A Night to Remember

Shane let out a sigh as he unbuttoned the front of his black vest that he wore on top of his white long-sleeved button-down shirt and tossed it into the locker. It had been a long night, the entire bar suddenly overwhelmed by the number of customers tonight. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his sleeves before rolling them up to his elbows, and once he was done, he closed his locker door and walked over to the mirror. His white shirt was still straight with barely a crease on it despite having worn it all night, and his black slim-fit pants was in the same condition. It had been a few nights since Shane had started this undercover job, taking on the part of a bartender in this particular bar, trying to glint some information on an upcoming case.

So far, he hadn’t gained any significant information and was about to throw in the towel if nothing turned up in a few more days. After making sure his black leather shoes were polished, Shane nodded satisfactorily and walked out of the changing room and appeared behind the bar counter. A quick swerve around another waiter guided him to the flip table that he deftly opened up and leave the confines of the bar counter into the throng of customers.

The noise of the scattered conversations would drown out any noise, save for the occasional smashing of glasses dropped to the ground. Shane gave the establishment a quick look over, thinking if it was worth it to try and join some of the ongoing conversations with a drink in hand for some information, when his eyes swept pass a particular beauty with flowing black hair that got him to retrace back to her.

He watched as the woman received a glass of whiskey from the bartender on duty, saying her thanks with a seductive flutter of her eyelashes that left the bartender stuttering and keeping his eyes on the ground instead. Shane smirked as he made a mental note to tease the bartender about it tomorrow night. As he neared the woman, Shane gasped slightly at her crimson and gold eyes. It wasn’t all that different from his red and black eyes, red on the left and black on the right. Her flushed cheeks added another layer to her beauty, to which Shane found himself being attracted to.

“Surprising,” Shane muttered under his breath, thinking that he had already figured out the type of girls he preferred, as he nimbly made his way towards the lady in the black dress. The gentleman in him kept himself from staring at her for too long, reminding himself that this was just to unwind from a hard day of work. A drink with a lovely lady was just the remedy, the silver-haired Rune Knight thought to himself.

Thankfully, she was sitting in a quieter part of the bar, with a few empty stools around her. Shane glided in, picking a seat beside her.

“Max, one whiskey please,” Shane called out with a rap of his knuckles on the bar top, to which the bartender from earlier nodded and slid the completed beverage across the bar with ease in to Shane’s grip. Max gave a cocky grin at his successful delivery. His failures were one of the reasons for the frequency of smashed glasses in Boomslang.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Shane turned around to ask the brunette after he took a sip from his glass.

[581 / 3500 words]

Shane took note of her reaction when the lady finally looked in his direction after his question, but the reaction that registered was appreciated by Shane. It had been one of surprise with mild curiosity rather than a condescending one. It was a rare one. Of course, the very fact that she had two orbs of different colors helped in that aspect as well, Shane suspected. He watched the black bow that adorned her hair shake ever the slightest as she took a sip from her glass, which had been complimented perfectly with her outfit. A look that was difficult to pull off on most females and yet worn ever so effortlessly by the lady before him.

Shane smiled lightly when he heard she was alone, barely suppressing his usual enthusiastic grin. The next question caused a slight tick of surprise in his expression that was quickly smoothed over, as an answer had been rehearsed so many times in Shane’s mind was repeated once again.

“I travel a lot and in every town or city I have been, I work in one of the bars for a few days until I move on to the next place. It’s the same with Boomslang. I like the atmosphere, talking to the customers, being the ear for their grievances and offer the occasional word of advice or consolation,” Shane replied with a casual shrug, as his right hand moved his glass to his mouth, taking in another sip. The burning aftertaste of the drink trailed down his throat, but left a nice oaky scent on his palate. “And once you get to know them a little, recommendations just keep coming in on where to get the best food, best drink and all that.”

“What about you? I think I have a great memory and in the past few days I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve seen you,” Shane returned with his question, his eyes locking onto hers.

