Hi guys! This chapter is short as well, so apologies! I decided to introduce another character. She never gets any name, and she's not an important character, but if you want you can give her a name. This chapter might be a little out of it and not-good, but I was out of it when I wrote it. Sorry again. Try to enjoy anyways! LOVE TO ALL! ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO WROTE ME THOSE ENCOURAGING REVIEWS!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Broken Dreams: Part Two, Chapter Nine

Gossip

Two days later, Duzell sat in a dark tavern sipping from a glass of cheap red wine. The air was heavy with smoke from the hearth, the tables were rickety, and the customers were a shady bunch. But the place was clean and the service was polite, and it was somewhere Duzell could be anonymous. Here, Duzell could sit back and ignore life as he chose to.

Harder to ignore was the drunken girl lounging beside him. She looked about eighteen or nineteen, only a few years older than the princess Ishtar. She had long brown curls falling down from an elegant bun, and her skin was the color of freshly prepared cream. She's really not too bad looking, he thought to himself But the excessive makeup, low-necked blouse, and skirt cut to show the ankles revealed her profession as well as if she had worn a sign.

The prostitute pressed herself against the vampire's side, giggling drunkenly. He rolled his eyes before turning them back to his drink. Honestly. Humans can't hold their alcohol.

Duzell didn't really care that he had a pretty woman glancing seductively at him. It had been strange circumstances that brought them together at the pub in the first place.

/ Duzell trod the cobblestone street, searching for lodging and a good drink. The street was filled with people, so he didn't pay much mind when someone bumped into him. He did stop, however, when a gentle hand on his arm restrained him.

The whore smiled at him. "Hey there, big fella," she purred. "What's a handsome man like you doing all alone on a day like this?" she wore a brown cape over her outfit, but Duzell still noticed how her blouse was unbuttoned to show a sizable amount of cleavage.

He was about to shrug her off and leave, when a sudden urge caught a hold of him. He turned to her and asked out of the blue:
"Why do you do it?"

She blinked, unprepared for the random question. "What?"

"I said, why do you do it? Prostitute yourself?"

She frowned and looked at her feet. No one had ever asked her that. "Well, I don't have a choice," she answered finally. "I have to, to just survive. Otherwise I wouldn't have enough money to eat."

On closer examination, Duzell could tell this to be truth. Her clothes were frayed and old, and her boots had holes in them. He felt pity for the woman, having to sell her body to live. Another whim took ahold of him, and he grabbed her wrist.

"C'mon," he urged. She hesitated only a second before following. /

Inside the pub, he had bought her a few drinks. He thought she deserved it, the poor thing. Unfortunately, she had a low tolerance level for alcohol, so after two her face was red and her speech slurred. It was quite comical to watch, if you happened to like that kind of humor.

So wrapped up was he in his own mind that he almost missed something said by a man nearby. The old logger sat two tables down and chatted with a friend. Duzell's ears pricked up and he strained to hear what they said next.

"Aye, that's what I heard."

"But is it true? You hear so much, but most o' it's lies."

"No, I got this from a reliable source. I bet that if we mention it to the royal family, they would reward us handsomely!"

"I dunno... a vampire attempting to slaughter the Phelios line... sounds an awful lot like that old vampire king... Don't you think they would already be on the lookout for someone like that?"

"Oh, but it's not! My... informant... told me it was someone else this time. Who was it? Charlie or something."

Duzell gasped and slammed his cup down. Sharlen!

He moved to get out of his chair, but the girl stopped him. She grinned and asked slowly, "Where you goin'?"

"I'm leaving now. Here." He tossed her a small pouch. "Good luck with your life." The vampire king strode out of the tavern.

Inside, the woman opened the pouch. She gaped as the gold glittered and twinkled. She had never seen such generosity...

Today must be a very good day, she thought happily, and ordered another round of drinks.