Anyway the best part of today's writing was the introduction of a new character I didn't even realize existed: the fox queen. But she does exist, and she's terribly fun to write, and I'm glad she decided to make herself known. And I think it likely she will shove her way back into the story at a later point, as well... so there's that to look forward to, if nothing else.
***
The food arrived and Aniqi plucked a few grapes and began walking them over and under her fingers, a look of consideration on her face. Finally she flicked them into her mouth, one after another.
“Alright, Dramen. I am going to save us a bit of bother. You want something from me, and as much as I’d enjoy making you squirm for it, or laugh while you fail to steal it, I’m actually in the middle of a crisis amongst my people, and I don’t have time for games. So why don’t you tell me what it is you want, and I’ll tell you whether or not you can have it, and we will play our games another time.”
Dramen sucked in a breath. This was entirely unlike Aniqi. She never did anything straightforward that she could come at from the side. It made him highly suspicious, and for a moment he considered telling her he wanted something completely unrelated to the ring. Aniqi smiled at him as though she could read his thoughts. Damn her, thought Dramen. If I tell her something else she’s sure to give that to me, just to be perverse. Better to take the chance she’s being sincere, and just come back and steal it later, if I have to.
“A ring,” he said at last. “I believe you have a ring that I would like to borrow.”
“A ring?” she sounded delighted. “Dramen, I never knew you shared your people’s affection for shiny objects!”
“This ring has… powers,” he said. “It would let my spirit walk free from my corporeal body.”
“Ah,” suddenly her eyes narrowed and looked cunning. “A spirit you could shape as you willed, and speak through. Such a ring would allow you to… bend the conditions of your curse.”
“Perhaps to the breaking point,” Dramen said grimly.
“Yesss…” Aniqi bared her pointed teeth. “A cheat! Oh my old friend, I will certainly help you cheat.” She snapped her fingers and a servant appeared.
“Bring me my jewelry box,” she said, and the man bowed and walked out.
“I am not giving you this thing for free, mind you,” she warned Dramen. “You will owe me a boon.”
“Of course,” Dramen inclined his head, trying to hide his excitement. “A cheat for a cheat, perhaps?”
“Perhaps. It will take time to think up an appropriate payment, I think. But I have faith you will give value for value. Ah, here we are!” the servant had returned with a plain wooden box. No- not plain… Dramen looked more closely at it and realized it was inlayed with thousands of tiny pieces of wood, laid out in such a way as to appear like a larger grain. It was breathtaking. Aniqi stuck her hand in the box and rummaged for a big.
“Hmmm… no, no, no… maybe… possibly… definitely not…” and finally pulled out three different rings.
“It’s one of these,” she said carelessly, “But for the life of me I can’t remember which one. Maybe you can figure it out.”
Dramen stared at the rings in her palm, knowing this was actually a test. Aniqi would certainly agree with whatever he chose, regardless of truth, just to be difficult. One was made of gold and silver woven together, the next of carved jade, and the final was the gaudiest, ugliest thing he’d ever seen, covered in a variety of bright, cheap gemstones. It looked like the sort of thing a child might build for himself from tin scraps. Dramen sighed and reached for that one. Aniqi laughed.
“King of crows indeed!” she said.
“I just have the feeling that somewhere is a god or a mage laughing about how some fool is going to have to wear this monstrously ugly thing in order to take advantage of its powers. It’s something I would do.”
“As would I- that’s how I knew to steal it from the mortal I acquired it from. No thief in their right mind would have stolen such a cheap-looking thing.”
“Good thing you’re not in your right mind then, eh?”
“Indeed.”
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