[325 words]
[Total WC: 906/3500]

Shane was oblivious to the female’s flirting, and also to the fact that he was already smitten by her. All he knew was that he wanted to continue the conversation with her, but still rational enough to keep up his disguise. He smiled at her appraisal of his ‘job’, and considered building up on that tidbit of a detail for a fleeting moment before pushing that thought away. It was safer to leave it ambiguous, rather than building a tower of lies that could come crashing down at any moment’s notice.

“It’s much better than reading them from books or from word of mouth. Figured I should see places with my own eyes before I’m tied down,” Shane tried replying nonchalantly, despite all the signs from him that he was already caught in her net. Instead of casually leaning on his left elbow on the bar top, his body was slightly angled forward. His right hand was constantly in motion, fingers lightly gripping his glass of whiskey as he set it down and then beginning to tap softly on the glass in a rhythmic sequence.

When he saw her downing her entire glass of whiskey in one shot, the silver-haired Rune Knight did the same which was actually only one mouthful left. A slight tinge of red had begun to appear on his ears. It had always been one of the most infuriating thing he found about himself.

Shane could hold his own with alcohol, but his body seemed to like to display the level of alcohol he had consumed. For now, it was his ears, but if he continued drinking, the redness would start to spread throughout his entire body. It was even faster with beer, with whiskey being the one that called out the slowest reaction hence his choice of drink for the night.
“Thanks for the drink,” Shane remarked when Max brought two glasses of whiskey to them. It was hard to mix them up, with the lady’s glass carrying a hint of cinnamon while he’s was the normal variety. “Next round’s mine.”

He was rather glad when he heard that she wasn’t always here, and he considered it lucky that he had chosen to continue mingling after his bartending. And then she was suddenly in his face, the distance so near between them that Shane had no doubt that if either one of them chose to, they could lock lips instantly. While the whiff of cinnamon from her glass earlier was aromatic and sweet, it was most definitely intoxicating when mixed with her warm breath. The soldier in him had taken over almost instantly, keeping himself rooted to the spot. Otherwise, his lack of experience in matters of romance would have had him leaning back almost instantly.

He held contact with the lady, gazing into her eyes, feeling himself slowly sucked into an endless whirlpool that got his heart beating faster and faster. He could feel his face blushing and he knew it wasn’t the alcohol. His rapidly beating heart had also sent a gush of blood somewhere down below.

“And here I am, speaking to the most attractive and mysterious girl in the room,” Shane replied, hoping his clumsy attempt at flirting was passable. If this was a romance novel, he would definitely cringe reading such a line coming from the male lead. However, what he did next caught even himself by surprise. Without a word, Shane’s arms reached forward. His right arm looped around her waist lightly as support while his left hand reached beneath her stool and pulled it closer. As of right now, he had pulled her in that they wouldn’t have to lean forward or do anything at all to maintain the intimate proximity of their faces.

“I never introduced myself earlier. I’m Shane.”

[633 words]
[Personal WC: 1,539 / 3,500]

Despite their proximity, their faces so close to each other that his entire vision was completely taken up by her visage, Shane could still make out the light blush that appeared on her cheeks after he had pulled her over. It had been an effortless move, a benefit to his superhuman strength, but a surprising for both of them nonetheless. The silver-haired Rune Knight attributed it to the alcohol he had taken, granting the courage to do what his heart demanded instead of listening to his brain. Her hand touched on his shoulder for balance from the sudden movement, and in that instant, that small instant before she withdrew it, Shane’s entire body went into overdrive.

It was similar to the thrill of battle, but where all his senses would be heightened to absorb every single thing around him, right now all his senses were only focused on her and her alone. His eyes were completely caught in hers, his nose only concerned with the tinge of cinnamon on every breath, and his ears drowning out the rest of the bar except for her words. For that moment, it seemed that there was nothing else in the world that concerned him other than her. Aeluri, she had said her name was.

As her delicate fingers trailed the side of his face, Shane yielded to his instincts and gently put his right hand on the small of her back. He took the initiative and closed the few inches of distance between them, lightly pressing his lips on hers. All doubts or concerns on whether this would put her off had disappeared from his mind, as the silver-haired man felt an electrifying tingle run through his entire body the moment their lips touched.

