Kings and Thieves

Chapter 12

** Hope everyone's doing ok this week. If anyone would like to know I've been watching TV for 5 hours straight**

Chapter 12

"Excuse me," Aveline chirped, gently setting aside her skirts and kneeling onto the floors. Ick, they were sticky- she quickly pasted a smile over her disgusted expression. "Here, allow me." She pressed her clean rag into the puddle of spirits, mopping up the brown liquid. The room was loud enough that no one even acknowledged their entrance, save for Eli whom Aveline could feel burning her back with his curious gaze. She didn't even glance his way.

Across from her, the poor serving girl brushed a stringy red strand of hair from her eyes and looked up in tired surprise. "Oh, miss, you don't have to-"

"Nonsense." Aveline gave her a sympathetic smile and extended a hand. "I'm Aveline. This is Lyla." She gestured to the girl behind her, who was standing there awkwardly and twisting her hands. "Rough night?"

"Ayka." The server climbed to her feet, glancing uncomfortably over her shoulder at the crowded bar behind her. "And you've no idea."
Ayka tightened her hold on her serving tray and seemed to remember her place. "Was there something I could do for you?"

Aveline pursed her lips as she tried to think the matter through quickly.

The count of people that she could trust was dangerously low here. And she didn't need any outward suspicion from asking too many questions. But she needed to be getting information from somewhere, and that meant taking some risks.

Ari had mentioned that most of the hired help had either emigrated or were native to Kibet, so it was still possible that these people weren't loyal to whatever higher authority was in charge here.

The sound of jeering brought Aveline back to the present and she glanced behind her- a few customers were shouting for more drinks, in none too polite language.

Aveline appraised Ayka once again; the poor girl couldn't have been more than fifteen.

She forced herself to ignore the annoyances behind them and stepped to the side, catching Ayka before she could hurry to do her job.

"Actually, yes." Aveline decided to emulate Ari and get to the point; that always seemed to work for him. (Ari always got everything he wanted. She was getting distracted. Again.) "As you perhaps know, some of the princes and princesses from other kingdoms have disappeared. Princess Leilani thought she saw her missing brother in this inn just a few days ago. We were wondering if you might have perhaps seen anything suspicious."

Ayka blinked once, then twice, three times. Her eyes darted around furiously.

Ah ha.

"It's not my place to say, miss, and you shouldn't speak of such things here," She nearly hissed, her words both a warning and an entreaty.

Aveline knitted her brows together meditatively, not at all put off. "But couldn't we simply-"

"Oi, wench! Gin over here, you sack of baggage!" Another drunk shouted from the next table.

Lyla automatically looked at Aveline in alarm, eyeing the fist that she had clenched into a ball.

Ayka shrugged tightly. "That's my cue."

"Aveline-" Lyla stepped forward, but Aveline had already whirled around to face the balding, yellow-teethed drunk who had spoken.

"Watch your filthy mouth, you cretin, you are addressing a lady."

Aveline's sharp words echoed in the humid, yeasty-smelling room, and the crude laughter began to subside into an uneasy silence. All gazes had swung to them. Out of the corner of her eye, Aveline could see Eli slowly climbing to his feet.