The Misadventures of Annika Brisby (18 page)

“Back when
I
used to go, we were dancing on the tables at the end of the night, nearly every night,” Althea said, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “Times change, but many things never do.” Talvi cast his mother a doubtful look.

“I cannot see you dancing on a table, Mother,” he said dismissively.

“I did a lot of things that you probably cannot imagine me doing,” she said with a secretive grin.

“Like what?” he asked, suddenly very interested, but Althea only smiled and shook her head. She took two large pans of lasagna out of the oven and brought them out to the courtyard, and Talvi followed behind her with the plates and silver. Ambrose and Finn joined them and everyone sat down to their early dinner al fresco. The breeze was just enough to make the crystals and ribbons that hung in the four trees dance around, catching Annika’s eyes.

“Why do you have so many birdhouses? I don’t even see that many birds back here,” she observed.

“Those aren’t birdhouses, they’re for the fairies when they come to stay with us,” Finn told her. “Talvi’s craftsmanship is excellent. I suppose that’s why the fairies are always dropping by. If I were a fairy, he’s the one who I would ask to build my house,” he said, and began to cut a piece of lasagna.

“And I suppose they have tiny chairs and beds, and an itty bitty set of plates that they dine on?” she joked. Finn seemed surprised that she found this amusing.

“Well, yes,” he said, putting the slice on her plate before cutting another for his mother. “What house doesn’t?”

“You can’t be serious.” Annika didn’t believe him for a second. The chairs would have to be an inch and a half tall at the most, to fit in the little houses.

“Go and see for yourself,” he told her. She looked at Althea, then Anthea, then Ambrose, waiting for one of them to tell her to ignore Finn’s joke, but they just smiled and shared a glance. She got up and walked over to one of the little houses with the thatched roof covered in moss, and peeked in a window. Indeed there was a little table and chairs, one of which was tipped over from blowing in the wind. The smallest bottle of wine was rolling back and forth across the floor with each sway in the breeze. A tiny staircase led up to the second level where there were tiny pillows and blankets strewn about the entire floor.

“You make those? I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life,” she said, returning to the much larger table with the much taller elves seated at it. Talvi was smiling fondly at her as he stood and pulled out her chair, and pushed it back in after she was seated.

“Thank you,” she said, not noticing the looks being exchanged by his family at his impeccable display of manners. “Those are little pixie palaces, aren’t they?” she remarked.

“Oh no, not pixies. Fairies,” Finn emphasized.

“What’s the difference?”

“What’s the difference between fairies and pixies?” Finn blustered, but Talvi spoke up before his brother started spewing out facts right and left.

“The main difference is that I’ve invited the
fairies
to the party, but not the
pixies,
” he said, and reached for the water pitcher, refilling Annika’s glass. If she hadn’t been so focused on the swaying houses in the background, she might have noticed that his mother and brother could have used a refill themselves, but Talvi hadn’t bothered to fill their glasses.

“Uncle Talvi, I want a glass of shut the hell up too!” Stella whined as her uncle set down the pitcher. Ambrose let out a snort while Annika and Finn covered their laughing mouths.

“Stella, it’s
water.
Do
not
call it anything but water,” Anthea said in a shrill voice, and turned to her brother with an equally annoyed frown. “Thanks a lot, Talvi. She thinks everything that comes in a glass is
that
now.”

“I’m sorry Anthea,” he said, trying not to laugh. “I guess I wasn’t thinking when I said it.”

“No, you certainly weren’t,” she replied with the expression of reprimand that only mothers can wear.

“But I want a glass! I want a glass of shut the hell up, Uncle Talvi. You gave the fairy girl one!” Stella sang in her little voice. Ambrose had to turn around, he was laughing so hard. His wife looked less than impressed.

“Stella, stop it,” Anthea scolded. “Do not say that word.”

“But I’m thirsty, Mummy,” she giggled. “I’m thirsty for a glass of sh—”

“Stella!” Anthea cried angrily. “Enough!” Annika didn’t know how she managed to keep herself composed when even Ambrose couldn’t. He eventually faced forward and gave Talvi a very patronizing look before turning around again to surrender to his laughter.

“So, Talvi, what’s the difference between pixies and fairies?” Annika asked, trying to get him out of his predicament. He looked relieved that she remembered.

“The pixies have a habit of showing up uninvited at the most inopportune times and causing a lot of havoc,” he explained, and helped himself to seconds.

“Oh, I get it. You’re afraid they’ll crash your party,” she clarified. Althea gave her youngest son a stern look.

“They better
not
crash anything or I’ll lock up Ghassan until you’ve repaired all the damage,” she informed him. “I’m certain you remember how your last grand gala ended up.”