[291 words]
[Total WC: 1830 / 3500]

Before Shane could even reply to the dark-haired beauty named Aeluri’s comment about his previous actions, the shapely female had already maneuvered herself onto his lap with an elegance and grace that caught his breath. He was really hoping that she would fail to notice the rise from between his legs. Or should he hope that she noticed?

Regardless, Shane find his mind entirely blanking out when she took the initiative this time, her full lips pressed against his again. Without thinking, Shane’s arms instinctively wrapped around her, his right arm around his waist while his left hand caressed her long locks of dark hair, a tight yet gentle embrace that told of his passion. Unbeknownst to them, for as long as they were locking lips, with the occasional play of tongues, the couple had completely captured the attention of everyone in Boomslang, the loud combination of voices speaking one over another and music from the speakers suddenly quietening down, leaving only the soft dancing music of the bar playing.

It had started with Max, who looked at them with a slack jaw and eyes wide, when Aeluri had positioned herself on Shane’s lap and continued to stare when they started kissing like there wasn’t going to be another tomorrow. His stare had caught the attention of others and like sunflowers turning to face the sun, all of the patrons began to turn their head in the direction of Shane and Aeluri, watching them. Some of them watched with a smirk, while some of the females turned away in embarrassment.

To Shane, however, at that moment, nothing was more important than the woman in his embrace. After some time, when the two of them finally pulled apart from one another, Shane’s arms still around Aeluri, he began to take note of the people still staring at them. With a sheepish look, but encouraged by the earlier kiss, Shane gave her another peck on the lips before moving his left arm, letting his hand drop to her waist.

“Shall we move to somewhere else with more privacy?” the Rune Knight muttered, his words almost unintelligible.

[354 words]
[Total WC: 2,184 / 3,500]

Shane’s body moved along as if on its own accord, walking in sync with Aeluri as she led him out of the bar, their hands clasped tightly. The eyes of the onlookers were focused on them the entire way, from the stool to the doors. The Rune Knight had a smirk on his face, a feeling of pride, knowing the envy and jealousy that was homing in on him. He hadn’t been the richest or the most influential in the entire bar and yet he was the one now walking out with arguably the prettiest female in the establishment. Noise erupted again the moment they took their last step out of the bar, the slowly closing door revealing some complains from the other male patrons about how lucky Shane had gotten. The smirk on his face grew even more smug.

But the coolness of the night air, coupled with a light breeze completely refreshed Shane’s mind, his shoulders loosening up as if a burden had just been lifted. He turned and observed the dark-haired beauty again, and it was the same sense of wonderment all over again as when he had first seen her. He couldn’t help but notice her heels, while giving her a slight boost to her height, still kept her shorter than Shane. The Rune Knight smiled as she came within arm’s reach again, and just like that the two of them walked down the street towards where she would bring them.

-----

When Shane opened the door to the room, the Rune Knight had been quite surprised. When she had described it as quiet and cozy, he had imagined the room to be rather small. But this was far from it. The room entrance opened to reveal a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room, headboard against the right wall. A desk and chair was placed against the corner of the left wall and the wall opposite the door, which had a large window for a great view. The desk and chair was obviously unused.

When he turned to his right, to the right of the king-sized bed, it was a large window as well, replacing what should actually be the bathroom’s wall. Anyone sitting on the bed could easily look into the shower and get a great view. The lighting in the room was mellow, casting an amber light onto everything. And the masterpiece. The bed of rose petals shaped in a heart on top of the king size bed. The room was a honeymoon suite.

Shane blinked a few times as he looked at Aeluri, before stepping in towards her, locking his lips against hers while his arms held her snug in an embrace.

