THE STARS TWINKLED IN DELIGHT HEARING THE SOUND OF HER LAUGHTER ONCE AGAIN.
The woman in a dusky dress let out another boisterous laugh, her hair brushing back against her back as her head dipped and her lips stretched into a beautiful wide grin. An endearing scrunch to her nose caused her barmaiden companion to smile in accomplishment.
"Told ya, coul' make ya laugh." The dark skinned woman mused smugly, pouring the scarlet haired woman another jug of kvas, allowing her to recover from her fit of giggles.
"But how could it even fit?" She asked through her tittering, confused by the story the barmaiden had told her.
"Oh it fit, I promise ya tha'." Anika—the barmaiden—replied, adorning a smirk of pride on her features.
"Well, a deal is a deal and I am a fair woman." The scarlet haired beauty mustered through her heavy breaths. "What is your question?"
Weeks had passed since the ancient woman had taken residence in the Inn just a few houses away from the small and heavily populated pub in the outskirts of the town. And upon the first days of her arrival, Anika had taken it upon herself to become her friend, despite her stoic and quiet nature, the young barmaiden never faltered in her attempts to brighten up the woman. Whether it was her offer of free drinks, or ridiculous jokes, a game of questions—which she quickly turned down—all her efforts remained unanswered.
Until tonight. Anika'd proposed a deal; if she was able to make the woman laugh then she'd get to have one of her burning inquiries answered and her ever growing curiosity quenched for the night. And she wasted no time in beginning her job, by any means necessary she was determined to make her laugh.
And what an achievement it truly was, to bring not just laughter out of her, but to see the lingering smile paint her expression still.
"What's your real name?" Anika asked, sliding the jug towards the mysterious woman.
The scarlet haired female in the black dress glanced down at the liquid in her jug and with a sigh looked back up at the awaiting girl. "Minerva." She answered simply, taking a tentative gulp of the kvas.
