Longing

Chapter Seven

Kendo rounded the court at least five times before he found himself trailing an extraordinarily ordinary-looking ball python whose scales shone in the light of the Veins as if it had recently shed. The python slithered into a ball next to the open door of one of the huts and slurped its tongue at Kendo expectantly. Kendo looked inside. It was the same hut that girl had been in before, the one with purple hair and the dragon necklace that was always gnawing on its chain, the one who had claimed she was human. Not knowing what else to do with himself, Kendo let his feet take him inside. The python lowered its head and took a nap by the door.

There was an open table, and inside this particular hut they weren't moving around on their own or being eaten alive by worms. In here everything was made of wood, even some of the monsters; Kendo wondered if that had significance or if it was merely coincidence.

Almost immediately after he sat down, the bartender set a goblet of sweet-smelling liquid in front of Kendo. The bartender's black tie hung off his neck like a noose. Since Kendo had a closer look than last time, he noticed there were white jewels sewn into the collar of the bartender's blazer that reflected his slicked burgundy hair.

"A gift from one of our most valued customers," the bartender said, showing his shark teeth in an overly wide smile, "And my compliments for killing one of the most irritating creatures in the Court."

"Huh?" Kendo's momentary confusion gave him a slight reprieve from the depression chewing his insides.

"You got rid of Frock," said the bartender, "For that alone I promise not to eat you."

"Uh, thanks?" Kendo sank in his chair; it was surprisingly comfortable, cushioned into him nicely even though it looked like plain old wood. He regarded the goblet on the table questionably.

The bartender bowed overdramatically and mocked, "I promise this drink is perfectly harmless to measly humans like yourself." Rising from his bow, he pointed with his chin to the far right corner. The girl with purple hair was tickling her pet lint goblin, that thing with one eye that looked like a fuzz-ball. She briefly looked up, acknowledging Kendo with a smile. "The drink was on her," the bartender told Kendo; "It's fairy wine. I suggest drinking it one sip at a time. You know, since you're human and all." With toothy smile and a wink towards the purple-haired girl, he returned to the marble bar in the back.

Kendo leaned to look into the goblet. The liquid was bright orange and stank of spearmint and marshmallows. "Well, if it kills me then whatever," Kendo mumbled. He thought of Melanie and chugged it like a dehydrated hiker who had just found a waterfall. About half-way through he had to stop and cough some of it out of his throat; it was so sweet it choked him. He licked the top of his mouth and found an aftertaste of liquefied almonds mixed with fruit punch and an overwhelming zing of mint that made his eyes water and his nose run.

The girl with purple hair was laughing at him. She raised her own goblet in a toast and took a sip, completely unaffected. Then she nudged the little lint goblin onto her shoulder and picked up the book she had been reading (the title was written in fancy gold calligraphy on a deep crimson cover: Saga) and lost herself in the story. Kendo had a sudden bout of indecision. He wanted to know why she'd treated him to that—what was it, fairy wine?—and why she seemed so comfortable surrounded by all these creatures that could so easily gobble her up, just like that. The girl beamed up at the bartender, thanking him as he placed another goblet in front of her and collected the used one before skipping off to his post at the marble bar once again.

Seething at the girl's nonchalant personality, Kendo bashed his goblet off the table and plodded over to her. He slammed his hands down to get her attention, nearly knocking her fresh goblet over the side of the table. The lint goblin on her shoulder narrowed its singular eye at him and made a noise like an angry chipmunk. Instead of giving him the reaction he'd hoped for: fear or shock or anything that suggested she might be even slightly intimidated, the girl simply closed Saga and set it calmly on the table to take another sip of fairy wine before she asked politely, "Here to thank me for the drink?"