[452 words]
[Total WC: 2,636 / 3,500]

It was no longer surprising for him when the dark-haired beauty pushed him on to the bed, and neither was he disagreeable. The fire and hunger that had burned within him, amplified by the whiskey, was a roaring flame. Shane allowed it to consume his senses, giving it his all to the girl he was with, living in the moment as they fell onto the sheets. The meticulously arranged bed of rose petals on the bed was instantly scattered and crushed beneath their combined weight.

-----

Aeluri had gotten up for a shower after they were done. He had wanted to get into the shower with her, his own body glistening with sweat but refrained from it. They had crossed several boundaries in the short time span of a single night, and Shane wasn’t sure if it would be well-received if he continued to push it. It might have been a night of passion, but Shane had found himself unreasonably attracted to her, utterly surprising himself. All of this was going through his mind as he lied on his side, back facing the bathroom and the glass wall that would allow him to see Aeluri in the showers.

They had both seen each other in their birthday suits, but watching her shower was another issue altogether. As he waited for her to exit the shower, exhaustion began to take over and the silver-haired Rune Knight began to doze off, not noticing that his partner for the night had just finished with her shower and was exiting the bathroom. He had completely forgotten about his cover, his Rune Knight brazenly displayed on the top left corner of his back.

[277 words]
[Total WC: 2,913 / 3,500]

The sound of his female companion exiting the shower barely registered in his mind, the Rune Knight having completely put down all of his guard. But he still felt it when Aeluri climbed back into the bed, sitting on the sheets, facing his back. With his guard down and senses dulled by alcohol and the long night, Shane made no attempt to hide his Rune Knight tattoo or even remembered about it. The black guild mark stood out across his chiseled back, the first thing to grab anyone’s attention when they looked at his back.

However, instincts jolted him back to a cautious state the moment he heard the tone that Aeluri was speaking in. Wide awake, with his eyes open but keeping his body unmoving, Shane tried to look at the girl from the corner of his eyes. But she was directly behind him. His eyes darted next to the windows to see if he could look into the reflection but he mentally cursed himself, realizing the curtains were drawn.

Still puzzled, Shane decided to turn around to look at Aeluri. He looked at her with a concerned expression. They had slept together, and Shane had started it all off with a lie. Sitting up with the sheets up to his waist, Shane faced her and held her face tenderly with his right hand while his left hand held the hand she had used to draw across his back.

“I’m sorry Aeluri. The part about me working as a bartender while I travel was just a cover. I’m actually a Private in the Rune Knights. I’m really sorry about lying to you about it. But everything else was real,” the silver-haired man tried to explain, anxiety building up as he prepared himself to take a slap to the face if the raven-haired beauty decided that she had been cheated.

[311 words]
[Total WC: 3224 / 3500]

With his action, came a gentle reaction as Aeluri leaned into his hand, allowing him one last touch of her silky smooth skin. Her words struck Shane quick and hard, as though hit by lightning, as he tried to make sense of her words. He had often heard of the mages from dark guilds calling the Rune Knights the Magic Council’s lackeys or dogs, their magic hunting hounds. And every time he had heard those remarks, he had scoffed at them, dismissing them as buffoons purposely choosing not to understand the importance of a militaristic organization imposing order in a world of burgeoning lawlessness, fueled by the taste of magic.

And yet, this time the words had come from the female he was thinking of starting a relationship with. Before he could fully process what was happening, flinching slightly as Aeluri’s hand flew forward in a motion to slap him but stopping just short of contact. That added another layer of confusion to the already complicated situation, and then Shane heard a rumbling as though the floor beneath the bed was cracking open, followed by a demonic snarl. The confusion sealed it for the Rune Knight as he reacted too slowly, barely glimpsing the raven-haired girl jumping off the bed daintily while he was swept upwards into the air along with the bed.

“What the fuck?!”

The bed, as heavy as it was, was easily snapped in two halves, allowing Shane a glance at the creature behind the demonic snarl. A pair of guns appeared in his hands, but the creature was faster than he was. The twin heads struck with lightning speed and unerring accuracy, one head chomping down on his midsection while the other on right thigh. The Rune Knight only managed to let out a growl of pain before he was dragged down from the air and hurled into the ground with a loud crash.

