to see the bulky shape of a man hit a woman. She went flying and landed in a crumpled heap. He walked drunkenly over to the woman and spit on her.
"Whore." He slurred the word, making it seem even more obscene. The woman lunged at him, scratching at his face and eyes.
"I'll never lay with you, you wretched son of a bitch!" He howled as she gouged his eyes. He hit her again and flung her away from him like her touch burned. Again, she crumpled to the ground. He stumbled inside the hut and reemerged with a shovel and a bottle of whiskey. He took a drink and threw it. The bottle shattered with a crash! and he swung the shovel over his head above the woman lying face down in the street.
"You there! Man! Halt!" Seregil called in an imperious tone, sure to freeze any sane peasant. But this man was not sane; he was murderously drunk. He continued the deadly arch of the shovel, down on the stirring woman. Seregil held his breath and waited for the final slash. He almost didn't have to register that the form leaping toward the man was his talí. Alec tackled the man, falling to the ground. He easily wrestled the shovel out of the drunken man's grip and knock him out. Seregil bounded over to his fallen lover.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Seregil bellowed.
"The girl." Alec panted, waving Seregil's concern away. Alec turned to where she had fallen she was now looking right at them, eyes open and fearful. She had long, curling black hair that had fallen in a messy disarray around her face. Her skin was a soft mocha color. In fact; every feature was some variation of mocha color, Her eyes were a dark, deep brown and cat-like- set over high cheekbones that showed no flush. She was beautiful and exotic; she was of an ethnicity that neither man was familiar with.
"I didn't do anything wrong." She spat inching away from them.
"That's no way to speak to you superiors" replied Seregil, maintaining the appearance of the noble. Alec, however, threw appearances out the window.
"Are you okay?" Alec moved toward her. She flinched.
"We won't hurt you. I promise." She stopped and sat up more fully, still eyeing them carefully.
"My name is Alec…" Seregil coughed. " Sir Alec í Ivywell. This is Lord Seregil." She her eyes darted back and forth between the two men.
"Thank you…for helping me…but I'm afraid I have not way of paying you for you help..."
"Stop, stop." Alec held up both hands. "Just tell us what happened." Her eyes flickered.
"Well… you see, this is my husband, Ben, and when he gets drunk…"
"The truth." Seregil cut in. She sighed resignedly.
"Ok. Fine. My name is Ryn. I sell chicken eggs and other food stuffs. This son of a whore Ben has been hitting on me, trying to give me presents and all, but I never took any of his presents and that's the truth. I got more pride than that I didn't take to him, friendly-like. So he said he'd tell all his people to not buy from me and I need that money, you know…"
Seregil knew well enough where this story was going. So she whored herself out. It was common enough in these parts. She continued
" I was soo angry. I wanted to kill him, but of course I couldn't get away with that. So I just slipped something into the food he bought from me; that stuff'll turn your mouth blue for a month. And he got all crazy. Got drunk and started wailing on me. Saying how ungrateful I was and that I must have another man because there's no way I could resist him otherwise and nonsense like that. And that's where you found me." She sighed again.
Guess I was wrong, mused Seregil. Girl's got spunk. "I'm sorry." Alec found himself saying.
"Sorry? For what? No noble's ever been so good to me. No common folk, either. Thank you. Without you, I'd be dead. If you every need a favor, not that you'd need it, you two can call on me. No questions asked."
"But…what about him?" Alec motioned to the unconscious Ben. "Won't he ruin your business first thing he wakes up?"
"Him? Oh I'm just going to leave him right there. When everybody sees him drunk and passed out in the street in the morning….well, let's just see how much of a reputation he has in the morning. He'll be the laughing stock of lower Rhimee." She smirked proudly. She started to get up. Seregil sprung up to give her a hand.
"Thank you….again." she said, suddenly shy.
"Farewell," Seregil said as he and Alec waved goodbye.
They mounted Patch and Windrunner again rode off toward home, each musing over the unusual, beautiful young woman with fierce, bright eyes.
"Poor girl. I can't help but feel bad for her." Muttered Alec
"She'll be fine. Don't worry about her." Responded a passive Seregil. Alec mused. 'I don't think he like her much.'
"How do you know?" Alec said bitterly
"Because I slipped a half gold sester into her pocket."
Alec was speechless. Perhaps Seregil had more sympathy for the girl than he thought.