“No, I don’t mean crash, like breaking anything,” Annika said quickly. She didn’t want to get Talvi into more trouble. He had enough of a penchant for doing that on his own. “It’s just an expression for showing up without an invitation. Crashing a party, you know, not being invited.”

“Well I don’t see the logic in that slang, but if you say so,” she said dubiously, and filled her water glass herself.

“How many guests are you expecting anyway?” Ambrose asked. The brothers shared a glance, but didn’t look their father in the eye.

“Oh, I tried to keep it conservative. I don’t think I sent out any more than two hundred invitations,” Talvi said offhandedly, scratching his head.

“Ha!” Ambrose let out a whoop. “So you’re probably expecting four hundred then, isn’t that about right? I don’t know why you bother lying when you’re so bad at it!”

“Talvi Anatolius, where exactly do you expect everyone to sleep?” his mother cried, clutching her head as though she were about to have an aneurysm. “You know our guest rooms are already promised out to your cousins and Konstantin, and what about Dragana? She’s far too old to tolerate your rambunctious friends keeping her awake all night!”

“Dragana is coming?” All three siblings asked at the same time. The Marinossian children appeared uncomfortable at the thought of this person showing up, and Annika noticed the fork in Anthea’s hand wobble. Maybe Dragana was a crotchety, mean old woman that the children had feared from an early age.

“Of course she’ll be here for your father’s meeting!” said Althea, and cut a few more bite sized pieces of lasagna for her granddaughter. She seemed determined to keep her precocious mouth busy with chewing.

“You
will
have a room for her,” Ambrose declared, and gave Talvi such a look of warning that even Finn and Anthea seemed concerned for their little brother.

“I didn’t promise anyone a place to sleep other than the fairies,” he said, looking a bit pale. “Most of the guest list is local anyway, Mother. Don’t worry.”

“
Four hundred
?” she repeated, shaking her head.

“It will be fine, my love,” Ambrose said cheerfully while giving his youngest son another severe look. “I’ll serve you breakfast in bed and you won’t have to come downstairs until he’s done polishing the very last of the silver that was used.”

the Tortoise and the Hare

They left for the pub on horseback as the sun was setting. Finn let Annika ride his gentle giant Galileo and took his father’s horse instead while Talvi let Ghassan bolt ahead. He’d grabbed a couple of the guitars from Anthea’s room and wore one over his back, relinquishing the Spanish guitar to Annika. She felt like a traveling bard looking for her next gig, and was even getting the hang of horseback riding, as long as she didn’t look down. Galileo was by far the tallest, biggest horse she’d ever seen, and sitting on him was still slightly unnerving. It helped to have Finn ride beside her, and he chatted with her along the way, naming the types of trees they were passing and pointing out the differences in the leaves, in the bark, and in the shape of the branches.

The few homes along the narrow streets were lit by lamps and candles, with the families inside moving about their evening routines. She heard muffled laughter and voices down the dusty trail, where they stopped and tethered the horses to a hitching post a ways outside a large stone building with a thatched roof. The only thing giving an indication of where they’d arrived was an inconspicuous wooden sign hanging above the door. It was cut in the shape of a turtle with a white rabbit’s head painted in the center.

“How am I going to pay my tab? They probably don’t accept Euros here, do they?” she asked Finn, who just laughed and shook his head when he helped her down from the saddle.

“Don’t worry about it.” He pulled something from his pocket and jingled what resembled a keychain full of tiny gold and silver rings of various sizes. “You’re our guest.”

Talvi opened the door for them, and Annika stepped into a softly lit and very warm pub full of elves talking amongst themselves. Quite a few craned their necks to look at the human girl walking in the door, making her feel even more self-conscious. It was not a small place by any means, but it was still intimate with many of its regular clientele, which did not include humans. Trying not to make much eye contact, Annika distracted herself with observing the new environment. All of the stools along the bar and the many tables had been made of solid wood and wrought iron. Upon closer inspection, she saw that they were all etched with names that had been collected over the centuries. She heard a squeal and saw the samodivi and Yuri waving them over to their table in the corner by a window. Finn sat next to Annika, but Talvi just waved at them, handed his guitar to Annika, and headed straight to the bar.

“Hey, thanks for leaving without me this morning,” she teased as she sat down, leaning the guitars in the corner where they were safe from the other pub patrons.

“I didn’t want to wake you!” Runa cried. “I’m sure you loved sleeping in a soft bed for a change.”

“Yeah, it was pretty sweet,” Annika said. “I had an awesome day at the house. What did you guys do all day long?” Yuri looked like she was ready to burst with information about their goings-on.

