Loretta of the Lamp

Brawl

The man had a long beard that was well brushed and braided to a point, and he pulled on it as he contemplated Akil's question.

"A man who speaks the old language," he said finally. His voice still low. "You and your wife must be very far from home...brother."

"Is it no longer polite in this town to exchange fond greeting?" Akil asked, rather casually, returning his attention to the consumption of his stew as he said, "My cousin and I have travelled far to meet her betrothed. She has not seen much beyond the walls of our home."

Loretta pulled the shawl she was wearing over her tattered t-shirt a little closer. She didn't like the way the man looked at her once he learned she was not Akil's wife.

"Times change, and it seems there is a lot you don't know about beyond your own home also," the man said, tucking his beard into his coat as he was served up his own bowl of stew. He took the spoon and drove it into the depths of the unappetising liquid with eagerness.

Akil turned back to his own stew with some nonchalance, but Loretta had finished what she was prepared to eat, and despite the look in Akil's eyes which forbade her to speak, she wasn't going to leave the statement unchallenged.

"What do you mean?"

Akil lowered his spoon from his lips and let out a long sigh.

"What I mean is nothing, least of all an invitation for you to voice questions," the man said directly to Loretta, jamming his spoon toward her face and narrowing his eyes. "What I mean is to enjoy my meal, foul as it is."

Loretta pulled back and looked to Akil for help.

Akil was staring into his bowl, refusing to make eye contact with her. She looked down to her own bowl also, and picked up her spoon to play with the slop, as she had no intention of eating any more, but she could still feel the man staring at her. He had not yet returned to his stew.

After a long awkward silence, Loretta finally had enough. She dumped her spoon down with a clunk and turned to the man with the beard. "Well if you are going to stare at me anyway and neglect your delicious stew you may as well tell us all what you meant."

Akil stared further into his stew, like he hoped it would reach up and swallow him, rather than the other way around.

Several men across the table looked up, and even the inn-keep stopped cleaning the counter, his mouldy brown rag still clutched in his hand as he stared at Loretta.

Later Loretta would justify that in the back of her mind at this point she had still believed the world in the lamp was all a dream. This coupled with a small belief that if indeed it were not, then surely Akil, being a genie, would have the ability to somehow protect them, had emboldened her to speak.

In the seconds which followed, these arguments died their last.

The man with the braided beard pushed the whole bench backward slowly, with Akil still seated forlornly on it, spoon in hand. He stood up, and placed both clenched fists on the table and turned to Akil.

"I'll not be questioned. Not by this woman."
Akil sighed. He stood up and placed his spoon down on the table. Loretta watched the thin stew pool onto the table, dripping from the spoon's crooked lip.

"In all honesty, she did ask the question at your invitation," Akil said finally, "you made a statement and neglected to explain what you meant by it, and so my dear cousin felt it acceptable to enquire further." Akil raised his eyebrows at him.

There was barely time for Loretta to breathe before the man let out a growl and smacked a fist toward his half finished bowl of stew, sending it flying toward Akil.

Akil ducked gracefully, even finding time to smile calmly at the man, which only enraged him more. Not even a fleck of the stew touched him, but the bowl did find a home on the head of a man at the table behind, showering all his companions in the grey brown slop as it went.
Bowls and flagons of ale were thrown back. The fight began. Akil dodged well, which escalated the situation as the man roared through the stew in his beard, and threw himself at Akil. The genie leaped onto the long table and kicked his spoon hard toward the man's face. It connected well, the jagged lip cutting a nice little line beneath his eye.

Loretta stood up and threw herself back from the table as Akil crossed it, but she walked backwards straight into two strong sets of arms that locked around her.

The brawl grew more and more wild as the seconds passed, everyone in the tavern seemed to have found a way to get involved.

Loretta struggled and struggled against the two men who held her back. She thought her arms would rip out of their sockets, and when she was thrown to the floor, she could no longer even see where Akil was. One man kicked her hard in the shoulder, while the other stomped down on her open hand and stayed there, despite her screaming. She rolled into his leg and scratched with her free hand till she found flesh, then she bit down hard.

He tasted disgusting, but he screamed and moved his leg fast. She didn't even have time to shudder at the taste in her mouth as adrenaline kicked in and she skirted out of the way of a retaliating kick, pushing herself off the floor with the momentum of her movement.

Up above table level again, she could see Akil searching for her frantically as he exchanged blows with a man Loretta hadn't even seen when they entered the tavern.

The bearded man was roaring to her right, and repeatedly kicking one of the men from the table behind them who had thrown stew. The man was on the floor, unconscious and bloody.
Loretta swallowed vomit, and looked back to Akil.

"Loretta! Run!" he yelled when he spotted her, but it was too late.

She had already been spotted. The bearded man strode on heavy feet toward her, punching two men in the face as he came. She turned to run.

"You'll not make it to your wedding, I'll have you for my whore right now!" he grabbed at Loretta's shirt, and Loretta screamed.

Akil felt her scream like a knife through his ear. For the second time he turned to watch the girl thrown to the floor, and for the second time he was unable to get to her.

The man was on top of her, and her screams did not stop.

Somehow he broke free of the stranglehold he had been trapped in, and took a flailing fist to his jaw as he reeled back and turned away.

Dizzy, he lumbered forward, over the two sets of tables that separated him from Loretta, picking up an empty flagon as he went, and then he threw himself onto the back of the man who held her down.

The metal flagon landed first, coming down on the man's head with the force of both Akil's arms. Instead of the dull 'thunk' Akil expected, there was a surprisingly high pitched 'crack'.

The man slumped to the floor.

Beneath him, Loretta screamed even louder, and struggled wildly, not knowing or caring that he had passed out. She was still screaming when Akil dragged her out by her arms. As soon as she was free, she wrenched her arms back and swung around to hit him.

"It's me!" he shouted quickly, putting his hands across his face for protection. She stopped only inches short, and froze.

He took the opportunity, grabbing her arm as he yelled, "Run!"