The wine thief

Amanda Mehmeti

by Amanda Mehmeti

Story
Outside Halan’s lodging

Halan, Killian’s boss was furious: Killian had been away for four days without saying anything. So Killian didn’t even bother to tell him, that maybe he was going to work for Zaka, whom he hated, and if so, he would have been leaving Halan forever. He was a rebel, a criminal and Killian had worked for him for five long years. He went out of the lodging, which belonged to Halan, plenty of doubts swirling in his mind: did he have to accept Zaka’s mission? Or was it wiser to proceed with his life and forget about the story of his past? Maybe it had been a good thing that he didn’t remember what had truly happened, if it was so terrible. But he couldn’t ignore the fact that he had, maybe, a child somewhere out there. He was heading to his flat, which was on the other side of the road, but suddenly the guard dog started to bark aggressively. Killian turned and sighted a hooded figure go down the secondary stairs with the head down and a puffed up cloak. A thief, he thought. The figure lowered the hood, maybe to walk by unnoticed… It was a girl, her eyes shone in the darkness, almost like those of cats, almost like stars. “Where are you going?” The girl faked to not hear and continued walking down the stairs. So Killian repeated: “Hey you, it would be more convenient for you, to pay for what you have taken.” “How dare you? Are you calling me a thief?” She didn’t ask that with an offended or impolite tone, how Killian would have expected, but rather surprised and amused. “I wouldn’t like to use violence, girl, therefore show me what you have inside your pockets…” She started opening the cloak slowly, and then… she ran, whereat Killian with a gesture of the hand created an ice wall in front of her. “For the goddess! So it is you… the Crystal King!” “No, actually no one calls me like that… it is a ridiculous nickname.” “Well, so let me understand: the powerful and fearsome Cr… Or rather guy, I mean, man? Yes, well, man with powers of ice wasted five minutes of his precious time for a bottle of wine?” Saying so, she took out the bottle from her cloak. “Come on, you stole the most expensive one! Don’t you already feel guilty stealing at all? Must you take the best the lodging has to offer? And additionally, are you even of age?” Killian had no words. “Hey! There is no need to be insulting, all right? I am twenty-three, I know, I look very young for my age. Can I go now? My mother is going to distress otherwise.” “You are twenty-three, and you still live with your mother? No one was willing to marry you?” a smirk broadened on Killian’s face. “Marry me?” the girl laughed in such a strange way after repeating it that almost sounded like she was choking on the words. “Why should I want to get married?” “Maybe so that your husband can pay for the wine?” Killian now had come closer to her and was really having the fun of his life teasing that girl. “As you can see, the wine is in so much need to get paid, like I am to get married!” She looked angry, maybe he had touched a sore topic… “Given that, the male gender has been so unkind as to leave you a spinster, I believe I have to fix it in the name of all the men that refused you and pay the wine, with which you could drown your despair.” “Or you could just let me go? You are a rather bizarre individual.” “And you talk in a quite odd way, damsel?” “Antigone, but everyone calls me Ana.” “Why Ana? Shouldn’t they call you Ant?” “Ant? Please!” both burst out laughing. “I am Killian.” She smiled at him, strange that she wasn’t married, objectively she wasn’t ugly. “See you around Killian.”

© Amanda Mehmeti 2023-08-17

Genres
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Moods
Emotional, Lighthearted, Funny
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