“Well, first we went to the fabric shop, but they didn’t have what I wanted so we had to go to the silk mill and make a special order. Then we went to the bakery to try some of the food that will be at the party. I finally decided to have chocolate raspberry cake with white icing and red roses—that way it gives the illusion that I have even more red roses than I originally planned! It’s going to be absolutely divine! Then they had spinach scones on sale, so we of course had to have a picnic…” Yuri went on and on about the details to such an extent that Annika’s eyes began to glaze over. She had plenty of practice listening to her fellow waitresses gush on and on about planning their weddings, and then she got to hear about it all over again when the groom ran off with the maid of honor. Or his best man.

While everyone else let Yuri yammer on, Sariel rolled her eyes and took a drink from her little ceramic cup. It was smaller than the pint glasses in front of the other samodivi, which were all filled with ale. Finn looked on, assessing who needed a refill.

“What are you drinking over there?” Annika asked.

“It’s called
otrova
. Do you want to try it?” Sariel pushed her cup forward just enough for her to take it back if Annika declined her offer. The others groaned.

“Eww, yuck,” Runa stuck out her tongue.

“You won’t like it, trust me,” Hilda advised.

“I can’t believe you drink that rubbish,” said Finn. “Do you truly enjoy it, or do you merely drink it because no one else has the stamina?”

“Let me see what all the fuss is about. I drink gimlets at home, and they’re just vodka with a splash of lime juice,” Annika said boldly, taking the glass that Sariel passed to her. It smelled strong, like any other hard liquor. She took a drink, expecting the fiery feeling it sent down her throat, but she was unprepared for the horribly bitter aftertaste.

“Ugh! How can you drink this crap?” she said with a sour face. It was a misleading drink, promising bravery and delivering punishment instead.

“Here, wash it down with this,” Finn said, handing her the rest of Hilda’s ale. Hilda frowned irritably, but said nothing.

“Thanks,” Annika choked after emptying the glass. “I guess we’ll need a few more of these, huh?”

“Yes. Why don’t you help me carry them back?” he suggested. This earned him another sideways frown from Hilda, but neither of them noticed.

Annika was properly introduced to Dorsey, the barrel-chested, brawny creature tending the bar. He wasn’t as tall as Finn but his arms were more muscular from switching out beer kegs day in and day out. He had a bit of a belly from sampling his large selection of handcrafted brews, and his shaggy, sandy hair hung in his dark eyes. Finn ordered a round of the seasonal ale for the girls and himself, and pulled out the strange little keychain. He opened the clasp and handed a few of the smallest silver rings to Dorsey before slipping the remainder of his elven currency back into his pocket. As they weaved through the crowd with their drinks, Annika realized she was the shortest one in the entire pub aside from the samodivi. She stood on her tip toes to catch a glimpse of Talvi, but all she saw was a flash of his wild black hair before it disappeared in the crowd.

The girls and Finn lost track of time as they talked about some of the people who would be attending the upcoming party. Even Sariel had grown chatty, but the laughter died down when she asked Yuri, “What exactly is the situation with Konstantin?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Yuri shrugged innocently. “I imagine it’s been difficult for him to live only off of animals.”

“I don’t mean what’s the situation with
him
. I mean…what’s the situation with him and
you
? I happen to know you’ve been corresponding quite a bit with someone from the north country.” Yuri looked away, but her body language gave her away too easily.

“You’ve been writing letters to Konstantin?” Hilda squeaked.

“You only just realized this?” Finn asked Hilda, and guffawed out loud. “I assumed all of you knew about it.”

“What?” Yuri gasped. “You’ve known the entire time?” Her brother just laughed harder.

“I’m not a gossip like you little hens are,” he laughed and then made clucking sounds until Yuri turned red in the face.

“You and Konstantin?” Runa shrieked with full-hearted approval. “He’s so…ooh!” Annika was out of the loop, but determined to find a way in.

“Is he a hottie or something?” she asked. Runa looked confused at her question.

“Right after feeding, I suppose he’s quite warm,” she replied, making Annika laugh.

“I mean, is he good looking?” she clarified. Runa’s face beamed.

“He is
gorgeous
! Simply
stunning
!” she gushed. “In fact, he’s so absolutely beautiful that it’s impossible to look away from him when he’s speaking to you…and he’s got these hypnotic green eyes that make you feel like you’re the only two people in the world!”

“It’s called being a vampire, you ding-a-ling,” Hilda huffed, and smacked her blonde sister upside the head. “They’re all like that.”

