Corner of the Hill

Chapter 8 - The Mistress of Tales

Laughter broke out at the dinner table as Henry finished telling another one of his stories. Ala did her best to match the energy of the room and waited in the margins for her chance to speak.

"I told him that 'the next time you try to get friendly with a governess of the royal family, maybe consider being a bit more discreet!', " Henry laughed.

"Did you always seek company with such degenerate characters?" Dr. Talon asked.

"I swear Talon, these characters just walk right into me."

"Must we talk of all this scandal at the dinner table? Honestly, this conversation is disgusting," Eve Black rolled her eyes.

"Like you don't enjoy a good scandal," Henry squinted at her.

Ala sat up a bit straighter and her eyes lit up.

"I love scandals actually, I just like the ones with taste. That's all," Eve Black turned up her nose.

"I think I might have something that you'll be interested in," Ala spoke up.

All of the heads at the table turned toward her, each of them with a puzzled look on her face. Everything paused and a silence fell over the room. Ala gave a nervous smile and shrugged. "I mean, only if you guys are curious," she said.

"Please, we'd love to hear a story from someone else other than Henry for a change," Dr. Talon nodded.

Eve Black scoffed. "I suppose after making a little announcement like that you'd have to tell us something...and it better be good, " she murmured the last few words.

Ala sighed quietly and cleared a throat. "It's a true story, it only circulates in inner circles though, so I'd be surprised if you heard of it."

Eve White gasped and leaned forward. "Inner circles? Like aristocrats?"

"Something like that," Ala smiled. "Its a story about crime and love and-"

"Didn't she say that she was going to tell us a story? Or did she say that she was going to summarize it?" Eve Black interrupted.

"Eve..." Dr. Talon warned. "Continue Ala."

"Right," Ala nodded, making another effort to ignore Eve Black's attitude toward her. "Anyways...the story began only a few years ago, in a cocktail lounge in Xarc. Although the lounge was beautiful and overflowing with expensive spirits, it was no place for the meek."

"Only powerful men were allowed in and the transactions that took place there were usually less than savory. They called it the Kill Kill Lounge. It was the place where big men died over money and power. So, as you can imagine, it's the last place that you would find and innocent, doe-eyed girl meandering about inside. She was a beautiful girl too, a beauty that every man in the room noticed. However, she wasn't there to catch the eyes of every man. Just one."

"Are you Mr.-" the beautiful woman approached a man at the bar in an all-black suit. 

"You know who I am, just like I know who you are. Have a seat," the man didn't even bother to turn when he spoke to her.

The woman, for a moment, felt like confronting him about his rude behavior but she saw the outline of a gun in his back pocket. She took a seat in the stool next to his and sat her purse on the counter.

"I've read your letters, I still haven't figured out how you were able to get them to me so discreetly."

"I have people who help me figure out such matters," he seemed to smile from where the woman was sitting but she couldn't tell from the way he sipped on his bronze drink.