Firm, perfectly shaped hips swayed with every step, giving her the semblance of a lioness casually approaching her kill from the shadows. Her eyes were like deep, emerald green lagoons ready to swallow him up in an instant. Along her lashes on either side stretched a thin, black line that perfectly complimented her attractive visage.
An amused expression hinted at the cat-like playfulness hidden behind her crooked smile, which had been charmingly slanted by years of mischief and conquered challenges. The way her outfit conformed to every curve of her body as well as the sense of poise she maintained made her look older than she actually was, judging by the youthful hue of her cheeks.
The girl’s hair was long, full of loose curls, and not so unlike the lion creature’s mane that had been etched into that chunk of Ostele Kalos received from the storyteller. Every other well-tanned lock shimmered from its chocolatey, reddish-brown base to a much brighter, sandy-blonde shade in a random pattern that could only have been placed by the masterful hand of the sun, itself.
Aside from the perfect hourglass figure her body had grown into, her clothes naturally drew attention to her most alluring features by design. A wide, diamond-shaped hole cut into the leather top between her breasts allowed a delicate strip of arousing flesh normally concealed underneath to peek through.
Tight leather pants, expertly laced along the outer edges were designed in such a way as to reveal an entire inch of flesh from her ankles to her hips. It almost looked like the tailor didn’t quite have enough material to wrap all the way around her curvaceous legs, so it was decided that laces had to be woven between fine-tooled metal loopholes from top to bottom in order to finish the job. Though easily recognizable as a well-placed design feature to the well-trained eye, it could easily appear to be a most fortuitous wardrobe flaw instead for the average onlooker that would cause their blood to boil out of control with desire.
In contrast to the many slivers of flesh revealed all over her body at strategic intervals, turquoise and blue striped sleeves kept her arms completely covered from her shoulders to her fingers, hiding everything underneath from the naked eye.
Several layers of leather in well-balanced hues from chocolate brown to dark crimson had been combined to form the most exquisite, attractive feminine outfit Kalos had ever seen. The whole ensemble was the product of some unknown design philosophy that proved ludicrously effective against the boy’s ill-prepared mind the instant he saw it.
Kalos’ heart hammered against his chest. He flinched, realizing that he’d been staring at her the entire time while she approached. He forcefully tore his eyes away to focus on the money pile in front of him. Though he was unable to check the count with any degree of accuracy, he nervously began shoving as much of it as he could into his pockets more to prevent his mind from being totally bewitched by the girl's presence, alone.
The old gambler scowled at the girl before glaring at Kalos while the newcomer spoke up, “Aw, don’cha be leavin on my account. Third purse couldn’t be unwelcome from'is game, ay? Seems lady luck's a shiftin’ back n’forth with'a tides, t’night, ey?” The heavy, outdated accent she used sounded odd coming from such young lips.
The girl gracefully pressed a long, slender hand between the crevices of her chest and pushed one breast aside, revealing more supple flesh through the diamond than the others expected while she dug around under of her top for several seconds, trying to find something in particular.
Kalos' eyelids fluttered while he blushed furiously. He didn’t think it would be possible to feel worse than he already had been after drinking nearly half a bottle of Green Fairy, but her movements and unexpected revealings made him feel even more dizzy and light-headed than before. Suddenly, he was no longer able to sit comfortably, but he certainly wouldn't budge even if his life depended on it.
Only a few moments passed before she plopped right beside them, causing the old crate she was using as a chair to groan in protest under the force of her descent. She clumsily placed a thick, sweaty money pouch atop the barrel that jingled with the distinct sound of multiple, differently-sized copper and silver coins all rattling together, inside.
“I jes had a few drinksh and need’ta sobuhr up a bit, now. Ok?” No sooner had she spoken than from her lips poured the thick scent of rum and coconut mixed with some other acidic, floral scent Kalos couldn't quite place. The old man’s eyes brightened instantly, “Well missy, I’ll be’appy to‘elp ya out!”
“Aww, you cudlin’ up tso me, suga?” She reached over and touched the old man’s arm, her mischievous grin shifting into a fiery smile as if he were the most attractive fellow in all Ceirlan. His face turned red. Instead of looking away like Kalos, he flashed what he considered to be his most seductive smile at her, revealing a complete set of decaying teeth covered with whatever was left of dinner. The smell was hard to ignore, but she didn’t seem put-off by it at all.