“No they’re not,” Runa argued, frowning at Hilda. “I mean, well I suppose that’s part of it, but you really must speak to him one-on-one to see what I mean.”

“Please don’t,” Yuri said, forgetting her embarrassment and becoming suddenly quite serious. “I don’t think it is wise for you to be alone with him.”

“But you think
you
should?” Finn asked. His sister scowled at him.

“Don’t worry Yuri, I don’t think Konstantin is the one Annika wants to be alone with anyway,” Runa laughed, having grown less inhibited by her fourth mug of ale since Annika had arrived.

“Runa, you really
are
a ding-a-ling!” Annika said, trying not to appear annoyed.

“I think someone fancies your brother,” Runa taunted, but Annika just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Yuri gave Annika a strange look, as though she were let down, pissed off, grossed out, or all perhaps all three.

“Well if you
do
fancy him, take a number and get in line,” she sighed, glancing over her shoulder. Annika followed her eyes to where Yuri had looked and her heart sank. Talvi was engrossed in conversation with two tall beautiful blondes, while a brunette beside him kept finding reasons to touch him on the arm, on the chest, and his face. He had one arm curled around her shoulder while holding his drink in his free hand. Every time he stopped talking, he took a long chug of ale, finishing his glass before Annika had even taken two sips of hers. She looked away quickly, before the hurt she felt registered on her own face. She didn’t want to appear jealous, but she couldn’t help it. He’d been the one to invite her to the pub, and yet he’d completely ignored her for nearly an hour.

“Tell us more about Konstantin,” Hilda asked with impeccable timing. “When did this all start?”

“We’re just friends,” Yuri insisted. “That’s why we’ve only been writing back and forth. It turned out we had a lot in common, and we’re almost the same age…”

“Yes, and he’s nocturnal, he drinks blood, he murders on a regular basis,” Sariel added coolly. “You have plenty in common.”

“He can’t help what he is!” she said and slammed her glass down. That was the end of that conversation.

A tall girl with hair slightly less platinum than Runa’s walked up to them. Her clothing was elaborately stitched with a floral design around the neckline of her blouse. She wore a shorter green skirt and black boots up to her knees. Over her blouse she wore a black vest that matched the boots, and two pins held the front part of her hair out of her face as she looked down her nose at everyone. She looked like a runway model, only with slightly pointed ears.

“Hello there Yuri, Finn,” she said and smiled, but neither her voice or her smile were sincere.

“Hello,” Yuri said back to her, not even looking at her. She was still steaming at Sariel’s comment about Konstantin. The samodivi said nothing, but at least they were looking at the tall elf.

“Good evening, Sevan.” Finn stood and greeted her much more warmly than his sister had. But he was so kind that it wasn’t hard for him to do. “I didn’t think you would be in the village for at least another week.”

“Believe me, I didn’t think so either, but Zaven dragged me out to this…
place
.” She looked around, wrinkling her nose in disgust. He told me the reason for our early arrival, but I was too busy loathing him to pay attention,” she sneered. As she flipped her long silky hair over her shoulder, Annika got the distinct impression that nobody at the table really liked this young woman.

“Would you like to sit down and join us?” Finn offered politely. The blonde girl gave another fake smile.

“Unless they serve
champansko
in crystal glasses, I don’t think I’m staying much longer.” She turned her steely blue eyes to Annika. “I can’t believe that you really have a modern girl sleeping under your roof. Has your brother no shame, endangering the village like this? He really needs to stop taking in every stray dog he finds. He can barely take care of the ones he already has,” the girl said, glancing at Talvi and his girlfriends. She squinted at Annika, wrinkling her pointy nose as if she were giving off noxious fumes. “Does she even know how to speak, or does she simply lack in civility?”

Annika was livid. She stood up, and pushed back the sleeve of her right arm, making a fist. While she valued good manners, she also valued sticking up for herself.

“Would you like to see how civil my knuckles can be to your face?” she threatened through clenched teeth. She stepped towards the girl, whose smug expression was replaced by a startled one instead. Finn took Annika by the shoulders and held her tight against his chest to avoid a fight between the girls.

“It’s a tragedy that someone as beautiful as you can be such a hideous creature deep inside,” he said to the girl. “Perhaps if something other than repugnant filth escaped your lips, you would have had a lover kiss them by now.” Annika was surprised that something so cruel could come out of Finn’s mouth, but the girl clearly deserved it. Sevan glared at him, but couldn’t think of any way to respond, and left the pub in a hurry.

“Who was
that
?” Annika demanded. She was still furious at being spoken to in such a degrading manner, but then, she was still wrapped up in Finn’s strong arms. He turned her around rubbed her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down.