June Vignette

[tkhyAzurchlorovirgo168]

Lök

“Somebody ignorant is here. You need to find them.”

Golden lemon light seeped through the cracks of the worn plank barn walls, casting an arylide glow about the straw on the floor. Cecil’s breath froze in thick clouds that drifted lazily down toward the ground where it swirled and danced about the yellow threads strewn around.

“Ignorant?” Cecil asked. “What does that mean?”

“I’ll tell you what it means,” A towering, skinny figure replied. “Somebody ignorant is hiding in the city. They think that they can outsmart me, but I know better.”

“Hmm,” Cecil skeptically squinted as he broomed dust and straw out of the way. “Ma’am, as I understand you are the Absentee Landlady of this estate?”

“Absentee?” The landlady grimaced. “Is that really what they say about me when I am gone?”

Cecil felt a hot flush surge to his face as he ashamedly watched himself step out of line. So much for his efforts to ‘be more tactful.’ At this rate, he’d condemned himself to a stable hand’s fate for the rest of his days.

“That's not entirely accurate Ma’am.” Cecil replied. “I misspoke.”

“Ahh,” the woman’s demeanor softened, and her voice turned silky and canorous. “Very into books, I see?”

Cecil swallowed nervously. Part of him wanted to apologize and leave the landlady to her estate. Cecil sensed danger, and he didn’t like it. This woman was different. Unlike other people in his hometown. Pulses of seditious atmosphere radiated from her neck, and cruelty harbored in her cold dark eyes. Raven hair flowed majestically down her shoulders, tousling as she inhaled deeply. The way she looked at him.. Not playful. Not jesting. Almost, hungry. Possessive even.

“I d- do,” Cecil managed to say, interrupted by a coughing spell.

“Why don’t you make a pilgrimage to Radasanth, and purchase yourself something called a dictionary.” She said with a twinkle in her eye. “It’s hard sometimes to keep track of all the meanings of these words without an atlas.”

Cecil was nervous, and could only stare at the woman in disbelief. Something didn’t feel right.

She shrugged whimsically and pulled out a small pouch of silver and gold marks. “Would this help? I own the place, you have my permission to take a pilgrimage.”

And the wind sighed in through the cracks and dust eddies swirled about the golden threads on the ground. And Cecil felt better. He took the gold, thanked the woman, and left without another thought.

“Thank you,” the woman said softly. “I know you’re there. [deleted]?’

The dust eddies vanished. And the Thayne Lök was alone.