“I'm playin' too!” The weight of his own words startled him while the old man squinted angrily in response. The girl unexpectedly turned and placed both hands on his leg before quickly leaning forward with uncontainable excitement while her fingers gently strummed back and forth over his ragged trousers.
“Reeally!?” Her stunning smile grew even bigger, causing his chest to clench like it was about to explode. She immediately turned toward the barrel and plunged her hand into the pouch before pulling out a few random coins between her fingers and stating her bet, “Fouhhhr tensh.” From her hand fell three copper Tence and two silvers worth ten Tence each on the betting field without a second glance. The old man’s eyes widened as he looked at her and then back to the coins. “A’righty, then. Four Tence to start!”
Before Kalos could react, the old man had already slapped his unfairly-measured bet on the barrel and began shaking the dice. He slammed the cup on top of the barrel and revealed two ones and the image of a smiling dancer on the third die.
The old man laughed and reached for the coins as the girl pounded one small fist against the barrel, “Nooo! Doubl’or nothin.” She angrily scooped some more coins out of her pouch and dumped them on the barrel before the old man could even touch his winnings. This time it was one silver and five Tence, amounting to about fifteen Tence, total. Again, she couldn’t see straight enough to count, but she didn’t seem to care how much she was betting anyway. It looked like she had intended to bet only another four Tence, but instead now had more than forty riding on the next dice toss by mistake while the old man only had eight.
“Wait!” Kalos carefully pulled out the correct coin combination to match her bet and dropped it on top of the pile. He wouldn’t take advantage of her limited mental faculties like the old man had, and perhaps somehow he could help protect her by beating the old man at his own game.
The old man scowled at him, “Fine!” He violently shook the dice cup over his head before carelessly slamming it down on top of the pile. The exact same combination appeared, again.
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In Sailors’ Dice, the third die was often used to judge how luck was treating the players. It was a six sided die just like the others, but had four smiling characters, one sullen-face mask and a devilish-looking face, colloquially known as "Aelfain’s Blessing." When the Devilish-looking face made an appearance, everyone got their money back no matter what the number combination was, and most people quit playing altogether. It wasn’t a common occurrence, but eventually it always would make its appearance and effectively kill the game for everyone in the round. Grimm had once told him that the best players always try to leave with their winnings before Aelfain’s Blessing even appeared out of suspicion that it might jinx their luck for the next time they play.
The old man bellowed with greedy laughter, “Got’t again! Looks like I’m da vict’r, ta'night!” He scooped all of the money from the barrel and tossed three Tence back for another bet. “Are ya done'aready?” he questioned, blatantly taunting them over their losses.
This time the girl kicked the ground with her feet and growled before pulling several coins from her pouch and dumping them on the betting barrel again. Kalos put a few more down as well, hoping he might be able to recoup both of their losses, somehow.
“Let’s go!” Kalos growled, mimicking the frustration in the girl’s voice. The old man gave a sharp laughed and shook the dice for another toss.
#
In twenty minutes, Kalos had managed to lose everything he’d brought to the table and then some. All of his hidden money was gone as well as the rest of the Green Fairy, his original ante for getting into the game at all. In total he lost several silvers and all of the winnings he’d won before the girl arrived. He lost every bit of emergency money that Grimm had given him for the trip as well as several weeks’ worth of savings from working odd jobs around his village. The girl, on the other hand, had actually managed to carve a significant portion of the old man’s money from him with several wins of her own.
Kalos sat with his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he tried to figure out what he’d done wrong to lose everything so quickly.
The old man’s chipper voice drew his attention, “So, ya finally done, squit?”
The girl sat quietly counting her winnings while the old man pinned him to his seat with a hard gaze.
“I’ll sit this one out, but I ain't done yet.”
The old man’s smile turned sour while the girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Slowly turning toward him with irritation, she gave the same catty grin she had on when she had greeted him just a little while earlier, “So boy, you know y’ave to have something of value to keep playin, right? Well, whaddya got?”
Kalos stopped breathing as her full attention turned toward him. Her challenging, seductive voice had a cold edge to it that cut his conscience like a knife.
“Course I do, girl!” He addressed her with an equally cold tone that made her expression shift from mild annoyance to dangerous intrigue.
“Really? And what might that be? Oh, maybe that ridiculous bracelet you’ve got on your little wrist, there? Maybe worth a copper after all, is it?” The venom in her voice was thicker than honey when she directed her disdainful comment at the Frenlan Nava had given him. She immediately struck a nerve he didn't know he had.