A layer of viscous liquid covered Shane’s waist and thigh where the two-headed creature had bitten him, the liquid seeping into his bloodstream. Shane knew not what it was, but he knew it acted fast as his head began to grow heavy, his mind clouded. His vision blurred over, showing nothing but a swirling mix of muted colors while his hearing began to fail him as well, catching only bits and pieces. Breathing came in ragged gasps, barely taking in enough oxygen to keep himself from suffocating. The world around him began to close down on itself as a darkness slowly threatened to envelop him.

[423 words]
[Total WC: 3,647 / 3,500]

As he lied on the ground on his back, his weapons barely inches away from his fingers yet unable to muster the strength to move them, Shane was completely out. The pieces of the puzzles struggled to even appear in his mind, much less piecing them together. However, before he could have the chance to come back to his senses, Shane could feel his head being raised. His blurred vision showed him a face without any features. He could barely see the person’s mouth moving, only knowing he was being addressed as his ears picked up little bits of the sentences. It was a new situation for him, completely incapacitated and at the mercy of someone else without even the chance to do anything about it.

The only sense that was clear to him was pain. He knew not what was being used, but Shane could only growl and snarl as the weapon tore through his flesh. The sensation of pain acted like a hammer to his messed up senses, pushing mind to the brink of sanity and yet dulling a second later as whatever magic was working on him reactivated. The push and pull continued for an eternity to Shane. When it was finally over with, the Rune Knight tried to open his eyes, his eyelids fluttering with a heaviness to them.

He heard words being spoken again, once more only his name registering, but nothing else. His bleary eyes managed to open at the last moment to watch the two feet walk away, out of his sight. Strength was beginning to return, and the Rune Knight tried his best push himself off the floor. He turned his body around, before pushing himself off the ground with his arms. The first few times he failed, unable to secure a grip on the wooden floor boards. They were slick, covered in his blood.

When he finally did manage to push himself up and sit with his back to the side of the bed, Shane began to breath heavily as he tried to reassert himself physically and mentally. His right hand went up to his forehead as he tried to overcome the headache that followed, but before his palm had fully rested on his forehead, Shane shouted in pain, his hand withdrawn as though he had touched a hot kettle.

It didn’t escape his glance that his right hand was entirely covered in blood. And that his entire face was hurting like hell as his other senses slowly made their comeback. Grunting from exertion, Shane stood up and walked over to the dresser. The moment he saw himself in the mirror, Shane almost stumbled and closed his eyes followed by a very long breath.

“This has got to be a dream right? I will be back in bed with Aeluri when I wake up…” Shane mumbled to himself, before his eyes suddenly sprung wide open. Wheeling around to look at the room, the Rune Knight realized that he had forgot all about the girl during the attack. His head hurt as he took in the situation. Aeluri captured or having escaped during the attack, the cat-like monster, the perpetrator behind this attack, suspects that who could have done this and other sorts of information rushed through his mind, the headache keeping him from making sense of it as he barely remembered the entire ordeal.

Turning back once more to the dresser, Shane was speechless as he observed his face. Gashes and bite marks covered his entire face, his chest and his arms plus the initial bite to his waist and thigh. What looked back at him from the mirror was a monster with silver hair and a red eye.

“I’ve got to get back to the infirmary,” the man said to himself, stumbling back to where his clothes were and gently putting them back on to avoid aggravating the wounds. Thankfully it was dawn, the sun only peeking out slightly as he made his exit through the open window, taking one last look at the room before jumping out onto the road. He fell on one knee when he landed, forgetting about the bite to his thigh that had robbed him of the strength to support his weight. Breathing heavily, Shane made his way back towards the Rune Knights HQ where he would visit the infirmary. The matter of Aeluri’s disappearance weighted heavily on his mind, being concerned about her safety more than anything else and hoping that she had managed to escape a fate similar to his. Whether they would be able to meet again was another matter left up to their fates, which Shane could do nothing about.

[779 words]
[Total WC: 4426 / 3500]