The Adventures of Queen Draqueesha and the Undead Composer Mozart

Chapter 5 - Not so Innocent Flirtations

A/N: This chapter is a little bit of fluff, I hope you don't mind. I promise, the action starts with the next one, so just please stick with me through to the end, maybe another 5 or 6 chapters. Thank you so much! 

A few hours later, they stood in front of the bar, and Mozart inhaled the smoky air, the aftertaste of cigars at the back of his throat. Bar might have been the wrong word to use; pub may have been more accurate. The wooden doors were heavy as he pushed them open. Mozart stood awkwardly at the entrance of the pub, and stared at the crowd. The place looked like it was trapped in the late 1960s, walls plastered with pop culture references from that decade. Most of the patrons were old men and women; they chuckled in the tall wooden bar stools and stubbed their cigars on the countertop. That's why the cherry wood was covered in scorch marks. The cigars also contributed to the haze of an atmosphere, everything could only be seen through the grey sheen, except for the neon sign behind the elevated platform which proclaimed 'Poosie Nansie's'.

"Poosie-" Mozart started.

"Nansie, yep you read it right. Been here for a long, long time. Most of the people you see here today were there on the opening day"

Mozart stood there, stunned but happy. His face filled with a happy grin, and the trio joined the musicians on the stage, Draqueesha and Adrianna had their velvet cases in their hand. They pulled out their instruments, and Mozart walked over to the keyboard that had been set up prior to his arrival. Adrianna swaggered up to the microphone, trumpet in hand.

"Ladies, gents and variations thereupon the divine duo is back... joined by Greg!"

The thumping of the base drum started, reverberating through the wooden beams high above their heads. It beat a rhythm, which pounded its way into Mozart's ear.

The trumpet joined in trembling notes which arced and soared.

Draqueesha joined in with her viola and the deep notes joined the medley.

One by one, the quartet joined in, forming an eclectic mix of jazz and classical. The fifth one stood up to the mike, his deep voice joining in.

They played for the next hour, until Mozart's fingers started to cramp up, and Draqueesha's neck ached and Adrianna's face had long since turned red.

They sat at the bar, laughing and smiling. Mozart wrapped his hands around a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a dash of bourbon. He had insisted that he was underage but the bartender had only smiled her wizened smile and dashed a bottle over the cup.

"You played well today." An old man stood behind him, and his smile crinkled his face, revealing his very pink gums. Mozart smiled, somehow this one old man had made him feel happier than packed auditoriums clapping politely.

"Thank you" Mozart grinned.

"Feels good, doesn't it" Adrianna smiled at him,short brown hair swinging forward and half covering her face, and green-brown eyes glittering with amusement. Her eyes were beautiful, a light brown with flecks of green interspersed within. They were wide and almond shaped, which contrasted magnificently with her sharp and long Roman nose and pointy chin. Adrianna looked rather severe, actually and her cat eye eyeliner only made her look more intimidating.

"Yeah" Mozart looked at the shining rows of glasses, reflecting the light from the wicker lamps. The glass bottles were mostly green or brown, and they cast a shadow of that colour on the wall behind the bar.

"Hey Greg?" Adrianna asked.

"Yeah?"

"You play really well." Her smile made Mozart queasy inside and his fingers tingled. Goosebumps erupted. Adrianna chuckled softly. "Careful with the spiked hot chocolate, your face is turning the red of a thousand burning suns."