Without thinking he reached over and snatched the little wooden cup they had been using to play the game with, and slammed it onto the barrel right next to the dice in frustration.
“And what of it?”
As soon as the cup hit the barrel’s surface, something strange happened. Not only did the slamming of the cup help release a small bit of pent-up frustration from him over how badly he’d been losing, it also caused an unusual reaction from the dice that shouldn't have happened if they were the right weight. The moment the cup had hit the barrel, the dice, which had been sitting on the combination of four, three and the smiling dancer, rolled over to two, five and the etching of the smiling golden man Kalos rolled during his first few games as if entirely propelled by their own energy.
Kalos’ eyes fully snapped toward the cubes sitting in front of him. He slammed the cup down again without even touching them. This time, the negligible shockwave from the cup cause them to roll over onto the combination of one, six and the smiling dancer again. Kalos suddenly realized that the devilish face known as "Aelfain’s Blessing" had never once made an appearance during their game. The old man flashed a wide-eyed look at the girl that revealed everything he needed to know. He launched to his feet and threw the cracked cup against a nearby wall as hard as he could, shattering it into several piece.
“Cheaters!” Kalos roared.
The old man snatched the dice from the barrel in a blur, and took off at alarming speed while the girl shot to her feet as well. Before Kalos could do anything, she swung the crate she’d been sitting on around as hard as she could and smashed it right into his head. Splinters exploded in every direction as he staggered backwards, stunned by the blow.
Kalos’ vision blurred as he dropped to one knee. When his sight cleared, he saw the girl’s lithe frame round a nearby corner and quickly disappear down the street.
Instinctively, he took off after her as fast as he could, forgetting entirely about the old man. He'd decided he had a better chance of getting his money back if he was able to catch her rather than the old man, since he had at least seen where she was headed before he was nearly knocked out. Blood still infused with Green Fairy, and with adrenaline still coursing through his veins, Kalos suddenly had more energy than he expected as he took off after her.
Soon, the Cheatress looked over her shoulder at him as he started closing-in. She immediately shot a burst of air through her teeth, making a distinct “tsk” sound, and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.
Without warning, again she spun around to face him while continuing backwards, tossing several small objects he couldn't quite make out directly into his path and sticking her tongue out like a child, antagonizing him even more.
Kalos couldn’t tell what the items were, and didn’t have time to respond, so instead he decided just to keep running right past them while gritting his teeth in fear. A split-second later, they hit the ground and exploded, casting brilliant-white flashes of light and booming noises in every direction. He felt the heat of the blasts through his leather jerkin and tried to cover his eyes before stumbling forward and almost tripping over his own feet. Luckily, he was just ahead of the little bombs when they had gone off. He suspected that if he hadn't been running so fast, his face and hands would have been completely singed.
“What was that..?” he said to himself through tightly-clenched jaws.
He could barely process what’d happened while staggering around. Despite his inebriated state-of-mind, he had identified that at least three distinct explosions had taken place in quick sequence. After sniffing a few times, he also recognized the smell of the smoke as it drifted up from his boots. It smelled just like the Mercari Fair the day they arrived as a result of the huge explosion that had occurred as part of their introduction.
When he lowered his arms, splotches of red on his right sleeve became visible. The blood must’ve been from when his head was pummeled by the wooden crate, only he hadn't noticed until just then. After nearly being taken-out by whatever the girl had thrown at him, he was at least thinking more clearly than he was before, and also felt like the Green Fairy was finally beginning to wear off.
Kalos looked up again, barely catching a glimpse of the girl as she disappeared around the next corner, again. He didn’t know where she was leading him, but he didn’t care about that, either. His only concern was catching the thief and being able to get his money back before it was too late.
Rage began building inside of him as everything that’d happened started to converge all at once in his mind. Kalos took off as fast as he could with a growl, soon turning down the same street she had only moments ago. There, up ahead, the girl casually strolled into the next, much smaller alley, seemingly convinced that she had lost him. It was the perfect chance for him to catch her off-guard.
“Now I’ve got her,” he mumbled.
Bitter satisfaction over finally having the upper-hand filled his heart. The instant he rounded the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks, panting heavily. There, barely five paces ahead of him, stood the girl, leaning against a wall with a playful posture as if nothing unusual had happened between them. Soon she gave a cute shrug and sent a flirty comment his way, “Guess I’m all yours, boy.”
Confusion had barely begun to set-in when a heavy blow to the back of the head sent him sprawling to the ground in silence.
©2024, K. M. Plum, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED